Tarreymere Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I like Real Science 4 Kids, but I want more. We need more. We are tired of life science, we've 'been there, done that' with RS4K, RSO, and Elemental Science. We insist on having our science secular. We can't afford Nancy Larson and frankly we aren't really all that enthusiastic about a science program written by the person who wrote the K-3 Saxon math curriculum. My Pals are Here does not impress us. We like Exploration Education but they only have the three courses. I have a science degree and I have been making my own science curriculum but I am tired of doing that. Hasn't someone, somewhere put together an affordable, meaty, secular science curriculum? Or do I need to cave and sign up for Super Charged Science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikkid Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Some one just told me about Aha!Science online. $15 a year with lesson plans, games online with teacher helps and simple experiments outlined to do at home. It's looks great to me, but I haven't used it yet. No idea if it will work for you. Good luck! Nikki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 For which ages? I love BFSU for meaty science for youngers, and I plan to use the next level when dd is older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I suggest the AIMS and GEMS teacher guides for you! We've done Dry Ice Investigations and Oobleck from GEMS and various ones from AIMS. They have great chemistry and physics labs. I am a science major and I hear you... about science curriculum. These are real science, but take some time to plan and set up! Have fun! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 For which ages? I love BFSU for meaty science for youngers, and I plan to use the next level when dd is older. I would also recommend checking out BFSU if it covers the right ages for what you need. The first two volumes have been published (K-2 and 3-5), and a third volume is forthcoming for middle school grades. My husband has a PhD in Chem. Engineering, and he was unsatisfied with most of the homeschool science options. He was about to start writing his own lessons when we discovered BFSU. I personally found it hard to teach without a lot of prep time, but we decided that it would work for us to have a weekly "family science night" where my husband would teach it as he can "think on his feet" and is able to put together a lesson with very little prep time due to his extensive science background. I then can just supplement during the week with extra library books on the topic, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Would PLATO science fit the bill? Not sure what grade level you're looking for though. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 :party: Thank you! Now I have some really interesting options to research! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I really like the look of the new Holt Science and Technology books for middle school, but they're pricey. Have you looked at Discovery Science through Homeschool Buyers' Co-op? I'm intrigued, but not sure it would be what we need. I was looking at Plato until I saw some folks on here say that it was a bit lightweight. I'm looking at middle school levels, probably biology/life science for the fall, since she's interested. For the summer (rising 6th), we're going to do Ellen McHenry's The Elements to give an introduction to chemistry. It's the area we've hit most lightly in the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trina Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Can someone clarify for me what BFSU stands for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Can someone clarify for me what BFSU stands for? Bernard Nebel's Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, K-2 and Gr. 3-5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Can someone clarify for me what BFSU stands for? It stands for AWESOME! :D Bernard Nebel's Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, K-2 and Gr. 3-5. Or, uh, that. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I am getting ready to use The Elements by Ellen McHenry with my kids. I love the look of it and I know it includes more than I ever learned in school. I like the look of some of her other programs as well. http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I am getting ready to use The Elements by Ellen McHenry with my kids. I love the look of it and I know it includes more than I ever learned in school. I like the look of some of her other programs as well. http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/ :iagree:I'll be using that starting in 2nd semester (Jan. '12) and following it with her Carbon Chemistry course. They both look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 From what I've seen, BFSU would be a good fit. The author takes science so seriously, and really believes in giving kids a strong foundation in this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I really like what I see in Mr Q's science Lab - Classic Science - http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm - the life science unit is free to view from the site. It does have to be printed though. It is secular and I am currently trying to find out how it handles origins/etc since I am not particularly looking for secular science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Thanks everyone! I am going to buy BFSU and that book by Ellen Mchenry and see if that will work. At the very least they both sound better than the other curriculum I have tried and if I have to add to them maybe I can get away with adding in less..........a happy prospect now that I have two preschoolers and an infant in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 (edited) I highly recommend looking at the Core Knowledge curriculum. You can find lesson plans on the Baltimore Curriculum Project site, and tweak it for your own homeschool. It's very rigorous, IMO, although you do need to throw in more experiments and projects (not hard). Lots of reading, vocab, thinking...my older really enjoys it and learned so much this year. I found BFSU to be too much work to pull together. We also recently learned of Foss Web, which has a lot of cool stuff. Edited June 4, 2011 by Halcyon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 If you're looking for middle school, CPO Focus on Science has the student text and investigations book free online http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/node/52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 You can also buy BFSU as ebooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just-a-mom Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 This thread was so helpful. I'm concerned that if I only do WTM's science, we'll be missing out on a great opportunity for teaching. I know I would regret that. Here's a thread I started...I just wanted to see what you science lovers have to say about it. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just-a-mom Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workingmom Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 If you're looking for middle school, CPO Focus on Science has the student text and investigations book free online http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/node/52 wow, great resource, do you have them read if of the computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I really like the look of the new Holt Science and Technology books for middle school, but they're pricey. There are slightly older editions of these same books for MUCH cheaper. Check Amazon - middle school science doesn't change THAT much in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 This was mentioned upthread but I'm also going to recommend you look into Core Knowledge. I've heard people say it is like BFSU but easier to implement because it's planned. I don't know about that because I've not used BFSU. I add to it some and pull resources here and there but it seems like very solid science and it's entirely secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 This was mentioned upthread but I'm also going to recommend you look into Core Knowledge. I've heard people say it is like BFSU but easier to implement because it's planned. I don't know about that because I've not used BFSU. I add to it some and pull resources here and there but it seems like very solid science and it's entirely secular. The Baltimore Group Project materials look great! This is what Singapore Science My Pals Are Here looks like when you have the TM with you. It's planned out, lots of extra ideas and correlations, even Internet links, you name it. All in an engaging set of books, if you get the Homework and HOTS books I think you've got a kick-butt secular science program. If you only look at the text and activity book you're not going to be impressed. I'm excited to start this program next week! That said, I also recommend BFSU, especially if OP has a strong science background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 wow, great resource, do you have them read if of the computer? They are pdf files, so, yes, unless you want to print them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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