oliveview Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 I'm so lost on what to do for science this year and I am trying to get some advice. Last year we did science rather informally. We just did lots of experiments and talked about lots of concepts. My 6 yo ds is begging for more science. He certainly has an advanced level of understanding for his age. Everything that I look at is not meaty enough for him or it is too much from a maturity level. I would like to do something that has some plan or structure to it but I would be willing to do it myself if I had to. I just feel so lost. Both my dh and I have science degrees so we are not intimidated by the material, it's just what to teach. I looked at RS4K and it looked good but I think it would only last a couple of weeks around here!! I'm not willing to pay that much for material that will last only for a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any ideas for our little sponge?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 DD is enjoying Singapore's My Pals Are Here Science. The program starts at a third grade level (which is fairly basic) and continues through 6th grade. We find it easy to accelerate, and DD should be done the program by next September. The program is inexpensive. It's main drawback is the relative lack of integrated hands on experiments. There are some in the Activity books (and more as you progress), but, for a child strongly science oriented, I'd supplement with activities from the Janice Van Cleave books or similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 I think that RS4K is really a great program for that age--especially chemistry. You can make it last longer by adding in more experiments. I used Adventures in Molecules with RS4K, added some books from the library and it took the entire summer (several times a week). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 When my son was 6yo (and I had more time) we purchased a bunch of science topic books... The ocean book, the weather book, the geology book, etc. -- all are from a Christian world view (wonders of Creation series). We took one book at a time and would read a section, and discuss it. For the geology portion, we also purchased a rock kit, a volcano kit and an earthquakes kit to use for projects. We'd go on some nature hikes and look for rocks, and my son would try to identify their type. We also have rivers around here, so we could talk about erosion, and show how the flow of water changes the environment. I think we also watched some videos on volanoes and earthquakes. It wasn't a huge hands-on approach, but my son enjoyed it. These days, I'm using mostly K12 science... my children love the lessons, and it's just easier on my schedule (I'm now working FT from home, and have 3 in school versus one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 We're going to use some of the books and activities from http://www.aimsedu.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I think that RS4K is really a great program for that age--especially chemistry. You can make it last longer by adding in more experiments. I used Adventures in Molecules with RS4K, added some books from the library and it took the entire summer (several times a week). I agree. This is exactly what we did with RS4K. I also used the VanCleave books and some Science in a Nutshell kits to fill in the other sections. It lasted us a whole year doing it this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 My 6 yo son really enjoys K12 science. I add lots of supplemental reading to it. The experiments are quite homeschool friendly and there is a good balance of reading and activities. You pay the same (per month) no matter how many levels you go through (though you still have to pay for materials). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 here's a link.... http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Elements+Intro+to+Chemistry+Curriculum+with+CD/022079/1218418704-46462 I used this book with my boys and loved it so am using it with my 6yo this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissy Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 My son is very into science and it takes lots of books to get his level of depth needed. He reads science encyclopedias for fun. :001_smile: We are going to do it the way it is suggested in WTM (my son is in 5th) plus add a few dissections, more books (like library or Usborne) and some online videos and at least 2 or 3 experiments each week. Instead of the one. My dh is a chemist and he really pours out the info for my son. I have yet to find a curriculum that met his needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I like the Jason Project for gifted children starting around the age of 8 or 9. It's expensive, but google it and if it's appealing you may want to keep checking ebay for a bargin. I've picked up several older years with complete plans for $10 each. Doing it this way you do miss out on the interactive information, but for our purposes that wasn't important. The one year we did it at full price we found it hard to be online at exactly the time the scientists were available and it was often enough to make it worth our while to go with the full priced current year project again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyMum Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 My 6 yo son really enjoys K12 science. I add lots of supplemental reading to it. The experiments are quite homeschool friendly and there is a good balance of reading and activities. You pay the same (per month) no matter how many levels you go through (though you still have to pay for materials). Do you mind me asking what the cost is? I am looking for a user-friendly science program that I don't have to put large amounts of time into sorting out. This looks promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HomeEducatorbyAppointment Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 My son is leaving for college and scored a 36 on the ACT in science. I did not follow a formal curriculum for him until 7th grade. We did fun experiments through whatever topics he was interested in and I always made sure we checked out several non fiction science books at the library every week. I had a great distaste for science growing up and did not feel excited about or confident in teaching it at home, but I guess God blessed my efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I don't do formal science at that age. We have a few science encyclopedias we use, and a number of varous science books we've been given or have picked up. We also do some hands on things and use the library. I have tried a variety of programs, and have finally bought RS4K I (grades 4-6) whch I plan to use with other books we have to spread them out. Now that I've looked at it, I really, really like it better than anything else. I don't think I'd buy the lower books, but my ds is 8 and I just got turned onto this now. It's written by a scientist who has homeschooled her kids, and one of the things I like is that it teaches solid science with no interpretation of life, etc (eg uniformitarianism vs cataclysmic theory, or evolution/creationism/ID.) We're also going to be using Chemistry II. We'll add other things to it, but for my 10 yo history loving dd, we'll add the KOGS for History that combines Chem with History, and probably not a lot of other things. For my science loving 8 yo, we'll add more. For my 13 yo, we'll do Chem II as an intro to Sudocki's Conceptual Chemistry, mostly because she looked at it at a homeschool convention and loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenParrish Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 R.E.A.L Science is a really good one recommended for grades 1-4 in one book. I recommend Life first. http://rainbowresource.com/product/R.E.A.L.+Science+-+Life+Level+1/039411/1219537066-428207 http://rainbowresource.com/product/R.E.A.L.+Science+-+Earth+and+Space+Level+1/039410/1219537066-428207 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 I am basically doing science the WTM way. It gives me a lot of flexibility in choosing material that is at the right level. This year we are doing an earth science unit using resources I am pulling together. Here are a couple of links to resources I am looking at for when we get to chemistry and physical science. The Elements Exploration Education Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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