Looking for feedback on BFSU, year 2

[Becky]

My 4th, 2nd, and K kids are wrapping up BFSU this year. We LOVED it (yes, it was a beat down to prep all year, but I was thrilled with how well the kids did with it.). I considered it pretty high level thinking for the K and 2nd grader. So I would love feedback from anyone who has completed year 2....would you recommend it for a 1st and 3rd grader, or will it be over their heads? They are both very interested in science, but are at or slightly above grade level. Thanks!

[Tracy]

I haven't gotten that far, so I can't really answer your questions. But I just had to say that I am amazed that you got through 3 years of material in just one year. :svengo:

[MrsH]

It's worth trying, but honestly, I'm amazed w/ how high-level the 2nd book is. The lessons take MUCH longer (I could easily spend a month on some of them!). The beginning of the A-threads is a lot of microscope work, which my dd10 really loved. It could be a worth a try, or you could go more in depth w/ some of the things from the first book for your younger kids (like animals or biomes) while moving ahead w/ your oldest. Of course you get the $5 ebook and just read through it to see what you think!

 

~Jane

[SevenDaisies]

Are you speaking of year 2 of volume 1 or volume 2?

[cmac]

I have a 3rd grader and we did BFSU this year. I bought the 5 dollar e book at the beginning of the year and found it too hard for both of us! I plan on repeating BFSU again for next year, doing the additional activities and books etc. that we didn't get to do this year.

[Greenmama2]

My second grader and I are around 1/5 of the way into BFSU 2. We are taking a break, not because we don't like it but because I used it in a very student directed way and her focus has shifted onto a lot of self-directed reading. I think BFSU covered a LOT of material and I'm happy to take the next volume very slowly with lots of rabbit trails. If your children understood everything in BFSU 1, I think they will be fine with 2. It is quite a jump, but to me that just means going slower and deeper to aid understanding :)

[Homemama2]

Where can you get the five dollar ebook ? I found a ten dollar one but not a five dollar one... :)

[VeritasMama]

Here is the link for the $5.00 "ebook," it is actually a pdf. It still works well on my Kindle, but you could convert it for free using calibre if you want an actual ebook and not a pdf.

 

http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432706104

[Becky]

Thanks for the feedback. My best friend and I have a really great schooling arrangement set up. Our oldest 3 kids are the same ages, so on Tuesdays I have the 2nd and 4th graders and she keeps the Ks, then on Thursdays we switch. T/Th end up being our 'long' school days, and in the afternoon all 6 kids are together for science. So I only had to prep and teach it once a week, but my kids were doing it twice. Win/win! So we've had 32 weeks of twice weekly science. On top of that, she and I organize a small co-op Wednesday afternoons for 10 families, and we intentionally choose science stuff that would help us get through BFSU. If ALL the labor and prep had been up to me we would not even by half way through.

 

All that to say, the K's did fine this year, but since there were a couple topics that were over their heads, I am worried we will totally lose them next year. We are trying to find another group based hands on science, but I haven't found the year 2 book in person yet. I guess I will look at the ebook and decide. It is so hard to do science with 3 levels of kids and it was SO nice to have something we could all do together.

 

Any suggestions for 1st grade level science that is similar if year 2 is too much?

[Homemama2]

Thank you!