Tress Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I'm thinking (again) of using BFSU. I really like the idea of BFSU and it is something I feel that I should be able to do (science background), however I have tried it before and it didn't work out so well. I felt that I was mostly lecturing my dd, this whole socratic discussion thing doesn't work so well when your kid isn't really interested and doesn't ask questions :glare:. Anyway, now dd5 is joining us for certain subjects, I notice that there is more discussion and I think I might be able to use BFSU. But before I have even started :tongue_smilie:, I'm already wondering how to do it. I can't imagine my dd5 doing BFSU book 1 in one year, but I also do not want to spend 2-3 years on book 1 with my 3th grader. How do others who combine their kids do this? I'm not looking forward to teaching two levels of BFSU, but I can't see any other way, there is too much difference between dd7-almost-8 and dd5. If I go quickly through book 1, I will certainly lose dd5 and also lose the group discussion that I think we need. Help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Just subscribed to this thread. While planning for next year, I was wondering how I would teach dd K from BFSU, while continuing with ds (by then 4th) with BFSU 3-5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 Sagira, thanks for the bump. But...I was actually hoping you would have advice :lol:. Somebody? Anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I own levels 1 and 2 and planned to do 2 separate levels, but right now it is working out for us with a 4th and 1st grader to just do level 1 and go a little deeper with the 4th grader. We have other science books and encyclopedias in the house to get more info, and of course the internet. Example from a lesson was the 3 states of matter. This was new to the 1st grader but not to the 4th grader. We did intro level for my 6yo and then talked about states of matter at the molecular level (spacing between them, etc) for the 4th grader. My 4th grader also doesn't rely on BFSU for his entire science. He loves science so also works through TOPS books on his own pretty much for the hands on and does discussion with me. And he is working through an Usborne book with internet links on his own as his interest leads. He has always done it this way pretty much so BFSU 1 is good for him as he does have gaps I can catch by the systemic approach while still just letting him go based on interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I was thinking of combining my 5yo and 3yo with BFSU 1 in a year or so. They are closer in interest level than my 7yo and 5yo, even though the age gap is smaller. The 5yo is a boy and much more interested in life than in formal school work, even though he is more than capable. He does listen in sometimes with his older sister, but I don't require it and expect to go through the lessons with him again. As far as combining kids with book 1 and book 2, I remember looking at the second book shortly after it came out and thinking that some of the lessons correlated in topic at least a little with some from the first level. I figure I'd try to do those at the same time. I didn't make note of them though, so I'll have to look through the books again. I was hoping to do approximately 6 week blocks for each thread, and would try to keep all of the kids on the same thread even though the topics would be a little different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I also wanted to add that doing mostly discussions for lessons felt a bit awkward to me, too. The lessons are not set up for my teaching style! I've been struggling to do lessons with dd and have only done maybe 5 or so in over a year. I'm finding it much easier to start a discussion if we have a more concrete starting point, like a book or an activity. Some of the lessons start with activities where others start with discussions. We just started the gravity lesson by reading books about the topic and that sparked more discussion and some books even have questions/activities within them for further investigation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 I also wanted to add that doing mostly discussions for lessons felt a bit awkward to me, too. The lessons are not set up for my teaching style! I've been struggling to do lessons with dd and have only done maybe 5 or so in over a year. I'm finding it much easier to start a discussion if we have a more concrete starting point, like a book or an activity. Some of the lessons start with activities where others start with discussions. We just started the gravity lesson by reading books about the topic and that sparked more discussion and some books even have questions/activities within them for further investigation. I did 5 or 6 lessons in BFSU1 last year and quit after that. I would LOVE to have books to introduce topics, unfortunately the books Nebel recommends are not available in Dutch. Science, except for a little biology, isn't studied much in K-6 in the Netherlands and although my dd is reading above grade level, she was obviously not ready for 7th grade books. I have 10 episodes of Magic School Bus, more are not available. Sigh. So yeah, BFSU was mostly me talking with a little bit hands on, which didn't work so well. Now I'm doubting myself again :001_huh:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 As far as combining kids with book 1 and book 2, I remember looking at the second book shortly after it came out and thinking that some of the lessons correlated in topic at least a little with some from the first level. I figure I'd try to do those at the same time. I didn't make note of them though, so I'll have to look through the books again. I was hoping to do approximately 6 week blocks for each thread, and would try to keep all of the kids on the same thread even though the topics would be a little different. That might be a good idea! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 I own levels 1 and 2 and planned to do 2 separate levels, but right now it is working out for us with a 4th and 1st grader to just do level 1 and go a little deeper with the 4th grader. We have other science books and encyclopedias in the house to get more info, and of course the internet. Glad to hear that you are able to combine your 4th and 1th grader. Sounds like it is working very well. I'm just not sure how to do it with my 3th grader, she isn't really able to read science books herself (see other post, she is reading a book about dragonflies right now, but books about gravity, states of matter etc...forget it, simply not available) and using the internet for information is also difficult if you don't speak English :tongue_smilie:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Sagira, thanks for the bump. But...I was actually hoping you would have advice :lol:. Somebody? Anybody? My kids are four years apart, and dd is only 4, so I haven't started with her yet :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 (edited) :bigear: I almost posted this same question today. When I first bought BFSU, I couldn't figure out how you would spend more than one year on this book. Now, I'd be okay with getting the book done in one year or stretching out lessons. But stretching out the lessons will leave my older two kids bored. And once I move on to the next book, I'll still be at too low a level for my 5th grader, plus it will be too advanced for my 1st grader. I don't really want to have only my middle child at an appropriate challenge level.... Edited October 6, 2011 by bonniebeth4 clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Bumping this in the hope that other BFSU users will be able to help. Combining kids? Anyone? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I don't know if it is much help for your situation, but I am using the first BSFU volume with both my 1st grade DS (who is almost 7 and a very advanced reader) and my borderline K DD (who is a new 5 and just misses the local district's cutoff for kindergarten). My DS reads at a middle-school level so he's been accelerated in many areas, but my DD is still learning her letter sounds like a kindergartner does. So they are at pretty different levels. BSFU vol 1 is working fine for both of them, I love it actually. The socratic method in each lesson lends itself well IMO to teaching to multiple levels and types and learners. We take each lesson at a slow pace for DD (one lesson every week or two) but in the meantime I give DS a lot of extra reading to supplement (Usborne encyclopedia, web links, some of Nebel's recommended titles, and whatever else we find that goes along). We are a sciency family anyway so I don't stress about the kids not getting enough science, the BSFU just helps provide a general structure and reassures me I won't miss anything important. I don't know if we'll finish it in one year at this pace but that's fine with me, because these topics are so essential to later understanding of science that I don't mind if they are *really* drilled into their heads. :001_smile: I'm actually worried about finishing vol 1 too quickly...I'd like to stretch it out so we don't need vol 2 too soon! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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