Any Rainbow Science users???

[mommix3]

My 6th and 7th graders will be doing the Chemistry course next year. I was curious how many days a week you do the class?? Do you let your kids go and do it on their own or do you teach it to them?? I have the teachers helper book. My kids are very Science minded. They LOVE it. And can't wait to get started.

 

Angela

[amtmcm]

Chemistry is 1 semester. The first year is Physics/Chemistry - will you be doing both?

 

Each week the student is intended to read two chapters (about 15-20 minutes per chapter) and complete a lab (30-60 minutes). We did this once a week since we did it with a friend. Many labs can be completed independently, but a few require supervision (ie: using a butane lighter).

 

I liked to hang around in the kitchen while the children took turns reading the text together so I could assist with pronunciation and insure understanding of vocabulary. Sometimes I would be doing something else (like the dishes), but I think it helped to just be there and jump in when I was needed.

 

I also made sure they actually answered the questions at the end of the text as they tended to want to rush through it to get to the lab.

 

I recommend downloading the quizzes on the website - they help with retention.

[CO MOM]

We used the first year of Rainbow last year with our 7th grader. We followed the schedule as the other poster suggested. We had our ds take notes while reading to help with retention and keep from rushing through the reading (took 20-30 minutes/section). My dh did the labs one evening a week and also used the opportunity to talk through the reading and make sure ds was getting it (60 + minutes) . We also used the quizzes and found them helpful for review and retention as the OP stated.

[Vida Winter]

I think it's a very good program. We used it for a half year with our 8th grader who had been pulled out of PS mid year. In fact I'm sorry that she will have to stop using it but we need to start on a HS level biology program this fall so we'll have to save Rainbow for her younger sisters. I would probably start using it around grade 5 or 6 with them (with more parental help).

[Julie in MN]

I agree with Ann & CO mom that there are basically 3 things to do each week -- 2 chapters & 1 lab. I also invite a friend to do it with ds, but they each do their reading at home & just do the lab together. They were independent with the lab, and I would only come in & demonstrate an equation or something if they had questions.

 

My ds is very verbal & not a reader, so we do the chapters together, taking turns reading paragraphs. I also made a big vocab list for them, to insure they were ready for the quizzes. We basically used it for spelling time at our house. And I added note-taking as the year went on.

 

On the other hand, the gal who did it with us worked entirely on her own at home. So that can be done, as well. She made note cards for some of her vocab, and re-read the text to prepare for quizzes. She started out behind, but in the end she actually made the best grades :o)

 

I really encourage you to that teacher guide to insure the kids are getting the "main point," even in the labs. That is really the genius of the program -- the kids are getting the overall picture and not getting into the memorize-and-forget-the-details mode. But because they are young, they may need to be steered into seeing the big picture ideas on occasion. The teacher guide is just a paragraph or two, so it doesn't take long.