Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Science in Song


We have an amazing educational gem that we return to at least twice a year, and so few people seem to know about it that it seems like a great thing to share!
LYRICAL LIFE SCIENCE, text and lyrics by Doug Eldon and performed on CD by Bobby Horton, is a fantastic resource. It packs a huge amount of information about specific topics into songs set to well known tunes. For example, the first song in volume one is about the scientific method, set to the tune of "Dixie." Once kids have memorized a song, they have a wealth of information at their fingertips -- and you know how kids retain music!
We are currently dipping into volume one to memorize the song about "Vascular Plants" (to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic.") as we begin a unit on plants and gardening.

Verse one goes like this:
Xylem carries minerals and water to the sky
Phloem carries food on down and that's the reason why
The most important cells are those producing both of them
The cells of the cambium!
Vascular, oh Vascular plants (3X)
All have transporting tubes!

Great stuff to hum while planting seeds and creating gardens!
Other songs in volume one cover topics such as Living Things, Invertebrates, Birds, Genetics... the list is long!
Volume two covers "Mammals, Ecology, and Biomes," Volume three "The Human Body," and there is a new volume that we haven't checked out yet, but I look forward to -- "Lyrical Earth Science."
You can learn more about this at http://www.lyricallearning.com/
"Good music, good science, good time learning!"
Have fun!