plain jane Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I'm looking ahead to next year and am trying to figure out what I will do for our logic stage rotation of earth & space. I'll be doing it with an advanced grade 5. We did Apologia Astronomy in grammar stage for the space portion so don't wish to repeat that (although it was really great) and am looking for something more challenging. I've looked at CPO but can't seem to wrap my head around how to pull it off without buying their expensive kits. What's out there that you've loved or are looking forward to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I ended up using two websites as my "spines" for the year: MSNucleus.org and Oregon State's Volcano World.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I bought Christian Kid's Explore Earth and Space to use next year with my 3rd grader. It is supposed to be for 3rd - 6th grade. It's going to be a big jump for him. The vocabulary alone looks very challenging. It looks like a very thorough course, although there is quite a bit more Earth than Space science. I'm probably going to add in more Space study. There are experiments every week. She has a form to use called the Daily Reading sheet. It's sort of like a notebooking page, but more like taking notes as you read. There are suggestions for making lapbooks. I've been waiting to try this series. I'm really looking forward to it next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Planning on doing the reading only in CPO Earth science, and throw in one or two relevant Science in a Nutshell kits. To us, this is Geography. We'll be doing some other type of science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensummervillian Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I'm using CPO life science this year. So far we're loving it. I'm still unsure about what we're going to do when we get near the end and the experiments include the optics kit and the physics stand. Has anyone actually looked at the kits? Why are they SO expensive? It looks like CPO's earth science uses the geobox a lot, and it's too much money too. I'm loving the lab manual and all the great experiments we're doing. The questions really make my son think about what he's doing and force him to articulate what it means. I wish we could do it again next year for earth science. Has anyone ever use the textbook, but used an alternative for the labs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greensummervillian Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I'm going through CPO's labs right now and seeing which experiments are doable. So far I've only done two chapters, but most of them still are. In the following list I have not included all the easy to acquire things like candles and cups. Several of the experiments call for the geobox, but it looks like any plastic box will do. 1A stool, bucket with spigot (I'll use our Brita filter) stopwatch graduated cup or bucket 1B same as 1A 2A triple beam balance (I can borrow one from my mom) thermomter 2B Stream table. Can I build one? Maybe. Otherwise I'll have to do something else here. 3A geobox (For this application I believe I can build one with a sealable plastic box, plastic cups, glue, and tape) 3B density cubes (I found them online for about $20.) displacement tank (You could use a graduated beaker. You don't have to have their fancy setup.) 4A geobox (Use a basic plastic box) 4B sling psychrometer (You could buy one, but I also found directions on how to make one online) humidifier (You could use a steamy bathroom) 5A barometer-Quickly searching online, I found them for $20. 5B 2 plastic containers and a way to shine two equal lights equally close to the boxes 6A thermometer barometer hygrometer (All these are available for sale for reasonable prices) cloud chart (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pixdaus.com/pics/1244354881za6k5Kd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pixdaus.com/single.php%3Fid%3D164013&h=605&w=900&sz=52&tbnid=g4pWjL1eM0ZaHM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcloud%2Bchart&zoom=1&q=cloud+chart&usg=__iuzEjHx9lTkl58vVWt9-BI_BqOE=&sa=X&ei=hnrhTJe1JcH78Ab-w6jdDw&ved=0CCsQ9QEwAg) Beaufort wind scale (available free online) 6B radar image plates (To do CPO's lab you need their specific plates. You could use the questions and a book about weather to discuss how Doppler radar works. 7A long pipette household supplies 7B plastic box wooden block Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 I'm going through CPO's labs right now and seeing which experiments are doable. So far I've only done two chapters, but most of them still are. In the following list I have not included all the easy to acquire things like candles and cups. Several of the experiments call for the geobox, but it looks like any plastic box will do. 1A stool, bucket with spigot (I'll use our Brita filter) stopwatch graduated cup or bucket 1B same as 1A 2A triple beam balance (I can borrow one from my mom) thermomter 2B Stream table. Can I build one? Maybe. Otherwise I'll have to do something else here. 3A geobox (For this application I believe I can build one with a sealable plastic box, plastic cups, glue, and tape) 3B density cubes (I found them online for about $20.) displacement tank (You could use a graduated beaker. You don't have to have their fancy setup.) 4A geobox (Use a basic plastic box) 4B sling psychrometer (You could buy one, but I also found directions on how to make one online) humidifier (You could use a steamy bathroom) 5A barometer-Quickly searching online, I found them for $20. 5B 2 plastic containers and a way to shine two equal lights equally close to the boxes 6A thermometer barometer hygrometer (All these are available for sale for reasonable prices) cloud chart (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pixdaus.com/pics/1244354881za6k5Kd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pixdaus.com/single.php%3Fid%3D164013&h=605&w=900&sz=52&tbnid=g4pWjL1eM0ZaHM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcloud%2Bchart&zoom=1&q=cloud+chart&usg=__iuzEjHx9lTkl58vVWt9-BI_BqOE=&sa=X&ei=hnrhTJe1JcH78Ab-w6jdDw&ved=0CCsQ9QEwAg) Beaufort wind scale (available free online) 6B radar image plates (To do CPO's lab you need their specific plates. You could use the questions and a book about weather to discuss how Doppler radar works. 7A long pipette household supplies 7B plastic box wooden block Wow. Thanks for sharing all of this. It looks so do-able yet somehow just out of reach for me. sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 We are using Science Explorer and some other things. You can see some of what I planned on my blog. The SE book I chose didn't include space (although they do make one that does) so we just did a unit study. All that being said, I had a chance to look at BJU Space and Earth science and had I seen that earlier, we would be using that. The Science Explorer is ok, but I really liked the way that BJU was set up and I liked how in depth it went as opposed to the SE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 We are using Science Explorer and some other things. You can see some of what I planned on my blog. The SE book I chose didn't include space (although they do make one that does) so we just did a unit study. All that being said, I had a chance to look at BJU Space and Earth science and had I seen that earlier, we would be using that. The Science Explorer is ok, but I really liked the way that BJU was set up and I liked how in depth it went as opposed to the SE. Do you mean this? It says it's for grade 8. sigh. It does look good but I don't think my fifth grader could handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaLee Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 Do you mean this? It says it's for grade 8. sigh. It does look good but I don't think my fifth grader could handle it. Yes, that's the one. If you don't think your 5th grader could handle it, then I would consider the Science Explorer, which is for middle school, but written at about a 4-6th grade level IMHO. I would also say take a look at the Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space. That's a great curriculum also, plus, it's fairly inexpensive and easy to supplement with library books and general earth science activity kits. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 What about God's Design for Science (the earth science set): http://www.christianbook.com/gods-design-heaven-earth-student-manuals/pd/401258?event=CFN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Can't offer much help as I pretty much cobbled together my own. I can say that I didn't like the products sold by Ring of Fire science. They just seemed incomplete and didn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootOwl Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 and right now we're going only the reading part of the program, but my daughter LOVES it. She finds it so interesting that she reads some of it to her younger brother, and HE likes it. She seems to be retaining quite a bit, so I'm happy. I've struggled for YEARS trying to do a "hands-on" science program, but I can never manage to pull all of it together. We are getting much more accomplished/covered this year by simply letting her read the text. We discuss it, I quiz her verbally, and she completes a written "test" that I type from the chapter review questions. There are so many additional resources available at their website that can supplement and fill-in (in my opinion) for the lack of experiments we are doing. In the Skills and Worksheets section, there are really good worksheets that cover all kinds of general science/math topics. I plan for us to use the Life Science and Physical Science programs over the next two years. Good luck with your decision! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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