How do you do BFSU?

[bbcooker]

I have a 9yo, 7yo and 6yo, all at the 2nd grade level. I've looked at BFSU, but I can't wrap my brain around how it'd look in our house. Can you show me how you do it?

 

How do you plan and prepare?

How do you pick which lessons to do in which order?

How often do you do a lesson?

How long does a lesson take usually?

What does it 'look' like in your home?

 

Also, which book would you recommend I start with? Vol. 1 for K-2, or Vol 2 for 3-5? We've done zero formal science so far.

 

Thanks so much!!

[MrsH]

This is not THE way to do it, just what's working for us right now. I do only formally school my dd10, while ds7 is in school, and sometimes dd3 is with us and sometimes she's at preschool during science... So a bit different situation.

 

First, definitely start with the first book, there's plenty in there for all your kids. Your oldest probably has picked up some of it already just through everyday living but that's no problem, there's still enough in there to wonder about and explore.

 

I spend about an hour going through a chapter, highlighting the actual pdf document on my tablet. I highlight questions to ask, terms to explain, and activities to do. Several people have made their schedules public, including one in this thread. In the beginning, I just followed that schedule, though now I vary it more depending on where we're at (now that I've gotten a feel for it).

 

We do about an hour of science on Thursday and Friday. Some lessons get done in one week, others take two or three, depending on how quickly she grasps the concept and how interested she is. We usually just follow the plan as outlined in the guide, with me setting up the activity and letting her experiment with it, me posing some questions, and working out some answers together. Sometimes I feel impatient when she's not getting to the "right" conclusions and I remind myself to really listen to her logic and her understanding, and to just keep posing questions or asking for clarification. Towards the end of the lesson (not the day but the entire chapter) I generally have her do a notebook page about it. I tell her to include the title, any definitions I want to see on there, and sometimes I'll give her a few questions and she can choose which one she answers. Again, my daughter is 10, so it would look very differently for your younger kids.

 

I also usually request one or more books from the library and dd peruses those. In reality, I usually end up reading those books to the younger siblings. Sometimes she'll sit down and read book after book, but she usually prefers her longer chapter books. If I really want her to read something specific I'll assign it to her during her reading time. Sometimes I find a movie (Bill Nye, Magic Schoolbus, nova...) or an additional activity to do. There's a great pinterest board here for general resources, and also one for each thread. People add resources and activities for whatever lesson and that's been really fun.

 

It's a little daunting but rather than figuring it all out in advance, I kept reminding myself to just start; to just see how the lesson would go. All the "extra" stuff we find these days is just that: extra. It's not necessary. My daughter is really loving science since we started doing science this way. Enjoy!

[laf919]

Start with Vol. 1. I found it easiest to sit down with the flow chart at the beginning of the book and just number what order I wanted to go in. In the end, you will do everything, so don't worry about perfection - you just need to know where you are going to start and what you are going to do next. After that, I spend some time each week when I do my weekly planning reading the chapter, making notes about what I need to cover, and then looking at pinterest boards for more ideas. I also look for books at the library when we go each week - that is more hit or miss, but my daughter enjoys reading about the different topics we are discussing. I am working with an advanced 3rd grader who has done science before, so we are going through vol. 1 quickly this semester to make sure we have covered the basics before moving on - so we do a chapter or 2 a week. We are doing a lapbook as well - sometimes I come up with the minibook for the lesson, sometimes my daughter has her own ideas. It is relaxed, but I can see how she is making connections and she enjoys it. I would recommend that you just make a basic plan of lesson order, then jump in and have some fun with it! It is much less intimidating once you start, really!

[kirstenhill]

I have a 9yo, 7yo and 6yo, all at the 2nd grade level. I've looked at BFSU, but I can't wrap my brain around how it'd look in our house. Can you show me how you do it?

 

How do you plan and prepare?

How do you pick which lessons to do in which order?

How often do you do a lesson?

How long does a lesson take usually?

What does it 'look' like in your home?

 

Also, which book would you recommend I start with? Vol. 1 for K-2, or Vol 2 for 3-5? We've done zero formal science so far.

 

Thanks so much!!

 

I agree with other posters -- definitely start with Vol 1 -- it has the potential to be very meaty. I am just starting Vol 2 and find it rather intimidating in places in terms of topics, equipment etc (considering the ages of my kids, especially!)

 

We've done BFSU on and off for about three years. I am teaching a co-op class now as well to 1st and 2nd graders twice a month using lessons from mostly the A and C threads as a guide.

 

Sometimes my husband has done the main teaching for our lessons at home. He has a PhD in an engineering field and is employed as a scientist, so he could just take 10-15 minutes to glance over a lesson and then mostly wing it as he presented the material to the kids.

 

I tend to spend half an hour at least reading through a lesson and taking notes or highlighting before I present material either to my class or to my own kids. I made up my own course of study/order for the lessons roughly based on the flow chart in the book. We made changes over time based on things like weather (some lessons work better if you can go outside) or the kids interests, but mostly we stuck to it.

 

We've generally done one lesson a week. Sometimes we spread a lesson over multiple weeks but we have never done more than one lesson in a given week. At home I find I like to have at least an hour set aside to work with my kids. Somehow in my co-op class I actually move through the material faster, and I have to work hard to fill my 45 minutes (I think they talk less in class than my kids do at home and they have fewer distractions...no crying babies or toys to play with!).

 

As far as what it "looks" like...it is usually me saying, "hey kids, I have a science demonstration for you," and then I do an activity from the book and we discuss it and do more activities. Sometimes we also watch videos, read books, etc or even make a lapbook if my DD requests it (those book/video/written activities might be spread out over a week or more, not in that hour we might spend together discussing and doing activities).

 

One nice thing about BFSU is that it works nicely to take rabbit trails of spending longer reading more on topics your kids are interested in...or even doing other curricula simultaneously (my DD did Sassafrass Science Adventures: Zoology this fall mostly on her own).

 

Be sure to check out the Pinterest boards in my signature -- you don't have to join Pinterest to see them if you don't want to. I have a number of BFSU users adding pins to the boards for each thread of good activity ideas, videos, etc tagged to go along with the lessons.

[Staceyshoe]

When we used BFSU with my oldest, I didn't pre-plan anything. One day we would sit on the couch together and read through the chapter (skimming and/or skipping parts that were irrelevant because they were geared toward a classroom situation). While we were there, I skimmed the activities and decided which to do. On another day, we would do the activities I had chosen. I ordered recommended living books from the library. We didn't schedule it and just went with the flow. It was the only way I could make BFSU work for us, and it was great. I want to do BFSU with my youngest, but I may have to put in more effort and planning. My oldest craved learning about science, so he didn't mind this approach. Even if I put it off a couple of years, I think my youngest will get bored sitting with a black-and-white text as I skim through to find what we need. I hope I can get through it and don't put it aside when our days get hectic. I'll be reading other responses to see how others do this.

[jar7709]

We do it very loosey-goosey. DH and I are sciency types and there is a lot of science in the house naturally, so I use BFSU to give us a little more structure and to make sure we don't inadvertently skip something foundational. Both kids also have their own science studies, and I want to stretch out BFSU so that I can continue to combine the two kids with it, so we don't do it every week or schedule it. I will pre-read a few sections periodically so that I know what's coming up, and then if it looks like we are light on science on a given week, we'll do a BFSU lesson on a friday or weekend. To actually do a lesson, I (or DH) will read the section and then read a tie-in book with the kids as a jumping-off place, or go straight into a "hey kids, look at this!"-type demonstration which sparks observation and discussion. We will then keep this lesson in mind for the next few days as we go about life tasks and tie things in where we can.

 

For example, a week or two ago I asked DH to do the "Evaporation and Condensation" lesson. He read the section, then made a little still on the stove to show the kids evaporation and condensation in action. They also looked at the pictures in "One Drop of Water", which they've read before, so they didn't need to read it all again, but it was helpful to see different examples. Then the next day we observed that the cars' windows fogged up, and the drops of water on the outside of a glass of cold water, and the evaporation in the lizards' water dish.

 

Looking ahead, spring is starting around here, so I think we're going to switch over to the life science portion of the flowchart for the next few lessons. I think we'll do "Food Chains and Adaptations"; I found a book on forest ecology which we will read, and we'll go out to the forest behind the house and make connections. The kids already understand herbivore/carnivore and the basics of the food chain, so we'll try to go a little deeper and talk about relative amounts of energy, observe the differences in different types of animal skulls and why they are adapted to different parts of the cycles, and touch into why there are so dang many trees. Which will in turn segue nicely into "Plant Science I" a few weeks after that, where we'll go into the forest again and collect a bunch of different types of plant samples to examine. DD will probably want to break out her plant press, DS will probably want to take pictures. This will flow well into "Plant Science II" a few weeks later still--DD picked out a seed packet last time we were at the grocery store and we'll plant a few seeds and track what happens. And those three BFSU lessons will easily take us six weeks to two months.

 

Looking WAY ahead to late spring or early summer, DD has requested a frog study. I bought a separate frog-related curriculum, but as we go through that I'll keep an eye on lessons B-6 through B-9 on animal structure and movement and we may tie things together as appropriate, probably also looking backward again to Lesson B-4 "life cycles" to cement that lesson from months and months ago.

 

So that's what BFSU looks like at our house. IMO the BFSU flowchart is intended to be a way to demonstrate how these different topics really are interrelated and intertwined. I use a "mind mapping" planning technique across our curriculum, which can look like crazy, but for us BFSU is a natural fit into our web. I am sure my method is incomprehensible to many, but you asked what it looks like at our house so there you go. :) Works for us!

[daijobu]

I have a 9yo, 7yo and 6yo, all at the 2nd grade level. I've looked at BFSU, but I can't wrap my brain around how it'd look in our house. Can you show me how you do it?

 

How do you plan and prepare?

How do you pick which lessons to do in which order?

How often do you do a lesson?

How long does a lesson take usually?

What does it 'look' like in your home?

 

Also, which book would you recommend I start with? Vol. 1 for K-2, or Vol 2 for 3-5? We've done zero formal science so far.

 

Thanks so much!!

 

I'm doing BFSU3 (middle school) now, so this info may be less relevant for vol. 1.

 

I begin by putting books on hold from the library so they'll arrive more or less during our lesson. I also scan for any materials that need to be ordered. I don't just stick to their recommended reading, but also add anything else that appears relevant. You never know what gems you'll find.

 

I more or less stick to the sequence dictated by the prerequisites for each lesson. I believe someone has already posted a sample sequence of lessons.

 

Lesson times vary a lot, depending on how much experience my kids already have with a topic. Some lessons are just more dense than others, and I found it difficult to plan my lessons.

 

We take our lessons slowly. I like to let difficult concepts "sink in" so I make sure they have had time to sleep on it before we move on. I partition each lesson into several small pieces. I believe by vol. 2 he wants you to end each lesson with time spent documenting the topics in a notebook, which we do. This notebooking time is also broken up into small parts just because it can be fatiguing and in order to let it sink in some more.

 

We end our lessons with a Bill Nye video. I think Nye's videos are fast-paced and superficial, but fun to watch. Therefore, I wouldn't use it as an introduction to a topic, but at the end, when you feel your students already understand the topic. It's a fun way to tie everything up and see it in action. I also supplement with educational videos I find on YouTube, and you'd be surprised at how much quality stuff is out there for free.

 

What does it look like? Sometimes there's an inclined plane with cars attached to a cart made from legos. Sometimes there are microscopes on my dining table with live organisms in jars to examine forms of motility. Sometimes there are molecular models to show how photosynthesis proceeds, but frankly, in vol 3 there is less hands on work because you can't directly manipulate atoms, molecules and cells. There always seems to be diagrams on the white board. Lots of socratic questioning. Lots of after-bedtime science questions for Mom and Dad.

 

Enjoy BFSU!

[bbcooker]

Reading all this is a bit scary to me, honestly! I have lots of kids and a full plate already!! Planning seems .... unrealistic to actually happen here.

 

I do well with curriculum I can open up, even on the craziest days, and force us to tackle and dig into, regardless of what has happened (or hasn't happened) that day/week already.

 

But... it seems like BFSU give the best science foundation of any curriculum out there.

Also, I do NOT do well with busy work or curriculums that don't accomplish much actual deep learning compared to the time put in. So maybe BFSU would be the best curriculum for us after all???

[LittleIzumi]

I just get the related books from the library and read a few of them together, then pretty much open and go, tweaking as I read to use whatever materials we have on hand. We finished BFSU I that way, and I plan to do the same on BFSU II. I just pick whatever lesson order fits to me. Jumping around is fine, or going all the way through one thread at a time is fine. As for "don't accomplish much actual deep learning?" BFSU is THE meatiest science curriculum for the age I've found. Period.

[daijobu]

Reading all this is a bit scary to me, honestly! I have lots of kids and a full plate already!! Planning seems .... unrealistic to actually happen here.

 

I do well with curriculum I can open up, even on the craziest days, and force us to tackle and dig into, regardless of what has happened (or hasn't happened) that day/week already.

 

 

It helps if you are a bit Type A, and like to plan things in advance. I thrive on that sort of thing, but it may not be a good fit for you. Having the materials ready is more of an issue in vol. 2 than vol. 1 I think.

 

It is also imperative that you have access to an excellent library system. I argue that the recommended reading lists are integral to the curriculum. If you don't have access to a large number of science picture books for children, this may also not be a good fit.

 

ETA: Having written this, I have a funny story. I was using up my charter school budget at the end of the year to purchase BFSU materials. Among all the stuff I ordered was a sample of live euglena. Along with everything else, I put the euglena into my cabinet and didn't get to use it until 6 months later! When I pulled it out it was all brown and dead. Lesson learned...some things you can't buy in advance!

[SevenDaisies]

I don't spend that much time planning. I did pre-plan the order I would teach the lessons based on pre-requisites, but that has been tweaked along the way. I read through the lesson, see if there are any materials to gather, and request a couple of books from the library. The author says the additional reading is not required, but I like to have at least one book for dd to read after we finish the lesson to reinforce what she has learned. We spend one week on some lessons, two weeks on others - it usually depends on how many parts the lesson has.

[hollyfell]

BFSU is the first and may be the only Science curriculum we use and I love it. It is a bit of work but no really that bad. I looked through the chapters at the beginning of the year and created my own schedule of lessons but as others have said, there are plenty you can borrow online. About a week or two in advance of each lesson, I order the suggested books from the library so that I'll have them when it comes time to do the lesson. Before each lesson, i spend about half an hour or so reading through the lesson plan and making my own notes which I then use during the lesson. I find that the lessons often only take 15 minutes once or twice a week for each chapter and the kids are really getting it. We do the activities together which are always fun and then I usually have my 7 year old make a mini book or a notebook page describing what she has learned. I am not sciencey myself so I have been learning a lot. I like that it functions as a spine with a lot of leeway. One could easily supplement any of the lessons with further study or add in some fun science kits to go with it. I find that the material is always being reviewed as we live life so the kids are really remembering things. The other day, I heard my daughter (7) explaining to her cousin about how a yo-yo worked in terms of kinetic and potential energy. Very proud mom moment :).