A home for their hearts Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Need something that is easy to use for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 We'll be using Connect the Thoughts Upper level Science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Secular or Christian? And what do you mean by easy to use? :lol: We're using two this year: Noeo and Intellego. They are two very different programs but both are easy to use. Noeo packages living books with a teacher's guide and science kits. Everything you need shows up at your door without having to scramble around for supplies later. The year progresses gently but gives plenty of information. The good: -The books are great and can be reused/reread without feeling too "schooly" -It's Charlotte Mason-like in its approach, with notebooking and drawing as an expected part of learning. Many of the lessons are short but can be as long as you wish using the links or experiments provided. -The 4 day lesson plan gives you a 5th day to do whatever: skip science, create extra experiments, or go on a field trip. -they are a Christian company but don't believe in pressing their beliefs on others. Their Q&A addresses this, with the expectation that if you are Christian your belief will shine through no matter what you use and needs no commentary from them. The bad: -Level II's science experiments are often lacking for a child who has studied science before. I would suggest removing the included directions and rewriting your own, or just ordering different ones. Intellego is different in its approach. They are sold as unit studies and definitely secular. Much of the work is done on the computer: reading links, playing games, watching videos. Very little required writing and a handful of simple experiments per section. The good: -A student is able to do them on their own with minimal assistance. I set up the links and he can take off. -They are engaging and very interesting for the most part. -Each unit study lasts as long as you want it to. Ours (astronomy) has 5 sections with about 10 lessons each. Given our current pace of 4 days a week that will take us for at least another month) The bad: -I have had to manually type in the links because I can't get them to work from the pdf. -If you are overseas some of the videos will not work. -There is no teacher's manual. I use my weekend to plan out the next week and list all the links in his favorites file titled by day/number: Week2/day1/link1. That gives me a chance to look through them and gather materials if needed. There is another we looked at for this year and decided against because we use their lit studies (and two subjects from the company would be overkill): Moving Beyond The Page offers science unit studies as well as a kit to go with them for semester 1 of the 11-13 program. They have the option to buy separately so you can mix and match levels or choose just one unit your dd is interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 BFSU. The books are very inexpensive. You can whiz through the 1st book to get a good foundation and then move on to Volumes 2 and 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Need something that is easy to use for next year. Look at Mr. Q Science. The first volume is free. If it's not a good fit you at least haven't spent any money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 BFSU. The books are very inexpensive. You can whiz through the 1st book to get a good foundation and then move on to Volumes 2 and 3. What is BFSU? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We're going with The Rainbow by Beginnings Publishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 What is BFSU? thanks Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding I have some information on my blog about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma4Boys Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 We're going with The Rainbow by Beginnings Publishing. My son is halfway through 7th grade and he is really enjoying The Rainbow. Well written & student directed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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