Marsha Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Those that have used this... Do you think it's worth the money? Did you get each of your children a Student Pack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I just ordered this tonight, and I will be posting when I get it with my thoughts. I will also be showing more samples of the teacher and student guide on my blog. I will be using it with my rising 1st grader primarily, but my older asked if he could have a workbook, so we bought an extra student pack. Kfeusse has used it to great success. I am tired of moving around with Science and I am hoping this solves my dilemma. Will let you know what I think :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Those that have used this...Do you think it's worth the money? It has been for us! We have really enjoyed science this semester and I feel like my children have covered a lot! Many people have great success with unschooling or doing interest driven science and I would really love to do that, but my reality is that if I don't have a curriculum or have it planned out, it just doesn't happen. We did use RSO for the beginning of the year, but we didn't love it. Also, I really enjoy following a couple of different threads for science rather than focusing on one area. BSFU also looks good. I choose to focus on making my own history for this year and just wouldn't have made that happen. And quite honestly, I like finding something I like and tweaking it a little rather than designing my own. Did you get each of your children a Student Pack? Yes, both of my students have their own packs in their science notebooks. It is spendy. I will be doing science a bit differently next year, but still plan on using NL. It is quick, thorough and my children are retaining a great deal. My 5 year old likes to sit in and do the lessons with us and she follows along well. It is a bit easy for my oldest, but it is a great opportunity to work on skills in a content area. Their customer service is amazing and when I asked for ideas to add a bit of challenge for my elder, they sent me a very detailed list of suggestions. Really, I have come to realize that to make homeschooling work for our family, at this point in time, I need things to be as open and go as possible. I inject a lot of my own teaching and style into our lessons, but having great, quality materials that are user friendly makes me sane and able to show up each day ready to teach. NL has made science very enjoyable for me this year. HTH! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsha Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 If you were doing this with an 11, 10, 8, and 5 year old.. would you buy each of them a Student Pack? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiztrezzLyn Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 I have been using NL 1 this year with my son (he is 5) and it's been wonderful. It gets done and he REALLY loves the program. It doesn't take a LONG time and since everything was included it is very easy to implement. It WAS expensive and I had reservations about it but I definitely thought it was worth it. He has retained so much of what we have covered and he talks about things we have learned long after we have learned them. I ordered and received NL 2 for our next school year which starts July and am even more excited about that one. It looks like it has a lot of really neat lessons and my son can hardly wait to start the next year. I plan on using it for all of his grammar years and my youngest daughter as well as she comes up through the years. I just saw that they released NL K and I plan on buying that to use with my daughter when she's in K. I add in things here and there, not because I think it necessarily needs it but because his interest is so high. We have used the Discovery Education streaming videos (not going to renew this though sadly, too expensive for me this year), books from the library and the books we already have here at home, and we look things up on the internet when he wants more. Luckily I have all the Bill Nye episodes and Magic School Bus videos so we can at least continue those after my Discovery Streaming membership ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 If you were doing this with an 11, 10, 8, and 5 year old..would you buy each of them a Student Pack? Not for the 5 year old, but for everyone else, yes. When my 5 year old wants to do something we've done in science (draw a picture of a wedge or this week we talked about the light spectrum and rainbows) I just draw her boxes or a large rainbow and let her color it. She often answers questions during our discussion, but it would be me writing all of the stuff on her sheets and it just isn't necessary for us, plus I am already doing that for the 7 year old. The student packs have all the tests, review sheets and reading material, so it really is great for everyone to have their own. My oldest does his test reviews and lesson follow ups independently and that wouldn't be possible if he didn't have his own set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Those that have used this...Do you think it's worth the money? Did you get each of your children a Student Pack? For us, it definitely was worth it. We enjoyed it, they retain it, we look forward to it. I have ordered it again for next year. I did get each of them their own student pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hericane Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I am completely a believer in Nancy Larson Science, and everyone having their own student pack. (Nancy Larson calls these Individual Student Units). These make the program re-useable and re-sellable when your family is done. So you can get back most of your money. The new family just buys sets of the ISUs for their DC. I saw that one mom photocopied for her DC. I don't get this at all. The ISUs aren't very much and it gives each DC a set, collated, stapled, glued into a pad, easy and done. No extra time, paper, or ink for me. Plus it is copyrighted. To me that means, respect the time and effort that went into the booklets, etc. I want to walk the talk, and do what I teach my DC. It's the Golden Rule of life. If I'd written a book, I'd be upset if people copied it. So, I do what I feel is right, and order the extra student packs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnG in Arizona Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 For those of you who have used NL Science 1 . . . do you think it could be used with a 3rd grader? I'm trying to plan out the next couple years and want to combine my youngest two (who will be PreK and 1st next year) in content areas. I'm trying to figure out if I should use Nancy Larsen in conjunction with my younger student's grade level, or if that would be much too easy for the older one. So for instance, should I optiamally start NL Kindergarten when my kids are in K and 2, or should I go ahead and start NL Kindergarten this coming year when my kids are in PreK and 1? Thank you very much! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hericane Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I've taught Nancy Larson Science 1 to my DC when the oldest was 8, and to a co-op group where the oldest was 10. It works. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiztrezzLyn Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I used it for my 5 year old as I said, we really enjoyed it but I had to add a bit to it because I thought that it was a little light, even for him. He is advanced though so that might be why. He is also a science nut and loves that sort of thing. If you were to use it with an 8 year old, I think you'd have to add more to it to bring it up to his level some. It can be done easily with videos, books, and the internet though. You could use the lesson as a springboard and have him do the other things I suggested and then he could write a bit about it in a science notebook or something. I love the program though, it gets done and my science kid really does wonderful with it. I don't know if any other science program I'd be able to get, would be enough straight out of the box (book?) anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 For those of you who have used NL Science 1 . . . do you think it could be used with a 3rd grader? I'm trying to plan out the next couple years and want to combine my youngest two (who will be PreK and 1st next year) in content areas. I'm trying to figure out if I should use Nancy Larsen in conjunction with my younger student's grade level, or if that would be much too easy for the older one. So for instance, should I optiamally start NL Kindergarten when my kids are in K and 2, or should I go ahead and start NL Kindergarten this coming year when my kids are in PreK and 1? Thank you very much! :) We'll be using this with both a rising 1st grader and his older brother, and I will be adding to it for him in terms of outside reading, quizzes and narrations (we'll be using it as a springboard to deeper readings). I will let you know how it goes (we're going to do it intensively over the summer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Has anyone used NL with an 11 year old. I was sold on the science based on recent threads, but disappointed when I went to the site and saw it was geared toward youngers. I don't know that I'd put the effort into tweaking it for him, since I like the whole idea of it all being laid out for me, and if I have to tweak it, it probably won't get done. Ftr, his reading skills are a bit behind, so easier in that respect is probably a good thing. I'll also have a 7 year old in the fall, but I'm not sure how much I'd require her to participate (it's all I can do to get through the 3 R's with her each day), and a 13 year old. But I'm looking to gear something toward my 11 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
---- Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) . Edited September 14, 2014 by amana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 We started NL 1 in Janurary and I have a 6,9 and 10 year old. Yes, it is a bit light for my older kids...but we are still really liking it. I add books from the library, lapbooks and looking some things up in the encyclopedia and on the internet. Let me say that I have tried 2 other programs and they never got down, but with NL, even adding the extras it actually gets done several times during the week and I will NEVER turn back...becasue I don't have to do anything else, but teach what is written. It is so WONDERFUL!! We will be doing NL 2 in the fall and we are all excited. I suppose if your children have been highly exposed to Science before, maybe this would be too easy...but since we weren't, this was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I'm using level 1 with my almost 8 and 5-year olds. I can't imagine using it for a child older than my eldest. If she didn't do so much reading on her own, I don't think I'd use it even for her. I think the only way I'd use it with an older child was if that child had had almost no exposure to science, and then maybe have them "teach" it to the youngers. JMO That being said, we're really enjoying the program. I love having the scripted lesson plans and everything in one place. We'll be continuing on with level 2 next year. This is my concern. My older has been exposed to quite a lot of science, so we're going to supplement, plus keep him going on the Core Knowledge requirements that I've been having him work on (basically lots of reading, narrations, some experiments) So it'll be his "extra" science. I hope when we get to NL2 that there will be some new stuff for him. Either way, I figure he's reasonably covered since he'll be doing the Core Knowledge stuff separately. ETA: I do like the idea of having my older 'teach' it to my younger. He loves teaching! not sure how my younger will feel about that, however LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Yes, my son is 10 and we did NL 2 for this last semester. He has already been exposed to most of the stuff we are doing. We are getting ready to start ornithology, which he has had little-no exposure to, so it will be interesting. Here is the thing I love about NL, she does a fantastic job incorporating skills in a content area. Their support is really fantastic. Ask for some suggestions and you will get real, tangible ideas. Ideas on how to stretch the lesson, as well as how to apply the skills and strategies to your other academic areas. Had I been better planned we would have adding more outside reading for my son, but I don't regret him doing NL2. I really think he has gotten some very valuable skills from it. I think because it was a little below level and he had prior knowledge of most of the topics, he was able to practice skills that have been areas of struggle (test taking, which we haven't done up to this point, looking for key info, reading carefully, vocab cards). FWIW, my 7 year old also got a lot of science this semester and I am amazed at what she has learned and retained (along with my 5 year old!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Yes, my son is 10 and we did NL 2 for this last semester. He has already been exposed to most of the stuff we are doing. We are getting ready to start ornithology, which he has had little-no exposure to, so it will be interesting. Here is the thing I love about NL, she does a fantastic job incorporating skills in a content area. Their support is really fantastic. Ask for some suggestions and you will get real, tangible ideas. Ideas on how to stretch the lesson, as well as how to apply the skills and strategies to your other academic areas. Had I been better planned we would have adding more outside reading for my son, but I don't regret him doing NL2. I really think he has gotten some very valuable skills from it. I think because it was a little below level and he had prior knowledge of most of the topics, he was able to practice skills that have been areas of struggle (test taking, which we haven't done up to this point, looking for key info, reading carefully, vocab cards). FWIW, my 7 year old also got a lot of science this semester and I am amazed at what she has learned and retained (along with my 5 year old!). I am glad to hear about this. I am going to call NL on Monday and get smoe ideas on how to "beef up" NL1 for my almost 9 year old. He enjoys science reading so I don't think it will be a problem to add in a lot of library books, and I also think the vocab (based on what I've seen) will present some new stuff to him. Do you think it's feasible to finish NL 1 in 4 months? I am thinking if we do NL 4 days a week with a few breaks we can finish 70 lessons in about 4-5months (finish by fall.) We're not in a huge rush or anything, but I'd like to get to NL 2 by fall--it looks really fun :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 What is the time commitment for the Nancy Larson science levels? I really don't NEED another science program, but I really love the looks of this as a fun add-on. How long does it take to get through a lesson (with, say, an 8YO who is fairly bright)? How many lessons in the different levels? I was just thinking it might be a neat add-on to our core science subject each year, or if we "catch up" to my kids' ages if we sped through the younger levels (she is coming out with older ones in the next year or two) we would then have a viable replacement if we decided we liked it. I hate the price, but compared to other programs, it isn't really that out of line, if it's good. (Noeo is a little cheaper if you get the books elsewhere . . . ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 What is the time commitment for the Nancy Larson science levels? . ). in my opinion the time commitment is what you want it to be. Each lesson (at least for NL 1) isn't really that long but if you add to it...it can be. Does that make sense? If you just simply read throught the script, asked the questions, had the children read through the booklet outloud and do the activity of coloring or drawing etc, I would say probably about 20 minutes give or take. We do the review pages the next day independantly for my older 2 children and with me with my youngest and then we go over it "in class" that day. It works really well that way. Now, NL2 or 3 may take longer, I just don't know yet becasue that is the next 2 years for us. Hope that helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Has anyone used NL with an 11 year old. I was sold on the science based on recent threads, but disappointed when I went to the site and saw it was geared toward youngers. I don't know that I'd put the effort into tweaking it for him, since I like the whole idea of it all being laid out for me, and if I have to tweak it, it probably won't get done.Ftr, his reading skills are a bit behind, so easier in that respect is probably a good thing. I'll also have a 7 year old in the fall, but I'm not sure how much I'd require her to participate (it's all I can do to get through the 3 R's with her each day), and a 13 year old. But I'm looking to gear something toward my 11 year old. I did NL 2 with my 9 and 11 year old this year. They were doing textbook readings on the side (I would assign the appropriate text chapters to go along with whatever we were doing in NL) That seemed to work perfectly. The text by itself was on the dry side. Combined with the NL material science as a whole turned into a real winner for us. And it ALWAYS got done. For a hands on program, it was never overwhelming. We'll be doing NL3 in the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleGreen Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Do you think it's feasible to finish NL 1 in 4 months? I am thinking if we do NL 4 days a week with a few breaks we can finish 70 lessons in about 4-5months (finish by fall.) We're not in a huge rush or anything, but I'd like to get to NL 2 by fall--it looks really fun :) We started in mid January and have 3 weeks left, so I think you would be just fine w/ NL1 in 4 months. NL2 has 80 lessons if I remember correctly. We've had a wonky schedule this year, but have still been able to bust out our NL science in that time frame. Some days we doubled up a lesson and it still took us less than an hour. You'll be fine. :) We had a lot of fun w/ 2. We did Physics last year in a co-op w/ RS4K and I thought it was such a let down. I felt like it missed so much of the fun stuff in physics w/ simple machines etc. NL2 made up for that and was what I was was wanting for our physics last year. I am excited to start NL3 in the fall! I am actually considering K for my Ker b/c it was such a pleasant experience and I know she would love to have her own thing. Plus, it just looks fun! I think you will have a very enjoyable summer w/ NL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I did NL 2 with my 9 and 11 year old this year. They were doing textbook readings on the side (I would assign the appropriate text chapters to go along with whatever we were doing in NL) That seemed to work perfectly. The text by itself was on the dry side. Combined with the NL material science as a whole turned into a real winner for us. And it ALWAYS got done. For a hands on program, it was never overwhelming. We'll be doing NL3 in the fall. would you mind telling me which textbook you used? We are doing NL 2 in the fall and I have 2 older children who could probable benifit from a little extra reading on the subjects. THANKS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 We used Harcourt as a text, which is pretty much your garden variety text that would be used in school. Next year we are switching to Sciencesaurus. (available through Greatsource.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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