Rocks And Minerals Study

My 7yo has always been fascinated with rocks. So when he spied the national geographic rocks and minerals collection at our local newsagent his eyes lit up! I saw it as a great opportunity to foster his keen interest in geology and for me to learn something new along the way too.

There is something exciting about waiting for the next rock in the collection to arrive, going to pick it up and learning about something new. And move over Justin Bieber (or whatever the female equivalent is these days) there's a rocks and minerals poster next to my son's bed!

I must admit that rocks and minerals don't intrigue me the way they do my son so I've had to be proactive in finding motivating and exciting ideas for exploring this topic.

To get some ideas on how I could expand on this interest I visited some of my favourite homeschooling blogs and sites. I discovered this idea on teaching the layers of the earth.

I followed the links and printed and laminated our own set of cards.

rocks and minerals study kids homeschool

We also went on to make our very own play dough model of the layers of the earth. Admittedly, ours wasn't as beautiful as others I found on the web but hey, we did our best!

I also purchased the magic school bus: inside the earth which we have read a few times together and discussed.

A trip to the museum to browse the rock section was also something we included in our study.

We have also had a good look through rocks and minerals for kids on youtube and even discovered this rocks and minerals website designed for kids.

I love seeing how motivated and passionate my kids are to learn about a topic that interests them. It still amazes me the things that spark their curiosity and I love being able to support them in their learning - just one of the many benefits of home education.

Who would've thought rocks and minerals could be so fascinating!

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