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Tell me why I keep coming back to elemental science...


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I just can't figure out why elemental science is so appealing to me (earth science and astronomy)! Maybe it's because of the low cost, maybe it's because it looks quick and easy to use. Maybe RS because I already own the Janice van cleave books and this would e a great way to actually use them...

 

Mostly looking at this for my 7yo son who loves science. But he doesn't really like to write though so do you think we woul get hung up on the student pages part? Oh, and this would be in addition to the science we will also do in HOD beyond little hearts program (which isnt even close to te amount of science he wants to do!)

 

Does the ESA program really only take 15 minutes/day to complete? We MUST be done wih school by 1:00 so I can go to work plus I have 3 other dc to school as well.

 

Any thoughts or advice?

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EASY! Science actually gets done with ES. And yes, 15 mins tops unless there is an activity scheduled and that usually is not a long complicated affair. Read a pg in the book, chld narrates what he learned (a sentence or two that you can write or child can write)) and cut/paste the picture or draw your own. There are some ongoing projects you do and if you want, poems to memorize. it looks too simple to be effective but it is. I usually take the topics covered for the week and get library books for dd to read/look at but those are not planned out. We just finished ES life Science and my dd loved it, learned a bunch, and retained lots. We start Earth/Space Science in 2 weeks.

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We love ES! It is easy to use and actually gets done! We do it 2X a week and it only takes about 20-30 minutes each and then an experiment which only gets done sometimes. They are usually easy to do and we try to get to them!

 

oh, and as for the writing, last year I wrote dd's narrations down for her. I will start out the year like that but move towards her writing some this year. We will probably share it though so it doesn't get to be too much.

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We haven't used it yet but I'm planning on using their grammar stage biology this year. It's looks so EASY! In a good I think I'll actually do this kind of way. I also had the Van Cleave books, as well as a few other similar books, and we NEVER did science. I really needed it laid out for me, and the two day a week schedule looks wonderful!

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I love Elemental Science. We are doing Intro to Science right now, and will move on to Biology for the Grammar Stage when we finish. We've taken a couple breaks from science because of other things going on, (nothing to do with the curriculum!) and it is so easy to pick right back up where we left off. DD loves it, and is actually retaining what she learned, even with big breaks in between. And I love that it is all laid out for me, but there is still some flexibility in what we do.

 

As far as how long it takes to get done each day, that is up to you. I haven't used the ESA program, but I know with Intro to Science, everything is explained on a 2 page spread and I can go through and pick and choose what we have time for. There are 2 day and 5 day schedules, but it is also very simple to make your own schedule if you need something a little different, because everything is right there for you (experiments, extra reading, supplemental projects, etc.)

 

As far as writing, my DD is a reluctant writer also, and I do a lot of her writing for her. It was either that, or let her writing hold her back.

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I'm coming at this from Logic Stage, but...

 

We used ES Biology (Logic) this year, and I just purchased ES Earth/Astronomy (Logic) for this year. I love ES! It gets done around here. Other science does not.

 

It has been sooo easy to tailor, week by week. On rushed weeks, we can do the bare minimum, and I feel that they've gotten at least the general idea. On weeks when we need to beef up, it's all there, and I can add extra reading assignments, writing assignments, or projects.

 

My dc tend to be writing-phobic, but the writing level has been very easy to adapt. Last year, I just expected a 1-page double spaced handwritten page from each dc, each week from the writing. This year, I hope to increase my writing expectations for them. I feel ES is very easy to do this with, very customizable.

 

We will be using this with a 7th & 5th grader, in addition to MFW ECC (which has its own science scheduled for the 5th grader). I do not feel this will be too much for her to tackle, because it is in such quick, bitesized chunks.

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Love ES! We used it this past school year with my 2nd and 6th grader and this year all three boys will be using it. There's something about the way it is set up that makes it easy for me to actually get science done. I'm sure I could totally put together a science program just like it, but honestly, having that part done for me is what makes science actually happen in our household.

 

Definitely a good match for us!

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