A big poster board covered with contact paper. Lines of velcro strips down for times of day and days of week. Contact paper for each of the subjects, special things etc. You can hang them all up together on Sunday as you plan your week. Then, take them down as you complete. We have one like that that we don't use anymore, but it's still hanging after 9 years.

If I recall correctly we did a chapter a week and we did science two days a week, 2 hours at a time.

I really like Bryce Hixson's books for science. I presently have Photon U in hand and each chapter starts with a Big Idea, several experiments to show/explain each big idea and then a how come, huh? section. The book is humorous and has great illustrations. Another book series I am looking at for future physics is the Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science so you can teach it from NSTA press. These books are meant to be read by the teacher so she can teach her students, but I think you could use them with kids. In these books, you do the experiments before the explanation and the explanations are quite complete. There are also links via scilinks.org to various websites. I am also considering Bite Size Physics for this year for the rest of the physics component (there is no section on light.) I compared Bite Size Physics and Mr Q physics and find Bite Size a little more mature, plus I already have Bite Size Forces which was a freebie at Currclick awhile ago.

Any of the books by Marilyn Burns are great.

You could take a look at the books by Bryce Hixson. Very humerous and lots of experiments. I also recommend the Stop Faking It! series for chemistry and physics.

:iagree:

:iagree:No need to supplement! Unless you want to play games or do simulations, that sort of thing.

:iagree:With all the posts. LFC is not religious at all.

I've got it but haven't used it yet. Do you have any specific questions?

:iagree:The magazines are also really great and may be better in that there are coloured pictures and games. They are more like comic books, but with lots of info.

This looks very similar to the human body program I put together for my dd grade 6. We are doing cells, DNA, genes, reproduction and the brain. I am using Ellen McHenry's Brain program for the last part. I may steal some of your ideas, if that's okay and let me know if you'd like to see my plan.

If that doesn't work, email me, I have them.

You could take a peek at Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp to get an idea of what a kid "should" be working on for each year. I used that plus a lot of the same resources that KarenAnne did for my children in their younger years. There are lots of GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) and AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) guides for younger grades too.

I too am a huge Burns fan. We worked through Lessons for Introducing Fractions and Lessons for Decimals and Percents last year and will be using Lessons for Extending Fractions and Lessons for Multiplying and Dividing Fractions this year. I have also used the Algebraic Thinking book that KarenAnne mentioned as well as one about probability. Through games and activities she teaches kids to really understand the concepts. I like the fact that she presents lots of examples of how different kids think and I use these examples in my teaching.

I've come across a couple of really great science resources I'd like to share: 1. Books by Bryce Hixson http://www.teachersource.com/Books_SoftwareAndVideos/BryceHixsonBooks.aspx I have "Photon U" and it is done as 15 chapters of "Big Ideas" with 2-3 experiments and explanations for each idea. It also has many science fair extensions and is humorous. 2. "Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science so You can Teach It" series by William C. (Bill) Robertson http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx?action=quicksearch&text=stop%20faking%20it%20series These are supposed to be read by "teachers" to help them teach their subject matter, but I think they could easily be used by home schoolers. He has you do experiments first and then read the explanations. I have the book on "Light" and it is very humorous and well done. I can't decide which of the two I will use for the "light" part of my grade 6 physics program next year. Probably "Photon U" as it is a little easier to understand.

We listen to the cd (chants of the vocab) and watch the video the first day. On subsequent days we review the vocab and verb tenses, do the worksheet pages in the workbook and the other sheets in the activity guide. On the last day, we do the chapter quiz. We make our our flashcards and review vocab when we are in the car, or on the bus, etc...Hope that helps.

We are cat lovers at our house so we love the Warriors series. DD has learned a lot about cat behavior and uses of herbs from these books, so they aren't complete twaddle.

Math Mammoth does not need to be supplemented. You could do something else such as TOPS or GEMS or Family Math if you want more hands-on activities and games.

We are excited to be doing a unit on the human body, as we will be dissecting a sheep's brain. We will be doing Ellen McHenry's "Brain" as well and some cool DNA and genetics activities. Sotw 4 mixed with Canadian history and geography. MCT Voyage level. Hmmm...guess we are excited about it all!

PS I'd love to see all those other sotw 4 schedules, especially if there are web sties, activities, other books (than swb suggests) and movies!

I do the opposite to all of you who suggest dropping chapters. I take two weeks to do one chapter (ie each section is one week). We do history in the afternoons for 2 hrs/2x per week. I've added in movies, books, websites and activities for most of the chapters. Some of the chapters I've combined the two sections into one week, but that's because I couldn't find any good websites or activities to do with those chapers. I'll take us 4 years to do sotw 4 and it is in conjunction with Canadian history and Canadian geography. If anyone would like to see my schedule, I'd be happy to share. Just let me know.

We will be doing CE II this year, but as it's only 20 weeks, I think we will add in DL as well. DD is going into grade 6, should she start on Elements 1?

We are doing MM 6A and 6B this year and will probably do LoF Fractions through to Pre Algebra next year. That is, if my dd likes Fred. I certainly do!

Did anyone mention the show Between the Lions? You could watch that with your dd and get games and activities from the website. Starfall is also great!

Ours is McHugh Bluff Academy because we live just beside this bluff.