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I wouldn't recommend one lab per course, though. For best results, do enough that the students learn to use lab equipment, follow the scientific method, follow proper lab procedures, learn to record data and analyze it, draw appropriate conclusions, and write lab reports. Then they'll be prepared for college lab classes but will also be more likely to understand when they are shown faulty data and/or conclusions or otherwise separate good science from bad. 2. Where can you get lab equipment? I've had great success buying used (and sometimes new) equipment relatively cheaply online. Lab kits can be purchased in bookstores, craft stores, hobby shops, and more. A lot of labs can be done with simple kitchen tools, but there's something about using a triple beam balance or a beaker over an alcohol burner that makes experiments more exciting. 3. What if you don't feel comfortable teaching labs?
There are lots of online tutorials available and even some virtual dissections that can easily be done from home. FPEA.com has sponsored weekends packed with multiple labs for parents who are willing to pack a year's worth of labs into a single weekend. Some science museums offer lab options for homeschool families. Co-op classes in which parents work together to teach a class or perhaps share costs to hire a teacher can be another option. See https://www.flhomeschoolevaluations.com/support-groups.html to find co-op classes near you. 4. Labs don't have to be complicated. High school labs can be upgraded versions of simple elementary level experiments. The high school versions typically involve more measuring and collecting data which is then displayed and analyzed. Simple experiments such as planting seeds and testing to see the effects of varying amounts of water (or fertilizer or sunshine or such) can be made into a high school level lab by planting multiple seeds as the control and multiple seeds which are given the variable being tested, with daily measurements of each, graphs of the data, analysis of the results, and a formal paper outlining the various aspects of the lab. --- One of the best experiments I've ever seen was from a young man who didn't want to study traditional chemistry. He wanted something more informal. He began with a soap-making kit that he used to make some bars of soap. He was curious as to how the ingredients in the kit effected the quality of the soap. He tried making another batch but varied the amounts of one of the ingredients. Then realized that he needed a way to measure and describe the different qualities of the soap. He eventually bought wholesale the ingredients and made hundreds of batches of soap. He set up a small business to sell at craft fairs the soap that he'd made in order to buy more ingredients and as a way to make room for making more soap. He became curious about the differences in the ingredients and studied the chemical make-up of each and how they combined and worked to figure out why each ingredient affected the quality of the soap the way that it did. In the end, he spent months analyzing in more and more detail, learning chemistry and math at deeper and deeper levels, and typed up a massive report of what he'd learned along the way. Finding something that raises questions about the results and what in nature makes them turn out that way can be a way to create a great science lab. Cheryl Trzasko FLHomeschoolEvaluations.com
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