Post-BFSU Update

[daijobu]

If there are other BFSU "graduates" out there, please chime in, but I wanted to let everyone know how my kids have done since BFSU.

 

My 2 dds were doing BFSU together.  We did all 3 volumes, and we finished last spring.  We spent the summer doing the thought experiments in Thinking Physics by Lewis Carroll Epstein for fun.  

 

Now my older daughter is a freshman and taking AP Chemistry from PA Homschoolers.  My younger daughter in 7th grade is taking the Well Trained Mind Academy high school biology course.  Both have transitioned to their upper level science classes smoothly and feel they are well-prepared.  

 

Hope that helps!  My BFSU memories are starting to fade already, but I'm happy to answer any BFSU related questions.   It was a great ride, and I'm sorry it's over.  

[Jackie]

I do have a question, and there don't seem to be many people who use BFSU past the first book. My daughter is very science-oriented. We use BFSU along with lots of free-form science exploration. We will probably finish up the first book next summer when she is 6. About half the topics in the first book were ones she was already very familiar with, and the other half were newer to her but came easily for her. She has great understanding and retention thus far.

 

Would you move straight into the second book? Or fill time with something else and start the second book closer to the typical age?

[Syllieann]

I do have a question, and there don't seem to be many people who use BFSU past the first book. My daughter is very science-oriented. We use BFSU along with lots of free-form science exploration. We will probably finish up the first book next summer when she is 6. About half the topics in the first book were ones she was already very familiar with, and the other half were newer to her but came easily for her. She has great understanding and retention thus far.

 

Would you move straight into the second book? Or fill time with something else and start the second book closer to the typical age?

I don't have the long term results, but the second book is going very well for my 6 year old. There are more books and documentaries available for that level as well. We are stretching it out a bit by adding some health topics that don't come up in conversation often. We are also spending more time identifying species in our area, as well as clouds and rocks.

 

In a futile attempt to slow it down, I bought Ds a Thames and Kosmos weather kit (he's been obsessed since he was 2), but the majority of the kit dealt with concepts that are covered better in bfsu anyway.

[daijobu]

I think you can proceed with volume 2, and slow it down with additional activities.  There are lots of kits for sale and lots of interesting science demos online and on youtube.  That way you won't get too far ahead of yourself, but will also keep pace with their interests.  

 

Then again, my kids are much older now, so it's difficult to remember how it was back then.  

[Jackie]

I bought a bunch of kits to go along with the first book, but DD wanted to do them every day and flew through them all. Oh, well :) Thanks for the information, both of you, and I'll plan on moving on when we get there. If I need to buy some time later, I'll worry about it then. The Ellen McHenry stuff looks interesting to me, so I may add that in at some point if/when we want a detour.

[aprilleigh]

I'd just let the kids do science at their own pace. You'll hit a topic now and then that really fires them up and you can expand that as long as they stay interested, but I wouldn't try to deliberately drag it out. That was easy for DS because he's interested in everything about science, so we spent a lot of time reading additional books, doing mom-created additional explorations (I'm a scientist myself), and spending time with Daddy working on some topics that weren't covered in the current BFSU volume (electronics, robotics, and computer programming). For the non-scientist, let them pick up additional books and documentaries at the library or bookstore, purchase kits along their specific interests (but make sure they've got good reviews because there's a lot of junk out there masquerading as science kits), and let your kids lead the way. If they're science-oriented, they will happily drag you along for the adventure.