first grade science

[Lady Q]

I'm torn about doing science the WTM way (biology one year, earth science & astronomy the next, etc.). The WTM way appeals to the orderly side of me, but I think both ds and I would get bored of doing biology exclusively. However, if I wing it, I worry that we'll miss out on something important that will FOREVER RUIN MY CHILD'S LIFE!! (don't worry, I'm poking fun at myself here ;) ).

 

I want ds to love science, and I want us to have the freedom to explore all kinds of rabbit trails. Ds also like experiements and hands-on stuff a lot (more than me) and I'd like for him to get into good habits of observation, recording, setting up experiments, drawing conclusions.

 

So far, I'm eyeing Elemental Science, BFSU and Pandia Press' Real Science Odyssey. Please feel free to weigh in on any of these (or point me in the direction of the science curriculum of my dreams, *grin*). I've also looked at and decided against RS4K and Noeo.

 

I'd especially love to hear from those who have stuck with BFSU. It seems like it can get hard to implement because of all the work required on the part of the parent.

 

Thanks so much! My husband is tired of listening to me waver and wobble and do the "but/what if" thing.

[Pata]

Well, the WTM way has really worked well for us and really fostered my dd's love of science. We use Elemental Science and I highly recommend it, but I wrote the program so of course I'm going to say that :D. Seriously, whatever you choose to do you won't forever ruin his life, you will miss out on something, because you can't cover everything. Go with what inspires you to teach science to your son because if your excited about the material, he will be too!

Edited March 23, 2010 by Pata

[Klothos]

We're going to be doing Elemental Science with these additional books and projects:

 

Predators: A Pop-Up Book by Lucio Santoro

Human Body: Hidden World by Claude Delafosse

Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up by Sabuda

My First Weather Kit

My First Science Kit: The Science of Color

Grow-A-Frog

Live Bug Garden

Transparent Ant Farm

Grow A Lily Pad

Solar Print Kit

[LindaOz]

I'm doing science the WTM way with my 2nd and 4th graders and we are really enjoying it. We're on Life Science at the moment because we are doing Ancients in history. We haven't found it boring yet - looking at different creatures at the moment, collecting them, reading about them, observing them, etc. It's all good. The Life Science year also includes The Human Body and Plants so there is plenty of variety.

 

Just my thoughts. :)

[Rosie_0801]

I'm intending to use BFSU as the spine, and shove in as many unmissable looking resources as time and finances allow. Anything left over will be stuck in their Christmas stockings :D

 

Rosie

[nova mama]

There are so many possible lessons within biology that you could probably get through the year without getting bored. Just think of all the animals you could talk about (insects and snakes, to name a few. yay!). And if DS takes a special interest in one area, you could certainly let him go into greater depth. Just check out one of the recommended spines from the library. If he does get bored, it won't be too late to try another approach. I have found it very helpful to have an outline to help me make sure I don't leave anything out, but lots of flexibility to teach as little or as much of something as we like. That's the great thing about WTM!

[Tracy]

I felt the same way about the WTM approach. DH and I just couldn't wait until year 4 to do physics! We are using BFSU now, and we love it. Here is more about it on my blog: http://myfamilyiseternal.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-of-building-foundations-of.html

[2_girls_mommy]

We do WTM way here too. And we take plenty of rabbit trails in science. Sometimes they coincide w/our current year of study and sometimes they don't. We did biology last year. But we still did a plant experiment this year, because we were working on a plants badge for Girl Scouts. So if something else comes up, we take a break to follow that... Then the next week we get back to our current space studies.

 

For the animals part of biology, you can take lots of hikes looking for tracks and animal signs and homes and learn about habitats. We did plaster of paris models of paw prints we found. Lots of observation type stuff.

 

We find all kinds of experiments and activities just from the library books we pick up on our topics and try to do one a week, plus notebooking.

[Wheres Toto]

Right now, REAL Science Odyssey is offering previews of their lessons free. http://www.pandiapress.com/trybeforeyoubuy.html

 

The Life Science will give you the first 9 Units and the Table of Contents which will give you an idea of everything that is covered. You probably could mix it up by doing a chunk of the Life Science (say finish all the Human Body stuff), then do Earth Science for a while (maybe weather and water cycles), then return to Life Science and cover the Invertebrate animals. If you put your switches in logical places it should provide something different without losing the continuity of the programs.

[Lady Q]

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

 

Right now I'm equally attracted to BFSU and a loose WTM approach (using the spines recommended in the book). Would I be crazy for trying to combine them? Focus on the Life thread of BFSU (and any prerequisite units from the other threads) and also read about animals and plants and the human body?

 

Or is that just overkill? :001_huh:

[mlktwins]

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

 

Right now I'm equally attracted to BFSU and a loose WTM approach (using the spines recommended in the book). Would I be crazy for trying to combine them? Focus on the Life thread of BFSU (and any prerequisite units from the other threads) and also read about animals and plants and the human body?

 

Or is that just overkill? :001_huh:

 

I have BFSU and will use that plus the WTM approach (animals only) for K this coming school year. I'll add plants and animals next year along with anything else that catches our fancy.

Mendy

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

 

Right now I'm equally attracted to BFSU and a loose WTM approach (using the spines recommended in the book). Would I be crazy for trying to combine them? Focus on the Life thread of BFSU (and any prerequisite units from the other threads) and also read about animals and plants and the human body?

 

Or is that just overkill? :001_huh:

 

After using BFSU for K, our main science studies for first grade will be biomes and a plant and animal study.

[Rosie_0801]

Right now I'm equally attracted to BFSU and a loose WTM approach (using the spines recommended in the book). Would I be crazy for trying to combine them? Focus on the Life thread of BFSU (and any prerequisite units from the other threads) and also read about animals and plants and the human body?

 

Or is that just overkill? :001_huh:

 

BFSU is only a spine. It is not the be all and end all of science. It's about building a foundation to scientific understanding ;) You can follow his method, and cram as much content in as you want. Besides, you can't do too much science unless a) everyone is bored to death of it, and that's something you notice, or b) it's taken over your life. That's something you'd notice too.

 

Science is messy, so I don't think there is anything wrong with having a messy science plan, especially in the early years. I think with young kids, it's all about exploring the ideas and learning the scientific method. When they are older, it is time for them to try and tidy up the ideas, and that's part of the method too. I think if we tidy it for them, we're depriving them of that part of learning. Pre-chewing their food, really.

 

Rosie

[Country Mouse]

For first grade we did Life Science using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey. It is full of hands-on experiments and activities and kept my son's attention and interest. I supplemented with books from the library on whatever topic we were studying. Included in the curriculum is a recommended reading list which helped a lot with the supplementing.

We have followed the WTM approach to science and we have not gotten at all bored. Doing it that way has allowed us to delve a bit deeper into each area.

[IsabelC]

We do both. We have got REAL Science Odyssey as a biology curriculum, and we do a bit of that each week (with some modifications). Then whenever ds takes an interest in something else scientific, we do a bit of that as well. (Also, a lot of science concepts come in a, dare I say it, unschoolish way. Eg Mr 6 was riding his bike around a track and decided to practice going as fast as he could and then seeing how far he could coast without pedalling. He discovered that the more speed he could generate, the farther he could coast. Hey presto, a little lesson on momentum, reinforced with a 30 second conversation. I mean, I was hardly going to say "Uh uh, that's physics, we don't do that for another 3 years lol)

[Lady Q]

Science is messy, so I don't think there is anything wrong with having a messy science plan, especially in the early years. I think with young kids, it's all about exploring the ideas and learning the scientific method. When they are older, it is time for them to try and tidy up the ideas, and that's part of the method too. I think if we tidy it for them, we're depriving them of that part of learning. Pre-chewing their food, really.

 

 

This is a good point, Rosie. I agree with the orderly chronological approach to history that the WTM recommends, but I like for science to be messy, like you said. Right now, we're covering rainforests for science, but we've been reading about the human body, planets and forces, too.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

This is a good point, Rosie. I agree with the orderly chronological approach to history that the WTM recommends, but I like for science to be messy, like you said. Right now, we're covering rainforests for science, but we've been reading about the human body, planets and forces, too.

 

Even though BFSU is our main spine we have been sidetracked many times when dd is interested in a particular topic. Sometimes we put BFSU aside for a while to study a different topic (or just jump to that topic in the book) and other times we'll do both.