Would BFSU make sense for us?

[amyrobynne]

My husband, father, and I all have strong science backgrounds and my older boys already lean that direction. They've been reading complicated books on rockets and the NASA program all year for fun and my 6 year pages through my husband's college electricity textbook to get ideas for his snap circuits.

 

When I was planning our first homeschool year this summer, I was at a loss for what direction I should take with science for them. I sort of feel like they're self-teaching enough already, so skip it, whatever. But I feel better about letting them choose to study rockets indefinitely in their free time and filling in the gaps they aren't choosing on their own during the school day.

 

I decided just to do nature study once or twice a week. It seemed like it would do all us good to learn more about what was happening outside and I liked the idea of avoiding more sit-down time or workbooks.

 

But now that we're 4 weeks in, none of us are loving it. If I let them choose what to study, they run off and play on their bikes instead of inspecting trees or bugs. I'd planned to look at birds and get a bird feeder and be part of a tracking program this winter. But I don't know. I'm starting to longingly look at Elemental Science and Noeo and wonder if it's not worth fighting them over nature study.

 

I looked a little at Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding, at least the website and reviews, and I'm trying to figure out if that would be a good fit for us. The k-2nd suggested ages worry me a bit -- my kids have a lot of science knowledge already -- but if the program is set up to help kids think like scientists and be curious about the world around them, I like that. My husband the physics teacher is more concerned that they understand the scientific method (we're definitely old-earth people and don't want new-earth materials) and doesn't love cheesy "experiments".

 

Would BFSU make sense for a family with our background? What about the 3rd-5th grade volume? I don't want to make the kids write much. Should I just force the nature study? Should I skip the whole thing because they have a grandfather who teaches them about lymphatic function one week and the equation for momentum the next time he sees them? Argh.

[CrunchyGirl]

I think it really comes down to if you want to do something like BFSU. It sounds like you have more naturally occuring science going on in your home than most of the rest of us ;)

 

If you do decide to do BFSU, I think you're supposed to start with volume one and just move through it at whatever pace makes sense. My sister just finished up volume one with her 8 and 11 year olds. They went through it in much more depth than I probably will with my 5 year old but they got a ton out of it.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

There is a lot of room for going deeper with BFSU. It does not include cheesy experiments, but does include a number of demonstrations. I am also very anti-cheesy-experiment. :-) (And also a former physics teacher...) I don't do the little booklets that he recommends for enforcing the concepts. Instead, I just try to bring up the principles we learned about whenever they happen to cross our paths. We just did food chains, so when I see a "food-chain-in-action" I point it out.

 

You could also consider using BFSU as a reference for YOU, so that you simply remember to bring up certain concepts in conversation. I think more of the first volume could be done this way. The second volume, if I recall, has some microscope work, so you would need to sit down and "do" some sections, but probably many of the others could be done orally as well.

 

Dr. Nebel is definitely old earth, though he doesn't really address it much in the first couple of volumes.

 

Having said that, if "unschooling" for science is working... I'd stick with that. Hit the high school text books in 6-8th grade to fill in any holes.

[MamaChicken]

We're also very "sciency" and I go back and forth between just enjoying expanding on whatever science the boys are currently interested in (also a lot of NASA resources) and using BFSU. It is very good, and certainly not too basic. I learned a lot in the biology thread (our strengths are the other sciences), and having the 4 threads keeps us balanced.

You can get the ebook very inexpensively.

[Syllieann]

You could get the 3rd-5th book and buy the $5 ebook of the k-2 as a backup just in case you run into a lesson and discover they don't have the background for it. The only caveat with bfsu in your situation is that your dc might move at different paces. That would leave you doing 2 science classes, experiments and all, or you would need to move one of them through at an uncomfortable pace. It sounds like interest-led is working for you. I'd probably leave it alone.

eta: oh, and there's no writing required. A journal is recommended but it can be pictures or you could just skip it or do it orally.

[Chrysalis Academy]

You sound like an ideal BFSU family to me. I'm on the other end of the scale - a biologist - and the B-thread in volume 1 was stuff my kids already knew, because we've been talking about it and playing with it their whole lives. The other threads, I did use a fair amount of the Vol. 1 materials. And I like that the 4-threads approach keeps me honest, so my girls actually get to learn physics, rather than just doing biology and ecology all the time!

 

You could definitely do the $5 ebook for Vol. 1, and fill in any holes they need before tackling Vol. 2 lessons. You will want the hard copy for the volume you end up using, though - you will need to highlight it, mark it up, flip around in it, and it's a pain with the electronic versions (believe me - I have bought both the $5 ebook and the $10 kindle book before I finally bought the hard copy!!)

 

There are no cheesy experiments, but some nice demos, which you can do or not. We like to read a lot of the "extra" books listed in the lessons, but you don't have to. We don't do any writing for science - it's all reading, discussing, doing demos and looking at things online. And watching docos. There are writing assignment/journal suggestions in BFSU, but you don't have to use them.

 

BFSU is a book for the teacher. It provides you with the structure and background knowledge to teach your kids science, effectively, logically, and well. It's not open and go, there aren't structured lessons. You have to do the work to read each lesson - the whole thing - and figure out how you will teach it. It's not for the faint of heart, but it is well, well worth it if your goal is for *you* to teach your kids science, rather than relying on a curriculum to do the teaching for you.

[Mrs Twain]

BFSU would be great for you. The biggest fans of BFSU are all of the people with science backgrounds.

 

Definitely start with the K-2 book. Don't be put off by the grade levels. There is a lot in there that I didn't learn until high school science courses. If you find that it is basic, just go through it faster. However, I doubt that your kids would find it too easy.

 

I made a binder for each of my kids for science. After every BFSU lesson, I have my kids copy the main principles we learned and illustrate each one, and then file them in their binders under the approprate thread (as organized in BFSU). Once in a while, we review our binders to refresh our minds with the basic principles. I find this very important since we have recently started BFSU2. It is essential to have all of the principles down in BFSU1 down before going on to the second volume.

 

ETA: There is plenty of nature study included in BFSU. There are some open-ended lessons which you can do as much as you like. For instance, we have been working on identifying our local trees (which is part of one of the lessons in the B thread of the first volume). This has been a long-term project of collecting leaves, identifying nuts/fruit, drawing the appearance of the trees, and then trying to figure out the exact names.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Mrs Twain

[warneral]

We are half way through BFSU1. I really think it is a great approach. While the topics are extremely basic, they are providing a solid "FOUNDATION" to understanding science. Isn't that the goal for science in elementary? My children are specifically learning about physics in a way that is so easy for them to understand. I LOVE the approach because they won't be thrown into some physics class at 6th grade and be expected to understand electiricity and the laws of motion with no former knowledge. If they get to a 6th grade physics class (they won't b/c we'll still be doing BFSU then ;)) - they would have the foundations to truly grasp the concepts they are being taught.

 

Therefore, I would suggest starting at book one and moving at a quicker pace (since you and your children will have no problem grasping the topics). Then you can move on to book 2. Remember that there are only 3 books from k to 8th grade, so you have plenty of time to move through book 1 and still have time for book 2 and 3. By the time they are in high school they would have a beautiful understanding of scienct and would be more than ready to take high school Bio, Chem, Physics :) I am an engineer but I honestly didn't understand physics in a way that I could relate to throughout my education.

[Chrysalis Academy]

:iagree: there is more than enough time to cover all 3 books, and do lots of other fun stuff, before 8th grade, and it will be an excellent foundation for high school (even college level) science.

[Roxy Roller]

You could also consider using BFSU as a reference for YOU, so that you simply remember to bring up certain concepts in conversation.

 

:iagree:We are young earth creationists, and we are using AIG's Physical Science books this year, but I have purchased all 3 of the BFSU books as a reference for me. I have marked the corresponding sections in BFSU, so that I will read ahead and make sure that I am covering all that needs to be covered(I feel that AIG is a little light). I love that Dr. Nebel really explains the concepts that need to be covered which I might forget or assume my kids 'get'. I will add in ideas from BFSU as needed as well.

 

I do not have your science background, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

[Miss Tick]

We are half-way through BFSU1 and loving it. I get tons of supplemental books from the library and add in my own occasional experiment (probably cheesy). I can't add much to what has been said above, BUT if you are still leaning toward self-directed science, you should really read this post by forum member lewelma. She has a great DIY approach to science and I have bookmarked a few of her posts for reference as we go along.

 

Really I think you could probably swing BFSU AND her science project approach if you and your kids were so inclined... I hope to. Someday.

[Bluegoat]

I like BFSU, though I haven't found myself actually using it much, for a variety of reasons. I'm sure your kids would get something out of it, although I'm not really sure that elementary school kids need organized science much anyway.

 

But, maybe you need to think of a different way of approaching nature study? If you would be willing to focus science enough to do BFSU, why not focus your nature study more so that you get more out of it?

[Kathryn]

I think BFSU would be ideal for you. I'd start with volume one. You have plenty of time to get through them, and there's a lot of meat in there to play with.

[Shelsi]

First off, admittedly I have not read the previous replies.

 

OP, we're a "science-driven" family as well. I love math and science as does my 8 yr old ds. In kindergarten we actually did chemistry (Real Science 4 Kids) and he loved it. I think it gave him a great foundation even though now in 3rd grade he doesn't remember any of the specifics.

 

In 1st grade we floundered around looking for something else. We didn't find BFSU until 2nd grade. We did almost all of the K-2 level that year and my ds loves it and so do I.

 

Yes, he has a strong science background and he understands concepts quickly but I love how BFSU really made him stop and think and truly understand the basics. It's amazing how much stronger in science he's become because of it.

 

And yeah, nature study would never work for us either. I'd love it but it would never actually work with my kids. Ds would run around gathering sticks to make into pretend guns along with collecting acorns as his "bombs." We went to the park this morning as a school "field trip" to use a field guide to identify birds and it was mostly a fail for us in that the kids weren't really interested at all and finally I just let them go and have fun (which resulted in ds catching a super cool grasshopper that was not in our field guide and we examined him/her quite closely).

 

We're just finishing up K-2 and will be moving into the next book soon. Btw, the yahoo group is pretty good & Dr Nebel will personally answer questions.

[Tracy]

Well, my dh is also a high school physics teacher. We have all three books, and he has been very impressed with all of them. He has mentioned to me on a couple of occasions that there are concepts taught in BFSU that his students don't ever learn until they get to his class. He has been known to peruse the BFSU books looking for ideas for his classes. I would not hesitate to recommend it to a very science-oriented family. Vol. 1 is foundational to Vol. 2, so I wouldn't skip it. And those lessons are very deep and meaty. If they are advanced in their science knowledge, they may just whiz right through the K-2 book in a year. The books are so cheap that there really isn't a good reason to skip it, though. You can even get a PDF for $5.

[Incognito]

I have a biology background and am just digging into BFSU after having it for a year.

 

It is good. It is also work. For me, figuring out homeschooling, I waited. I think we'll get through a fair bit this year, and there is quite a bit that has naturally come up in our lives.

 

I think that if you want to do it, you can do it and may enjoy it.

 

If you really want to do nature study instead, though, you can do that in a more concentrated way. There is a site where someone essentially walks you through nature study and helps you get your feet wet systematically (outdoor hour challenge, or something close). It is well done. We are doing some of that this year too.

 

For me, it is more of a stretch to do the nature study. It makes you sit outside and be extremely present and observant. It's wonderful and we all enjoy it.

[Bluegoat]

I have a biology background and am just digging into BFSU after having it for a year.

 

It is good. It is also work. For me, figuring out homeschooling, I waited. I think we'll get through a fair bit this year, and there is quite a bit that has naturally come up in our lives.

 

I think that if you want to do it, you can do it and may enjoy it.

 

If you really want to do nature study instead, though, you can do that in a more concentrated way. There is a site where someone essentially walks you through nature study and helps you get your feet wet systematically (outdoor hour challenge, or something close). It is well done. We are doing some of that this year too.

 

For me, it is more of a stretch to do the nature study. It makes you sit outside and be extremely present and observant. It's wonderful and we all enjoy it.

 

OUtdoor Hour Challenge

 

She has lots of good stuff. You really can't do useful - or maybe deep - nature study without treating it as a class with real direction and tasks, unless you have a child who is very self motivated in that direction. Keeping a notebook that is actually useful as a naturalists reference, learning how to work in the field, directed studies of particular creatures or habitats, or looking at things like succession are all possibilities. You need to prepare for the outing ahead of time and then debrief afterwards as well to get the most from it.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Bluegoat

[amyrobynne]

OUtdoor Hour Challenge

 

She has lots of good stuff. You really can't do useful - or maybe deep - nature study without treating it as a class with real direction and tasks, unless you have a child who is very self motivated in that direction. Keeping a notebook that is actually useful as a naturalists reference, learning how to work in the field, directed studies of particular creatures or habitats, or looking at things like succession are all possibilities. You need to prepare for the outing ahead of time and then debrief afterwards as well to get the most from it.

 

Using her site has been my plan all along, although I think my problem is that I feel like everyone says to look at the things the kids want to look at but I can't get them to care about things I can look up in my field guides. Eventually they've been willing to draw the leaf we looked up or whatever but it feels really forced. There's something depressing about having to force my kids to look at the natural world. I think in the end, I'd like to have more direction with what I'm doing and the boys would love more variety in their science studies.

 

I'm buying a copy of BFSU and once I'm really able to look at big chunks of it, hopefully that will work out.

[amyrobynne]

An update --

 

We've been using BFSU (volume 1) for 3 or 4 weeks now and I really like it. The Pinterest boards that a Hive member put together have been really useful for coming up with demos and lots of options. I've been doing science once a week if we have a nature center class or science-ish field trip and twice if we don't. We did A1/B1 in 1 session, A2 in 3, and A3 in 1. I'm planning to do D1 next so we can stop talking about matter for awhile. My husband has lots of ideas for ways to talk about gravity and since the boys know a fair amount about it already, I suspect we'll go beyond what the book talks about for that lesson, but that won't always be the case. I like knowing that if we've covered everything one day, great, but if there's more we can do, then we can stay there for a month. I suspect D1 will take 4 or 5 times to get through all 3 parts.

 

What I've liked: this approach is great for my wiggly boys. Science usually gets pushed to the end of the day when they are past the point of sitting at the table and that's fine. Today in A3, there was a lot of blowing up of balloons and hitting them around the room while I set things up, but they'd come over and blow in straws and guess whether water would go up the bottle, etc. They're the ones saying, "hey can I try that?" instead of my having to beg them to come check something out. One day in A2, I had them make states of matter books and I made a point of doing that on a calmer day. I made an example one. My 3rd grader titled his, drew pictures of each state of matter, and called it done. My 1st grader wanted his to be like the books we'd gotten from the library. After he wrote the 1st few sentences, I offered to have him dictate the rest to me. He came up with 2 activities for readers to try and then explained why the result worked. It was really detailed! One activity was essentially the rock candy demo from a book (he totally remembered how it worked) and the second was a somewhat sketchier idea for putting clay in water that he came up with on his own. He's usually my big idea kid who has grand plans but little execution, so it was exciting that he could finish the whole thing without giving up. I was glad that I didn't force him to make my idea of a book because his showed much more understanding of the concepts.

 

The only negative I've found is that prepping for it is a black hole for my time. I haven't done too much original stuff but gathering up everybody else's ideas isn't quick.

 

I'm not sure how long it will take us to get through the k-2 book -- maybe 2 years? I'll probably start finding ways to flesh it out more and have my older son do more writing once he's getting into 4th grade next year, but I feel like if we're going more in depth than the author would have intended for a kindergartner, then it'll be fine.

 

I do like knowing I can float between the threads. I'm not sure how excited I am about the upcoming critter collection in thread B, but I'll deal with that when we get there.

 

Thanks for all the encouragement going this direction! I'm so glad science is something the kids are asking for instead of moaning about.