NoPlaceLikeHome Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Anyone use Plato Science? Is it comprehensive and rigorous? Do you like it? I appreciate any info:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Running out the door to watch a movie, but I will sum it up in 1 word: YUCK! We tried. Really, really tried. It isn't good at all. More later if you need me to explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Anyone use Plato Science? Is it comprehensive and rigorous? Do you like it? I appreciate any info:) My 13 yos completed all 3 Plato middle school science courses last yr as a 7th grader. He really enjoyed them. As to your question about comprehensive and rigorous.......well, take this FWIW. The courses will adequately prepare the student to take high school level science. High school level science is introductory level. All science prior to high school is simply to familiarize the student with concepts and terminology in order to have an easier adjustment to high school level material. I have had students start taking high school level sciences with nothing other than interest driven whole book reading and be very successful in science. (my oldest is chemE major (senior) at the top of his class and never opened a science textbook until physical science in 8th grade.) But......back to Plato. Plato was 13 yos's first "textbook" approach to science. He enjoyed the lessons. He is currently taking alg 2 based physics w/zero difficulty. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Has he done the demos? My 10 1/2 yo thought it was interesting (I was considering), but I don't think a 7 yo would. There's no hands-on component, and that's the best thing about science at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Has he done the demos? My 10 1/2 yo thought it was interesting (I was considering), but I don't think a 7 yo would. There's no hands-on component, and that's the best thing about science at that age. Absolutely!!! I didn't notice the age!! Definitely not appropriate for a 7 yo. My advanced 11 yod did the earth/space one for about 3 weeks and did not enjoy it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Momof7, well that's interesting. My dd actually DID like it, and I was just up in the air as to whether to spend the money. She's a funny bird with a good sense of self, but I didn't know if she'd KEEP liking it or not, especially with no hands-on component. Is there a hands-on? So you're saying your dd enjoyed it at first and then it got wearisome? As with all things, it's the timing, hitting it at just the right stage that is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamommy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 My dh uses this at his public high school as supplement, but would not consider it a full course, at least at the high school level. I can't comment on the lower levels. His school has a comprehensive license available to all students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Absolutely!!! I didn't notice the age!! Definitely not appropriate for a 7 yo. My advanced 11 yod did the earth/space one for about 3 weeks and did not enjoy it all. He will be 8 in 2 weeks:) I know it is young, but he has been grilling me on organelles, golgi apparati, atoms, molecules, black holes, you name it;) I suspect he takes after dh who has an IQ of 162. He does have hands on with his 2nd grade science with K12 but he is quite an eager little science reader in his spare time. I thought it might be a fun for him as a supplement. I appreciate any opinions on Plato:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cylau Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 My son is 7. He has been doing Plato since September. He tested him and he is PG. He did not complain much about Plato. I think he likes doing something that is new to him, something challenging that nobody his age knows about. There are parts of Plato he does not understand and I have to explain it to him. There are also parts that he found it boring. When he is doing Plato, I have to be there to answer questions and make sure he doesn't goof off. Overall, he likes it! Just the lecture by itself has already satisfy his curiosity. I have done an experiment here and there just to help him solidify some concepts. However, I believe at this age, he treats it like educational TV with questions at the end of each segment. Don't get me wrong, he is learning a lot from Plato! When he gets to middle school, he will go over the materials again. By that time, he will be able to have an even deeper understanding of the materials. One thing I have heard about that I want you to be aware of is in biology, there is a reproduction unit. I have not seen it, but just to let you know because I don't know how much "health" aspect it is going to talk about. Our situation sounds similar. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 We are finishing up the middle school physical science course today; my girls are 9 & 11. They both enjoyed it and learned quite a bit. It got a bit tedious for the 9 yr old sometimes - - some of the units have a LOT of info - - but for the most part they liked it, and often shared the info with dad later or pointed out examples of what they'd learned (hey, that door is raised with a pulley!). We did it together; I think my youngest for sure would have been overwhelmed on her own. As far as hands-on, the "applications" section has them apply what they've learned, but it's still on the computer. Examples: After learning about the properties of certain materials, they say that you are building, er, something I can't remember offhand; which material would you choose to build it? After learning about levers in the simple machine section, they show the human body doing certain things (kicking a soccer ball, lifting the head); is this a type 1, 2 or 3 lever? so literal hands-on is not built into the lessons/apps, but they do have a teacher's resource section that i would imagine recommends additonal books/experiments and so forth. We didn't really explore that because we have a ton of science kits waiting to be used - - ideally, we would have intermingled them with the lessons, but circumstances dictated that we do the course first and follow-up with the experiments. If your son does not require bright colors or cartoon-y type things to stay engaged, I think it might be a very good choice for him ((especially if you are able to do it with him)). Emma, I'd love to hear what you disliked about it! And what you might like better. I've not LOVED any of our science efforts to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I answered in your cross post. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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