twoforjoy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My DH is taking over science lessons this year. I don't like doing experiments (I do like reading books about science together, but I'm just generally not a fan of setting up and cleaning up hands-on stuff), and I'm not sure how well I could manage them with DD and the new baby, so DH is going to do science lessons at night. I think we're going to use BFSU. It looks like it would fit our needs very well. But, I skimmed through it, and I'm a bit confused now about how we'd use it. Do you just work through it chapter by chapter? I'm also wondering what information and supplies my DH will need to get started. He's great at teaching DS, but he isn't as into the planning as I am, so if I can just tell him what he needs to know/have/do to get started, he'll be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 How nice that your husband is teaching science, I'm jealous! That said, we just started BFSU (3 lessons in) and I'm enjoying it. The book is NOT meant to be taught chapter by chapter, but instead to move around between the different areas. I tried to lay out the starting lessons in order to be sure that we covered each lesson's "prerequisites" before we got to the lesson. Here's what I came up with for the first 20 lessons: Lesson A/B-1 p. 39 (no prerequisites) Lesson A-2 p. 45 (none) Lesson B-2 p. 127 (A/B-1, A-2) A-3 p. 51 (A-2) D-1 p. 309 (tie-in with A-3) C-1 p. 249 (tie-in with A-2, B-3, D-1) A-4 p. 57 (A-2, A-3) C-2 p. 261 (A-3, A-4, C-1) D-2 p. 316 (D-1, tie-in D-3) D-3 p. 321 (D-2) D-3A p. 327 (D-2, D-3) A-5 p. 64 (A/B-1, B-2, A-2) A-5A p. 72 (A-5, D-3A) B-3 p. 145 (A/B-1, B-2, C-1, C-3) B-4 p. 153 (B-2, B-3) B-4A p. 161 (B-2, B-3) B-4B p. 166 (B-4, B-4A) D-4 p. 334 (D-3, D-3A, B-4A) B-5 p. 177 (C-1, B-3, D-4, tie-in B-4A) Any of these could be next: A-6 p. 80, B-6 p. 184, C-3 p. 271, D-5 p. 340 The supplies are mostly things you have on hand. I noted that I will need to get a magnifying glass and a set of magnets that includes iron filings, but those lessons are later on. If you look at each lesson, there is a paragraph titled Materials which lays out a list. You also may be interested in reading/skimming the lessons because there is generally discussion of how the lesson can be reinforced in real life, teachable moments which may come up during the day. I also recommend joining the Yahoo group. Dr. Nebels will send you a personal email welcome (I mean he specifically responded to what I wrote in my introduction), and the conversations are interesting and not overwhelming - although I've just been lurking for the last couple of weeks. There is also an archive I haven't looked into. BFSU recommends making mini books for the lessons. Instead, I've been having my kids draw a picture and then dictate a sentence "what the lesson was about". Almost every lesson builds on previous ones, and I want the kids to be able to review "their" summaries of those lessons. Also, Angela (SatoriSmiles on the WTM forum) has been using it and is a little ahead, which is great, because she keeps a nice blog - so you can see what worked and what is coming. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Great info! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 There are a few schedules in the files section of the yahoo group. Or you could collect up everything they'll need for the first few lessons, put them in plastic pockets or something, print out the flow chart and leave them to figure out what they want to do when. That's what I'd do if it were my dh. He's allergic to doing anything in the right order. :rolleyes: Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 My DH is taking over science lessons this year. I don't like doing experiments (I do like reading books about science together, but I'm just generally not a fan of setting up and cleaning up hands-on stuff), and I'm not sure how well I could manage them with DD and the new baby, so DH is going to do science lessons at night. I think we're going to use BFSU. It looks like it would fit our needs very well. But, I skimmed through it, and I'm a bit confused now about how we'd use it. Do you just work through it chapter by chapter? I'm also wondering what information and supplies my DH will need to get started. He's great at teaching DS, but he isn't as into the planning as I am, so if I can just tell him what he needs to know/have/do to get started, he'll be happy. IMO it would be hard for you to read and plan out the lessons, and then hand it over to him as it is not really an open and go type of book. A lot of the discussion in the book is for the benefit of the one who is to do the teaching, so I don't think I could personally teach the lessons unless I had spent some time reading the section. It is not experiment heavy, but discussion heavy--the book has a lot of discussion ideas in it, so that's another reason why I think it would be hard to pass on to him what he needs to know/do. But I have not really found my rhythm with it yet, so maybe someone who has been using it longer will disagree with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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