Annabel Lee
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Posts posted by Annabel Lee
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One of the biggest lobbiers for CC was the Gates Foundation.
I think it's odd that CCS calls for private student data to be sent to big corporations (aka "data mining").
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I look for good feedback, new seller or not. New sellers are OK with me as long as good feedback has been established. I too look for specific details about the condition - marks, writing, highlighting, underlining, etc. IME smaller sellers tend to list the condition of their items much more cautiously, so a book listed as "good" might actually be "very good" with a single dog-eared page, for example.
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Math: I would need to find some sort of sequence to follow to know what to present next. My library carries the What Your ___ Grader Needs to Know series, so I might use that for a sequence. Or, there are lists online. Once I have a list of what to teach, I'd flesh it out with Khan Academy, Family Math Middle School & living math books I already own, any other math books I can get from the library, math games (hands-on and online), real-life math application such as budgeting. As the kids get older and math more difficult, I'd probably rely increasingly on online freebies from Khan, BrightStorm, Alcumus, open courseware online, and CK12.
English/Literature: First I'd use up what I already own, which would last us a good year or two. Then...
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Writing: Write across the curriculum according to WTM 1st edition, find rubrics or formal writing instruction online (CK12?) or at the library.
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Spelling: SpellingCity, SheppardSoftware, and the How to Teach Spelling K-12 TM I own, plus Elizabeth B's spelling page online.
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Penmanship: I'd use the homemade notebook style shown on Donna Young's site for practice & review. My kids already know cursive, so this would just be "brush-ups" on whatever letters or formations seem to be slipping. I plan to do that next year, anyhow. If I needed printouts, the Zaner-Bloser site allows you to create them for free. DY's site also has animated cursive tutorials. If I want a full program, I own the Presidential Penmanship CD-Rom which is K-12 or K-8.
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Grammar: KISS, since it's free. I'd see if there are any other free, vintage texts online as well. We'd diagram sentences from regular books & from the child's own writing.
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Vocabulary: I have enough dictionaries to do this even if I lost internet connection. I could use spelling words or words from literature.
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Reading/Literature: WTM method using whole books we own or from library; I also have Reading Strands to draw from. I'd use CHOLL & free literature guides online (Glencoe has many; also some curriculum companies post a whole guide as a sample). AO & other lists would come in handy.
Latin: I don't know what I'd use for this. I'd have to search online & my library system. I might have to find someone locally who knows it, or skip it.
Modern foreign language: see above, same as Latin.
Art: There are tons of free art resources between the internet & the library. Sometimes there are free trials offered by online programs such as Mark Kistler Online Drawing Lessons, etc. Donna Young has some free art lessons on her site. This wouldn't be hard; but we'd need the supplies & materials. For artist appreciation, we'd use the library, internet, & museum visits.
Logic: I'm not sure what I'd do for this beyond free online games & whatever books I can scrape together from the library. We might have to forego formal logic.
Bible: We'd start with The Bible, and then explore freebies online, at our local library & church library.
Science: CK12, ACS free middle school chemistry, free downloads or large try-before-you-buy samples from Ellen McHenry & other curriculum providers. Currclick sometimes has free downloads. We'd have to use the library a LOT. We'd get involved in local bird count & aquatic life monitering programs that collect, analyze, & report wildlife data. Nature & outdoors & our local university would become a bigger part of our curriculum. The uni. has hands-on kits available for checkout, but the wait is long. Guesthollow would be helpful, too.
History: Library, Project Gutenburg & other free online books, such as the G.A. Henty series that is posted online as well as H.A. Guerber's series; other online free resources such as SheppardSoftware, encyclopedias we own, and I'd do it per WTM. Primary resources from fordham online, we already own atlases, maps, & a globe. I'd just make copies from the Geography Coloring Book I have or have the kids trace with tracing paper, depending on the assignment. I'd get free brochures from our state chamber of commerce for the kids to use to decorate their state history notebooks. Guesthollow & AO would come in handy.
Geography: I'd tie it into history as much as possible, but we'd also study local geography. We'd read all the front introductory pages in our atlases that teach all about geography & maps. SheppardSoftware online is free, and if Seterra is free I'd use that, too. NatGeo has free printable maps. For cultural geography, we'd use the library.
Music: We'd check out books from the library or look up articles online on famous composers, while listening to their music. We could listen from GrooveShark or check CDs out from the library. We'd just work our way down the timeline chronologically, using free notebooking pages online that are already part of my plan for next year. I also had saved some music theory YouTube videos, but I don't know what I'd do for actual music instruction.
It sounds messy, but I would have to use a summer to prepare. I'd want to plan everything in advance complete with web links, reading schedules & coordinating literature guides, and have it all printed out & ready to go. I'd end up with schedules for each subject that look a lot like Guesthollow's. I'd have to do this so that I would have my picking & choosing done. I'm not good at narrowing things down on the fly. I'd want to look at all the reading lists from AO, Great Books, etc.; all the resources available. But I also know I need to force myself to choose so I wouldn't get overwhelmed with a schedule that's too full.
This was fun! It's a real eye-opener to how much money I could be saving; really gives me a lot to think about.
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Writing: Write across the curriculum according to WTM 1st edition, find rubrics or formal writing instruction online (CK12?) or at the library.
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Thanks, RootAnn. Now I'm curious to hear why you chose the programs you did. How can I know if one logic program or method will be a better fit for for a certain child than another program/method?
Also, can anyone can tell me any differences between the various logic programs I mentioned above? How much time per week, how much writing, how hard are they - anything you can tell me is much appreciated.
TIA!
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What are the differences between Traditional Logic I & II by Memoria Press; Introductoy & Intermediate Logic by Canon Press; Art of Argument, Discovery of Deduction, & The Argument Builder by Classical Academic Press, and Bluedorn’s series: Thinking Toolbox, Fallacy Detective, & Logic in 100 Minutes? I did a forum search and found that Traditional Logic is more linguistic formal logic, that Intro. & Inter. might be better for "mathy" kids, and that Intermediate Logic contains symbolic logic. I have no idea what the difference between formal and symbolic logic are though, or how to compare any of these. Can someone help me?
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Phew! Thank you so much!
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After the forum being hacked earlier, I'm able to return now, but after putting the WTM web address into my address bar & hitting 'enter', a grey page appeared with a message that included: "Checking your browser..." and at the bottom was a link that said "DDoS by CloudFlare". Please tell me that is something normal from this forum's security and not the hack-job spreading to my computer.
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Thank you, Hunter! I just read through the first linked thread and it was helpful.
Reading some of the rabbit trail topics on that thread was very nice, too. The way you're helping people is heart-warming.
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I'm in a similar boat, OP. I've got a long list of pre-algebra programs to research, but not being a very "mathy" person I don't even know where to begin! My eyes glaze over and they all look pretty much the same to me.
I never thought I'd consider Saxon, but it has crept onto my list of possibilities. It's time-tested, it's solid, it has many screen-based teaching options (DVD, CD-Rom), and now I find out MFW has a schedule to eliminate redundancy, which was one of my hesistations about it. I've used Saxon as a student, but my only interest in math back then was passing well enough not to get grounded by my parents (sadly). I did *not* like it, but I wouldn't have liked any math at the time.
Everytime I think about math for next year I keep coming back around to Lial's - it meets my academic standards (not too easy; appropriate for a bright, average student), there isn't the issue of obsessive drill like Saxon or a spiral that is too loose like Horizons Pre-Alg. The textbooks are easy to read and are interesting without being cluttered or distracting. Because I have such a hard time comparing math programs, I bought a used copy of BCM in less-than-good condition inexpensively from Amazon, just to check it out. A huge draw for me with Lial's is that Jann in TX uses it in her online classes.
Foerster's, Dolciani's, and Jacob's are also on my list of programs to check out because they sound like they might be similar to Lial's (hopefully others can offer specifics on this).
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I'm hoping Hunter or others familiar with the Core Knowledge What Your __ Grader Needs to Know series by Ed Hirsch can share the differences between the original edition and the revised edition put out by Delta Education. I'm looking for details - what has been added, removed, simplified, expanded, abridged, etc.? Which do you like better, and why?
TIA!
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Jen, that Pearson guide looks like it might be exactly what she needs. It has a picture of her textbook (Campbell's) on the cover, so maybe it coordinates with that.
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My DD will be taking the AP Bio exam, but she needs an up-to-date study guide (or other study resource). Her teacher says the test or standards have changed since last year and that she'll need to study using materials published, copyrighted, or updated in 2013 to reflect these changes. I don't know if the changes are specific to my state or otherwise.
Can you recommend an up-to-date book or source for this?
TIA!
ETA: I'm searching around & finding many possibilities. There are books from Princeton Review, Barron's, Kaplan, The Dean's Guide, Cliff Notes, etc. Which is best?
ETA Again: She's currently using Campbell's AP Bio for her main text, if that helps you make a suggestion.
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I'm interested in anwers to all of the following.
1. I always like to hear your thoughts about the questions you get like: Is this good enough, Am I doing enough, am I doing it right etc?
2. How to find a balance in the high school years between the goals of a solid classical education and OMG AP!!! SAT!!! MORE AP!!! I do have your wonderful lecture about preparing for high school (I have all your lecures, in fact) but this is a specifc issue that many of us really struggle with. My kids thrive when I use the methods put forward in TWTM, but I feel so much pressure to conform as high school looms. I feel like I have to choose between the two approaches, and I don't like it one bit. Are we really giving up our shot at a top tier school if we don't make the next 4 years all about testing? And FTR, my kids have that shot, so this isn't a concern I can easily dismiss.
3. Logic stage history and science always seems amorphus to lots of us when we start. It is so hard to give up the routine and comfort of SOTW. For 4 years we opened the book, read, did narrations and did the activities. When we have to move on, it feels like free fall. You might even want to read some of the logic stage history and science threads to see how the same questions come up. There have been some changes in TWTM between the editions and I think the last edition really made it much more clear. I also love how you made the focus on the method, not the materials. I think lots of us could use some guidance.
4. I loved your lecture about preparing for high school. I made some immediate changes in our schooling. For example, I enrolled my son in an online math class as a 7th grader. I would have loved a similar advice about moving from elementary to logic stage.
5. How much trouble would one be in if one neglected to make a timeline. Asking for a friend.
I curious about #'s 1 - 4 as well.
What do you do when a skill starts to ruin love of a content subject? For example, dd is writing phobic. She can write decently (we have done WWE), but she dreads it. So in history I assigned her a biography of Ben Franklin. She was very excited, asking me questions about his life and accomplishments, etc. Then she stopped and said, "Oh no! He lived for a long time, and I'm going to have to write about all of it." Her face fell, and it made me so sad. So how can I teach skills that dc may not like through content that they do like and not have that dislike transfer to the content subject?
Some of my children struggle with that, too. They're not so young that it's due to their hands hurting when they write anymore, either. What would you recommend?
I would love to hear if/how your Logic Stage writing recommendations have changed since you have written WWS. (LOVE WWS!!!). How much writing across the curriculum is reasonable if a student is doing WWS 4x per week? Is WWS enough writing, or should students also be writing in history, science, literature, etc.? If so, how often & how much?
And is your recommendation different for a 5th grader using WWS vs. an older student? It seems to me that WWS is more intense than what you've suggested in the audio lectures for writing during the 5th grade year. It's great, but it feels like enough. I'm wondering if you agree with this feeling or not.
Thank you!
I'm particularly interested to hear your answer to this. I always struggle to find my way between the directions in TWTM vs. the directions in your published curricula. I don't know if I should be doing both, only one, or some of each and if so, how much.
I'm wondering this too. I have been using the lectures as my guidelines, and things are going well. Am I missing some *important* content by not doing WWS? If so, what do I need to add in?
I'm curious to hear from you, Susan, the differences between the two, especially for cases in which the parent is clinging to the instructions in TWTM & the lectures and does not have other knowledge or resources to augment discussions or assignments.
I would also appreciate your insight on this. We followed TWTM history method (encyclopedia, map, read, write, outline) in 5th and 6th grade. We started with WWS1 in 6th grade. As 6th grade went on, I found myself frequently cutting back on history writing in favor of WWS1. My kid didn't have the focus or stamina to accomplish both in the day. Our history became more read/discuss as 6th grade went on.
Now, in 7th grade he is using WWS2, and I didn't even bother to try assigning any other writing. I have a hardworking kid who tends to the academic so I don't think it is a failing of his that he can't manage much more writing than WWS2 in the week. Our history is all read and discuss, which he likes a great deal.
But, and it always comes back to this...is that 'enough'? Should I be pushing things a bit? Will it get him ready for high school level writing? I am feeling like it is a sufficient amount of composition, and our history discussions are productive. I have resorted to buying the instructor's guides for our history books (History of US, Critical thinking in US History series, and Human Odyssey for year 3) to help guide our discussions.
And a question for the high school years: Do you have any listing/timeline that matches up The History of the World Books (the ones published so far) along with a Great Books list. I know you have book lists in TWTM, but I am wondering how that matches up with History of The World books. Or, did I just ask you to do my scut work?
I need those answers, too. :)
Or, as a follow up, have there been any new curricula/materials you've seen in the past few years, since the last edition of WTM, that you are particularly impressed with and would recommend?
There's so much wonderful material and activities available now, including those that are academic, extra-curricular and many that are kind of in-between (OM, Science Olympiad, etc.). Our biggest problem isn't choosing what to do, it is choosing what not to do. Any suggestions on this, and depth vs. breadth, especially at different ages?
I would love something about how to regroup when things fall apart.
An unplanned move, an illness, a death in the family. Maybe you just take a look at your plans from August and realize you aren't on track to finish well. I'm not talking about having to trim here and there or go a few weeks into summer. I'm talking about big problems.
How do you assess where you are, figure out where you need to be and make a plan to get there.
I think this would apply to a lot of families who have just pulled out of school too. And it probablyatters most for mid elementary (struggles with reading and math especially) and high school families.
This is the question I was going to ask. This is the one I particularly need answered the most. I get what is meant by "big problems", and that it more easily involves things in terms of years (or half a year, or 3 quarters) rather than weeks. What do you recommend for parents with children who are "behind" per TWTM, per the numbers on the fronts of the books, due to circumstances having nothing to do with their own ability? One of mine has 2 more years of middle school left, the other has 2 more years of elementary (if we count 6th as elementary). We lost huge chunks of time for a few years and it added up severely. I'm concerned that if I rush through things for the sake of covering content (doubling or tripling up), they might not remember it anyhow. I'm concerned about them not having the skills they will need to do appropriate work, esp. in later logic stage & high school. I'm concerned about skipping too much if we try to skip through things, but on the other hand I worry that if I take things at a regular pace, we'll still be too far behind come high school. What do you suggest?
Another topic would be how to study for and succeed with AP history exams without abandoning the more chronological approach to history.
I'm interested in the answer to this for future years.
Thank you for your time. I enjoy the videos you made the first time around and found them especially helpful.
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I think it was serendipitous (above) who said to go through the book and list out everything each child will need to be doing. When I read that, I don't just think of a list of subjects with curriculum to fulfill them. I also think of the things that are "WTM assignments" - narration, dictation, copywork, etc., and how much, how often, for how long, for each grade level.
THEN, here comes the tricky part for some newbies: determining how much of WWE, WWS, SOTW, FLL, or other published WTM recommendations counts as, or fulfills, those seemingly separate to-do lists of skills (narration, dictation, assigned reading, free reading, copywork, etc.) that are all throughout TWTM.
Many of us have discussed these things here on the boards. We've even asked Susan. Watch her YouTube channel (a PP posted a link). Listen to all of her audio lectures availalbe from PHP, as they will clarify questions likely to arise while reading the book. We've posted questions here for Susan, and when she sees them and has time, she has answered.
I don't think it's crazy, I just think if you are a box-checker, rule-follower type, you might need to take the info. from the book and turn it into daily or weekly checklists. I have reusable ones; I don't make new ones every week, just every year for the new grade levels. For example, in history, I have 4 checklists: History Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. Day 1 lists everything we need to do for Logic Stage and Grammar Stage history for my children's current grades per TWTM. You get the idea. I couldn't pull it off properly until I thought to do this. I do the same for science & literature/reading (including phonics, oral reading practice, assigned reading which is the books we read for literature study, free choice reading, reminders for any study guides or websites, etc.). I gather all of that great info. that, to me, seemed strewn & buried all throught TWTM, and bring the bits I need daily out into reusable checklists.
HTH!
Janice would say "Enjoy your Little People; Enjoy your journey"!
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Have you seen the American Physical Society's site (and their 2 linked sister sites, Physics Central and Physics)? Neat stuff! It doesn't look like they offer anything in the form of a full, pre-made curriculum though.
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I'm looking at the ACS free online chemistry. Would doing both this and McHenry's Elements be redundant? Is that why you are choosing to move on to Carbon Chemistry after ACS?
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I am using the American Chemical Association's free middle school science curriculum followed by Ellen Mc Henry's Carbon Chemistry.
Freesia, is the free ACS Chemistry more like regular textbook work, then?
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We are doing Physical Science next year. I am using the American Chemical Association's free middle school science curriculum followed by Ellen Mc Henry's Carbon Chemistry. Then we are going to use the physic's part of Science Explorer Physical Science (which I got cheap on Amazon) supplemented with TOPS Light and Sound units (we did electricity and magnets in grade 6.)
I have decided that I really want to mix things up in middle school. I want to use textbooks to teach study skills but I have interspersed textbook work with Ellen Mc Henry, TOPS, Lyrical Life Science, Tiner books to keep the "fun" in science. I am afraid of burning ds out on science before high school. He really does not like textbooks.
I also think Rainbow is a wonderful option in your case.
Your plan sounds like more fun, though. :) That's the sort of plan I'm excited about, in which our time spent on science would be more enjoyable & interesting. My big question for myself is can I pull off this sort of hodge-podge plan in a way that prepares for rigorous high school science? I'm not very "mathy", and while I have a deep interest in many sciences, it's not like I'm academically "science-y", either. How then, can I judge what is "enough" to meet my standards? It's like diving blindfolded, hoping the water is deep enough, but I don't want to take too many risks with my child's education. I also don't want to burn us out and make school (esp. science) into a bad experience.
I looked at reviews & posts about Rainbow and read the online descriptions. I still need to look at actual samples. So far it just seems "meh". Maybe I'm missing something that I'll see in the samples. LOL, many people probably think BJU is pretty "meh", too. In a way, I do too, but I always read about it being so solid & advanced in some aspects.
BJU would be a way for me to ensure a certain level of academic rigor and put my mind at ease about being prepared for high school, but it would also likely put us on a track that did not include physical science until high school (if we follow their sequence). Again though, would this leave any time for fun, enjoyment, or interesting extras? It feels "safe", and I know he'd learn a lot, but I know I'd be wondering what could have been with the less intense or more interesting options (wondering if the grass is greener).
Apologia (if my concerns are eased to my satisfaction) might be under BJU in academic rigor but as long as it is at grade level or above average I'm OK with it. I'm still trying to figure that out, esp. for their some of their high school materials. I want DS to be prepared for whatever it is we'll be using in HS, but I don't have that figured out yet. I don't want to go with Apologia for Jr. High and then decide I want to use something like Campbell's Biology in high school but find ourselves unprepared. I have no idea if that would be the case after using Apologia; it's just an example.
Apologia General doesn't look bad at all. I picked up a used, inexpensive current edition. My son would enjoy some of it. But, is it *enough* to prepare for a high school sequence that may or may not include all or some Apologia?
*sigh* My son has agreed to read some online samples in lieu of his extra science reading that we usually do (some of the samples are very long & technical, for him). Thanks to all of you for the input.
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Hi,
It was suggested to me on the Logic Board to cross post this here to get some BTDT advice. I'm hoping for it! I'm especially interested in answers to my questions within my sample sequences below, in parentheses & highlighted in red, and to hear from those who have used BJU or Apologia for middle and/or high school.
I'm also open to pretty much any suggestions - Christian, neutral, or secular. I just hope to find something that won't squash my son's wonder & awe and turn science into loads of tedium. I also want it to stretch his level of knowledge & skills; it needs to challenge him and bring him up to meet higher standards. I don't want it to be only that and void of fun, or at least interest, though.
Here's some background:
I'm doing Elemental Science Biology for the Logic Stage this year with a 4th and a 6th grader. We've never covered chemistry or physics. Earth science was pretty light in 1st & 3rd grades, and we used Apologia Astronomy in 2nd & 4th grades, so Earth & Space science might have been mostly forgotten.
I've been evaluating sequences with an eye for where they will put my rising 7th grader by the beginning of 9th grade. If I choose BJU for next year, he would repeat all the same concepts from this year in greater depth. If I choose Apologia for the next few years, then too much repetition is not a problem, but I'm still drawn to the WTM sequence (using other materials). DS wants his science to include "blowing things up" next year (he thought that was chemistry, but I think he'd like a chem/physics mix).
I was thinking of combining chemistry & physics into 1 year, doing a semester of each, or a middle school Physical Science course since that's mostly what they cover. I prefer that he study Earth & Space, Chemistry, and Physics before high school since he likely won't cover E&S in HS and I want good review before HS Chem & Physics. We've only got 2 years which is why I would combine chem & physics into 1 year. I'm still open to year-long options for chem & physis, though.
Would it make sense to go in this order?
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Chem/Physics or middle school Physical Science (b/c he wants some Chem/Physics next year & I want to follow that interest)
8th - Earth & Space
9th - Biology
What if the above sequence were fulfilled with the following materials - would it be nuts?
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Apologia Physical (Will this be too hard to jump into? It's billed as an 8th gr. course.)
8th - BJU E&S (Again, will this be too hard not having done BJU 7?)
9th - ?? (9th with BJU is Physical Science... too much repetition from 7th - albeit deeper. Apologia 9th is Biology, but I'm not totally convinced on either Apologia or BJU. What should I put here?)
What do you think of this one?
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Ellen McHenry The Elements & Carbon Chemistry using Chemistry schedule from Guesthollow for a few ideas, followed by Exploration Education Advanced or The Way Things Work + GH's physics schedule for extras on into the summer (Are these courses enough for 7th grade, esp. to prepare for BJU or equivalent? I know younger kids use them.)
8th - finish up physics, then do E&S with BJU or possibly Elemental Science. (Again, would BJU be too hard to jump into for the first time here? Is ES E&S enough for 8th, esp. if I'm looking at BJU or an equally meaty secular text for 9th?)
Or a more WTM-ish sequence:
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Earth & Space (BJU E&S would probably be too much right here, huh? I might have to use something else for it. What do you suggest?)
8th - Chem & Physics (but then his interest in Chem might have already died out... I want to follow his interests if possible, esp. since it's something I want to cover anyways)
I'm afraid to commit to Apologia or BJU, each for different reasons. Please comment on my thoughts here, correcting or confirming, as my opinions are really just assumptions having never actually used either at this point. Apologia doesn't sound like a great match for a student who reads somewhat slow, given its reputation for lengthy, chatty text. I also just read that it doesn't cover much of what most modern biology courses cover: biochemistry & microbiology (there was more in the list of things it doesn't cover or doesn't cover well, but for this post it's enough to note that I am concerned about possible lack of thoroughness in scope); is that true? How much does it matter? Is this true for BJU as well? Then I wonder if BJU is better for going much farther in each topic than Apologia, but I don't know how to gauge which, if either, would be better for *my* child. When I read all the BJU 7th & 8th grade samples I can find online, is it just me or is an encyclopedia more accessible and lively than that? It feels so technical and so much is crammed in; I don't want it all to go over his head as he's reading. What do you think about all of this?
I'm also drawn to Ellen McHenry's curriculum, RS4K (for getting Chem & Physics into 1 year, and SWB recommends it in WTM 3rd ed. - though I have new reservations about it being "enough", possibly skipping some topics entirely), and others. Those could fulfill a subject in a sequence in which I use only some or no BJU or Apologia before high school... but then what would I do for high schoool? Ack! In reading posts on these boards, I've formed an assumption that it would be too hard to jump into BJU science for the first time in 9th. Is that right?
I know this was a long post and I'm sorry for the rambling. If you can offer any suggestions based on my goals & his interests, I would be very grateful.
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Apologia & BJU users, please chime in with any helpful insight, particularly regarding my questions in parenthesis in the 3 schedules above. TIA!
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Ugh. I hate it when choosing curriculum gets like this. I tried talking to my DH about it and he even thinks it would be fine to do BJU Life 7 next year since it dives so much deeper into biology topics, even though the topics would be repetitive from this year.
I've tried involving DS in curriculum choosing but he's not interested at all. The most I got out of him was that he didn't want to cover the same stuff again next year even if he'd be learning different things about it, and that he wants some chemistry. I think as he matures his opinions will become more detailed. For now, he just wants to hurry and get back to playing, saying he doesn't care what I choose and that he'll do whatever that is.
I do want to preserve the wonder & awe of science, but I think that can be done with some intensity. I'm thinking of "intensity" as in the depth to which concepts are covered, breadth in the form of connections to other subjects (math, etc.) as well as a wide scope, and learning about *real* science, not just jello & candy models or other demonstrations, observations that aren't actually true experiments. I think McHenry qualifies for at least some of that. Then there's another kind of "intensity" that I don't want: science presented in such an uninteresting way but also at such a high level (still rigorous, just very dry) that he hates it, or that it's truly too hard for him combined with being not engaging enough to lure him into stretching to meet the challenge. I don't want it to be like trying to cram brussel sprouts into him, kwim? I guess I want the benefits without the yucky taste.
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*le sigh* After looking at further samples & reviews and now reading your replies, I'm headed back to the drawing board. :glare: Thank you for your replies though; better to know in advance than too late.
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Thank you all! I looked up MissMoe's blog review but Quark seems to not have her blog linked to her WTM account anymore. I'll see if google can turn up anything.
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I'm doing Elemental Science Biology for the Logic Stage this year with a 4th and a 6th grader. We've never covered chemistry or physics. Earth science was pretty light in 1st & 3rd grades, and we used Apologia Astronomy in 2nd & 4th grades, so Earth & Space science might have been mostly forgotten.
I've been looking at all kinds of sequences, including where it will land my rising 7th grader by the beginning of 9th grade. If I choose the BJU sequence, then he would repeat all the same concepts from this year in greater depth. If I choose Apologia for the next few years, then too much repetition is not a problem, but I'm still drawn to the WTM sequence (using other materials) and he wants his science to include chemistry next year.
I was thinking of combining chemistry & physics into 1 year, doing a semester of each, or a Physical Science course since that's mostly what they cover. I prefer that he study Earth & Space, Chemistry, and Physics before high school since he likely won't cover E&S in HS and I want good review before HS Chem & Physics.
Would it make sense to go in this order?
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Chem/Physics or Physical Science (b/c he wants some Chem next year & I want to follow that interest)
8th - Earth & Space
9th - Biology
What if it looked like this - would it be nuts?
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Apologia Physical (Will this be too hard to jump into? It's billed as an 8th gr. course.)
8th - BJU E&S (Again, will this be too hard not having done BJU 7?)
9th - ??
9th with BJU is Physical Science... too much repetition from 7th (albeit deeper)
Apologia 9th is Biology, but I'm not totally convinced on either one (Apologia or BJU)
Or a more WTM-ish sequence:
6th - ES Logic Stage Bio. (current)
7th - Earth & Space (BJU E&S would probably be too much right here, huh? I might have to use something else for it.)
8th - Chem & Physics (but then his interest in Chem might have already died out... I want to follow his interests if possible, esp. since it's something I want to cover anyways)
I'm afraid to commit to Apologia or BJU, each for different reasons. Apologia having its reputation for lengthy, chatty text doesn't sound like a great match for a student who reads somewhat slow. Then I wonder about BJU going much farther in each topic than Apologia, but I don't know how to gauge which, if either, would be better for *my* child. When I read all the BJU 7th & 8th grade samples I can find online, is it just me or is an encyclopedia more accessible and lively than that? It feels so technical and so much is crammed in; I don't want it all to go over his head as he's reading.
I'm also drawn to Ellen McHenry's curriculum, RS4K (for getting Chem & Physics into 1 year, and SWB recommends it in WTM 3rd ed.), possibly Hakim's Story of Science as a supplement, and others. Those could fulfill a subject in a sequence in which I use only some or no BJU or Apologia before high school... but then what would I do for high schoool? Ack!
I know this was a long post and I'm sorry for the rambling. If you can offer any suggestions based on my goals & his interests, I would be very grateful.
Apologia Gen. Science vs BJU Earth Science
in Logic Stage & Middle Grade Challenges
Posted
Science Shepherd