bethben Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 My ds will be in 7th/8th grade next year. This year he is doing Apologia General Science. He likes it enough but it doesn't spark a lot of interest. I'm not sure it challenges him all that much either. I've been looking at BJU middle school science (life and earth/space). I do need a textbook or some sort of laid out plan. I'm not good at implementing random books and videos. I do like the looks of CPO physical science, but there is no way I can afford the lab equipment which seems like the wow/bang of the program. Any suggestions? Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 We do CPO without many of the labs. Heresy, I know. ;) Some of the reasons why: --completed a similar lab in the past --witnessed the phenomenon in real life --knew the outcome without doing it --would sometimes rather read a 200 page book about something rather than do a certain lab --there is only so much time in a day There have also been labs we adapt to make cheaper/easier. CPO has much to offer, even without the labs. Math, research, biographies of scientists, literature suggestions, etc. We are planning to use CPO Physical Science next year for 7th. It will be our 3rd year with CPO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyMama Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 We've been enjoying Rainbow Science this year. My 7th grader does it mostly on her own - I review the question/answers with her and we supervise the labs. I picked up all the texts/teacher guide used but had to pay for the lab kit (pricey) - I figured we'll have 2 other kids using the program if we find it a good fit for our family, so that helped me justify the expense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 He did the first rainbow section in 5th. I didnt care for it as much - neither did he. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 My 7th grader is using BJU Earth Science this year. We are currently about halfway through the book. This is our first year with BJU after years of Sonlight Science followed by Apologia General last year. Earth Science is by far his least favorite science subject (he's a physics guy!), but we are really enjoying the switch to BJU from Apologia. I have found the program easy to use. We like BJU so much that we are planning to continue with it next year. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 This nice homeschooler made a list of supplies for the CPO Life Science course http://wildoakacademy.blogspot.com/2011/03/cpo-life-science-supply-list.html. I thought The Rainbow would be awesome....it's not. My 10 and 13 yr olds are nearly done with the first year and have not been wowed at any of it (except that the kit comes with all of the supplies). I'm contemplating Science Fusion. My holdout is that it's from a textbook company and the price, but it looks pretty good to me. Here is an overview. ScienceFusion for Home Schooling If you find that wonderful program, please let me know!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CourtneyBrooke Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 We tried our first BJU online course this past year in 7th grade (Life Science taught by Mrs. Vick). My very non-sciencey daughter LOVED it. She learned a ton. We bought the 8th grade course when it was on sale for $99 and will be doing Earth Science this semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I can't recommend the Life Science course with Mrs. Vick enough. If there's any way you could do the course online or through DVD, you should use it. She is a wonderful teacher and will make science come alive. The course is challenging, but will be a very good introduction to life science before Biology in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 We tried our first BJU online course this past year in 7th grade (Life Science taught by Mrs. Vick). My very non-sciencey daughter LOVED it. She learned a ton. We bought the 8th grade course when it was on sale for $99 and will be doing Earth Science this semester. Is this course taught by Mrs. Vick? The website says it is, but the demonstration video is not her teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cschnee Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 You could try Adaptive Curriculum Middle School Science (online at Learning.com for 8.00/ year). This could take place of the lab component of CPO. We use both the MS and HS science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 We're on the Mrs. Vick BJU bandwagon also. We're doing 6th this year with the video (online) and we'll do 7th next year. Thorough, easy to manage, kids enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 My 8th graders are using BJU Earth Science this year. They are enjoying the reading enough, but none if us are excited about this program. This is our first year using BJU. Last year we used the ABeka 7th grade science. Both boys loved it. Neither boy wants to use BJU next year for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 We are using Abeka science 7 this year for my dd12. It doesn't seem to be highly popular here, but I like that it is colorful, well set out, and inlcudes some activities/experiments along the way without being overloaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 BJU has their online classes on sale through the 25th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 As I understand BJU has 2 editions for Earth and Space science: the former was almost Highschool level, the current should be more age appropiate. I don't if the reviews above are about the former of the current edition? I plan to use Lifescience nextyear, so no experience yet :-) We are using the older BJU edition. It's almost killed our love of science. We will definitely not be using BJU next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 If I were going to go textbk route, I would probably use PH' Science Explorers. They are inexpensive if you purchase used and you can select which of he multiple bks you want to cover. I bought 15 of them a few yrs ago for about $2.50 per bk. i've only used a couple completely and others as references bc we are not textbk people, but I like them far better than Apologia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I own the older edition, but it should become our 11th/12th grade Geography credit :-) It will become our 9th grade earth science credit. It's a meaty course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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