bttrflyvld Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I just came across these science books. And it looks like they are expanding their books through high school. for those of you that has used them, did you like/dislike them? Was there enough to cover in each book for the year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 When we were first getting started, I considered getting them and read through some of them that a friend had. I thought they weren't that great. Also, the use of comic sans bugged me.:001_rolleyes: Later I read a review that called them a glorified science vocabulary program and that seemed about right. They emphasize using all this correct terminology but not the underlying concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 When we were first getting started, I considered getting them and read through some of them that a friend had. I thought they weren't that great. Also, the use of comic sans bugged me.:001_rolleyes: Later I read a review that called them a glorified science vocabulary program and that seemed about right. They emphasize using all this correct terminology but not the underlying concepts. :iagree: I could just leave it like that because, the font, also annoyed me. :glare: I know that sounds like not a big deal but when you are reading it, it drove me batty. I just didn't care for it much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 When we were first getting started, I considered getting them and read through some of them that a friend had. I thought they weren't that great. Also, the use of comic sans bugged me.:001_rolleyes: Later I read a review that called them a glorified science vocabulary program and that seemed about right. They emphasize using all this correct terminology but not the underlying concepts. :iagree: I was looking to make a switch from BJU's Science program, and I bought this series. It seemed too juvenile for us, but that could have been the font. The material seemed a grade behind from where we were, so I sent it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Maybe I should note we are going to try out Elemental Science this year and a little Apologia. (I suspect I am going to prefer Elemental over Apologia but I am not sure yet.) The jury is still out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I found it to be a little behind, and not a lot more than a good vocabulary lesson. The kids memorized a lot of words, but didn't have much depth to their understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I found it to be a little behind We went up a level. Last year, I put together a physics class with the RS4K Physics Level 1 textbook (which is for middle school), my own workbook that I made on Word and the Physics Workshop lab kit from Thames and Kosmos. I used that with a 3rd grader and a 4th grader. They kept telling me that was the best science ever. :D We would also find videos to supplement (that helps). If you just read through the textbook, it would be kinda dry (and just seem like vocab). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Probably the biggest negative to me was that we were done with the books in about 2 months. I really beefed ours up. We took 7-8 months to get through the Physics book. But, like I posted earlier...I really added a LOT. It was a good guideline for ME to figure out what topics to cover. I will probably use the Chemistry book later...the same way I used the physics book. We're doing astronomy right now and I almost bought their astronomy textbook, but our library had so many resources that we are basically reading lots of books together. We also have the Janice VanCleave Constellations book that we're trying. :tongue_smilie: (My kids are addicted to Janice VanCleave books right now.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 We are using the Physics 1 and the Chemistry 1 this year. I made up my own program using some of the books from Sonlight's Science E and these books. Very heavy on the experiments this year but I figure that is really the best way for kids to understand some of these concepts. I really like RS4K as a base and I think it would be good stand alone program for non-science kids (doing 2-3 of the books in a year) but if your kid is really into science you would probably want to supplement it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaM Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I didn't feel like they were behind, although we did use them before the recommended age. Probably the biggest negative to me was that we were done with the books in about 2 months. For what they cost and what you get I wasn't thrilled with that part. We did pre chem and chem 1. I don't think I'll buy anymore of the books. :iagree: We are using Apologia this year and are really enjoying the more indepth study. It seems like we got just enough to be interested, with the RS4K, before it was time to change books. I'm not good at supplementing so I needed a curriculum that was come complete. I also think they are very expensive. I sort of lucked out and managed to get them during a great sale and actually sold them for more than what I paid, but there is no way I would pay full price for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoo_keeper Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 We like it here. We've done all 4 pre-level books (still waiting on Geology). We, too, did it before the recommended ages (started when elder 2 daughters were 4 & 6. Now we don't do the full program (i.e., no experiments or KOGs, etc.). Instead, once a week we read a chapter at bedtime. The girls also have other science (e.g., Mr. Q, Schlessinger videos, MSB kits, museum experiment classes, library books, etc.), so RS4K doesn't comprise our science curriculum in its entirety. I have the 4 level 1 books ready to go, so I'll be sticking with this (and other science) materials in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I didn't feel like they were behind, although we did use them before the recommended age. I agree. Compared to public school science textbooks (at least at the early elementary level), they're definitely not "behind". However, many kids are going to have the capability of comprehending beyond their official age/grade-based level, in which case you'll probably want to move up a level. We played around with the online version some when my kids were 4 and 7. The 4 year old did well with pre-level-1, and the 7 year old did fine with level 1, and we went to level 2 when he wanted a little more depth. I do feel that it's more than just vocabulary - their explanations of some of the concepts in chemistry are incredibly clear, and I wish I'd known about the books when I was taking college chemistry! My 4 year old was able to quickly grasp things that I'd struggled with in college :) (I'm sure there are other programs that provide more substance.) It's also definitely written from an Intelligent Design standpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I really like RS4K as a base and I think it would be good stand alone program for non-science kids (doing 2-3 of the books in a year) but if your kid is really into science you would probably want to supplement it. :iagree: I keep thinking about it as a base, and then adding on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) What are you all doing for science that is so much more intensive than RS4K? I almost consider science an extracurricular in elementary - most of what my kids know is from having conversations, reading books, and observing the world. They both score like 99th percentile on science on standardized tests. Edited September 18, 2012 by zenjenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaM Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 What are you all doing for science that is so much more intensive than RS4K? I almost consider science an extracurricular in elementary - most of what my kids know is from having conversations, reading books, and observing the world. They both score like 99th percentile on science on standardized tests. My kids are intensely interested in science so we are doing Apologia. I don't feel like it is too much at 2nd and 3rd grade. Of course I also don't feel like it is extra-curricular either. I don't test my children (I realize it might be required where you live) so I am not even sure where they would fall there. I just felt like for the price of RS4K, it wasn't worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I think they are great for elementary school. Before middle school we will finishe prelevel 1 and level one books. Last year I spread biology out for the year by reading a short section twice a week, then a lab day and then a test day. We added a few things. This year we will do chem and physics. We are doung a chapter a week. Between books we will take a break and use the What your 1st and 2nd grader Need to Know books to cover some general science topics. Those two years have sections in the human body, we have some extra books and a coloring book to add to it. My goal with elementary science is to give enough background to be interested without adding hours and hours to our weekly schedule. RS4K is perfect for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I loved chemistry, liked physics, and was 'meh' on biology for Level 1. Loved Level II chemistry. However, it's not a complete coverage of first year high school chemistry--but for a late middle school book, it is outstanding. For chemistry level I, Tiner's "Exploring the World of Chemistry" is an excellent complement at about the fifth grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) I loved chemistry, liked physics, and was 'meh' on biology for Level 1.Loved Level II chemistry. However, it's not a complete coverage of first year high school chemistry--but for a late middle school book, it is outstanding. For chemistry level I, Tiner's "Exploring the World of Chemistry" is an excellent complement at about the fifth grade level. Thank you! I was looking at the RS4K Chem level 1 for my kids, and would love something like the Tiner book to beef it up! And I just looked at Tiner's other Exploring the World of books and realized they would go perfectly with the other RS4K books, at least biology and physics. Edited September 18, 2012 by momto2Cs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 What are you all doing for science that is so much more intensive than RS4K? I almost consider science an extracurricular in elementary - most of what my kids know is from having conversations, reading books, and observing the world. They both score like 99th percentile on science on standardized tests. I don't think it's about the "intensity" of the program and obviously the amount of science knowledge needed for standardized tests in elementary school is minimal. I think it's more about encouraging thinking about why, asking questions, understanding how to observe, trying to encourage scientific thinking, etc - some of the things you mention above and probably do without a curriculum. It's just that RS4K doesn't do any of that in my opinion. And the presentation and writing in the ones I saw was just very blah. I want a science - not that's really intense, but that's exciting and leads to greater thinking down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 We went up a level. Last year, I put together a physics class with the RS4K Physics Level 1 textbook (which is for middle school), my own workbook that I made on Word and the Physics Workshop lab kit from Thames and Kosmos. I used that with a 3rd grader and a 4th grader. They kept telling me that was the best science ever. :D We would also find videos to supplement (that helps). If you just read through the textbook, it would be kinda dry (and just seem like vocab). Yes I have added a lot to them, but I think it frustrates me that for the amount that you pay, you don't get a better program. I don't mind helping the kids find things for rabbit trails or special interests, but I hate having to piecemeal a program together with other programs just to have a good core. If I found the books on sale or second hand somewhere, I might consider bringing them home just as some extra supplement or reading (or activity ideas) for the kids, but I don't think I will ever again try to use it as our core science program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I really liked the Level 1 Chemistry, but used it with dd in late 3rd/early 4th grade. Now we are doing biology, and the vocabulary and concepts she picked up and retained from the chemistry books were invaluable in her ability to grasp cell biology stuff we are doing now. So, I think it's great with young kids, like maybe 3-5th graders, as a pre-bio chemistry. It only takes 10 weeks to do - 10 chapters - so there is plenty of time for other stuff. I am way less enthusiastic about the Level 1 Bio though - we've read some of the chapters (as vocabulary!) but it is totally inadequate for what I'm wanting to cover for my 5th grader for bio. I've not used Physics. You know, a great way to use these books - IMO - would be as a 1-year integrated science class in 3-5th grade, which would then be followed up with a more intensive coverage of each topic in middle school. Or you could just use BFSU :D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I thought Chemistry Level I was good - interesting and in-depth. It was a short course, but we were only doing it a couple of times a week, so it lasted a while. Physics was rather dry and we found the experiments difficult. Biology was a weird amalgam of very simple (life cycle of butterfly and frog) and the satisfyingly deep (cell work). Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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