Handmaiden Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 I am in need of Hive wisdom regarding science for ds (7th gr in the fall). Ds is very science-minded (wants to pursue engineering/science). Reads DNA books "for fun," is into electronics/robotics, understands advanced concepts, etc. We've dabbled in BJU science (4th), Apologia (Gen Science), various DVDs, nature walks, etc. He is mostly self-taught in this subject. My two concerns: SEQUENCE & OUTSOURCING I'm trying to figure out his 7th-12th grade science sequence. I've read some arguments for Physics first (conceptually) > Chemistry > Biology > Advanced Physics. Makes sense to me, so I am leaning toward this but keeping an open mind. SEQUENCE: Here's what I've been thinking: 7th Life Science or Earth Science or ? 8th Physical Science, Conceptual Physics or ? 9th Chemistry 10th Biology 11th AP Physics 12th Other advanced science Any thoughts on this? What are some options for 7th/8th grade that would lend well to the high school sequence? OUTSOURCING: My dh is an engineer/science-minded but limited in time, and I'm not strong in science. Dh can help but I do need to outsource. What to do in 7th? My main concern is LABS & RIGOR. We haven't done much in the form of experiments...doesn't he need to learn the proper structure for labs before high school? This is my main failing; with everything going on, experiments don't usually get done around here. If he takes an outside class If he takes an online class or use a DVD he would still need to do labs at home, so I guess it would be time for me to suck it up and do it, yes? Mulling over: 1. Online class such as Potter's School or (suggestions?) 2. Local homeschool class #1: uses BJU Life Science (however, schedule may conflict with ours) 3. BJU Life Science using DVD 4. Apologia Physical Science 5. Any other ideas? Your wisdom would be MUCH appreciated. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmen_and_Company Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Your course of study for science looks good. What math level will your son be in during 9th grade? Chemistry usually requires at lease algebra II. You could do AP biology during 12th, or if your state allows dual enrollment, take a college level science course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 (edited) Thanks, Carmen! He would be taking Algebra 2 in 9th. Would Alg 2 be a pre-requisite or can it be a co-requisite? AP Biology is a good suggestion. Everything beyond the next year or two is semi-fluid. Ds mentioned an interest in taking Marine Biology sometime, so we'll have to figure out when to squeeze that in. Maybe a summer course.... Edited February 20, 2010 by Handmaiden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Anyone else? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Thanks, Carmen! He would be taking Algebra 2 in 9th. Would Alg 2 be a pre-requisite or can it be a co-requisite? AP Biology is a good suggestion. Everything beyond the next year or two is semi-fluid. Ds mentioned an interest in taking Marine Biology sometime, so we'll have to figure out when to squeeze that in. Maybe a summer course.... Co-requisite should be fine. As far as I know Apologia is the only Marine Biology course for homeschoolers. If you hear of others I'd like to know because my daughter is very interested in Marine Biology and I'm not a huge Apologia fan. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Co-requisite should be fine. As far as I know Apologia is the only Marine Biology course for homeschoolers. If you hear of others I'd like to know because my daughter is very interested in Marine Biology and I'm not a huge Apologia fan. Heather For Sea has six sets of lesson plans for high school. Each program has between ten and thirty units. The Oceans:Historical Perspectives Ocean Currents and the Open Ocean Tides and the Rocky Shore Ocean Waves and Life in the Surf Zone The Deep Sea Our Home: The Estuaries http://www.forsea.org/fsguide.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I would look into Scholars Online if you want an online science course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) Thanks for the ideas! I'll go and check out Scholars Online. ETA: I just checked it out and it looks great! However, the junior high science classes are held at 6:00 am on the west coast! Not doable for this particular kid. I'll wait to see what their schedule is for next fall. Maybe they will adjust the time to be more west coast friendly. Any other ideas for 7th & 8th science before high school? Edited February 22, 2010 by Handmaiden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water2wine Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I do not have wisdom on this but I will share with you what we have decided. My daughter is looking at something in medicine but probably not MD. And that is not to say that we want to do less just to say that she may want to take time off to raise kids and would like to not be $250K in debt when she gets out. :) We are thinking optometry is a good possibility at this point. 7th Apologia Bio with Dive (doing this now. She has done fine with the Apologia part of it adding DIVE to it) 8th Apologia Physical Sci with DIVE 9th Apologia Advanced Bio with the DIVE that applies to that 10th Apologia Chem 1 with DIVE 11th Apologia Physics with DIVE 12th Probably dual enrollment with Chem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'm not familiar with DIVE. Can you tell me what it's about? Is it software or a video? Where do I buy it? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water2wine Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Here is the site that explains about DIVE. It is science course work and Lab by DVD. http://www.diveintomath.com/pageDisplay.cfm?pageno=238ans&zpid=447&sesstime=now On the left you can look at the individual courses offered. You can get these other places, CBD, Amazon, RR etc. They are all over the place. They get good reviews. They I guess were made for BJU and correlate perfectly with them but they have a syllabus for Apologia as well. http://www.diveintomath.com/pageDisplay.cfm?pageno=238ans&zpid=450&sesstime=now (science is below). HTH :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Here is the site that explains about DIVE. It is science course work and Lab by DVD. http://www.diveintomath.com/pageDisplay.cfm?pageno=238ans&zpid=447&sesstime=now On the left you can look at the individual courses offered. You can get these other places, CBD, Amazon, RR etc. They are all over the place. They get good reviews. They I guess were made for BJU and correlate perfectly with them but they have a syllabus for Apologia as well. http://www.diveintomath.com/pageDisplay.cfm?pageno=238ans&zpid=450&sesstime=now (science is below). HTH :) I was thinking of using BJU with their DVDs. Does DIVE replace the BJU DVDs? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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