TriciaS Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I know it's recommended to have one for Singapore...I'll be teaching 1b/2a/poss. 2b and Essentials K, book a. Do I really need that thing or is it a waste of $13.00? I feel like I'm in a never-ending pit of buying extras right now! I just don't want to order the thing and then never use it, you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I didn't use Singapore, so can't speak to how necessary it might be for the lessons, but I can tell you that our bucket balance has not seen a lot of use during school time. It does, however, get occasional use during free science time, and it is a nice component to have in our science bin. We've also used it with a set of weighted coins that I found on clearance somewhere. Not necessary for learning about money, but a fun little extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have one that works as both bucket and pan, with both metric and English writs, and DD has used it quite a bit. I don't recall it being needed for SM, but she's used it a lot in her own investigations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I just sold ours. DS used it daily for six years. To store legos in. :tongue_smilie: I would say it wasn't a total waste, as he enjoyed it. Did we ever use it for school? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinahYeteirah Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 It's probably used for one or two of the lessons in each of the levels you have listed. I like having all the recommended materials, so I don't have to skip learning activities, but it is a very small part of the instruction. You could make do without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I feel like we did use it for SM years 2 and 3. I am having a hard time remembering that many years back. I am starting SM 2 again this year and I have my scale all ready to go. I don't think we used it a lot, but we did use it. That said, I was given mine so I didn't care about price. I think we used it for some grammar stage science as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kesmom Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I was able to borrow one from Dh's work, but DD loved that unit so much that buying one would have been worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillehei Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Usually, when a pan balance is used in our science it is used to figure mass of an object. We just use a digital kitchen scale (which get tons of use) and do it that way. No wasted money here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 It was a lot of fun for my dd to play with. Her toys had great fun lining up to see who was bigger. It wasn't valuable for learning math, and a real teeter-totter is better for science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have one, and it was neat for maybe two weeks. The rest of the time, it wasn't useful. When Iwanted it for the next younger kid, I couldn't find one of the buckets, but Ifinally foundit last week behind the frig. Make your own with a hanger and two strawberry baskets or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 We used ours quite a lot over the years. Not just for school but for discovery fun. After 4 children using it, it was worth the purchase. There are homemade versions but they might not stand up to all the discovery play that the purchased one will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmaNadine Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 My son uses it a lot. Both in play and in discovery math for figuring out equivalencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriciaS Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Maybe I'll just wait and see if it seems like we're needing it...amazon has a warehouse an hour from here, so most things get here in 2 days even without prime shipping. Thanks for all your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 My son uses it a lot. Both in play and in discovery math for figuring out equivalencies. Same for DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Save it as you will want to use it in physical science later on. Ask me how I know. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAR Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Our bucket balance has been used about 6 times in a year, and mostly for fun, not really a structured lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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