Jamauk Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I admit that I've pretty much dropped the ball on Science for the last two years. It simply doesn't interest me and it always seems to be the one thing that I can easily (without much guilt) push aside. My older son has specifically requested that we do Science this year. "Like, for REAL do it this time, Mom!" How can I say no to that? I planned to use K12 through our public school extension program for Science, however when I was registering for it, I had to agree to basically having him log on every single school day and do a lesson. I'm sorry, but that's not how I run my school. I'm not planning on having him do science 5 days a week. Can anyone suggest some type of Science that won't have me pulling my hair out, but will keep both my K'er and my 3rd grader engaged? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 :bigear: I'm just starting out, but science really DOESN'T interest me and I suspect my boys will love it. sigh. I'll be paying attention! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I love Building Foundations for Scientific Knowledge. However, we are pretty big into science in our house and I like taking time to do prep work for our science lessons. I have heard others complain that it BFSU took too much prep time. I supplement with RSO and use it as an extension for BFSU. I know many people on here who use it as a main program and love it for its ease of use. I haven't focused on science so much this summer but plan on starting it back up soon. I have a few blog posts that chart our adventures with BFSU. You can get an idea what their lessons entail from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Real Science 4 Kids is great!! We are doing Pre-level 1 Biology. They recommend pre-level 1 for K-3rd grades. It has a lot of good information in bite size chunks. You can do a book in a semester, but I am spreading it out over a year. We are in 1st grade. We do science 2 days a week. We read a section and discuss each day we do science. Before the summary, we do the lab or a different lab if I feel like it. The next day, we read the summary, review, and take the test. He has retained so much information and it has been painless! Almost as much fun as SOTW :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I'll second the Building Foudations of Scientific Understanding. It is exceedingly excellent, and it is also dirt cheap. I bought the K-2 book (which I use with my 1st and 3rd grader now) for about $20. Almost all of the supplies can be found around the house. I think I had to buy a pack of rubber bands, but that was about the only additional money I spent so far. It does take some time to prepare. I spend about 15-20 minutes per week reading through the lesson, making a list of supplies, and jotting down two or three sentences which summarize the science principles of the lesson for my kids' to copy in their science journals. It takes 10-15 minutes to track down the supplies around the house. One could also check out some of the supplemental library books for each lesson as listed in BFSU. Some people may not have the time or the will to do the weekly prep work, so it may not work out for you. I like this program so much that I don't mind the necessary preparation, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 While I like RSO science, I have found that we NEVER do it. We are doing a lot of learning about animals and nature. We are studying North America right now and learning the animals from the different regions. We also had a great unit study this summer when we had tadpoles in our kiddy pool! If I would have know they take 3 months to become frogs, I might have skipped that nature study. :auto: Whenever we are outside, the kids will bring me a new bug if they see one. I will look up what it is (because I rarely have a clue) and then they will draw a picture of it and they will dictate to me what to write about it. We keep them in a nature study journal. Next month, we are going to do a month long unit on space. I am going to use my RSO Earth and Space as a guide and supplement with lots of read alouds from the library and a child's space encyclopedia we have. If there is something that interestes your DC, you can just get some books at the library or do a couple of activities. I have seen these kits at a convention and they looked really neat if you just want to do something hands on and don't mind spending a little cash. Home Science Tools has some cool stuff too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxMama Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Couple of options. Sonlight Science. Pick a level that is appropriate for both. Probably level A or B. If that is more than you want to spend. How about Abeka? My older kids really liked Abeka's elementary science series. I didn't use it like a textbook ( didn't do unit tests, etc). We read and did experiments. It is inexpensive enough that I keep one around for my science kid to read on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I like BFSU but I need lessons laid out for me so I went with Elemental Science: Intro to Science. It wasn't expensive at all, especially as I got the backup books second hand. (elementalscience.com). It also follows the classical method of education, IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Elemental Science sounds like a good fit for you. If you don't like science, most likely you won't enjoy planning out BFSU's lessons either. Singapore Science has Early Start Up Science for the K-2. I'm not sure if there even is a TM, but if there is, you should get one, as in our Singapore 3/4 Science (MPH) it adds so much more to the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Elemental Science is a good choice to try if you want one experiment per week plus reading. RSO is a good choice if you want an experiment each lesson. You could also just get some science kits and do something each week. Fill in with library books. I have some Science Wiz kits, and my son loves them. There are a bunch of activities in each kit (over 20). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truebluexf Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I think I'd recommend Nancy Larson science. I haven't used it, but I loved it when I saw it at convention. I debated over it for literally hours. You could start with level 1, which might be a little young for your 3rd grader, but you could add more material for him. At least you could actually get science DONE and you'd have everything you need to do it!! We haven't been great at getting science done either, but I've settled on RS4K this year. It's not terribly long and hard, and if you follow their schedule online, you can do it just twice a week and stretch one book over 20 weeks if you want. Low key but chock FULL of information. They have various schedules on their site for what to do when depending on what grade you start. We are going to do pre-level chem and bio this year. I'm excited for it. It introduces complex concepts in ways I've never seen before. Who'd have ever thought of teaching chemistry first (and as early as kindergarten?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I think I'd recommend Nancy Larson science. I haven't used it, but I loved it when I saw it at convention. I debated over it for literally hours. You could start with level 1, which might be a little young for your 3rd grader, but you could add more material for him. At least you could actually get science DONE and you'd have everything you need to do it!! We haven't been great at getting science done either, but I've settled on RS4K this year. It's not terribly long and hard, and if you follow their schedule online, you can do it just twice a week and stretch one book over 20 weeks if you want. Low key but chock FULL of information. They have various schedules on their site for what to do when depending on what grade you start. We are going to do pre-level chem and bio this year. I'm excited for it. It introduces complex concepts in ways I've never seen before. Who'd have ever thought of teaching chemistry first (and as early as kindergarten?) Well, I have tried Nancy Larson Science and let me tell you, science simply wasn't happening at our home until Nancy Larson Science. We LOVE it. I have a 7, 9 and 11 year old and we are doing NL 2 this year...did NL 1 last year. I can give you lots more of my thoughts and opinions on this program if you are interested...you can read it here: we just built a skeleton - Page 2 - The Well-Trained Mind Forums (aka Hive Mind) read post #13. Good luck! Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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