Homeschooling really isn't that hard or why duplo blocks make good molecules

When we started Wolf in the Independent Study Program I thought it would be a lot of work, but that's not how it is turning out. In all actuality I do almost no "official" teaching. We just read his worksheets, he gets the concept and does the work. I almost never have to explain anything more than once or in a different way for him to "get" it.

We read science magazines, watch Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs and read chapters out of his social studies book every so often. We work in the garden, go for walks, go to martial arts and Cub Scout meetings. He soaks up so much information just by living. More than anything else we do, we talk.

The other day a friend of ours who is really into molecular biology asked Wolf if he wanted to learn about it and, when Wolf said yes, proceeded to go on about it for at least ten to fifteen minutes. Afterward, on our way home, I asked wolf if he wanted me to draw him some pictures to explain what our friend had been talking about, which he did. At home we had a lesson on molecules and how atoms go together to make them. We talked about electrons, protons and neutrons and electrons. We talked about the different states of matter and how the movement of molecules was related to that. Then he asked, "If atoms make up molecules and protons and neutrons make up atoms, what are atoms made of?" I said I'd go into that later! Then he asked, "Well what happens when things break?" I told him I'd get back to him on that.

I went online to a forum that deals with kids like Wolf and Bear and asked for a simple way to explain that. I got several responses, including one that was junior college level. That was the one I ended up working with. A couple days later I pulled out the Duplo blocks and explained that they were molecules. Each molecule has a positive and negative section which is how they fit together. When things break it's that bond between the two that breaks and I broke apart the blocks. Then I explained that if you take a hammer to one of the blocks it stops being a block and becomes a pile of plastic bits. That is basically what happens when a molecule is broken apart into its constituent atoms. It's a lot harder to do than just breaking the bonds between molecules. Wolf got it all right away.

Then we went into chemical reactions, like having a fire in the fire place...

Then we went online and found out what makes up protons and neutrons...

His first grade science book (we finished the workbook in a month or so) goes into solid, liquid and gas. No details mind you, just the terms and very basic concepts. Molecules aren't mentioned anywhere.