mazakaal Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I've been using Apologia elementary series for the past several years. I had originally tried WTM suggestions and some other bits and pieces when my oldest two were younger, but everything seemed to flop until we found Apologia. The boys did pretty well with it, but I tended to steer away from the activities and experiments and did mostly reading and notebooking. It was fine - not spectacular, but it got the job done without too much complaining. My younger two don't seem to like it as much, though. So what would you suggest for a 2nd and 4th grader (thinking about next year). Dd did Astronomy last year and both are doing Botany this year, so I don't want to cover those topics again right away, but I'm pretty open to just about anything else. I'd like something that's all put together and even comes with all the bits and pieces I'd need for experiments, etc. Something colorful and fun. I'm a Christian, but the program doesn't have to be overtly Christian. But I also don't want something that is evolution-based, so secular physics or chemistry - fine, but probably not secular life science. Does what I'm looking for even exist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 You can get Noeo with almost all the bits and pieces there; the rest are things most people have in their homes anyway. We started the Chem program one year. It was too Charlotte Masony for the dd I was doing it with, but I bought it because I wanted something with everything. After that we used RS4K, which was a much better fit for this dd. It doesn't come with all the bits and pieces, but they are mainly things you have at home. Chem is the best of this series. There are only 10 chapters, but you can expand if you add the KOGS and the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 We used RS4K pre level chem here and liked it. We are soon going to start Chem 1. I just don't like that it is only 10 chapters and I don't love having to gather the supplies (although it wasn't as bad as other programs we used). :iagree: If RS4K would make a package including lab supplies it would be much better, wouldn't it? For the OP, I'd get level 1 and simplify it for your younger one as necessary. I did just that when ds was younger. Dd read the book to him and he participated in the labs, but i didn't have him do any of the written work. This year he's doing it himself. We did the Chem labs, but last year we did biology labs, so we skipped that this winter when life is at its busiest. We'll do Physics next. It's true that it's not the classical way of doing one subject per year, but that has worked well for my younger two. My eldest did one per year with trade books at that age, but that's not what you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 I think I looked at NOEO a few years ago. I'll check it out again. I definitely want something that has everything I need because I can never find materials here. I'm in the middle of nowhere so shopping is no easy task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I don't know how it looks in 4th grade, but DS is using BJU Science 2 right now. We just started it this semester. I actually wanted something that presented evolution AND creation, and BJU (so far) has done a good job of it. If you look on my blog, I typed the first paragraph of our second chapter (The History of the World). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I think I looked at NOEO a few years ago. I'll check it out again. I definitely want something that has everything I need because I can never find materials here. I'm in the middle of nowhere so shopping is no easy task. fwiw, RS4K uses things you can find at the grocery store or pharmacy for the most part, but if those are long drives, then the NOEO could be better. However, I did not have everything they thought most homes had, so I did have to buy some things for the course. I don't remember which one I had to by more things for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Yea, grocery and pharmacy aren't super close. And I can't always find things at the grocery and pharmacy that the books say that I should. I don't know if they're called something different here or if they just don't sell some of it over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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