Thoughts on Elemental Science?

[mom2myboys]

Anyone here use it? Tell me your thoughts. :)

[momto2Cs]

We're just starting with it - Logic Stage Biology, to be specific. Both my kids really love it so far. I think it is well laid out/organized, and I like that a "science fair" project is worked in. I am adding in some hands-on from How Nature Works, and we love documentaries, living books, etc., as well, but I think it is actually a very complete program. Of course, we haven't used much of it, but I'll come back and review it again when we're further in.

[coffeegal]

:thumbup: It's been a hit in my house after numerous failures. We used the last half of Logic Earth Science last year and are using Logic Biology this year. It's easy to get done, logically laid out, and appears to prep well for highschool science. My biggest worry right now is that the chemistry is ready when I need to order in July. :toetap05: I don't want to have to switch programs next year. :sad:

[5Wizards]

We did logic stage Biology last year, and my daughter enjoyed it. I switched to something else this year that I had high hopes for, but she doesn't like it as much. Next year I'm planning to outsource science, but if that doesn't happen, I will most likely return to ES Logic Earth Science.

[Mom in High Heels]

What do you like about it specifically? Does it require a lot of hands on teaching or is there a lot of things the student can do alone? Do the experiments require a lot of "stuff" or can it be done with a lot of common items?

[jmccumbers]

Bumping because I have these same questions!

[5Wizards]

What do you like about it specifically? Does it require a lot of hands on teaching or is there a lot of things the student can do alone? Do the experiments require a lot of "stuff" or can it be done with a lot of common items?

 

 

It seems like a lifetime ago right now even though it was only last year, but I'll try my best to answer some of your questions. :)

 

Once she got the hang of how the program was set up, she did most of it independently. My husband did the labs with her and a friend once/week.

 

I liked that there were discussion questions in the teacher's manual with answers provided. There were weekly drawings, and the program was flexible with the amount of writing required. It was well-organized and secular.

 

We bought dissection materials (frog, worm, etc...) and maybe a few other things (again, not remembering everything). My DD was grossed our about the idea of dissection, but in the end, she ended up deciding that it was interesting/worth it. If you don't want to dissect, there are other options listed. We already had a microscope which was gifted to us, but I would have bought one if needed. I have multiple children who will use it, presumably in multiple grades. I ordered these items before the year began from one company - she has a list of the big items for dissection somewhere in the beginning of the curriculum. Other than that, I think that most things were easy to find.

 

That's about all I can remember at this point. I hope that it helped at least a little bit - perhaps someone else will join in and offer more insight.

[Mom in High Heels]

5Wizards, thanks! That's very helpful. I'm looking at their biology for next year. We're doing CPO Earth Science this year and it's just not exciting and any experiments need loads and loads of expensive equipment or adaptations to things that just aren't feasible for me. I'd like Indy to have more hands on stuff, but I don't want to be overloaded with experiments and equipment. Blah, science it so hard to find! We've done so many different programs and just haven't found a fit.

[5Wizards]

5Wizards, thanks! That's very helpful. I'm looking at their biology for next year. We're doing CPO Earth Science this year and it's just not exciting and any experiments need loads and loads of expensive equipment or adaptations to things that just aren't feasible for me. I'd like Indy to have more hands on stuff, but I don't want to be overloaded with experiments and equipment. Blah, science it so hard to find! We've done so many different programs and just haven't found a fit.

 

I hear ya on that one. I have 3 kids, so I'm hoping that by the 3rd I'll finally have what I want to do with science figured out. :laugh: For 7th grade next year I'm planning to outsource it - she'll have a lab/lecture once/week with a group and then have work to do at home before the next meeting. I'm considering looking at Derek Owens for 8th grade science (my DD will be doing Derek Owens pre-algebra in 7th, so we'll see what we think of that first).

 

I wouldn't say that ES is "exciting", but I think it is pretty well-balanced. My daughter likes to have weekly labs, and there are suggestions for further study if you are interested each week (we never seemed to find the time to add much more). This year we switched to Exploration Education Physics (hoping for a really fun, hands-on program with everything included) , and although I had high hopes in the beginning of the year, it's just so-so for my DD. She seems to have fun with it, but she says that it's way too easy (and that she enjoyed ES more). If she had wanted to do Earth Science this year, we would have stayed with ES probably (and if my outsourced class falls through next year, we'll prob. go with ES again).

 

Anyway, good luck picking something!

[mom2myboys]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. If I can work it out budget-wise I am going to pick up the Logic Stage Biology for my 6th and 3rd graders. They both love science especially Biology.

[truebluexf]

DS is using it this year. We love it. He can do it almost entirely independently. Ideally, I should be doing the discussion questions with him, but we had other life going on, so we do not right now. I'm thrilled with the exposure he is getting. He can do the labs almost all by himself (basically insists, lol.) He reads the section assigned and writes a one level outline right now. This is the longest science has gotten consistently done in our house, so I call it a huge win. It's easy to pick and choose which pieces you want your child to do and which to skip (we do not do the memory work at the moment, for example.) Very happy with it!

[Mom in High Heels]

DS is using it this year. We love it. He can do it almost entirely independently. Ideally, I should be doing the discussion questions with him, but we had other life going on, so we do not right now. I'm thrilled with the exposure he is getting. He can do the labs almost all by himself (basically insists, lol.) He reads the section assigned and writes a one level outline right now. This is the longest science has gotten consistently done in our house, so I call it a huge win. It's easy to pick and choose which pieces you want your child to do and which to skip (we do not do the memory work at the moment, for example.) Very happy with it!

 

 

Ooooohhhhhh! Thanks! This is exactly what I wanted to hear!