scootiepie Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I will have a 2nd grader and K'er this fall, and for the oldest to date, I have basically been sticking to the 3Rs. (although we did read through Apologia Astronomy). I do need to start some history and science with him (them?)this coming year and I'm not quite sure how to approach this. I definitely want to involve my youngest as much as she's able to participate. In looking at science in particular, I'm not sure if I should go with something geared more towards a younger age (K-1) or a bit older. My focus will be on the older child but I want the youngest to participate. How do you all handle this? I'm looking into SOTW vol 1 for history. Not sure about science. I'd planned on BFSU now I'm thinking that might overwhelm me (I don't really like how it's organized). I'm learning I do better with parent-friendly, all-laid-out-for-you type of curricula. But assuming I find the "perfect" science/history, I'm not sure how to handle the age split. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I am teaching science to my 1st and 3rd graders (plus a preschooler added in when he is up for it) using our Magic School Bus curriculum (on our blog-link in siggy). With the age differences I try to bridge the gap with books. As I am planning for science and history next year I look for books that each of the kids can follow and understand at their own level. So even though we may study the same topic, they each have their own encyclopedia (Usborne for younger and Kingfisher for older) and their own library books to read (I should have our earth science/astronomy posted on our blog within the week). Beyond that, they do the same experiments and/or projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scootiepie Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thanks...I will check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I will have a 1st grader and 2 Kers next year and we use Five in a Row in addition to the 3Rs. We love it. Hits history, science, geography, plus some other stuff. When we feel we're ready to move on from FIAR, I'll start the WTM 4 year history cycle, etc. Until then, I love the gentle approach to those subjects that FIAR gives us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEK Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I will have a Ker and 2nd grader next year. We are using SOTW for history (and art, geography...) and REAL science odyssey. Loving both this year and I am definitely planning on continuing with them, they are great for both ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 We are doing History using the curriculum I have shared on my blog. The link is in my siggy below. For Science this past year, so first grade, we did Magic School Bus stuff. They have free experiments on their website. We also did lapbooks to go along with the different videos using lapbook ideas from homeschoolshare.com. In kindergarten, DD and I did lapbooks on different animals. We'd get books out of the library and study them and then make a lapbook for the week. It was a lot of fun! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammv15 Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I pay $30 a month for k12 with my two dc in different grades and use the same grade level. K12 is very advanced but simple and fun. Their website has samples and scope and sequence. I also love Mcruffy for science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 This year I had a 2nd grader and a Ker. We did BP Middle Ages for history and ES ESA for science. My Ker did everything alongside. I aim at my oldest and just adjust expectations for the younger. Even my youngest tags along on history read alouds most if the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I will have a 2nd grader and Ker next year as well. For History, we will be doing TruthQuest History - American History for Young Learners I. And for science, I have a list of topics and we will use our public library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsmm Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I also will have a second grader and a first grader for next year. It's my first year home schooling them. We plan on using REAL Science Odyssey Life for science and have already done some of the preview pages that are available on their site. The kids really enjoyed the first few labs about cells and life. My son is not yet six and could be K or first, and it's fine for him too. He just can't do all of the writing that his sister can handle, so I write what he dictates when he asks. We are going to use SOTW book 1 for history. We have read a few pages so far, and they like it. I will supplement with library books and short videos here and there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I will have a 2nd grader and K'er this fall, and for the oldest to date, I have basically been sticking to the 3Rs. (although we did read through Apologia Astronomy). I do need to start some history and science with him (them?)this coming year and I'm not quite sure how to approach this. I definitely want to involve my youngest as much as she's able to participate. In looking at science in particular, I'm not sure if I should go with something geared more towards a younger age (K-1) or a bit older. My focus will be on the older child but I want the youngest to participate. How do you all handle this? I'm looking into SOTW vol 1 for history. Not sure about science. I'd planned on BFSU now I'm thinking that might overwhelm me (I don't really like how it's organized). I'm learning I do better with parent-friendly, all-laid-out-for-you type of curricula. But assuming I find the "perfect" science/history, I'm not sure how to handle the age split. I have a K-er and 2nd grader right now. SOTW has been fantastic with them this year. They both listen to the chapter. My K-er then provides a short narration (1-3 sentences) that I write for her while my Gr. 2 dd starts on her own narration. Once I've got the younger dd's narration done, I help the elder finish hers. They both enjoy drawing a picture to go with the narration, and love the mapwork. Occasionally we do the projects from the AG, but only if we have the time -- I don't stress over those. I've used BFSU this year, so I may not be much help with science. I hear you that it's not organized in a user-friendly way, at least at first blush. I have kept returning to it, though, because it gives me a framework of study that is flexible enough to use with my two at the same time. I add in extra reading on topics that we're excited about (particularly for the elder dd), and have started to include TOPS investigations related to the BFSU lessons we're working with. This year we've used Radishes; next up is Lentil Science as an ongoing math/science exploration, as well as some of the TOPS rocks and minerals activities. And any documentary that I can get my hands on gets thrown into the mix! Magic School Bus, Growing Up Wild, Animal Babies, and the marvelous BBC nature documentaries have been watched multiple times. This may or may not be helpful, but I'll share from my experience this year. I am learning that my attitude is what is going to make science happen around here. If I have in my head some rosy ideal of little cherubs engaged in simple but effective experiments that open their eyes to the wonders of science, I burn out fast when the demonstrations fail. I have to remind myself regularly that science demonstrations routinely fail, over and over again, no matter how snazzy that kit may sound. My job is to select demonstrations that are worthwhile enough for me to push through those failures to figure out why -- because that's when we start to learn a bit of science. I am also learning that just reading a good book about science is an excellent use of science time at this age. I used to labor under the impression that every science lesson needed to have some hands-on tie-in, and would feel like I was doing a second-rate job when we "just" read a book together. I'm letting go of that, and am celebrating every good science book that we read. I now feel zero guilt about spending weeks without a single demonstration, just reading good books for science. (But funnily enough, as I'm letting go of that expectation, I'm actually doing many more hands-on activities with them than before!) All that to say, I'm learning that with science, the curriculum is secondary to my attitude and approach. As you're looking for a program, it may be that something more open-and-go will work well for you, but you can also leave yourself open to just getting good science books from the library and feeling very good about that as a science education! HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Five in a Row. :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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