Science?

[DandelionPrincess]

So we've hardly done any science up until now.  My son is 6 and we're currently working through Easy Peasy Biology (L level), which has been good so far, but we do at least 2-3 "days" worth at a time since the activities are so short.  This means that we will finish science far sooner than the end of the year. (Even so, we school year-round).  I was looking into doing Easy Peasy's Zoology next just to do SOMETHING through the end of the year.  

 

I was also looking into My Pals are Here from Singapore Math.  I see that they have re-vamped the series; has anyone used it??? Do i NEED the instructor's guide? (it's more than both books put together).  My son is a workbook kid.  BFSU was a total fail as he needs to read/see what he's learning.  He zones out during "conversations" meant to teach him, regardless of the topic.  I'm thinking this might be a really good fit, but I don't want to spend the money on it if its TOO easy, or if it's just not worth it.  The samples look okay, a bit simple, but like i said we have very little science stuff done so maybe we need the basics? 

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

Look into Mr. Q's Life Science, which is available as a free download.

 

I was not impressed by the old version of MPH but haven't seen the new version. The problem with the old MPH is that the text and activity book were too simplistic, but then the "Higher Order Thinking Skills" book required information that was not contained in the textbook (I guess it's presumed the teacher would flesh out the instruction from his/her own background knowledge). We found it very frustrating.

[DandelionPrincess]

I've seen and downloaded Mr. Q, which is used with Easy Peasy Biology.  I love the format and everything, but there's no "concrete" book, so my son doesn't retain as much as if he were working through a workbook, if that makes sense.  I do have him notebook/journal some things to get him to remember it better, and have him explain it back to me, etc. etc.  

 

MPH seems like it WOULD be a good fit, if the material is challenging enough/isn't too simple.  I'm even willing to find experiments to go with whatever is being taught, but I don't want him bored to tears with the content.  

[Crimson Wife]

Are you doing the workbook pages included in Mr. Q?

[pgr]

I agree completely regarding MPH (purchased in late 2011/early 2012- I'm not sure when it was revamped). Narrow range of topics, and the Higher Order Thinking Skills requires information that isn't presented elsewhere. I wanted to love it, but also found it very frustrating (even with a background in science).

[Kerileanne99]

I have MPH and I really just don't like how it is presented. Even for the early years, it just is not a cohesive flow of information. I also feel like it cherry-picks topics (rather, parts of topics!) but does a poor job of presenting them. When we do use the pages, it is more as a side note.

 

I recently bought the R.E.A.L Science Odyssey Life, Earth/Space science, and Chemistry books and I really love the layout. I am adding in a bit of structure and the approach of BFSU to really focus on the process and the scientific method, as well as some fun worksheets from the Evan-Moor Big Book of Science Resources. And LOTS of experiments! We are chemists in our house and my kiddo seems to require large daily doses of math and science to function.

 

And because my dd is young, we have time (and no pressure!) to cover it all with lots of rabbit trails...but I love the combination.

 

Btw, Pandia Press is having a 25% off sale all September!

[JennW in SoCal]

I didn't use any science programs, never did any formal science, in fact, until high school. It was all interest led with occasional mommy led projects.  Our house and lives were filled with science and both kids excelled in high school science courses and one is now a science major in college.  I think many of us feel we aren't "doing science" properly unless there is a fancy science experiment every week.  Or that we will miss something crucial unless we follow a formal curriculum.  But it really isn't necessary because science isn't in a text book -- it is all around you.   And, the work of scientists is actually rather dull -- it is observing, measuring, recording then comparing and thinking and asking questions. Kids are naturals at observing and questioning, so your job is to keep that natural inquisitive nature alive and to feed and encourage it.

 

Keep a small permanent science reference library on hand, both kid books, grown up books and books for teachers.  Add to it with a wide variety of library books on topics that capture your child's interest.  Include lots of biographies and all kinds of science videos from the old Bill Nye shows to NOVA to animal shows or the fun chemistry shorts that can be found on YouTube.  Do the projects you think you can handle, or let your kids try some of the projects that capture their interest.

 

Keep kid-friendly but decent quality binoculars, magnifying glasses and a small microscope (we had a cool field microscope) at kid level, and encourage them to use them.   Don't forget to have local field guides so they can identify all those critters they find.  

 

Have a science notebook for each kid.  Encourage them to draw things they see, or to measure things and record those measurements.  It can be ANYTHING that they want to measure or observe, it doesn't matter if it is the kitchen table or all the colored pencils that they measure, the idea is just to write and record.  Once a week -- or more -- have them do copy work from one of their science books, or write their narration of a section of a book.  Have them copy diagrams from those books, too.  Real scientists keep lab notebooks, handwritten in ink!  

 

Take advantage of your local museums and zoo and/or aquarium.  There are often talks you can attend, and docents who are happy to talk with kids.  The best time of day is often after lunch when the school groups are all leaving.  When my oldest son was only 8, his knowledge of dinosaurs so impressed one docent that he was asked to volunteer as a junior docent!  Look for local astronomy clubs who often have telescopes set up for the public one night a month or so.  Watch for events by robotics or rocketry clubs.  Go on guided nature walks.  And channel Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.  Have fun!  Get messy!  Make mistakes!  

 

 

[MamaSprout]

So we've hardly done any science up until now.  My son is 6 and we're currently working through Easy Peasy Biology (L level), which has been good so far, but we do at least 2-3 "days" worth at a time since the activities are so short.  This means that we will finish science far sooner than the end of the year. (Even so, we school year-round).  I was looking into doing Easy Peasy's Zoology next just to do SOMETHING through the end of the year.  

 

I was also looking into My Pals are Here from Singapore Math.  I see that they have re-vamped the series; has anyone used it??? Do i NEED the instructor's guide? (it's more than both books put together).  My son is a workbook kid.  BFSU was a total fail as he needs to read/see what he's learning.  He zones out during "conversations" meant to teach him, regardless of the topic.  I'm thinking this might be a really good fit, but I don't want to spend the money on it if its TOO easy, or if it's just not worth it.  The samples look okay, a bit simple, but like i said we have very little science stuff done so maybe we need the basics? 

 

If you're looking at My Pals, look at Galore Park Junior Science. We are using GP 3 right now, and doing TopScience. At 6, we were pretty student driven, but fwiw, I wish I had started with the Junior Science b/c I spent a lot of money on random Science books and bits. I could've just done GP and checked out science kits/ videos/ books from the library, and had my bases covered.

 

The TopScience we are doing with some other kids who don't do any other science. I find it very open and go, but probably a bit detailed for a 6 year old unless they are tagging along.

 

GP is deceptively simple, but requires some thought from the student. I've not needed the teacher's materials at the Junior level. http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/parents/682/junior-science-book-1.html

 

You can buy them from Horrible Books or Book Depository.

[sagira]

BFSU was a total fail as he needs to read/see what he's learning.  He zones out during "conversations" meant to teach him, regardless of the topic.

 

My ds, now 10, is the same when it comes to discussions. We have been using BFSU since he was in Kinder. What I do is I introduce the topic with a living book, and then discuss. Or I start with the activity, start with one compelling question (BFSU usually starts with one), then discuss a little bit, introduce the book so ds can see. In effect, he's doing, thinking, reading, discussing. In that order. He had to learn to discuss with me. I had him narrating and we discussed from the beginning. If you have a compelling book (the Let's Read and Find Out series are great for this purpose), the child will be able to visualize and most likely then be able to discuss because he is interested.

 

That said, I have tried MPH. Ds liked reading the textbooks, and I liked the thinking it made him do, but I don't know if there was much retention there. I still like BFSU better, and we will continue using it. I did teach MPH with the Instructor's Guide. There is a lot of guidance there, including background information for teachers and other ideas. If for nothing else, the answers to the activity books are there. Makes it much easier to correct.

[brendag]

Have you looked at MSNucleus.org?  It's free except for the cost of printing out the guides/workbooks.  Love, love, love this program and so do my kids.  The website looks dated, but the info definitely isn't from what I've seen.  You start at Applied Science and work your way around the topics clockwise.  It reminds me of BFSU, but I'm not a big talker about science.  Now if my husband was teaching it, he could go on and on and answer questions for hours.  Unfortunately he isn't able to teach it regularly enough.  When we went through the MSNucleus materials together, he was sold.  This is not lightweight material, but the presentation is so straightforward and that is what I need.  Science is so much FUN now!!!  I found it after reading a thread in which lewelma talked about it.  I actually gather/buy all the science supplies we will use for the whole year during the summer and only bought like 2 of the kits.   

 

http://www.msnucleus.org/curriculum/curriculum.html

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/434309-has-anyone-used-this-science-program/

 

I'm not affiliated with it in any way...just a truly happy mom relearning science along with my kids.  Good luck with whatever you decide to use!

 

Brenda

 

ETA:  My b/g twins are soon to be 6 and I find this a great fit for them.  We do science 3 times a week, but it does not take that long.

 

[DandelionPrincess]

I had looked into msnucleus a while back and totally forgot about it!! I will look into it again, esp. because it's free!! Thank you all for your feedback I think i am going to skip MPH, as i want a somewhat in depth science curriculum, and it seems like it's anything but in depth.  I will look into msnucleus again :) 

[raptor_dad]

You could look at the Thunderbolt Kids books. These are free workbooks+comic books from South Africa. They have grades 4-6... but you could use them earlier. I thought they looked well done when I reviewed them but we didn't want something workbook-ish.

 

http://www.thunderboltkids.co.za/teachers-parents.html

[trulycrabby]

I've seen and downloaded Mr. Q, which is used with Easy Peasy Biology.  I love the format and everything, but there's no "concrete" book, so my son doesn't retain as much as if he were working through a workbook, if that makes sense.  I do have him notebook/journal some things to get him to remember it better, and have him explain it back to me, etc. etc.  

 

MPH seems like it WOULD be a good fit, if the material is challenging enough/isn't too simple.  I'm even willing to find experiments to go with whatever is being taught, but I don't want him bored to tears with the content.

Try printing out the book, or the chapter you want to use and put it in a binder.

 

I also like Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. Each chapter/unit has good suggestions for additional reading, which I actually use more than the book since DS9 likes reading more than doing experiments. :)

[DandelionPrincess]

ooo i like the look of thunderbolt kids, I especially like how everything is interconnected, and you learn about all aspects of science together.  Has anyone used it with a younger kid? 

[Jill]

I second printing out the Mr. Q books at the younger ages. I think I only started working with pdfs with ds when he was 10.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

I also like Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. Each chapter/unit has good suggestions for additional reading, which I actually use more than the book since DS9 likes reading more than doing experiments. :)

 

 

I second Building Foundations.  Best series we've found.

 

For volumes 1-2, I usually read aloud.  Now in Vol 3, I've taken to doing Powerpoints with embedded vids from Discovery Streaming.  That also allows me to put in bad visual puns along with the more serious diagrams and such.