.... Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Would you mind chatting with me for a moment? :001_smile: My daughter will be starting 5th grade this spring and I'm trying to plan. Do you follow: Tuesday - set up experiment, record hypothesis/sketches, etc Thursday - Prepare science report Which science encyclopedia do you use in your homeschool? Do you run out of experiments? Actually, where do you come up with your experiments? :confused: My daughter wants to be a veterinarian...would following TWTM schedule be enough? I appreciate any replies/ideas. (I had huge misconceptions about logic stage history, so I'm probably messing up science, too.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I use Elemental Biology because of its close similarity to the WTM style. I will more than likely need to move for Chemistry to another guide. Elemental Chemistry for the Logic Stage is not out. Have you seen the Biology for the Logic Stage? It is worth the look. I would also suggest that you look at Neoe and Classiquest Science too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I will be doing 5th grade next fall. I have followed WTM science from the beginning. I plan on keeping it up, but am thinking a guide would be helpful. I recently looked at ClassicQuest and am considering it. It has the daily plans typed up for the kiddos to do themselves. Mon: read pgxxx out XXX encyclopedia. Tues: write a paragraph Wed. do experiment on pg. XXX, etc. etc. I think it will really help me get it done properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Thank-you for the replies! I am going to check out ClassicQuest. I had never heard of that. I'm looking for something that my daughter can manage on her own (well, mostly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I would also consider getting BFSU Vol I and Vol II from either the library, or possibly the $5 pdf versions. We just finished BFSU Vol I and I thought it had great information in it. I am somewhat combining BFSU Vol II with ES Biology (ES goes more into each type of animal), but it does not have the depth of the BFSU on the areas that BFSU II covers. I am also using McHenry's The Elements this year. My dd would like to be a doctor and I don't think it's too early to start memorizing The Periodic Table and getting your first glimpes into how it all works. I think we have a good start going, but I would consider doing a search for the recent science thread where Lewelma had such great ideas about science projects each year. I believe it is titled something like, "Science .. someone shoot me now" or something like that. ;-) Amazing info there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Oh, and if your student is interested in becoming a vet I think the new show on NatGeoWild called "The Incredible Dr. Pol" would be a great one to watch. It just started this past week with two new shows. He is a town & farm vet so he works on both small and large animals. We have a farm and cattle ranch so we do most of the cow procedures ourselves, but my kids have got a kick out of it for sure and it's very realistic about what a vet. will face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) My daughter is considering going into a science field. For 5th grade this year we are using CPO Science and The Story of Science. She is also working through Science Detective, reading the My Pals are Here science books, and doing extra science reading and experiments. This combo is working much better for us than what we've tried in the past--TWTM suggestions, RSO, and NOEO. I would also recommend James Herriot's books for fun. My daughter loved his children's books, so she read the full length books a couple years ago and was completely obsessed with them for quite some time. Every Living Thing, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet etc. We have them as a boxed set. We also have James Herriot's Yorkshire. It's interesting to see pictures of the locations of some of the stories. Edited November 1, 2011 by Hilltop Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We do science more than twice a week here. It just seems to work out that way. I tend to go more "school-y" for science. This year we are using CPO Earth and Space. Last year I used a life science plan put together by a fellow Hive member. It is available for free at Guest Hollow. http://tinyurl.com/3txbvj5 It is not secular but it uses mostly secular materials. We are secular and I even added a whole section on evolution. it was easy once I had the basic structure. We also finished the year with a TOPS botany unit. We did the radish unit. FWIW, I think TOPS science is great for logic stage students. It is all hands on with making records of their work etc. I toyed with the idea of only doing TOPS, but I like more reading opportunities. One thing to consider, if you have a kid who is interested in a science field, I think it is important that they get a good introduction to the science/math connection. Now that my son is a logic stage student, I want him using as much math as possible in his science. I want him making simple graphs, recording temperatures, averages etc. In these years we are using the content to teach method and skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 One thing to consider, if you have a kid who is interested in a science field, I think it is important that they get a good introduction to the science/math connection. Now that my son is a logic stage student, I want him using as much math as possible in his science. I want him making simple graphs, recording temperatures, averages etc. In these years we are using the content to teach method and skills. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My daughter is considering going into a science field. For 5th grade this year we are using CPO Science and The Story of Science. She is also working through Science Detective, reading the My Pals are Here science books, and doing extra science reading and experiments. This combo is working much better for us than what we've tried in the past--TWTM suggestions, RSO, and NOEO. There are three Story of Science books, correct? Do you have the student/teacher guides? Do you just the text books for MPH that she reads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 There are three Story of Science books, correct? Do you have the student/teacher guides? Do you just the text books for MPH that she reads? We are using Aristotle Leads the Way this year. Unless something changes, I plan to use one of The Story of Science books each year. Yes, we are using the student/teacher guides. Yes, she just reads the text books for MPH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I like the idea of combining Story of Science with a biology program. We didn't care for her History of the US, so I'll have to see if Story of Science clicks with my son. We didn't like Elemental Science here for Grammar Stage; what are the thoughts on CPO Life Science for a sciency 5th grader? We'll also be using BFSU2 as a supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I like the idea of combining Story of Science with a biology program. We didn't care for her History of the US, so I'll have to see if Story of Science clicks with my son. We didn't like Elemental Science here for Grammar Stage; what are the thoughts on CPO Life Science for a sciency 5th grader? We'll also be using BFSU2 as a supplement. I have been impressed with CPO Life Science for my fifth grader. It is obviously a textbook, which I usually avoid, but we supplement with living books. Each chapter of CPO has recommendations for science literature on various reading levels. The Skills and Practice worksheets of CPO have been great learning tools and a way to integrate math, science vocab, science history, etc into our studies. We haven't used BFSU2 (and I'm trying to resist the urge to add it:tongue_smilie:), but from what I've heard about it I think it would be a great supplement for CPO. (Which I will now promptly forget before I give in and order it!! ;)) Not to derail the topic, but I briefly flipped through A History of US a few months ago and wasn't smitten with it. I plan to look at it again next year as a possibility. Was there anything in particular you didn't like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 Thanks for all the info! Where can you buy CPO? :confused: I looked at their website and it looks like it's only available to schools. As far as Hakim's History of Science, we have that at our library. I think it's geared more for late middle school, but it was really neat. My husband and I were looking thru it. The Classicquest looks awesome and that's on my list now. Also, I had forgotten about TOPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 We always tended more toward reading and deciding on an experiment on Tuesdays and then doing the experiment and writing it up, and/or report writing on Thursdays. I own the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia, but there are probably others out there now that include more info. I never found that it contained enough info on a topic for us. We own a ton of DK Eyewitness books that contain more info, as well as many other science books. We also employ our library freely to obtain info on topics of interest. I still love the Reader's Digest How the _________ Works books for experiments and project ideas. They may be OOP, but there seem to be plenty out there for sale as used books. Janice Van Cleave has written tons and tons of experiment books to go with every single area of science. Our library also carries tons of experiment books on a variety of topics. My son is interested in becoming a veterinarian, as well, and I used such an approach with him for fifth grade. I think ninth grade is plenty of time to hit biology at a more advanced level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I bought CPO used on Amazon. I think I paid less than $10 each for the textbook, teacher's guide, and Investigations Manual. There are a couple versions, so be sure you buy the same version for each book. It is possible to use different versions, if necessary. Someone posted on her blog how she did it, but I can't remember who it was--sorry. The Skills and Practice sheets can be downloaded from the website. I contacted a representative to get a CD-ROM with the answer keys for the worksheets. Some people don't even do the problems on the worksheets. They just do the lesson and discuss it. If I didn't have the answer key and didn't want to work out the answers myself, then I would take that approach. They would still be valuable. We won't do the experiments that take expensive equipment. Most of them have been doable so far. I ordered brine shrimp and other supplies easily from Home Science Tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just remembered I spent about $25 on the CPO textbook. The used prices on Amazon are much higher right now for the textbook. I wonder if they will come back down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Not to derail the topic, but I briefly flipped through A History of US a few months ago and wasn't smitten with it. I plan to look at it again next year as a possibility. Was there anything in particular you didn't like? Meh. I just didn't like the breezy tone...something about it I didn't enjoy. Seemed a bit condescending, perhaps. I didn't give it enough of a try to really warrant a full opinion piece, however ;) We really like Collier's books, and Maestro is fantastic--probably better for 4th and 5th. Collier's books would be great for 6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I just remembered I spent about $25 on the CPO textbook. The used prices on Amazon are much higher right now for the textbook. I wonder if they will come back down... I hope so! Although my son is insistent that the free pdf version will be eminently viewable on his Kindle Fire...which he is still saving for :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 We really like Collier's books, and Maestro is fantastic--probably better for 4th and 5th. Collier's books would be great for 6th. Thanks. She's already read the Maestro books, but I'll look into the Collier books for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Although my son is insistent that the free pdf version will be eminently viewable on his Kindle Fire...which he is still saving for :tongue_smilie: LOL I'm glad you mentioned the free pdf of the books. I had forgotten about those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I hope so! Although my son is insistent that the free pdf version will be eminently viewable on his Kindle Fire...which he is still saving for :tongue_smilie: I have them on my Kindle and I don't fine them practical. You can't enlarge the text. But, maybe the screen for a Fire is bigger etc than what I have. I own the 3G. I mean, I can make the text bigger but then I have to scroll across the screen for each line of text. I don't consider that workable. I guess the proper kindle function I am looking for is to reduce the number of words on the screen. That would make the words bigger but not change the layout of one page per screen. I have it on my kindle in case I need to do a quick look up of something etc. But I cannot imagine using it to actually read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We are using Aristotle Leads the Way this year. Unless something changes, I plan to use one of The Story of Science books each year. Yes, we are using the student/teacher guides. Yes, she just reads the text books for MPH. I just bought the Story of Science set. Thanks for reminding me about them. We're almost done with RSO Chem so I'll jump into this next. Considering buying the MPH texts as well. I tried MPH for 4th grade, but it didn't work well because I-am-not-a-planner. Maybe just reading the texts will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I just bought the Story of Science set. Thanks for reminding me about them. You're welcome! :001_smile: I hope you enjoy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I have them on my Kindle and I don't fine them practical. You can't enlarge the text. But, maybe the screen for a Fire is bigger etc than what I have. I own the 3G. I mean, I can make the text bigger but then I have to scroll across the screen for each line of text. I don't consider that workable. I guess the proper kindle function I am looking for is to reduce the number of words on the screen. That would make the words bigger but not change the layout of one page per screen. I have it on my kindle in case I need to do a quick look up of something etc. But I cannot imagine using it to actually read. The Fire screen will be a bit bigger, but really, I don't think it's workable either. I found the whole shebang, including investigations, for 50 so I'm going to go with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I use Elemental Biology because of its close similarity to the WTM style. Have you seen the Biology for the Logic Stage? It is worth the look. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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