justme824 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 My 4th grader and I are just wrapping up TOPS Radishes. It was a huge success and lots of fun. I plan to come back to corn & beans next year for sure. So now I am trying to figure out where to go from here. With this short & sweet unit I have realized what really works for science around here, and that is that we weren't locked into something for more than 4-weeks. When I've tried science curriculum in the past I found us both bored after about 4-5 weeks. I also really liked having a calendar that told us what to do when. I am totally okay making our own calendar up so we have the plan that works for us. Oh, and I also like that we pulled all our supplies together in one place so we could just glance at the calendar, pull out our supplies, and get to work. So now my question...I would love to get my hands on some good science kits or activity books. Something that I can pull together a short & sweet 4-week plan with. He is really interested in something with electricity. I am considering the TOPS for this as well, but I'm not sure. Any ideas??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I agree, I think TOPS Radishes is a great one. IME, some of the TOPS kits are better than others. I think Radishes, Corn and Beans, and Electricity (with supply kit) are some of the great ones. Just a word of advice: For us, TOPS Light wasn't as good. There were several times we couldn't get it to work or it seemed kinda pointless for the amount of effort. We've also done a couple of Science Wiz kits over the past couple of years and those were pretty good. There's also Snap Circuits, but those seem more open-ended, so maybe not what you're looking for. I'll be listening in for more ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 TOPS are wonderful units but beware, the TOPS come in 2 different forms, the ones like Radishes where you have a calendar and notepages and then there are TOPS with Task Cards. The Task Cards seem to be for the older age range. These are a little more difficult. The TOPS book should say Task Cards on the front. Just a heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 TOPS are wonderful units but beware, the TOPS come in 2 different forms, the ones like Radishes where you have a calendar and notepages and then there are TOPS with Task Cards. The Task Cards seem to be for the older age range. These are a little more difficult. The TOPS book should say Task Cards on the front. Just a heads up. Yes, the ones with task cards are designed to be used much more independently by middle school age and up. The intended grades are denoted for each kit on the TOPS website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 GEMS also has excellent short units. You usually have to put together the kit, but the teaching guides are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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