Now what? 11-year-old will be done with 8th grade science

[3in9th]

Hi, y'all,

 

Bit of a dilemma. My 11-year-old is zooming through an 8th grade Physical Science book (having completed the 6th (Earth Science) and 7th grade (Life Science) ones). So I guess he'll be ready for high school level science next year. My state requires four years of high school coursework for homeschool. So, if he starts high school level work next year in "sixth grade", he'll have four years on or before his "10th grade" year.

 

Do y'all think it's better for both college admissions and instruction to take AP courses or take introductory college courses as dual enrollment? Also, with your accelerated science kids, what sequence did you use once you were done with middle school science?

 

Thanks!

[regentrude]

Bit of a dilemma. My 11-year-old is zooming through an 8th grade Physical Science book (having completed the 6th (Earth Science) and 7th grade (Life Science) ones). So I guess he'll be ready for high school level science next year. My state requires four years of high school coursework for homeschool. So, if he starts high school level work next year in "sixth grade", he'll have four years on or before his "10th grade" year.

 

Do y'all think it's better for both college admissions and instruction to take AP courses or take introductory college courses as dual enrollment? Also, with your accelerated science kids, what sequence did you use once you were done with middle school science?

 

Thanks!

 

Colleges want to see the work of the last four years. Many are not interested in work completed before, even if it is high school level. So, during these years you can do pretty much what you want. If he does high school level work now, he will be ready for college level science in high school, which can be done either as AP, as dual enrollment, or as independent study at home.

 

The jury is still out on what is "better". Dual enrollment documents that the student can work well in a classroom, but depends on school quality; AP is more standardized.

 

We used the following science sequence:

DD did high school biology (Campbell: Concepts and Connections) in 7th grade.

She took algebra/trig based College Physics when she was 13; we decided to skip 8th grade and just call this her 9th grade year.

 

Chemistry in 10th grade at home

Calculus based Physics dually enrolled at the local STEM university in 11th

some advanced biology, probably dually enrolled at university for 12th

[NittanyJen]

Unless you are planning to graduate your student early, why not go deep and wide instead of just marching forward? It is pretty much impossible to run out of science to study. In any given field of science there are dozens to hundreds of sub-fields that scientists spend their entire lives on, so your child can probably get by for a year or two by picking some interest-led areas to really learn about in more depth :lol:

 

Your DC can dive into microbiology, ecology, oceanography, astronomy, meteorology, particle physics, organic chemistry, genetics, zoology, or whatever suits, and still have a perfectly fine time in high school science when the time comes!

[mom4peace]

There are so many options available, and I can't think you're likely to turn the wrong way. We started HS level biology at 12 and Chemistry at 13 (here are the plans) and are now doing earth science for 9th grade (we just never got to it before.) We're likely to use a local university for dual enrollment (college and high school credits) for the next run of classes, which is a common option in the group of homeschooled high schoolers we know. AP classes are another route for that last high school aged run through the sciences.

 

I do like the idea of spending the middle school years following interests, going beyond the straight science curriculum. There is just so much out there to explore!

 

Good luck!

[cfn10]

1. In depth science project as in competition level.

2. Anatomy Coloring Book---year of anatomy/physiology

3. Astronomy---check out free online courses from colleges and see if any are a good fit (math may be an issue for some)

 

 

or start high school type curriculum i.e. Biology and go from there. It is great to have extra years to cover science as it is so vast.

[Laura Corin]

Is his output at the same level as his understanding? If so, you could look at his studying towards a SAT subject test in a science. That would show that (beyond Mummy marking) he was actually working at a high school level at that age. This is what we did with Calvin - he took a SAT equivalent test at eleven.

 

Alternatively you could go broader and look into subjects beyond the high school norm: geology, astronomy, etc.

 

Laura

[3in9th]

Alright, so I've decided that once my ds is done with 8th grade physical science we'll do some sort of ecology/nature program next year. However, I haven't a clue about curriculum. I went to the curriculum collection of the local university and saw Hands-On Nature, which looked cool, but I think it's geared for younger kids.

 

Anyone know of a good curriculum/textbook for this type of science?

 

Thanks again!

[JennW in SoCal]

Alright, so I've decided that once my ds is done with 8th grade physical science we'll do some sort of ecology/nature program next year. However, I haven't a clue about curriculum. I went to the curriculum collection of the local university and saw Hands-On Nature, which looked cool, but I think it's geared for younger kids.

 

Anyone know of a good curriculum/textbook for this type of science?

 

Thanks again!

 

I remember Nan in Mass recommending the natural science curriculum from Mother of Divine Grace. Perhaps she will see this and chime in about it.

 

I want to gently add that there is more to science than textbooks and curricula. I have a ds heading into the sciences who didn't do any formal science courses until high school where he went straight into AP and community college courses. Science was simply part of life. We took part in Project Feeder Watch every year, an excellent citizen science project through Cornell University. They have a homeschool curriculum which is free, I believe, and they offer a university level ornithology course. Cornell also has a lady bug citizen science project and there is another organization using the public to study honey bees. Keeping a nature journal is another excellent means of studying ecology. On the surface these kinds of projects look simplistic, a level above rock collecting, but the observing, measuring, quantifying, identifying, questioning and reporting is all the daily work of scientists.

 

Check your nearest natural history museum or conservancy groups for local guides on the flora and fauna of your area, and for lectures and hikes. I know homeschoolers who became teen docents, and my own kids volunteered for years at our local natural history museum.

 

And finally, a story of how nature study, without a text book, really does work: Nature study raises science test scores

 

I'll get off my pulpit now:D

[regentrude]

nm. Just realized I had already replied.

[3in9th]

Thanks, Jenn!

 

There are a lot of local resources for exploring around here and I hope to capitalize on state parks, forests, conservation areas, etc. I'd just like something more concrete for bad weather days- which we have a lot of come winter time.

[EKS]

My plan for my younger son (before we decided to send him to school next year) was to start high school level science next year (5th grade), keep the records, and then have the early stuff fall off his transcript as he completed higher level courses.

 

The reason to keep records would be if we decided down the road to have him graduate early.

[lewelma]

Hi, y'all,

My 11-year-old is zooming through an 8th grade Physical Science book

 

Pick harder books. :001_smile:

 

For 5th grade biology: we used the high-school level modular books from Biozone http://www.biozone.co.nz/modular.php They have an ecology book.

 

For 6th grade earth science: we used Tarbuck Earth Science (college level) http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Science-Edward-J-Tarbuck/dp/0136020070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335561821&sr=8-1

 

For 7th grade chemistry: ds will take the Cambridge International Exam (CIE) for Chemistry (10th grade level) http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Chemistry-Workbook-International-Examinations/dp/0521181178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335560939&sr=8-1 (these are similar to the SAT2 tests but I think at a slightly lower level)

 

for 8th grade physics: studying the material for the CIE exam in physics

 

This leaves us time in highschool for A levels in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics studying each for 2 years to really dig into the subject. (These exams are equivalent to APs in the USA). With a strong background in middle school science, I expect he will do quite well in these exams.

 

Also, we spend time each year on a large investigation (2-3 months). My 6th grader is studying the effect of wind speed and direction and shoreline orientation on the longshore transport of sand (for earth science). I am currently writing it up in detail here http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361740

 

Hope this gives you some ideas,

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited April 27, 2012 by lewelma

[Julie of KY]

oops.

[firedaniels]

I remember Nan in Mass recommending the natural science curriculum from Mother of Divine Grace. Perhaps she will see this and chime in about it.

 

I want to gently add that there is more to science than textbooks and curricula. I have a ds heading into the sciences who didn't do any formal science courses until high school where he went straight into AP and community college courses. Science was simply part of life. We took part in Project Feeder Watch every year, an excellent citizen science project through Cornell University. They have a homeschool curriculum which is free, I believe, and they offer a university level ornithology course. Cornell also has a lady bug citizen science project and there is another organization using the public to study honey bees. Keeping a nature journal is another excellent means of studying ecology. On the surface these kinds of projects look simplistic, a level above rock collecting, but the observing, measuring, quantifying, identifying, questioning and reporting is all the daily work of scientists.

 

Check your nearest natural history museum or conservancy groups for local guides on the flora and fauna of your area, and for lectures and hikes. I know homeschoolers who became teen docents, and my own kids volunteered for years at our local natural history museum.

 

And finally, a story of how nature study, without a text book, really does work: Nature study raises science test scores

 

I'll get off my pulpit now:D

 

I would like to add that Cornell also has Raven Lite software available to study and track sounds that students are uncertain of, including some herps.