busymama7 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I have a upcoming 9th grade girl who is more on the artsy side and very strong/talented in language. Read early, fantastic speller, foreign languages very easy etc. She is quite behind in math though. This year she took DIVE Biology and did ok. Not fantastic, but we are having her re-do a couple sections this summer to be sure that she got some concepts we think she missed. The reason we had her do it was because it was offered at co-op and her older brother was taking it and I have schooled them together(except for math) all along. So next year she will be the correct age for 9th grade, although except for math, all her classes this year were hs level. We originally planned to graduate our kids early(or move to dual enrollment), but with our frustration over getting caught up in math, it may not happen for her. So for science next year for her I am looking at 2 options. One is a basic, check the box physical science class(thinking maybe switched on schoolhouse or something where she could be completely independant) or combining her with the 2 boys younger than her(5th and 7th) and do something fun and interesting all together. Something will lots of reading aloud and hands on and just try to make it a fun year(this one was NOT) and make it so she doesnt have it in her mind that she hates science. Part of the equation is that I am adding another baby to the mix in Nov and will also have a 2,4 and 7 year olds and the older brother who is 15. We are busy and often science becomes the subject that gets skipped:glare: especially the hands-on. I think if I got a complete kit though it would help. I dont feel the pressure to make sure it is high school level seeing as she already has one credit and almost feel like taking advantage of the perks of homeschooling and just have a fun year with regards to science while focusing on catching up in math. But if there was a program I could do that beefed it up for her and was HS level and allowed the other boys to tag along, that would be even better. BUT... doing something like SOS would ensure it got DONE since it wasnt dependant on ME whereas something else might not really end up happening the way I think it will when I plan:tongue_smilie: Thanks for any thoughts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Bumping :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Another excellent option would be to use Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Science. It can be done very independently by her. Just spend 20 min once a week checking her exercise for the chapter. It would be a good "General Science" course for 9th grade. (You could go straight to level 2. It doesn't require exposure to level 1.) However, it has no experiments. Sooo, find some great hands-on stuff for the younger kids and have dd "lead" the younger kids in hands-on science a few times a week. I suggest using a couple TOPS books. They are all hands-on and can be done independently. Just set aside the time each week for them to do it, and point them to the science area! (Get all the supplies on hand in a bin at the beginning of the unit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Have you considered Ellen McHenry’s two middle school level chemistry books? That would be right at the level of your 5th and 7th graders and only a bit light for your 9th grader. She might appreciate something a bit easier for science for a little while, at least. Some of Ellen's activities require multiple students, which we just had to skip, but may be fun for your group. Anyway, Ellen's "The Elements" and "Carbon Chemistry" would be a great introduction to chemistry. Your high schooler could then follow them up with something like Suchoski's Conceptual Chemistry, which is very light on math, along with a Thames and Kosmos chemistry kit for experiements, to finish off a high school credit of chemistry with lab. This would probably take into her 10th grade year to finish but since you already have a high school credit of biology, that should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) Exploration Education is a wonderful physical science. Use the advanced version for 7th-10th graders. http://www.explorationeducation.com/ EE has plenty of hands-on, and it is pretty much check the box. Your younger kids could also participate. ETA: The standard version and the advanced version are identical except the standard version only has days one, two, and three. The advanced version adds days four and five and tags on a more involved experiment and a lab report. It's not *hard* but is good exposure. Edited June 16, 2012 by Sweet Home Alabama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Exploration Education is a wonderful physical science. Use the advanced version for 7th-10th graders. http://www.explorationeducation.com/ EE has plenty of hands-on, and it is pretty much check the box. Your younger kids could also participate. ETA: The standard version and the advanced version are identical except the standard version only has days one, two, and three. The advanced version adds days four and five and tags on a more involved experiment and a lab report. It's not *hard* but is good exposure. This looks like, exactly what I want! I could do it with all of them even my oldest who will be 10 th grade and has done bio but not physical science and does not have the necessary math to do chemistry next year. ( right? He will be going into geometry) If this is as good as it looks I have to wonder why they don't have other courses? I am so glad you posted this! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 This looks like, exactly what I want! I could do it with all of them even my oldest who will be 10 th grade and has done bio but not physical science and does not have the necessary math to do chemistry next year. ( right? He will be going into geometry) If this is as good as it looks I have to wonder why they don't have other courses? I am so glad you posted this! Thank you! You're welcome! My kids loved EE this year. I bought it for my 6th grader, and his 3rd grade brother tagged along. I am glad we used it. You can do a search on EE and read others' comments about it. EE gets great reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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