heart4myhome Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Hello! I have to admit I'm frustrated at not finding a science program that fits my science-avoiding daughter. Do any of you have good suggestions for a program/curriculum that is good at drawing in and keeping attention?? My daughter is 12 (7th) and I know will be entering the heavier science years very soon. We are currently using Abeka. She really dreads it each day and I was hoping to find something that would be better suited for her with hands on learning as well. I know that sometimes you just have to learn the stuff you don't enjoy-but was hoping it could be a little bit more user friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I have not been there done that so I am just linking this for you to look at until those that have kids in the same age group as your daughter (we are only in grade 1 :)) post some good suggestions for you to consider. Singapore Science: Interactive Science for Inquiring Minds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure how rigid and traditional your high school plans are, but maybe combining science with other subjects especially art might help. Mini unit studies, not combining all subjects, but just science and an elective or a book she likes. botany horses music and sound color and light Kathryn Stout's Science Scope is a good way to keep track of topics covered. Let her pick the books, websites, DVDs and just let her be responsible for learning the material, and making progress through the checklist. Maybe pick up an AP Environmental Science text and work through it slowly, using it more as a scope and sequence while you find easier to understand books. Environmental science is such an integrated science and covers so much. Edited January 29, 2011 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssexton Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I've been dealing with a similar situation. My dd is a little younger; she'll be going into 6th grade next year. She's a very creative, hands-on kind of girl, and while she loves experiments, reading and digesting a text is quite a chore. I've determined that I want cultivate a love for science, so I was searching for a way to make it more appealing. While browsing the free section of currclick last night, I found lapbook/notebooking materials for Apologia's general science (and other programs). There is currently a free sample available if you want to check it out. My daughter will still be reading the text, but this will give her a more active way to approach the materials. I thought it was interesting, as I always thought these types of materials were solely for the younger crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com free, not textbooky, all your kids could do this together DIVE has videos to go with your choice of textbooks Just getting some interaction and moving it beyond the textbook might help. The BJU science is wonderful and comes with lots of options (dvd, online, do the book yourself but add in their lab dvd). Currclick has quite a few live, interactive classes. If you go to the high school board and search just that forum you'll find more options. It's surprising how much is out there. I'd figure out what the problem is. If it's just that Abeka is boring, that will be easy to fix with a change. If the problem is she has trouble reading a text or other skill problems, then that's something to work on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 We're only on 5th grade, but my daughter is LOVING Oak Meadow's science this year. The lessons in the book are relatively short (not overly textbookish) and written to the student. The activities they offer afterward revolve around interesting discussion, some writing assignments, reading extra books, doing some drawings, some hands on stuff, and so on. We're doing Environmental Science and we've done stuff like reading about different biomes, reading extra books about those biomes, drawing pictures of plants and animals from those biomes, and picking an area to do our own "biome observation project." We've done a simple worm bin, we've buried items in our backyard and later dug them up to see which started decomposing and which didn't, we've done a multimedia forest mural, drawn pictures of food webs, did various writing assignments including a short story, made our own bird feeders and learned more about backyard birds, and so on. 7th Grade OM is Earth Science: In Earth Science, students make observations and perform experiments in astronomy, geology, meteorology, matter, and energy. Emphasis is placed on learning about the Earth’s natural resources and thinking through practical solutions to current environmental issues. In conjunction with experiential explorations, students write persuasive essays and conduct research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 My dd is 6th grade, and for the last 2 years I've had her pick out the books she would like to read, rather than choosing one big text book. She spends 30 minutes on science & has her choice of reading, doing experiments or notebooking about what she has read. She has really blossomed with this approach. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart4myhome Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thank you ladies- wonderful ideas. I believe part of the problem has been that she just has made up her mind to NOT like science- who knows why. I can see that going a more relaxed, reading, notebooking and experimenting route may be the answer. Merry- is there a scope/sequence or plan of order of study you implement with your 6th grader or does she just pick a topic of interest and go for it from there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 I second Oak Meadow Science for a non-science kid. Mine are VERY sciencey but if they were not, it is the way I would go. You could order the online 1st semester of one of the classes to check it out and try it. At $45 with a 30-day refund policy, you wouldn't be out much if it didn't pan out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Thank you ladies- wonderful ideas. I believe part of the problem has been that she just has made up her mind to NOT like science- who knows why.I can see that going a more relaxed, reading, notebooking and experimenting route may be the answer. Merry- is there a scope/sequence or plan of order of study you implement with your 6th grader or does she just pick a topic of interest and go for it from there?? No, I don't think a scope/sequence is all that important before high school, so I've followed her interests. I started by showing her books from Sonlight 5 last year. If she hadn't been interested in those, I was going to show her NOEO and Apologia next, only because I was familiar with those. I also considered just going to the library, but we aren't as consistent about getting there. She picked somewhere between half & 2/3 of the the science 5 books though, & since it was our first year to try this experiment, I decided that was probably plenty. I did end up letting her read some magic school bus & other books we had around from other years to fill in a bit. Oh, another book I pulled out was one I had from childhood on orphaned animals. Cute pictures & stories. This year I knew she was interested in Anatomy & that Apologia was coming out with that, so I showed her that first--she actually picked that and Botany, which I would not have picked--but she loved it and learned a lot. I've also let her take a break from what she's doing to pursue something she's interested in--one day she wanted to know about tornadoes & I pulled out a few weather books & bookmarked info & let her read/look at what she wanted. Other times I've googled things to show her. But mainly she reads what she has picked out. If you know of anything that she might be interested in, that might help guide you in what to show her. Hope you can find some things! Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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