Anyone exactly following WTM logic science?

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

Since everyone has been so helpful with history, now I'm looking at WTM science! I thought I was all set to use the RS4K middle school program, but now I'm not sure.

 

If you follow TWTM, do you use the sequence suggested?

 

And what about the experiment kits? Do you use them all? Or just some of them, based on interest? I think I added them up for biology to total over $400, so I'm guessing they aren't all used.

 

Any ways you tweak the program?

 

Thanks in advance!

[2_girls_mommy]

I did WTM science all through grammar stage. Then I saw the list for logic stage biology in the 3rd edition and about died when I added it up too! I did decide to stick w/the rotation, but I altered the materials.

 

So for biology this year I ordered MP's 5th grade science set which has a good bird unit and a History of Medicine unit using real books as spines and materials they publish for daily work. I loved the bird unit materials and I loved the History of Medicine book, but didn't use the MP materials for that. I also bought the Biology book from their 6th grade science list to use for additional study since this is our 1 life science year in middle school and all topics aren't covered in the Medicine book.

 

Then I bought owl pellets, planned to buy a microscope, and I put together a stack of books for the year including: The World in a Drop of Water, Usborne's Microscope Book, and Usborne Science Encyclopedia. I also liked Archimedes and the Door to Science which is not about biology, but it went along w/our history studies for the year.

 

We ended up getting lucky in that dd joined a co-op class that was using Science Explorers 6 as a spine, which covered a lot of biology plus some physical science topics from next year's plan, lots of hands on and some dissecting, microscope work, graphing and charts, etc. So I got all of that for a pretty low cost, and saved by not buying our own microscope yet.

 

At home we did the bird unit in full which sparked a new love of birding here. We have attended Audobon Society Meetings and their Christmas Bird Count and we will continue that a bit. We used the Medicine History and Biology book at home as supplements to the co-op class.

 

Our year ended up being less expensive than it could have been. Had we not had the co-op class I would have kept up w/the MP materials and field trips and bought the microscope, and we would have entered the science fair which would have been a month or more of our time. It still would have cost me over $200, possibly $300 for all of the books, microscope, and science fair stuff if I add it all up :). So I probably could have done the WTM as written in the end LOL I am still debating next year for 6th grade. I haven't sat down w/my 2 editions of WTM to really plan it yet, but I have some ideas from what I have on hand.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

After looking through some of the science kits, I realize that I can probably do some of that for cheaper, too, especially on the botany front. My girls usually help me plant seeds each spring, and we can certainly apply the scientific method to that instead of purchasing a $30 kit to put plants in.

 

Also, it looks like if you follow the suggested time frames, there are way more kits than you would actually need for 36 weeks, right?

[2_girls_mommy]

I think so too, really, but I didn't try it, so I can't know for sure.

[mlbuchina]

Looking at the science section in the 3rd addition worried me, too. We have been using Elemental Science this year, and I plan on sticking with it for next year. This is the first year that science is getting done consistently, and I hope to keep that going.

 

I think I am going to add in a couple of the kits, though. Especially if we discover something we want to know more about. Chasing those rabbit trails and all. :)

 

I also found this on Amazon that I plan to get. My dh found a microscope at a yard sale a few years ago, so we have that thank goodness.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

 

 

I also found this on Amazon that I plan to get. My dh found a microscope at a yard sale a few years ago, so we have that thank goodness.

 

 

I like the look of those slides. I had a super old microscope when I was a kid. (I think it belonged to my grandpa.) It used a mirror underneath instead of a light, and it was all metal and really heavy. I loved that thing. I used to like to kill mosquitos and then examine them under the microscope. The picture of the insect mandible on that link reminded me of that. :lol:

[mlbuchina]

I stared looking at the two editions for science, and I really like the look of how SWB has it planned out in the second edition. I need that hand holding. LOL The only problem is, the books she recommends are out of print. I did a search on Amazon and could still find all but one from the physics year, so one could still do it that way if the third edition was too much.

 

In case anyone needs them:

 

How Nature Works

How the Body Works

 

It looks like you can get them used at a good price.

[2_girls_mommy]

Yes, that is what I ran into when I thought I could do biology using my old 2nd edition.

 

But our year worked out. It is probably the most science-y year we have had. I did Apologia Zoo 1 w/my grammar child with her co-op class, so we have really learned birds and insects this year LOL, but it had lots of hands on ideas and experiments that we played around with. I will do human body and plants w/her when co-op is over using some of those books I bought...

[TarynB]

I second Elemental Science. It makes WTM-style logic stage science open-and-go for us and we add in a few TOPS kits for certain topics.

[Sleep-Deprived]

We've followed WTM pretty closely, with the exception that I haven't had my son write nearly a summary a week. We dropped the summaries for the first 10 weeks while getting acquainted with WWS1. He does complete the lab notes for the experiments, and sketches and labels his dissections.

 

I think I am going to add in a couple of the kits, though. Especially if we discover something we want to know more about. Chasing those rabbit trails and all. :)

 

I also found this on Amazon that I plan to get. My dh found a microscope at a yard sale a few years ago, so we have that thank goodness.

 

 

Home Science Tools also has some great prepared slides too. And they usually have a PerX discount if you're a member of HSLDA (you get the coupon code from HSLDA's website). http://www.hometrain...ide-sets/c/151/

 

(I also have him sketch what he sees on the prepared slides).

 

We've used a LOT of the Science in a Nutshell Kits from Delta Education. I have four kiddos, and find the kits store well and stretch well. The first couple years I bought just the individual "Science in a Nutshell" kits, and then finally decided to go with the clusters. By no means do you need ALL of them. If you don't mind hunting for the items, you could purchase just the teacher's manual for the clusters and pull together your own stuff, and I would imagine it would be much less expensive ... but much more time consuming.

 

We've done four dissections this year with two more to go - we bought the specimen kits from Home Science Tools and Carolina Biological.

[2_girls_mommy]

sleep deprived, this may not be the thread, but what are you planning for 6th grade WTM science?

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I just looked through the sample pages for Elemental Science. I really, really like the look of that. I'm curious about something, though. Does it really take an hour and a half to put some water on a piece of bread, define a couple words, and fill out the experiment sheet? That seems light to me. It seems like you should be able to start a second experiment with the left over time. If you use Elemental Science, do you find yourself supplementing?

[Sleep-Deprived]

sleep deprived, this may not be the thread, but what are you planning for 6th grade WTM science?

 

Hi 2 girls mommy!

 

I haven't really planned out 6th grade yet, but we'll be doing Earth Science/Astronomy. (As a side bar - I have four kids who are currently: 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and Kindergarten - and we have two tracks of science and history going each year. So they all get a little extra exposure to what each other is studying even when it doesn't fall in "their year"). This year for instance we have Life Science (5th & Kinder) and Chemistry (3rd & 2nd); last year we had Physical Science and Earth Science/Astronomy).

 

Thinking out loud here...I have the encyclopedias and dictionaries that SWB recommends on page 400 of TWTM. I also have Fossil Formations, Rock Origins, and Earth and Sun (Science in a Nutshell Kits) - we won't do all of them, but we'll pick and choose to supplement. We have a 6" Schmitt-Cassegrain telescope that we use pretty frequently, so we'll put that to use. Last year we watched both the annular eclipse and the transit of Venus, as well as observing the increase in solar activity for the solar cycle. I'm hoping we'll get a good viewing of Comet ISON in November http://www.space.com...nfographic.html

also always try to catch at least one meteor shower each year - usually the Aquarids or Perseids (July/Aug). I do plan on having my son do more WRITING about science this coming year, since we'll have WWS1 under our belts.

 

We will cover Astronomy for the first 18 weeks or so and Earth Science for the latter half of the year. We will make at least two excursions to the Griffith Observatory (we're in Los Angeles). They have incredible models and hands-on activities. Last year we were introduced to UCLA's Explore Your Universe we'll plan to attend that again this year - tailoring our activities accordingly.

 

For Earth Science, I would like to see if we can make it to a San Andreas Fault field trip. And we may make a return trip to the California Oil Museum, or make a longer trip to the Bakersfield Oil Museum. My ds just took a compass and map reading class from REI out at Malibu Creek- and also learned how to triangulate his position. Kudos to dh for arranging that one, as he's not able to help out much with the teaching.

 

I'm considering the National Geographic Earthquakes and Volcanoes Experiment Kit - but I haven't decided yet. (We went to the Big Island last year in October, and got a great introduction to volcanoes, and we participated in a WONDERFUL class at the California Oil Museum on earthquakes and plate tectonics). I've been lax on weather, so I'll probably order the Smithsonian Weather Center Science Kit, or a couple of the Spectacular Science kits mentioned on pp 406-407 in TWTM.

 

Honestly, of all the science cycles...Earth Science/Astronomy is the most natural for us - it just seems to come together, and it gets reinforced often. I have ordered the FOSS Resource Books for Earth Science/Astronomy and have the FOSS lab notebooks that I will probably pick and choose from (especially the one for Weather & Water and for Planetary Science). The lab notebooks are available for download free. The resource books haven't arrived yet, so I can't say if I like them or not or even how much I will use them. Thankfully no chemistry for anyone next year :willy_nilly: ....Chemistry is the cycle that makes me want to pound my head into the wall :banghead:

 

I don't know if that is helpful or not. I'll have a better outline of my "plan" at some point this summer.

[mlbuchina]

I just looked through the sample pages for Elemental Science. I really, really like the look of that. I'm curious about something, though. Does it really take an hour and a half to put some water on a piece of bread, define a couple words, and fill out the experiment sheet? That seems light to me. It seems like you should be able to start a second experiment with the left over time. If you use Elemental Science, do you find yourself supplementing?

 

It has taken us at least an hour, usually more, to do all that needs to be done each day this year (Physics). I know she has a second experiment listed in the teacher manual if you want to explore more, so you could do both experiments if the first doesn't take very long. Also, we use the two day schedule, so there is more required for each day. I don't think it would take that long each day if you choose to use the five day schedule.

 

Depending on my dc's interests, I plan on completing the extra experiments, and then supplementing with a few of the kits listed in TWTM. I may get one or two just for me.

LOL They all look so fascinating!

[Susie in CA]

Thanks for mentioning the Oil Museums. I had no idea they existed. They are now on our field trip list.

 

 

 

 

 

For Earth Science, I would like to see if we can make it to a San Andreas Fault field trip. And we may make a return trip to the California Oil Museum, or make a longer trip to the Bakersfield Oil Museum. My ds just took a compass and map reading class from REI out at Malibu Creek- and also learned how to triangulate his position. Kudos to dh for arranging that one, as he's not able to help out much with the teaching.