CPO earth science or RSO earth science?

[JadeOrchidSong]

My boys will be 9.9 and 7.8 in the fall. Our co-op will do God's Design for Earth for geology. I don't want to do it at home because I really can't stand the dryness of it. My FiL will teach my boys three hours a week, so I wonder if CPO earth science will work for the boys. We did Apologia astronomy already and the co-op will teach astronomy in 2013. I really don't need to do any astronomy for the coming school year. So CPO California earth science will be good because it has no space unit. Do you think this will work? I am concerned if the younger can follow. I can have him do less written and more oral work and grandpa can explain things very well orally.

Edited July 1, 2012 by aomom

[Coffeemama]

Cpo was/is (still have a few chapters left:blush:) challeging for my 5th grader who is a strong student. With a good teacher in Grandpa, your 9 year old might be fine, but I think much of the material would be too technical for a 7 or 8 year old. My younger two used RSO and occasionally helped/ observed with some of their sister's experiments. And she sometimes participated in their experiments as well.:001_smile:

Edited July 2, 2012 by Coffeemama
Typo

[redsquirrel]

I just finished CPO earth and space with my 6th grader. I think, as an 11/12 year old it was just right. I think for a 7 or 8 year old it would be deadly dull.

 

My younger one used RSO earth and space and my elder used CPO and they were a great match.

 

However, I do think RSO would be a little young for the 9 year old.

 

FYI, with my 6th grader I did most of the 'book work' in CPO orally. He would read a sub-chapter and then we would discuss, using the questions. To have him write it all out was not good. We started that way, at the beginning of the year and it was a big mistake. It took ages and felt a whole lot like busy work. When we switched to just doing it orally things really came alive.

[JadeOrchidSong]

I just finished CPO earth and space with my 6th grader. I think, as an 11/12 year old it was just right. I think for a 7 or 8 year old it would be deadly dull.

 

My younger one used RSO earth and space and my elder used CPO and they were a great match.

 

However, I do think RSO would be a little young for the 9 year old.

 

FYI, with my 6th grader I did most of the 'book work' in CPO orally. He would read a sub-chapter and then we would discuss, using the questions. To have him write it all out was not good. We started that way, at the beginning of the year and it was a big mistake. It took ages and felt a whole lot like busy work. When we switched to just doing it orally things really came alive.

 

How did you use these two programs? Did you teach them separately on the same days or different days?

My two boys did RSO Chemistry with grandpa and both did well. I really want to keep them together for science. They are doing many subjects together on the same level except for math, English grammar, and writing.

[redsquirrel]

I do them separately. My boys are about 5 years apart and are at very different places in their education. I don't have a lot of common ground with a first grader and a 6th grader.

 

They both did earth and space last year, they both did medieval history, but one does it as a grammar stage student and the other is well into the logic stage. They don't do any school together. I can give my 6th grader assignments, and while he works on them I can work one on one with my younger. Then, when my younger is due for a wiggle break, it is time for an in depth discussion with my elder.

 

CPO and RSO cover many of the same topics, just in different ways, using different methods. RSO is made for grammar stage kids. CPO is for middle school/ logic stage kids.