parias1126 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I NEED to decide on Science! I'm STUCK! Nothing appeals to me at this point. I have absolutely everything I need except Science. I actually just got back from IKEA, and am rearranging my whole schoolroom. I want to start very soon, but the Science decision is going to drive me batty! I would love a Science that comes with everything (I'm shying away from NL at this point due to the price). I would love it in ebook form (we tried RSO and the kids didn't like all the filling in of graphs, etc so it was set aside). Anyway, I'm just looking for any and all reviews. I would love to know what worked/didn't work for you and your children and why/why not. Science Needs to get done this year!!! I was looking at Noeo pretty seriously because I thought it came with everything. It seems you still need some household items which means I might as well leave my options open if I'll end up having to "collect" things anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Have you considered Mr. Q? They are e-books and you get a teacher's guide with three days' worth of reading, activities and experiments for each lesson. The first one is free on the website. http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 For the young kids, consider just getting Van Cleeve's X for Every Kid (Physics, Chemistry, Bio, etc) and just doing a lot of experiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I also really hate when programs (and it seems like they all do) come with a list of "household items" that you'll need, implying all the listed things are things I already have. Guess what. I don't have plastic cups, a marble, and vaseline. Put it in the kit! Anyway, I have read so many bad reviews of experiments here and on amazon. A lot of programs get mixed reviews; it's not like they're all bad, but based on all the bad reviews I've read, combined with my own experience, science experiments for younger kids don't work half the time. Buying them is a gamble, and so is taking the time to do them. So, a few other paths to consider: Do lots of reading and, if you're into it, notebooking for science. Don't worry about the experiments. Get the Noeo books, but not the experiment kits, and ignore the list of "household items." Do lots of nature study. Obviously that would include lots of life science, but there are other areas too. Observe the moon and draw a picture of its size/shape every few days for a month. (Earth/space) Point out that a hill is an inclined plane and a beaver's teeth are wedges (and so are ours). (Physical science) Do some combination of the above. Read about teeth in the Usborne IL First Encyclopedia of the Human Body, then read a book about wedges, then talk about how our teeth are wedges, then look for a beaver dam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Are you looking for something more workbookish or something with lots of experiments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 What grade are you looking for? Baltimore Curriculum Project has great Core Knowledge lesson plans, and I am in the process of "reformatting" the 4th grade Science into one Word doc for ease of use. I am about 40% done, and hope to complete it over the next two weeks when the boys are in camp; I will be posting a link to the completed document when I am done (I'll host it on Google Docs). I am trying to make it look "pretty" so spending more time on it than I probably should--I'll probably get annoyed by p. 100 and just start copying and pasting LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parias1126 Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 What grade are you looking for? Baltimore Curriculum Project has great Core Knowledge lesson plans, and I am in the process of "reformatting" the 4th grade Science into one Word doc for ease of use. I am about 40% done, and hope to complete it over the next two weeks when the boys are in camp; I will be posting a link to the completed document when I am done (I'll host it on Google Docs). I am trying to make it look "pretty" so spending more time on it than I probably should--I'll probably get annoyed by p. 100 and just start copying and pasting LOL. I have a rising 2nd grader and a rising 3rd grader. I was actually looking at the NL review on your blog and saw that you were using Core Knowledge. I have never heard of it before. I did check out your link briefly. I would love to see the finished work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I have a rising 2nd grader and a rising 3rd grader. I was actually looking at the NL review on your blog and saw that you were using Core Knowledge. I have never heard of it before. I did check out your link briefly. I would love to see the finished work. You could probably use NL 3 with both your kids, and it's open and go so that's a plus. And I think Core Knowledge could be a good fit too, although it's a bit more work. We're not going to do a TON of experiments--perhaps one serious one a month, with lab notes and formal note-taking. We'll focus on learning new things, absorbing new vocabulary and reading lots of library books, using CK as our spine. It's pretty darn in-depth, if you ask me, and covers stuff I certainly never learned EVER in my 20 years of formal schooling. So it'll be a fun ride for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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