TN Mama Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Darn the WTM and all you hivers! :) When I came to this forum it was for general hs information. And now, as I am in the process of actually reading TWTM I am actually changing my mind about a few things. I know I could keep my schedule the same, but I'm really feeling led to change my science. Background: My dd7 will be in 2nd grade and was in public school for 1st. This will be our first year to hs. My plan was to start SOTW and do Apologia Astronomy for science, however I really like the thought of doing Astronomy in our 2nd year of history. Also, you must know that while I have an eclectic mix of curricula for our 2nd grade year, I simply cannot imagine just putting together something on my own. Perhaps after I have a year or so under my belt, but I'd like something planned out for me, for now. Dd was excited about Astronomy, but now seems excited about studying animals, humans & plants. I appreciate any help you all can offer. Thank you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Alfred Academy Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I say...go with whatever interests you and your child. I have read TWTM cover to cover a couple of times and love SWB ideas, schedules (ie. following the "natural" progression of history and science together...biology during the ancients, astronomy during middle ages, ect.), and curriculum recommendations. It just makes sense to me. What also makes sense to me is following your interests while your child is in the grammar stage as far as science goes. You can always follow the "schedule" during the other two rotations. For us (second grade next year) we are going to study living things instead of astronomy (although we may touch on that too). I am going to follow our interests (which happens to be "naturey" stuff), read lot lot of "living books", raise a bunch of stuff (insect, plants, reptiles, ect.), go on nature walks and hikes, and have fun with some hands on type stuff. With all that being said, why not do one of the Apologia studies on animals if you want the guidance of the book (I am usually more that way too:001_smile:). I hope this helps. Whatever you choose to do will be fine and you won't mess your kid up! (I need to keep that in mind a lot!) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Well, LOL, I have living book lists, etc. for biology studies, in case you get brave, someday. Apologia's elementary biology books look interesting. I particularly like the third book, which covers mammals. I think it can easily be a full year study, however, and I prefer to cover more types of critters in a year's time. I bought Real Science 4 Kids biology book this year, because I liked the cellular stuff that it included, but to tell you the truth, I decided that I probably really didn't need it after I got it home and was able to look through it more carefully. It will not give you a year's worth of material, either. You might be able to use intro, level 1 *and* level 2 all in the course of a year (is level 2 out yet?). I'm not sure whether they repeat info with more depth or actually cover different topics.... We have a great library system here so the first time we covered biology, we really pretty much just read, read, read great books on all the different groups and tried our hand at raising various critters at home, studying them. We tend to do nature study as part of our life. (Did you see the plans a fabulous lady just posted about using Drawing with Children to do nature study notebooks?) Have fun with your science! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn E Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Well, LOL, I have living book lists, etc. for biology studies, in case you get brave, someday. I was just about to ask if anyone had favorite living books for an animal study. Would you mind sharing your list? You do have such wonderful lists. I tried to give you good rep for your post in my BF Character thread, but apparently I have to spread it around before I can rep you again. :001_smile: I, too, am second guessing my science choices. I was going to do the earth science/astronomy route also, but we didn't spend as much time on animals this year as we should have. We focused mainly on the human body. So, I've been debating on doing an nature/animal study this summer or next year. I love the idea of reading lots of living books, but am concerned I might need a lesson plan of sorts to make sure I cover everything. I only hear great things about Apologia, but agree in wishing it covered more categories in one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I felt like I needed a little more structure and guidance for myself in science too. I got the Living Learning life science curriculum and it looks like so much fun. You can make it more challenging by adding in reading or substituting activities - I'm already tweaking a couple of things. Becca is super excited about her animal study, and I know she'll love the human body and plant parts as well. It's still not a "boxed" approach, but I feel better with it as my guide instead of winging it out of the Kingfisher encyclopedia. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kls126s Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 using the WTM approach and the Kingfisher - covering human body, animals, and plants. I'd be happy to share if you would like it. But then I enjoy that kind of planning. There's also a couple of plans on Lulu by other moms on this board. I got both of them to compare and look for ideas, but ended up planning my own. One is from TriviumAcademy (Jessica) Another is from Paige (I think she goes by elementalscience on this board? Correct me if I'm wrong on that, Paige...) Easy Classical also sells ready to go plans. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I was just about to ask if anyone had favorite living books for an animal study. Would you mind sharing your list? You do have such wonderful lists. I tried to give you good rep for your post in my BF Character thread, but apparently I have to spread it around before I can rep you again. :001_smile: I, too, am second guessing my science choices. I was going to do the earth science/astronomy route also, but we didn't spend as much time on animals this year as we should have. We focused mainly on the human body. So, I've been debating on doing an nature/animal study this summer or next year. I love the idea of reading lots of living books, but am concerned I might need a lesson plan of sorts to make sure I cover everything. I only hear great things about Apologia, but agree in wishing it covered more categories in one year. I consider myself severely handicapped when it comes to science... but my oldest ds enjoyed the year we read Burgess Animal Book and used the Petersen Field Guide Coloring Book of Mammals (not the exact name) with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 using the WTM approach and the Kingfisher - covering human body, animals, and plants. I'd be happy to share if you would like it. But then I enjoy that kind of planning. There's also a couple of plans on Lulu by other moms on this board. I got both of them to compare and look for ideas, but ended up planning my own. One is from TriviumAcademy (Jessica) Another is from Paige (I think she goes by elementalscience on this board? Correct me if I'm wrong on that, Paige...) Easy Classical also sells ready to go plans. HTH! Hey, I go by pata in va here on the boards, but my curriculum is elemental science and so is my blog. Thanks for posting the link! TNMama, if you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM, I'd be happy to answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kls126s Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hey, I go by pata in va here on the boards, but my curriculum is elemental science and so is my blog. I didn't think I had that correct, but that explains where I got it! Sorry 'bout that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 I really want to follow the WTM model for science for the upcoming year, but also did not trust myself to plan out the year on my own (science is not my "thing" and I was afraid we'd start out ok and I'd fall behind in planning while focusing on other areas). I searched for a book or curriculum that tracked WTM pretty closely, but did not find one I loved. Finally I heard about Biology for the Grammar Stage (the elemental science for the 1st year) and it is exactly what I was looking for. She did all the planning work for me, with each week scheduled and lots of hands on activities. So I can focus on the implementation rather than obsessing over what to cover and when. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 You do have such wonderful lists. :iagree: Regena the List Fairy! ;) I still remember (way back when) your loooong post about field trip ideas. Amazing! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 We are using easyclassical next year. It is just a schedule based on TWTM recs. I think the level you are looking at even uses Apologia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clane Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Thank you all for these links and ideas. The lulu links are new to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 If only Jessica would teach me to do those nifty little tables she does, maybe I could start doing tables of some sort, instead of just lists, LOL..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 WOW - All I can say is I am so impressed with you ladies! Thank you all for your help, lists, schedules, ideas, etc. I am actually excited about Science for next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.