Wabi Sabi Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I want to use BFSU but have to reluctantly accept that it may not be the right program for us. As hard as I've tried, I just cannot seem to pull everything together, and thus it doesn't get done. As a full-time working homeschooling mom I need things that are more ready to go. If only there was a supply kit available for BFSU I'm confident that we'd be much more successful with it, but alas... With that in mind, what else might I like? I need something that either has all of the supplies included or else there needs to be a supply kit available for purchase elsewhere. It also needs to be secular and appropriate for a third grader. I've tried Evan Moore Daily Science and while it got the job done, my ds found it lackluster and uninspiring. Worksheets just aren't his thing. He's more of a hands-on kind of kid who loves to do projects and experiments. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 I hear you, I reached the same conclusion about BFSU myself. What about buying him some kits (like the Thames & Kosmos kits) and topically-related books & videos from the library? He can read about the topic and/or watch docos and explore it using the kits? This advice comes from the philosophical position that the most important thing to do in science in elementary is to keep the kids interested/enthusiastic about it, and expose them to general scientific info/knowledge that they find interesting. You can be more systematic in middle school if you want (filling in holes, for example) but in high school science, the books all start at the beginning. So there isn't anything that they have to learn at the age of 8 that will affect their future success in science classes/careers, etc., but if they get turned off to science at 8, then maybe they will close the door on it as a possible field of interest, and that would be a shame, wouldn't it? Anyway, that's the grain of salt my advice comes with, FWIW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 Is it just the materials part of it that is keeping you from doing it, or is it other parts of BFSU? If it is only the materials and you like every other part of it, what about spending an afternoon with a cup of tea, going through the book and making a list of all the materials, and then ordering from science catalogs? That is what I plan on doing for this year when i have some $. Because if I wait until the week of, i'll end up not having things I need and then not doing it. I have heard Nancy Larson described as being similar to what you're looking for, but I've never looked into so i can't say for sure, but I would look into that. http://www.nancylarson.com/index_hs2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I don't even work outside the home and I can't get it done. I'd check out REAL Science Odyssey. Kits are available and it's very hand on. My boys love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I loved it at first but found that I just couldn't gather enough mental strength to do it justice. Have you considered REAL Science Odyssey? My kids loved the Biology one. We are going to be using BJU for 4th and 5th this year. We're making it a priority. Even though I am not using the DVD's, I'm confident I can teach this science :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 Is it just the materials part of it that is keeping you from doing it, or is it other parts of BFSU? If it is only the materials and you like every other part of it, what about spending an afternoon with a cup of tea, going through the book and making a list of all the materials, and then ordering from science catalogs? That is what I plan on doing for this year when i have some $. Because if I wait until the week of, i'll end up not having things I need and then not doing it. I have heard Nancy Larson described as being similar to what you're looking for, but I've never looked into so i can't say for sure, but I would look into that. http://www.nancylarson.com/index_hs2.html You know, that's exactly what I decided I need to do! Yesterday I got a big box, printed out the supply list from the Yahoo group, decided which 20 lessons we'd do first and just started filling the box. It turns out that we already have most of the supplies, it's just a matter of gathering them. If I couldn't find something I put it on one of three lists: a list of items to pick up this week at Target or WalMart, another list for the hardware store and specialty items I placed in my cart at homesciencetools.com. Things like baking soda, vinegar, paper, tape, etc. I'm not adding to the box since we always have those items on hand, but I am including mundane things like a battery, a spool of string, large nails, marbles, etc. Hopefully this will work! I am also drawn to the Nancy Larson, but just can't justify the expense when I already have a program that I really WANT to use. My shopping cart with a semester's worth of materials at homesciencetools.com added up to only $30 and the things that I need to pick up locally probably won't be more than $20 total, if that. So, a little under $50 or a little more than $250? No brainer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I'm excited about using BFSU again this year. I'm creating a plan and list of materials as well. I'm doing BFSU and BFSU 2 with dd6 and ds10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I'm totally inspired now...going to get my materials together too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buram Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I will be using BFSU for the first time this year and have been worried because it seems to not work for so many people. I think I will gather supplies too. That has to help get it done. Thanks for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buram Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I will be using BFSU for the first time this year and have been worried because it seems to not work for so many people. I think I will gather supplies too. That has to help get it done. Thanks for the suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariston Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Just saw that there is a supply list on the yahoo group website. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K5science/files/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I really wanted to do BSFU... but we are doing Galore Park Junior Science. It's very straight forward, secular, student directed and inexpensive. When I was scheduling it, I was happy with how meaty it is. My dd7 does a lot of self study with science, so it is very difficult to find that "Goldilocks" science. Not too hard, not something she already knows, not something working mama can't pull together. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoZeeCo's Mom Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I've been gathering supplies, too-- it is very very inexpensive so far and a lot of the stuff we already have on hand- as pps have mentioned. I've also started writing out my bullet points for some of the units we are doing this year, as well as researching places around town we can go to kind of corispond with what we would be learning about that week. I found that last year I had to do bullet points and really study otherwise I was a dud at teaching the content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I found that last year I had to do bullet points and really study otherwise I was a dud at teaching the content. And that's where my problem is. I just won't get around to doing that. I have to be honest with myself. I have my limitations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Why not try something like Singapore My Pals Are Here! Science, just the texts, with Delta Science in a Nutshell kits on the main subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baybedaul Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I've loved BFSU since first hearing about it. But after two years of it not getting done here, we have to try something else. I finally decided on Elemental Science. I feel like I've dropped the ball a bit, so we are going to try both Intro to Science and Biology for the Grammar Stage this year. The plans come with a 2-day or 5-day option. We won't start up until Sept, but I've read lots of good things and looking through it I am very excited. It looks like there are supply kits you can buy, but there are supply lists well presented in the teacher's guide as well. Ideally, I will read through BFSU and incorporate some of those ideas into our lessons. I think it would be very beneficial, but I'm not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I love the discussions we have when we're doing BFSU, but just in case life gets in the way this year - ha! - I have just bought Behold and See 5. We also do a topical study once a week as well as Nature Study on Saturdays. I'm getting a Science Journal for ds10 to fill in as he's a reluctant writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'm taking time at night right now to map out lesson plans. Write out the main points, choose books (and get them ordered), find videos, figure out what we will use for notebooking, etc. I'm hoping if I map out 6-10 weeks at a time over a couple of nights I'll reduce my weekly prep time. ETA: It finally hit me the other day that LegoMan is 6. Six! He's not in high school. It's okay if I just cover these topics and do the best I can. If I miss something it's okay, we'll pick it up later. I need to stop trying to make BSFU lessons perfect and just get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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