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Please, help me decide on science!


Which science should I go with for 8th/7th?  

  1. 1. Which science should I go with for 8th/7th?

    • Rainbow Science
      16
    • Sonlight Science H
      8
    • SYRWTL Science/Thames & Kosmos MS-1
      3


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I had planned to outsource science for my older two boys in the fall, but plans changed. We'll be able to do science 2-3 days a week for less than an hour (our other main subjects will be Omnibus 1, Classical Writing, Elementary Greek, Visual Latin/Lingua Latina, and Saxon Math) We haven't done a ton of formal science (we've done chemistry programs and we're currently doing the history of science), but we do have a lot of science books and kits around. I'm trying to prepare them both for high school science. Neither boy is terribly interested in science beyond blowing things up ;).

 

Rainbow Science: I like this option best on paper--it looks easy to implement and it comes with everything needed. But it's expensive. I think we'd also probably have to do it double time, so we could try to get through the book in a year, since my oldest would be in 9th the following year. Or we could do it in two years and I could add stuff to the biology part to make it high school worthy (but I don't know what).

 

Sonlight Science H: I like that this one is less expensive than Rainbow, but I would have to mess with the schedule to fit it into 2-3 days a week. I like that it comes with a schedule and most items needed for experiments.

 

So You Really Want to Learn Science with Thames and Kosmos MS-1 Kit: I have both of these, but I'd have to rely on myself to plan it out for the year (though I wouldn't worry about lining the two up). It's definitely the cheapest option, but it also seems the least systematic for preparing them for high school science. If I don't use it now, I would use the combo with my 3rd son when he's in 6th, so it won't go to waste.

 

So, which should I go with? I do have the money for any of the options, so while it may pain me to part with it I can afford it.

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Perhaps you could do the SL science, but start earlier. If you followed the scheduled as written doing it only 3 days a week, you could add on an extra couple of months study. It'd be easier than trying to cram the whole week into a couple of days with your already heavy schedule.

 

I did that science with my ds ages ago - at least most of it. I did it when he was in middle school, and we both felt that the pace was fast.

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We are liking the Rainbow and since he is doing science willingly everyday, I thought I'd vote for it for you to try. I like the text because it isn't dry and too texty; it's to the point and explains it in a way that my son retains the information and even likes to explain what he's read to us.

 

Physics has been a fun place to start and a refreshing change of course after spending most of the year doing Earth Science halfheartedly.(I think I lost everybody in the weather chapters in another program)

 

I dont know much about the other two programs though; I know Sonlight has everything laid out for you, so that might be nice too.

 

We are doing a section or two a day in Rainbow and have just ordered the lab manuals and teacher's helper's since we've decided the text is for us.

 

Maybe you could do a wanted ad for what you are looking for and get it for a fraction of the original cost.

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Let me throw in another suggestion... DIVE science is great, independent and really prepares you for high school science - in fact they have high school science. I also like that since all the labs are done step-by-step on video you can choose which labs to invest in materials for AND you can still see labs done in the video if the materials are not assessable for homeschoolers or just cost prohibitive. My 7th grader is currently using the Earth Science and my oldest has used Biology, Chem and the Advanced Biology prep DVD and will use Physics next year.

 

Heather

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Another option would be to use Rainbow Science as a 2 year program and transition your oldest son to a regular biology program in 9th. He wouldn't have to use Rainbow and you could continue it for the other students.

 

I think it would be much easier to use a regular high school program rather than trying to figure out how to tweak the biology in Rainbow to make it high school worthy.

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maybe list what things you are specifically looking for and that will help. Do you want it to teach lab reports? Do you want lots of experiments? Do you want research? Do you want in depth? Do you want a variety of topics? Do you want textbook? Do want a planned schedule? Do you want independent work?

 

I want something that will get done and prepare them for high school science. I will most likely outsource science starting next year. My plan was to outsource this year, but they wanted to stay in their current enrichment program for a certain experience that I can't recreate at home, so I agreed. So now I get to cram what I would've thought about for months into much less time.

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Rainbow Resource is also easy to double up. The lessons are short and sweet. Two lessons and a lab can easily be done in about 1 1/2 hours, so it would be easy to move through it double time. And it is all planned out.

 

I'm a big fan of T&K kits, but if the planning won't work for you--they aren't right for you! Do what will get done.

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With Omni I, Greek, Latin, and CW, you've got a heavy teaching load and the boys have a heavy academic load. I would pick whichever science looks most likely to get done.

 

That would rule out SYRWTL Science w/ T&K kit. Assuming you have limited time, would you rather put cycles into planning & prepping that or into Omni & CW?

 

Sonlight science is all scheduled out & they have a kit, right? And they use the General Science text which I would think would be a good launch pad into high school science. Your boys might be old enough to run semi-independently with that, so it would still get done even if Omni & CW turn out to need more of your time.

 

If Rainbow is all scheduled out like Sonlight and is just as likely to get done, even if you can't be right there on top of it, you can't go wrong with either Sonlight or Rainbow. I'd go with Sonlight because it's a clear one year program. If I used Rainbow, I'd be constantly questioning whether I should try to skip certain units in order to condense it into one year for my oldest. Or how I could make the second year into a high school credit. Or... But that might just be me. :tongue_smilie:

 

Personally, I plan to outsource science to Derek Owens online when my boys are in 8th. I just cannot drive everything & do it well. Sadly, I know science is not going to happen if it's all up to me. (BTDT. Still there in fact.) If I were in your situation and if the class times worked out for the boys' schedule, I'd sign my 8th grader up for Physical Science and have my 7th grader tag along. They'd have a teacher who's excited about the subject, they'd get a solid physical science foundation, and I could spend more time on Omni & writing, which is what I'd be better at anyhow.

 

Good luck!

Edited by yvonne
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With Omni I, Greek, Latin, and CW, you've got a heavy teaching load and the boys have a heavy academic load. I would pick whichever science looks most likely to get done.

 

That would rule out SYRWTL Science w/ T&K kit. Assuming you have limited time, would you rather put cycles into planning & prepping that or into Omni & CW?

 

Sonlight science is all scheduled out & they have a kit, right? And they use the General Science text which I would think would be a good launch pad into high school science. Your boys might be old enough to run semi-independently with that, so it would still get done even if Omni & CW turn out to need more of your time.

 

If Rainbow is all scheduled out like Sonlight and is just as likely to get done, even if you can't be right there on top of it, you can't go wrong with either Sonlight or Rainbow. I'd go with Sonlight because it's a clear one year program. If I used Rainbow, I'd be constantly questioning whether I should try to skip certain units in order to condense it into one year for my oldest. Or how I could make the second year into a high school credit. Or... But that might just be me. :tongue_smilie:

 

Personally, I plan to outsource science to Derek Owens online when my boys are in 8th. I just cannot drive everything & do it well. Sadly, I know science is not going to happen if it's all up to me. BTDT. If I were in your situation and if the class times worked out for the boys' schedule, I'd sign my 8th grader up for Physical Science and have my 7th grader tag along. They'd have a teacher who's excited about the subject, they'd get a solid physical science foundation, and I could spend more time on Omni & writing, which is what I'd be better at anyhow.

 

Good luck!

 

(Are you doing Omni on your own or online or with a group?)

 

We're doing Omni on our own.

 

My main concern with Sonlight is that it is scheduled 5 days a week (for 35 weeks, I think). We can only do science 3 days a week. Starting it earlier isn't really an option, because we're behind this year and will be working through the summer to finish because of some health issues I've had. I can't afford the DO online class, and there is a reason why I ruled out doing it on our own (I think it was the time commitment involved). You're right that the boys have a heavy year ahead, and I just want a science that gets done. Maybe I should take a look at Apologia without the Sonlight schedule and see what I think.

 

Thank you so much for your thoughts! I really appreciate it :001_smile:.

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Does the virtual homeschool group have the general science class?

 

The enrichment program they're in? They do get science, but it's only about an hour or so a week, and while it's done well, I don't think it prepares them in a systematic way. It's more unit study like--they've done forensics and geology this year.

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Let me throw in another suggestion... DIVE science is great, independent and really prepares you for high school science - in fact they have high school science. I also like that since all the labs are done step-by-step on video you can choose which labs to invest in materials for AND you can still see labs done in the video if the materials are not assessable for homeschoolers or just cost prohibitive. My 7th grader is currently using the Earth Science and my oldest has used Biology, Chem and the Advanced Biology prep DVD and will use Physics next year.

 

Heather

 

I'll check into it. About how much time does it take you a week?

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