totally confused about science for 1st grade

[greenmamato3]

i've been struggling for over 2 weeks on the matter of science for DS starting 1st grade (and making sure it's accessible for DD 4.5 to follow along as she pleases .... )

 

so far, this is my comprehensive list of options, given the following criteria:

-i want WTM: straight up Life science (biology).

-i want to do this order: animal-human body-plants, ideally

-i want it to be do-able in 2-3 hours each week.

-i want it to be charlotte mason-esque, with notebooking and using read alouds for further investigation .... rookie read about, let's find out, etc]

-i'd like the projects and experiments to be simple.

-i want to whet his (and her) appetite for biology so that when we return to it in logic, he's brimming with excitement to dive deeper.

-i want nature study/nature walk time allotted or encouraged/prompted.

-i'd like to start off with the "classification" of things ... a ground up approach, although maybe this is asking for the moon.

-i want to grow a frog. [we will even if this isn't a part of the curriculum proper]

-i'm not sure whether i like the idea of studying the animals in context of their habitats or more by family/ classification. hmmmm.

 

 

ok.

so here's the list of curriculum options:

 

-Answers in Genesis: God's Design for Life. doesn't meet the criteria for order of subjects. very NOT charlotte mason. wordy for a 1st and pre-k.

 

-NOEO: don't want to start with weather. leaves only 3 weeks for plants at end. could i skip the weather at the beginning and break in at creepy crawlies?

 

-Elemental: the activity books are unavailable to me. our library doesn't have the selection of Janice VanCleave's texts. where can i find them online? if there were alternative activity books i could use for animals and human body, i'd adapt it to fit my green thumbs guide (which i own already). i think .... it seems a little bit too intense with a schedule for five days of science each week. could it be chunked?

 

-the free program that's buzzing around right now. doesn't seem like it's a good fit for us. can't put my finger on it.

 

-WP: none of these align with the WTM biology ... too much piecing together for me right now.

 

-RS4K: prelevel is only plants, protozoa, butterflies. level 1 would be too advanced, right?

 

-REAL science odyssey: seems like a complicated list of specific equipment. the order is body, animals, plants, which would be ok with me, since the plants still end up in the spring. like that it starts with classification. like that notebooking is built in. the text is short, sweet, and to the point. but of course it doesn't use spines, so it's all "distilled" info .... or am i seeing this incorrectly. do you read from a spine and then the "short & sweet" lesson page goes into the child's notebook as a way of hitting the highlights from what you talked about. there's no narration or critical thinking other than the lab pages. that's not notebooking, IMHO. or at least in my mind that's not what i picture notebooking being.

 

-Apologia: young explorer's: i was advised at our homeschool fair that this was beyond the level of 1st grade. so i've never even considered it. it's listed, though as K-6. it would be lovely to have something self-contained and with beautiful pictures. seems like there's an awful lot to cover with there being so many books: botany, zoology1, 2, and 3 .... plus no human body.

 

please don't tell me i've forgotten any! :tongue_smilie: UNLESS you know of one that fits the bill on EVERYTHING!!! science, while highly interesting to me, isn't my forte for being able to pull together on my own .... so i'd really like to have a curriculum to follow and not just piece it together acc. to WTM. that feels scary to me.

 

correct my evaluation of any of the above listed curricula as you see flaws/mistakes!

 

i hope this can be a help to others who are struggling to land on a science for the lower grammar.

 

and now, if you're not asleep from this boring list of mine, feel free to offer feedback! :) i'm all ears!:bigear:

[Soyrizo]

I think we're going to be using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, I was just making an Amazon wish list from the recommended books. It seems like they suggest a couple of things that could be used as a spine. For the human body units, it's Color Anatomy by Christine Becker. Then for the rest of the units, it looks like Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Natural World and Usborne Complete First Book of Nature.

 

I just checked the sample, and you're right. It does sound like you read from the text itself and do notebooking, but it doesn't mean you cannot do narration. It looks fun and I am trying to take heart that learning history and science during this time should be fun.

[lovemykids]

It sounds like you want my unfinished science, I am sorry it will not be ready.:glare:

 

Out of the choices you listed, I would agree with REAL. You can do your own narrations and naturewalks.

 

I am supposed to be in bed, my brain is shutting down. LOL.

[Manamana]

I'm planning to use Elemental for second grade Earth Science so I can't speak exactly to your situation. I thought I'd respond because I'm only planning to do Elemental Science two days a week.

 

We'll do some reading and notebooking one day and do experiments the other day. I even chose different spine books than recommended for Earth Science and Astronomy. I was able to find the books I chose on paperbackswap.com. I am able to get the VanCleave books at the library but you can check Amazon. The spine topics still match up nicely with the Elemental curriculum and experiments so I think we're good to go for the two days we do science.

 

I figure I'm just trying to cultivate an interest in science so I'm not too worried about how in-depth we go into a topic.

[chaik76]

REAL Science Odyssey has book and website suggestions...so you could definitely read real books in addition to the text and it would be easy to add narration.

 

Most of the experiments require equipment that is easily available. Only a few of things are "scientific" and might be slightly hard to find locally. You do need to take a look at what is required and make sure you have those items when you get to specific experiments.

[plain jane]

REAL Science Odyssey has book and website suggestions...so you could definitely read real books in addition to the text and it would be easy to add narration.

 

Most of the experiments require equipment that is easily available. Only a few of things are "scientific" and might be slightly hard to find locally. You do need to take a look at what is required and make sure you have those items when you get to specific experiments.

 

:iagree: Another vote for REAL Science Odyssey here.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Another vote for R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey

[greenmamato3]

wow. i'm surprised at all the rec's for REAL S.O.

hmmmm. so no body feels a little disappointed that the info in there is "watered down" much more than it would be if you were using an encyclopedia-type spine?

 

i agree about using different spines for elemental .... the janice vancleave isn't available on amazon.

 

haven't ever been to paperbackswap. i'll have to check that out!

 

i know that on paige's yahoo group, she has an alternative chart for using different spine for Plants .... so that's no biggie. :) it's the janice vancleave that concerns me for the experiments. anybody have any ideas on that?

 

does elemental list living books for additional reading?

[greenmamato3]

It sounds like you want my unfinished science, I am sorry it will not be ready.:glare:

yes, you're right. i do want your science :tongue_smilie: but i want you to keep your priorities MORE than i want your science :hugs

 

in the meantime, i'll "settle" for something else! :D

[jjcmehl]

Your post is exactly what I'm looking for in my science program, as well....which is why I went with Noeo Biology I, with a bit of tweeking(mostly because my children are older)!;)

 

I already purchased all the Noeo Books and Materials, so from there I looked at the schedule and inputed some living lit books! (Ignore the lack of caps...I just took from my notes ever so quickly!):tongue_smilie:

 

Books I hope to add to the Noeo Program (Many inspired from LivingBooksCurriculum.com). Our local libraries have these available for check-out:

week 5 amoeba hop w/CD (One of my friends love this!)

week 5 What's Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

week 5 how leaves change

week 12-15 how's inky: a porcupine and his pals (Maybe too much for a 1st grader)

weeks 16 birds, nests, and eggs by mel boring

weeks 17 Secrets of Animal Flight

week 18 bird talk

weeks 28-30 dem bones by bob barner

week 33 The Reason for a flower by ruth heller

week 37+ listening to crickets: a story about rachel carson by Candice F. Ransom (maybe too much for a 1st grader)

 

Books of ours that we will possibly add to Noeo:

Week 37+ Pagoo by Holling C. Holling

week 37+ Nature Journal

week 7-23 DK Ency. of Animals (WTM recommendation, extra reference)

week 23, 24, & 26-31 DK Human Body (very fun quick experiments...can't wait!!!! Definitely for a 1st grader, but adding it anyway!!):D

weeks 33-36+ Green Thumbs (WTM recommendation...I feel Noeo is a bit weak in the area of plants....and this is just plain fun and easy to incorporate...even if it goes into the summer months!!)

 

 

Christine

wife & mom to 4

DD (3rd grader '09-'10)

DS (2nd grader '09-'10)

DS (Pre-K)

DS (Baby)

[Tess in the Burbs]

did you look at the Easyclassical.com science schedule? we used it for 1st grade. My son was 5.5 and my dd was 4. it wasn't too hard at all. It had science summary for them to write, but you could make that narration(we did). The experiments were good, the book choices were great and we had fun!

 

on their website you look at just the Science Schedules.

[EKS]

I've used R.E.A.L. Life Science. It was really good. You could easily switch the order of the human body and animal units. I used this and then supplemented with lots of fun science books. My son loved it. From what you said, R.E.A.L. Science sounds like just what you're looking for.

[Mallory]

We loved R.E.A.L. Science.

 

But we used easyclassical.com for chem this year because R.E.A.L. wasn't ready and I wonder if it might work better for you.

[sagira]

It sounds like R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey would be what you need, as the other book recommendations you needed were there. You could add to the text with as many as you like.

[greenmamato3]

i'm looking further into the EasyClassical.com b/c i had forgotten about it after having briefly viewed it last week!

thanks

i think i'm leaning toward the REAL. ..... still waiting for someone to speak up about the Janice VanCleave books for the Elemental.

 

can i ask: which human body spine (kingfisher, usborne, etc) is the best (but not too watered down) for early grammer. ALSO, anybody recommend a specific little human body model ... we're visual/tactile learners here!

 

keep making suggestions -- this is really helpful!

[greenmamato3]

week 37+ Nature Journal

week 7-23 DK Ency. of Animals (WTM recommendation, extra reference)

week 23, 24, & 26-31 DK Human Body

 

which Nature Journal? there are so many ...

does everyone generally agree this is the best Human body spine?

 

also, how did you rearrange the order of the NOEO, or did you??

[jjcmehl]

which Nature Journal? there are so many ...

does everyone generally agree this is the best Human body spine?

 

also, how did you rearrange the order of the NOEO, or did you??

 

The nature journal is called My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People. We may also do this throughout the year, as there are activities to work throughout the seasons.

 

I think Usborne Human Body is an okay spine, but lacking in fun/activities!

I think WTM recommendation for Human Body would be the best spine to get for NOEO, but since my friend sells Usborne, I just went with it! (It would not effect the NOEO plan in anyway, if a different spine was selected!)

 

We are incorporating DK My First Body Book because of the fun activities in the book and there are also nice transparency overlays to show the different systems...this book alone would not be enough (as it is for younger children, but my kids are interested in it)!

 

I did not rearrange the order of NOEO, I just followed the instructor's guide and placed the additional books to the corresponding week(s) for extra enrichment!

 

Hope this helps. Oh, by the way...I never knew about Easy Classical...looks like a fabulous curriculum, as well. I like how they incorporate both younger and older students....definitely will be looking at this seriously for future science studies!

 

Christine

wife and mom to 4

DD (3rd grade)

DS (2nd grade)

DS (PreK)

DS (Baby...just started crawling today at 5.5 months):001_huh:

[Manamana]

i'm looking further into the EasyClassical.com b/c i had forgotten about it after having briefly viewed it last week!

thanks

i think i'm leaning toward the REAL. ..... still waiting for someone to speak up about the Janice VanCleave books for the Elemental.

 

can i ask: which human body spine (kingfisher, usborne, etc) is the best (but not too watered down) for early grammer. ALSO, anybody recommend a specific little human body model ... we're visual/tactile learners here!

 

keep making suggestions -- this is really helpful!

 

 

I just did a search on Amazon for the VanCleave books and found copies of all of them for sale. Search under the author's name as one word (VanCleave) and the title and you should get some hits.

 

Science Around the World - new or used copies

Plants - new or used copies

Animals - used only - cheap

Human Body - used only - cheap

 

I can't answer your question about spines. I used the Kingfisher First Animals and First Human Body books and thought they were very simple. However, I didn't use Elemental and the Van Cleave books which both would have greatly enriched our science experience.

 

[sagira]

I'm using both the Kingfisher's First Animal and Human Body in First Year. I like that ds can read these for himself and absorb a lot. They are indeed simple but cram a lot of information, definitely enough for the Pre-K to 3rd set.

[greenmamato3]

I just did a search on Amazon for the VanCleave books and found copies of all of them for sale. Search under the author's name as one word (VanCleave) and the title and you should get some hits.

 

Science Around the World - new or used copies

Plants - new or used copies

Animals - used only - cheap

Human Body - used only - cheap

 

i ran this search just over 1.5 weeks ago and found practically nothing. isn't that amazing?!?! i LOVE the internet!

 

boy, this complicates things for me.

[greenmamato3]

so it's down to REAL Science Odyssey and Elemental Science for me. the easyclassical was a strong contender until the end. i could still be swayed .... elaborate for me, if you've done it for life science .... with an early grammar.

 

thanks, christine, for the info on how you're adapting NOEO. if i had two kids who were ready to do it, i might consider ....

 

FYI, Paige has a list of alternate resources in her yahoo group that free you up to use the following alternate spines:

-DK first human ency [in place of Kingfisher]

-Usborne I-L Science Encyclopedia [in place of Plant Parts]

 

argh! i've got to nail this down.

[Manamana]

so it's down to REAL Science Odyssey and Elemental Science for me. the easyclassical was a strong contender until the end. i could still be swayed .... elaborate for me, if you've done it for life science .... with an early grammar.

 

thanks, christine, for the info on how you're adapting NOEO. if i had two kids who were ready to do it, i might consider ....

 

FYI, Paige has a list of alternate resources in her yahoo group that free you up to use the following alternate spines:

-DK first human ency [in place of Kingfisher]

-Usborne I-L Science Encyclopedia [in place of Plant Parts]

 

argh! i've got to nail this down.

 

 

Two things swayed me in my decision for next year. I looked at these same programs. I liked the simpler approach and format of Elemental Science. I think Paige's love of science and gift of writing curriculum shine through. I liked the fact that she has an educational background in science too. The other plus was the overall lower cost.

[greenmamato3]

yah .... the more i look at the RSO, i'm overwhelmed by the complexity of the labs, honestly.

[chaik76]

wow. i'm surprised at all the rec's for REAL S.O.

hmmmm. so no body feels a little disappointed that the info in there is "watered down" much more than it would be if you were using an encyclopedia-type spine?

 

 

Actually, dh just looked at REAL Science and was very impressed with the knowledge that is covered for the elementary years. It covers quite a bit, far more than most science curricula, and plenty for what we are looking for.

 

No curriculum of any kind is going to cover everything that a person wants. In that case, making up your own is probably the way to go.

[Guest crochetqueen]

 

FYI, Paige has a list of alternate resources in her yahoo group that free you up to use the following alternate spines:

-DK first human ency [in place of Kingfisher]

-Usborne I-L Science Encyclopedia [in place of Plant Parts]

 

.

 

 

Where can I find Paige's site to get this information?

[Lovedtodeath]

Actually, dh just looked at REAL Science and was very impressed with the knowledge that is covered for the elementary years. It covers quite a bit, far more than most science curricula, and plenty for what we are looking for.

 

No curriculum of any kind is going to cover everything that a person wants. In that case, making up your own is probably the way to go.

Chaik has a real science lover on her hands. I would listen to her.;)

[Lovedtodeath]

Where can I find Paige's site to get this information?

It is in her signature... below. The information that you are wanting is in the yahoo group.

 

Paige

**On a Board Break for July, but I'll probably stop by a few times because it's so hard to stay away :)**

Mom to dd7 (my little princess)-using WTM our way ;), for a detailed list of our curriculum see here

Author of Elemental Science which offers affordable classical science curriculum

Visit my blog here OR check out the freebies available at my yahoo group

[Guest crochetqueen]

Thank you Lovedtodeath!

[mom2koh]

I have struggled with the science thing too. I wanted something that would give my dd a strong start. We ended up with REAL S.O. We actually deviated from the norm in that DD will be doing Earth and Space for 1st as that is where her interest is, probably due to mommy's background (I have a M.S. in atmospheric sciences).

 

Having a science background I wanted something strong from the start. I remember as a child what stuck with me the most was the doing, not the reading. I love REAL S.O. for this. It encourages the kids to take actual measurements and observations from the first week. To me it was real science.

 

There's a great booklist full of real books and website list at the beginning of the TM broken down by the units. There are pages in each unit labeled "For My Notebook". This notebook is where I will have dd add her narrations.

 

Good luck!

Edited July 11, 2009 by mom2koh

[kalanamak]

i

 

-REAL science odyssey: seems like a complicated list of specific equipment. the order is body, animals, plants, which would be ok with me, since the plants still end up in the spring. like that it starts with classification. like that notebooking is built in. the text is short, sweet, and to the point. but of course it doesn't use spines, so it's all "distilled" info .... or am i seeing this incorrectly. do you read from a spine and then the "short & sweet" lesson page goes into the child's notebook as a way of hitting the highlights from what you talked about. there's no narration or critical thinking other than the lab pages. that's not notebooking, IMHO. or at least in my mind that's not what i picture notebooking being.

 

 

I did about 3/4 of REAL (and I really liked it) and the rest was the book list from WTM, and scads of time over the wonderful Jinny Johnson's Complete Animal

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Animals-Jinny-Johnson/dp/1845660943/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247280584&sr=1-2

 

This terrific book is large, has maps and also a human's body next to each to compare size. It has some nice graphics for kingdom, phyllum, etc.

 

My kiddo found the First Ency of Animals and the Human Body (spines for my edition of the WTM) way too young for him. We spent time on the Eyewitness books instead (Ape, Cat, Pond, e.g.). He liked the foam models of the plant and animal cells, and our Brock Magiscope as well as a freestanding (large) magnifying stage. We raised two tadpoles (the first one never ate as a froglet and died, the other we caught wild and returned when it started to hop) and a butterfly. These were "smash hits" at our house.

 

We also kept a nature journal of all the birds at the feeder, did 3 aquariums in detail, dissected a cow eye, a sheep heart/kidney/brain, and a lot of time outside. Also David Attenborough's Life of series (Life of Birds, etc). More educational than Blue Planet, IMO.

 

We concentrated on notebooking history and literature. I didn't think he or I was up to more notebooking. I think we will move that way as he matures. We did more of a journal (tape in some dried pine needles, a feather, etc...note the weather, etc).

HTH

[greenmamato3]

I did about 3/4 of REAL (and I really liked it) and the rest was the book list from WTM, and scads of time over the wonderful Jinny Johnson's Complete Animal

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Animals-Jinny-Johnson/dp/1845660943/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247280584&sr=1-2

 

This terrific book is large, has maps and also a human's body next to each to compare size. It has some nice graphics for kingdom, phyllum, etc.

 

My kiddo found the First Ency of Animals and the Human Body (spines for my edition of the WTM) way too young for him. We spent time on the Eyewitness books instead (Ape, Cat, Pond, e.g.). He liked the foam models of the plant and animal cells, and our Brock Magiscope as well as a freestanding (large) magnifying stage. We raised two tadpoles (the first one never ate as a froglet and died, the other we caught wild and returned when it started to hop) and a butterfly. These were "smash hits" at our house.

 

We also kept a nature journal of all the birds at the feeder, did 3 aquariums in detail, dissected a cow eye, a sheep heart/kidney/brain, and a lot of time outside. Also David Attenborough's Life of series (Life of Birds, etc). More educational than Blue Planet, IMO.

 

We concentrated on notebooking history and literature. I didn't think he or I was up to more notebooking. I think we will move that way as he matures. We did more of a journal (tape in some dried pine needles, a feather, etc...note the weather, etc).

HTH

 

can i just hire you to come and teach science at our house? :tongue_smilie:

[kalanamak]

can i just hire you to come and teach science at our house? :tongue_smilie:

 

Oh, you will have fun, fun, fun for bio at this age. I never had to prompt him to keep going, but instead always had to blow the whistle and say "time to go home" or "time to eat". Most children seem to have an affinity for the natural world, which they correctly sense they are a part of.