Lentil Science arrived today and oh my!

[4ofus]

I hope someone one this board can reassure me that this is a worthwhile activity because the prep is...wow...

[TippyCanoe]

,

[Reflections]

Did you order the kit? That REALLY helps. Even with the kit, though, I think it took a couple of hours to sort and label everything, get it organized and put away.

 

But YES, for us it was worth while. Dd's dysgraphia prevented her from doing so much early math, so she learned quite a bit through the tasks over time. She also used the lentils and containers just for play, with some of her little plastic animals brought in, and I would let your child do that too -- studies show that free play with materials BEFORE dedicated instruction is important in promoting active learning and creative thinking (as opposed to just accepting instructions and learning one narrow task after another).

 

:iagree:

[redsquirrel]

we love Lentil Science, but I didn't have to put any of it together,.

[kwg]

Oh, I have always wanted this. Maybe this year!! Just do not know when we would fit it in.

[Chris in VA]

I saw it at my sil's house and fell in love! (But she had the kit...;))

Once you get it together, I think it's pretty interesting.

[swainsonshawk]

I feel for you. I put ours together two years ago, used it for about 6 months and then stopped. Now I can't bear the though of getting rid of all those popsicle sticks, cans and plastic bottles. So it's in a box in the bottom of a closet until I decide I want to use it again!

 

Becky

[FO4UR]

I ordered Get a Grip a while back. Everything in that kit came labeled and it was literally next-to-no prep.

 

 

I just opened Lentil science today too (though I bought it several weeks ago), and the kit is not as put together as Get a Grip. I have to actually tape labels onto jars and gather some stuff (10 tp rolls anyone?). Ugh!!! (The kits are worth it if you want to do Lentil Science...I would be willing to pay more if they included more.)

 

 

I do think that the Lentil Science looks like fun. And, the kids do love simply playing in the lentil job box. We have various lego creations and dino figurines in the job box right now.

[EmmaNadine]

I had never heard of this, so I googled it, and it looks so cool! Tell me I do not need to get this. It seems like it would be so awesome.

[Violet Crown]

Yes, it's worth it. Now assuming you have the kit (if you don't have the kit, in heaven's name order it!), do this:

 

 

-Ignore pages 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. They only apply to classrooms.

 

-read pages 6-10. As you go through the list of items, find the corresponding item in your kit, or if it's not included, put it on a "to get/make" list. Label each item with sharpie and masking tape as you go, so when the guide refers to it, you know what it is.

 

-Now paperclip pages 1-18 together. You will never need to look at them again.

 

-Copy job cards and job sheets for Chapter A. Read teaching notes from job card A/1.

 

-Sit down with small child, take out first job card, and start lentilling. Repeat.

 

ETA: This may all be completely obvious to normal homeschoolers, but I was just flipping back and forth through the book, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do.

Edited July 20, 2012 by Sharon in Austin

[4ofus]

Yes, it's worth it. Now assuming you have the kit (if you don't have the kit, in heaven's name order it!), do this:

 

 

-Ignore pages 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. They only apply to classrooms.

 

-read pages 6-10. As you go through the list of items, find the corresponding item in your kit, or if it's not included, put it on a "to get/make" list. Label each item with sharpie and masking tape as you go, so when the guide refers to it, you know what it is.

 

-Now paperclip pages 1-18 together. You will never need to look at them again.

 

-Copy job cards and job sheets for Chapter A. Read teaching notes from job card A/1.

 

-Sit down with small child, take out first job card, and start lentilling. Repeat.

 

ETA: This may all be completely obvious to normal homeschoolers, but I was just flipping back and forth through the book, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do.

 

NICE! Thank you! I have the kit (thank goodness!), but even so, have spent several hours today on it~part of it just what you described~flipping back & forth going "huh?" Finally I started labeling & copying & a sort of sense was coming out of it. I do think it looks fun. My boys are 3rd & 4th grade so I just thought about starting out with the Intermediate book. Although I also have the Primary book should we need to back up.

 

Some things that have me rattled: Film canisters! Really?! Where? Margarine/butter tubs-don't eat it, hope to find some really cheap-o stuff to just scoop into the trash I guess. Gallon jugs~our milk comes in glass jars. I use gallon jugs of vinegar but it takes me awhile to empty one. I'm SO HAPPY I ordered the kit. Cutting those pill bottles~NO THANK YOU. But there are some things our personal household doesn't have, that others probably would, y'know? But film canisters...really?!

[nov05mama]

Ohhhhh why oh why did I open this thread?!! This program is so tempting...and here I thought I had science 'set' for the year :lol:

[kwg]

I have been given film canisters from Walmart at the film center. They usually only have a few at a time though so it depends on how much you need.

[The Bobby Soxer]

The prep work gave me a HUGE headache!

But the program is AWESOME! Love, love, love it!!!

 

We asked friends and family members (one was having a graduation party - BINGO!) to save soda bottles, plastic jars, film canisters and the like. It only took a week or two and we were up and running.

 

Hang in there, it's worth it! :grouphug:

[queenie]

I have never heard of this but it looks awesome! From the list on the website it looks like the film canisters are for keeping little things in and the dollar tree has small little clear canisters about the same size that might work.

[4ofus]

Update on prep~

 

So today I hit up CVS & Walgreens for film canisters, bingo Walgreens~2nd stop & they gave me a handful! Yeah! FWIW, CVS said they only develop digital photos so...no need to check there in the future :).

 

I picked up Water in gallons, liters, & 1/2 liters. We'll drink it up for sure, so that seemed the best, least expensive way to get those containers quickly.

 

Lastly, I realized the butter containers now-a-days are 15 oz, not 16 & the author specifically forbade containers smaller than 16 oz. Luckily, I discovered the cottage cheese that I eat is in a 16 oz container! Yay! I'll have those collected in no time.

 

SO, for anyone considering this program...the prep LOOKS worse than it actually is :). It went much better today gathering supplies than I expected it would :).

 

I hope it's great & I hope we (they) LOVE it & learn lots!

[kwg]

Thank you for the update! I am going to try and save some money for this!

[4ofus]

Additional update:

 

Tonight I put the lentils in the box & invited my 3rd grader to come check it out. He did & he liked it & he moved on. He's the hands-on guy that I was thinking of when I bought the set. My 4th grader is more of a get-r-done guy.

 

Well, a little backstory, 4th grader has gotten very tic-y lately. He's always had something...hair twirling, nose picking, whatever, but lately...oh man, the last month or so his tics have me concerned that I'm dealing with something more than typical kid stuff. He's started this vocalization "huh" sometimes accompanied by a head nod. Sometimes he does this every few seconds. All day long. While reading. While eating. While watching/playing. In bed in the morning. In the shower. While talking. All the time. Also clicking his tongue every few seconds. All day long. I've brought his attention to it. I've ignored it. I'm at a loss & going up the wall. He was instantly drawn to the job box & has been happily filling & refilling containers & running his fingers around for probably an hour no. NOT A SOUND besides the lentils. Maybe it fills a sensory need he has?

 

Whatever the reason, I am over the moon right now.

[lotsofpumpkins]

Additional update:

 

Tonight I put the lentils in the box & invited my 3rd grader to come check it out. He did & he liked it & he moved on. He's the hands-on guy that I was thinking of when I bought the set. My 4th grader is more of a get-r-done guy.

 

Well, a little backstory, 4th grader has gotten very tic-y lately. He's always had something...hair twirling, nose picking, whatever, but lately...oh man, the last month or so his tics have me concerned that I'm dealing with something more than typical kid stuff. He's started this vocalization "huh" sometimes accompanied by a head nod. Sometimes he does this every few seconds. All day long. While reading. While eating. While watching/playing. In bed in the morning. In the shower. While talking. All the time. Also clicking his tongue every few seconds. All day long. I've brought his attention to it. I've ignored it. I'm at a loss & going up the wall. He was instantly drawn to the job box & has been happily filling & refilling containers & running his fingers around for probably an hour no. NOT A SOUND besides the lentils. Maybe it fills a sensory need he has?

 

Whatever the reason, I am over the moon right now.

 

Your ds sounds like my 4th grader. About 18 months ago he suddenly started with both motor and vocal tics, and thinking back, we realized some "habits" in the past were likely actually tics too. We had him tested for PANDAS (they just do a strep titer for this), plus he had an EEG and MRI. All the tests were normal, so the neurologist diagnosed him with "transient tic disorder". We have not taken him back this year, but it's likely he'd be diagnosed with Tourettes at this point because the tics have never gone away. They have gotten much more mild, plus I think he's gotten very good at hiding them. He can make a strange movement look like he did it on purpose, etc. Anyway, I remember one time I was playing in an orchestra, and there was a tuba player with Tourettes, and the only time he didn't tic was when he was playing the tuba. He had found what gave him temporary relief. I thought of that when you said the lentils helped your ds. That's wonderful! :)

 

BTW, be careful when you point out the tics to your ds; you don't want him to feel badly about something that he can't help. We felt badly that we had to put our ds through all those tests, but the doctor did want to rule out seizure disorders and other problems. Once we were finished with all of that stuff, we really made it a point to ignore the tics. Sometimes I don't even notice them anymore. I think a lot of his vocal tics are goofy ways of talking, so they aren't obviously tics. They just seem like he's being silly. With motor tics, he seems to be able to wait until no one is looking most of the time.

Edited July 21, 2012 by lotsofpumpkins

[4ofus]

Your ds sounds like my 4th grader. About 18 months ago he suddenly started with both motor and vocal tics, and thinking back, we realized some "habits" in the past were likely actually tics too. We had him tested for PANDAS (they just do a strep titer for this), plus he had an EEG and MRI. All the tests were normal, so the neurologist diagnosed him with "transient tic disorder". We have not taken him back this year, but it's likely he'd be diagnosed with Tourettes at this point because the tics have never gone away. They have gotten much more mild, plus I think he's gotten very good at hiding them. He can make a strange movement look like he did it on purpose, etc. Anyway, I remember one time I was playing in an orchestra, and there was a tuba player with Tourettes, and the only time he didn't tic was when he was playing the tuba. He had found what gave him temporary relief. I thought of that when you said the lentils helped your ds. That's wonderful! :)

 

BTW, be careful when you point out the tics to your ds; you don't want him to feel badly about something that he can't help. We felt badly that we had to put our ds through all those tests, but the doctor did want to rule out seizure disorders and other problems. Once we were finished with all of that stuff, we really made it a point to ignore the tics. Sometimes I don't even notice them anymore. I think a lot of his vocal tics are goofy ways of talking, so they aren't obviously tics. They just seem like he's being silly. With motor tics, he seems to be able to wait until no one is looking most of the time.

 

Thank you for this feedback!

[alisoncooks]

 

Whatever the reason, I am over the moon right now.

 

Well, that is awesome and makes it totally worth all the time & hassle of prepping, yeah!