Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 school. Can anyone here tell me if they liked Rainbow Science and if their student was prepared for high school sciences? What grades did you do RS? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in CA Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Hi Penny, We are using RS with my 5th and 7th grade dds. We are almost through Chemistry and have completed the Physics section. We obviously don't have the exposure yet to hs sciences, but I think RS would really be more likely to help with exposure than anything else. I like that the terms in Physics and Chemistry that would seem a bit ominous in a hs text will be a bit more familiar because we have used RS. I'm still on the fence about doing year 2 or moving on to BJU for my oldest. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev in B'ville Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 and completed the entire course in one year instead of two. I also supplemented the course with videos and other sources (I also had them write papers). Anyway, my dd completed this as an 8th grade course last year and this year she is taking AP Biology and has an "A" average in the class. My dd is a very hardworking student, very self-motivated so I'm don't know that I would recommend this approach for everybody (my ds will not follow in his sister's footsteps, he's simply not ready for that level of work). Just my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 and found it short and to the point. The experiments really illustrate the concepts well. My older son used it in middle school and is now on high school Physics. He hasn't had any trouble with high school science. My younger son is using it this year (6th) and will continue with it for 7th grade, too. He really enjoys the sense of humor the author brings to the textbook. Following most lessons, there are just a few questions to be answered. My son is learning how to answer in complete sentences and explain concepts in writing without being overwhelmed with a page of 10 questions/lesson. I met Jay Wile at a convention many years ago and asked him whether he thought Rainbow Science (whose booth was around the corner) would be a good preparation for his high school courses. He said that he thought it would provide a good preparation for his high school courses. He said that middle school students who preferred a lot of reading would like his course better and that those who preferred a more hands-on approach would like Rainbow better. We have found that to be true in our experience. HTH, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kids4me Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 My children will be in grades 6 and 4 next year. I recommended this to a friend a few year's ago when I first heard of it (I really didn't know anything about it!) and she bought it for her children. I think she used it when her kids were in grades 7 & 5, and then continuing over the next two years. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it. Oh, and she really loves it! Her younger children (grades 1 and down) love sitting in on the experiments. So, now I'm looking into purchasing it for next year. DH will do it with the kids (I HATE chem & physics) and I'll continue the science stuff from years one and two (you know, human body, astronomy, etc). I'm really excited about buying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 We're in chemistry, too, with my 8th-grade son, but we're augmenting...we've read a separate book on the periodic table, and we're using the PH books (Chemical Building Blocks currently) to add more information. I think Rainbow is a good overview, but it's not as detailed as the PH books, for example (although the labs are easier for me, a non-science mom, to figure out than the PH ones, which is why we're using it...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie-Knits Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 It was our first formal "curriculum" for science and we used it in 7/8th grades. My purpose in using it was to make sure the vocabulary was there for high school science and to make sure we had "no holes" in our knowledge base - I would say it definitely did that. My youngest is finishing it up this year and my oldest is in high school Chemistry. Both are doing very well. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Thank you all SO much! I feel much better about this. I guess it is difficult for me to make a decision on this because I LIKE how the Prentice Hall books are very indepth and cover the areas (over middle school) with a good depth of knowledge and not just skim the surface. We haven't done any formal science (just reading basically) until this year (5th) with Exploration Education. My friend is VERY science-y, majored in science and taught middle school science so her boys are getting hard core science from 3rd grade on up. I'm just afraid that if we don't take this "hard core" approach that my guys will be "lost in the dust" when we come to harder books/levels in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Bev, Was it difficult to complete both levels within one year? I think my ds falls between your ds and dd (the way you descibe them). He CAN be very motivated when he enjoys something (and he does like science), but sometimes I'm finding he isn't ready for some levels of work that I think he is, so he balks. P and completed the entire course in one year instead of two. I also supplemented the course with videos and other sources (I also had them write papers). Anyway' date=' my dd completed this as an 8th grade course last year and this year she is taking AP Biology and has an "A" average in the class. My dd is a very hardworking student, very self-motivated so I'm don't know that I would recommend this approach for everybody (my ds will not follow in his sister's footsteps, he's simply not ready for that level of work). Just my $.02[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Susie, which Chemistry course are you using with your oldest? Did you do Biology and which course? Thanks (just doing some thinking here). It was our first formal "curriculum" for science and we used it in 7/8th grades. My purpose in using it was to make sure the vocabulary was there for high school science and to make sure we had "no holes" in our knowledge base - I would say it definitely did that. My youngest is finishing it up this year and my oldest is in high school Chemistry. Both are doing very well. Susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I agree with Susie:iagree:. We used Rainbow when the kids were 4th/6th and 5th/7th. I hadn't intended the younger one to do it with us but he followed along very well. My older ds went on to do high school biology in 8th (he got an A- in an outside lab) and had no trouble with the A Beka 10th grade-level bio text. He is doing the Spectrum Chemistry this year and doing very well. My kids enjoy science but I wanted to keep it hands-on and fun, not boring and book-y so that is why we went with Rainbow. Your kids will not be left in the dust in high school science! Those texts are meant to be picked up with no previous exposure to the subject. I think Rainbow provides a great intro to the methods and vocabulary of science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Thank you, thank you, Maverick!!!! I feel SOOO much better!!! Rainbow it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie-Knits Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 then to Chemistry and next year Physics. It was a smooth and easy transistion for him. I looked at the Spectrum Chemistry but decided to go with Apologia since we could just stay with it thru high school. susie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev in B'ville Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 My school year is 40 weeks, so we were able to do each section in 10 week increments. It also depends on your supplements. I really didn't feel the program was strong enough by itself. By middle school, students should be writing reports, so I had my dc writing reports (historical figures in science, lab reports, etc.) You could also add in a science fair project. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pensguys Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Thanks to everyone for their answers...I feel better about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 I was looking for a thread just like this one, or I was going to ask this same question! So thankyou, Penny, for asking it! :) And thankyou to everyone who answered! :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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