DaydreamingMama Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) Hello, I cannot make up my mind on which science program I want to do for my 12 year old son, going into 7th grade this fall. Right now, I'm struggling with choosing between... The Rainbow (http://www.beginningspublishing.com/) or CPO Science (http://www.cpo.com/home/ForEducators/MiddleSchoolEarthScience/tabid/261/Default.aspx) I'm even debating doing them together, though I don't know if that is really possible, if they can be meshed together. What I like about The Rainbow is it looks straight forward, comes with a complete lab kit (and hence more likely we'll really do the experiments), and isn't full of fluff. I have no doubts my son would understand the text and enjoy reading it. It's also affordable. What I don't like about The Rainbow is the Christian bent (though I don't know how much it effects the text, I'm just concerned with it) and that it may be too simple. What I like about CPO is it looks much more comprehensive. The text just looks meatier. I also like all the free help sheets on their website. What I don't like about CPO is the labs are BEYOND expensive if bought from the company, which means putting things together myself (which lowers the likelihood of us doing them). And for all I know, the "meaty" looking text is just fluff my kid doesn't need. Anyone with experience with either program, do you have advice? Oh, a little about my son... he is average in math, very interested in science, and actually wants to be a scientist when he grows up (as of today, anyway.) Thanks so much! ~ Rachel Edited July 8, 2011 by DaydreamingMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 (edited) I haven't seen (or used) CPO, so I'm hoping someone will chime in who has, but my youngest son is using the Rainbow and loving it! The text is funny and engaging. We're working through the 1st part (Physics) now and are on Lesson 18 (we have an unusual school-year schedule! I work for a tax accountant, so we do school from June through February, so that I have the busy tax months of March-April-May free). We're secular homeschoolers and there may have been one small reference to "creation" in one of the lessons, but it wasn't anything overt. We've had no problem using it. It isn't a 'simple science' program. It's pretty in-depth. I've never taken Physics so I'm learning a great deal, too. We do science 3 days a week, which is the way the program is designed. 2 days are with the textbook, reading a lesson (which is roughly a page or two in length) and answering 2 or 3 questions about the lesson. The 3rd day is the lab section, which has a separate lab workbook. The labs are great. If you order the complete kit (which is what we did), EVERYTHING is included!! Even small things like batteries and aluminum foil! I never have to run around the house, looking for supplies! I unpacked the science kit and put everything in an average size cardboard box, labeled it "7th Grade Science Supplies" and slid it under the school shelf. I only have to pull it out on Fridays when we do labs. Very convenient! Btw....my son is also a 7th grader, who will be 12 in September, and he wants to be a scientist, too, when he grows up! So far, he's planning on a career in Marine Biology...we'll see how it goes! :) Edited July 8, 2011 by hsmamainva added info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 We used CPO Earth this year, dd's fifth grade year. I adapted some of the labs for home use and just skipped two or three other labs. You can see a few of the adaptations on my blog (link in signature). I've got others that I still have to write up (oops). I think I spent $60 total on special supplies (paint trays, graduated cylinder, sand, HCl, a scratch plate, etc.) because I was able to use some items we already had at home-----a digital food scale and a bucket w/ spigot to name two. I did buy a rock and mineral set but that was an item we had wanted since my now-high-school-graduate son was in sixth grade! My degrees are in chemistry. I interrupted grad studies in horticulture and landscape design to homeschool dd this year. I did not find any fluff at all in the CPO text! I was so disappointed in all other science curricula/texts that I read prior to discovering CPO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 You take a look at the complete student texts by CPO here to help you choose: http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us/node/52 I think CPO is tempting, but the writing/presentation seems a little choppy. It doesn't flow well some of the time, which may not be important to some people for science, however it is for my kids. Just a little quibble. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I've used Rainbow and just started CPO. I prefer CPO. The enrichment is better, requiring more higher level thinking skills and I'm finding the investigations to be more engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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