Maryam Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Does it provide enough lessons to be its own independent science curriculum or should it be used as a supplement? This is in reference to 3rd - 5th grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 There are a lot of lessons, but I wasn't as impressed with them as I hoped to be. And TBH I can't quite put my finger on why. But I felt I had to add texts to supplement and eneded up just reading the books and not bothering much with MS. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Meh. I am of the mind that science in elementary school is an exposure thing. Experiments and demonstrations can be fun, but not necessary. You can do just as good of a job with lots of library books and discussing science topics. So, for us, MS is like giving us a central theme to read around. We have paused with RSO and are working through some of the life science stuff and my kids lap it up. It's a good springboard. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildwood Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I think it can be used either way. For my 4th grader it is perfect as a stand-alone. Between the video presentation, hands-on activity, suggested supplemental links, and optional assessments, it is well rounded and plenty. My daughter happens to love science, so we have lots of books here that can be used along with any of the topics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaCookiesBears Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Mystery Science works great for my 5th grader who before now I had to pull teeth just to do the subject. I do many of the extra assignments that go along with the videos and when I feel like to need to expand upon a subject further I just get books or videos from the library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I think it depends on how you teach and view the subject of science. For people who don't do any or don't do much science in their homeschools, Mystery Science is a perfect stand-alone program. It is easy, it gets done, and it is high quality. If you want a systematic program which is all-encompassing, more like a textbook, that is different. You could use Mystery Science as your main program along with supplemental books, or you could use Mystery Science as a supplement to something else. I use Mystery Science as our main program because I consider science in elementary years to be mostly about exposure. Once my kids get to middle school (6th, 7th, and 8th grades), I change to a textbook-type of program (BJU Science). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Agree with the above. It's exposure, not remotely comprehensive. But it might be enough for elementary. Some people do it very shallowly. I see people in Facebook groups say, my child has done every Mystery Science program in a month and what's next? Where, if you do the actual experiments and supplements, it could easily take a year to go through the material. So it's partly what you choose to make of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 We are using it for 5th and 3rd grade along with books from the library when they are more interested in a topic and that's plenty for us. I honestly hate science experiments, but these are easy and the kids can do them very independently, and the videos keep them engaged. It's really perfect for the exposure we need right now. They beg to do more than one a week but I'm spreading it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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