rootsnwings Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 :confused: I have to order our science curric soon and really LOVE Singapore math so I have been checking out their science books and they look nice, with lots of at-home experiments & such that my ds9 will LOVE. Plus, it's about $100 cheaper than the EE Science I had planned on getting until now... What are your experiences with Singapore Science? TIA! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 We use My Pals are Here orignial version. It is my understanding that the revised version has very little changed, mostly repackaged. I really like My Pals are Here. My girls find it to be tough. The material is basic but true to Singapore style it really requires the child to understand the material and be able to reason based on the information presented. I did notice that it eventually got easier for my oldest. I am not sure if it was a developmental thing or that she got used to the type of questions/thought process required. This happened at about 5th grade. The experiments are pretty doable in a home setting. I have along the way bought a few pieces of lab glassware, thermometers and a microscope. It probably helps that we have a gas range. My Pals are Here is written for children in Singapore. Consequently many of the examples are of animals and plants native to that area of the world. As a result we have had to spend some time researching these plants and animals to complete the workbook assignments. We use the homework book, text, and activity books. I purchased one higher order thinking book but realized that we were going to have troubles working it into our schedule so I fore went it. At this point I don't test so I have never purchased the test book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 (edited) We have just begun using MPH levels for 3-4 grade. I felt that the level was closer to 3rd grade than to 4th grade in some ways -- the material was all good, but the presentation, the look of the books was a bit young for 4th grade. That may be a small thing, but it affected my dc's perception of the program. The Homework book and the Higher Order Thinking book, however, look more academic and the problems are challenging -- sort of like SM Intensive Practice. Edited August 21, 2010 by Alessandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unity Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I really like My Pals are Here. My girls find it to be tough. The material is basic but true to Singapore style it really requires the child to understand the material and be able to reason based on the information presented. :iagree: Based on the samples of the textbook, I bought a level a few years up from my daughter. The textbook (old level 4) looked so basic and easy, I thought she'd be fine, especially when I read that in Singapore kids don't start studying science until 3rd grade. What a disaster! She seemed to understand the text just fine but the workbook and some of the lab questions required thinking skills that she hadn't yet acquired and she was immensely frustrated. I agree that this is true to Singapore style. We had the same issue with NEM--they presented how to do a certain kind of problem, and then it was like, ok, if you can do that, then you can do this really heinous 15-step problem of the same ilk. Anyway, I think Singapore science is good, but I would caution against choosing a level based on the look of the textbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Anyway, I think Singapore science is good, but I would caution against choosing a level based on the look of the textbook. I'm hesitant to make specific recommendations anymore because since we finished our run through MPH and Interactive they've changed editions (so I'll defer to others for specifics...) But in general, right up through the high school books, I've found this to be true. People look at the cuteness or the number of topics and think "easy" when it really REALLY isn't. One Biology example that comes to mind... there was a question in the workbook for the chapter on the cardiovascular system that depended on information in more than just that chapter. It wasn't unfair -- if you had read the chapter closely, there was a section in it about how the cardiovascular system interacted with other organ systems and tissues, and in that section it referred you to other chapters for the details, but you had to put it all together yourself. DS had read it, but not that closely, and ended up having to go back to the text to answer it. It was a good solid half hour of flipping around the book putting post-it notes in appropriate places (which he should have done the first time!) and connecting the dots. All the information was there, but it really depended on the student to find all the pieces he needed and assemble them in his notes. (And since then I've brought up that incident several times as a reminder! LOL... "It's just like the cardiovascular system - make sure you've connected the dots!") At all levels there are questions that at first glance you would say "well that wasn't in the book!" Invariable it was in the book, but it wasn't always obvious. In the cardiovascular case, once he had actually gone back and read everything he should have he knew it backwards and forwards and could explain it well - and he knew that he needed to put more effort into his note-taking! It's exactly what I want out of a science curriculum, but you have to know it's there or you can misjudge the level tremendously. That said, I generally match science to math... The challenge of the science can exceed the math, but so far DS has been able to handle it at that pace. (And I would tweak as necessary.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 (I have not used MPH 3/4 yet, plan to for next year.) Erica, your description sounds GREAT. Just what I like, no easy fill in the blanks where they just make you repeat a sentence from the book, but some real thinking. Alayna, I have tagged a lot of threads about Singapore Science. Just click on the tags at the bottom of this thread. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. at J.A. Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 We are now in our second year of using 3/4 and 5/6 MPH with my two boys. I have really liked it because it definitely makes them think! I think the levels are spot on, but we do textbook, activity book, homework workbook and the Thinking Skills (which REALLY makes them - and me - think!) I think the balance of activities with the higher order thinking is really what draws us to this curriculum. It is NOT easy - but I think it will give them a great foundation in science and thinking. Blessings, Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 Tress, thank you for the tags!!! SO helpful!! Thanks to everyone for the thoughts & opinions!! Would you guys suggest the instructors guide? Does the 3/4 IG have all of the different topics in it? I certainly hope so, for $80!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Tress, thank you for the tags!!! SO helpful!! Thanks to everyone for the thoughts & opinions!! Would you guys suggest the instructors guide? Does the 3/4 IG have all of the different topics in it? I certainly hope so, for $80!!!! The IG does contain all 5 books. It has wrap-around copies of the textbook and activity book with answers for both. The answers on the activity book haven't been useful yet (we're in Diversity) but the additional information in the textbook has been neat to read aloud. It contains notes to teachers with background info (just a bit on each topic), somewhat useful. It also has teaching tips and a schedule on how to introduce a topic, website links (some dead, some inappropriate), and a few additional experiments. I'm glad I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 Thanks Dana! Exactly the info I was looking for!! How long does it usually take to get through one set of books before moving on to the next set? Should I go ahead & get the 1st 2 sets of the books? Will that last me the full year? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Their recommendation is to do 2 books in 3rd grade (Diversity & (I think) Systems), then the next 3 in 4th. Diversity is the longest book with 7 chapters. Do note that the books are small. I was really surprised at first. Despite Diversity's 7 chapters - it's only about 50 pages. Looked like a magazine. The real challenging parts are the homework and HOTS. We school year-round and started in June, so we're 1/4 through our year. We're on Ch 3 of Diversity. We haven't been doing science as regularly as I'd like, so depending on how often you schedule it and how in depth you go, you may move much faster than us... but I think we'll use the 2 years for the 5 books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 ok...so ds9 is "technically" in 4th grade. Should we just skip the 1st 2 books or should we go at a faster pace to finish all 5 this year (and maybe throughout the summer?) I have 1hr science planned 5x a week this year, so we will have about 5hrs/wk to work on it. I was planning on getting the Textbook, Activity Book & Homework Book. Would that be do-able with our schedule? Thanks so much for all the help & advice! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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