bethben Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I have my 8th grader doing Concepts in Action physical science. I got it for him because he really despised Apologia and wanted something more colorful. What I am finding is that he is not really understanding the material. Yes, I have just given him the textbook, taught him how to take good notes, and have required extra chapter review comprehension question worksheets that come with the curriculum. I am finding he is just not getting it. He understands bits and pieces (mostly anything that is math related), but big concepts, he just doesn't understand. Once again, I am finding that teaching him the subject would be really helpful. I. just.don't.have.time. I don't understand the concepts myself without studying them and just can't keep up. Right now is the first breather and sit down I've had all day and my special needs son is coming home soon requiring my time. This is on top of trying to get laundry done so my 6 year old has some clothes again and figuring out dinner. I suggested he start over with Apologia because even though he considered it boring, at least he understood it. A dvd teacher will not help since he already has quite the heavy coursework and sitting in front of a teacher is something he will zone out on. He's got the adolescent brain melt, so there are days when he is just "dull" and can't think through simple concepts. Any suggestions? Should I just call it quits and do Apologia? I really need something that assumes a teacher is not present. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Derek Owens Physical Science comes highly recommended. You could also supplement a book program with something like PLATO Physical Science for more teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Based on your assessment that a live teacher / teaching the material to DS would be best: - How about hiring a local tutor 1-2x/week to walk DS through the Concepts in Action, if DS likes it and is more willing to do it than the Apologia? (various tutor services help you search for a tutor in your area: Care.com, WyzAnt.com, TakeLessons.com ...) - What about a live on-line tutor? (example: Tutor High) - Can you outsource science through a local public, private, or charter school? Some school systems are able to allow homeschoolers to participate in just 1-2 classes. - Are you good friends with another homeschooling family who live nearby would be willing to take on your DS and include him in teaching physical science to your DS along with their child? - Would you be able to punt science to DH to cover with DS in the evenings and weekends? Another question: would DS learn better with more engagement with hands-on, to DO and SEE LIVE concepts in action? If so, you might consider Rainbow Science. Expensive, but completely done solo by the student, with the concepts explained simply and put into action with weekly hands-on. More gentle, and possibly a bit "lite" compared to Apologia... BUT, if the end goal is understanding of concepts through solo working, a "lite-er" program that sticks and gives DS a solid foundation would be better than glazing over with a program he despises just because he's used it in the past... So sorry you're experiencing exhaustion and frustration! BEST of luck in quickly finding what works for science for your DS. Warmly, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Based on your assessment that a live teacher / teaching the material to DS would be best: - How about hiring a local tutor 1-2x/week to walk DS through the Concepts in Action, if DS likes it and is more willing to do it than the Apologia? (various tutor services help you search for a tutor in your area: Care.com, WyzAnt.com, TakeLessons.com ...) - What about a live on-line tutor? (example: Tutor High) - Can you outsource science through a local public, private, or charter school? Some school systems are able to allow homeschoolers to participate in just 1-2 classes. - Are you good friends with another homeschooling family who live nearby would be willing to take on your DS and include him in teaching physical science to your DS along with their child? - Would you be able to punt science to DH to cover with DS in the evenings and weekends? Another question: would DS learn better with more engagement with hands-on, to DO and SEE LIVE concepts in action? If so, you might consider Rainbow Science. Expensive, but completely done solo by the student, with the concepts explained simply and put into action with weekly hands-on. More gentle, and possibly a bit "lite" compared to Apologia... BUT, if the end goal is understanding of concepts through solo working, a "lite-er" program that sticks and gives DS a solid foundation would be better than glazing over with a program he despises just because he's used it in the past... So sorry you're experiencing exhaustion and frustration! BEST of luck in quickly finding what works for science for your DS. Warmly, Lori D. All the pay options above are out of the question right now with dh being 20% underemployed. Also, just the time involved for ds would be a little much since he is having time management issues with the new workload. We live in a small town and know two other families doing physical science right now. One of them commutes 45 minutes to join a co-op and the other uses Dive (ie mom is not teaching it). DH is looking for a job at nights, so he can't be punted anything. Ds also did Rainbow science two years ago successfully. He doesn't despise Physical Science right now. I just don't think he understands what he's reading and he doesn't have the drive to go over his textbook in order to understand. In his mind, I have a feeling that he thinks, "I don't understand what they're talking about. Oh well..." I'm thinking about just getting DIVE since it does co-ordinate with the book I already have. I'm not worried about labs right now since he's not in high school right now. I do have him do labs every once in a while so he can learn to write a decent lab report. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 You know that the Concepts in Action is the ninth grade physical science book, right? I decided to use Prentice Hall Science Explorer Physical Science by the same publisher, but geared to middle school. I get the Study Guides and have my ds do them along with the chapters. We find them very understandable. Perhaps that is an option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 All the pay options above are out of the question right now with dh being 20% underemployed. Also, just the time involved for ds would be a little much since he is having time management issues with the new workload. :grouphug: Hugs. That is a hard place to be in, and you sound over-extended and frazzled. Sorry your family is in a stressed situation right now. :( I'm guessing from your mention of having used Rainbow Science and Apologia that you may be church-goers. This might be a great opportunity to make your need known in your church and allow someone to bless your family with some weekly free tutoring -- or with other helps that might ease your financial crunch. Sometimes, when we are willing to allow our need to be known, we end up not only receiving blessing, but discover that allowing others to minister to our needs is a gift to the giver! :) Who knows; maybe there's a retired person in your church who would love to feel needed for tutoring! Just a thought... ... I'm thinking about just getting DIVE since it does co-ordinate with the book I already have... :confused1: Confused... In your initial post you said "A dvd teacher will not help since he already has quite the heavy coursework and sitting in front of a teacher is something he will zone out on." -- Won't the DIVE have the same effect?? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding... Wishing you the BEST as you work to "think outside the box" to find a good solution! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 :confused1: Confused... In your initial post you said "A dvd teacher will not help since he already has quite the heavy coursework and sitting in front of a teacher is something he will zone out on." -- Won't the DIVE have the same effect?? Perhaps I'm misunderstanding... Yes, Dive would be the DVD teacher that he would zone out on...but I'm trying to think of solutions. If he wasn't so incredibly opposed to Apologia, I would probably go with that because it's a little more clear cut. But, he claims to like what he's doing. I think he just wants to do the minimum and I really don't know how to motivate him. He wanted to start trying to take college level classes next year so he could avoid having to go to school longer (his only reason to try for clep testing is to avoid a longer time in college) but after this, I'm not sure that will work. Maybe I need to raise this issue with him again. Lori D, you are right, I am and have felt overwhelmed quite a bit lately. I've gotten our lives here to the bare minimum and even that seems too much at times. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 We were thinking of using the same science for this year until my dd8th saw Science Fusion......She is using the Physical Science modules and is really grasping the concepts. She loves, loves the virtual labs! I do have her make a lab sheet as she is doing her lab online so I can monitor what she is doing. I don't schedule any lessons on the Science Fusion "To Do" list.....only quizzes and tests. I use Scholaric and schedule her assignments in there instead. I spread out about 3 lessons per 2 weeks......if she isn't getting it, then we slow down and watch videos, read extra books, or do hands on experiments! She takes notes, also, during here virtual lessons and keeps her science book close by to refer to. I'm pretty pleased with it....though I wasn't at first! I got each module discounted greatly on homeschool buyers co-op site...... this may not help you at all, since you may want to try to use what you have instead, but I thought I'd do a little cheer for SF for anyone else reading!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justkeepswimming Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 I come here as a person who genuinely dislikes the Apologia 7th grade General Science book. I know it works fine for some people, but dcs and I loathed that text and were reluctant to try another Apologia middle-school or high school text. I had one child do the Apologia Physical Science text and it wasn't beefy enough for her tastes, so she did the Concepts in Action book alongside Apologia (she was in a co-op with Apologia, so she wanted to keep on the same page as her group). Second 8th grader came along this year, and she chose to do the Apologia - along with their new notebooks (LOVE, LOVE these!!) - and it has been a raging success!!! She is getting it, does it on her own (she does the reading and we go over the questions together as she fills in the answers in the notebook), and the experiments are very do-able (she could even do them 100% on her own, but she's in a co-op, so we wait and do them once every two weeks as a group). It's been a very happy science year this year. :) I, like you, have extremely limited time to manage all the kids' school stuff and have to be picky about which subjects require ME to "teach" because there just aren't enough hours in the day to research, plan, and teach all subjects to all the kids. This has worked out very well for us this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.