ztagrl Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I should preface this by saying that I usually only buy curricula that essentially includes daily lesson plans and a teacher script (a la Shurley English, etc.).... ...but this is ridiculous! I'm using MPH 3/4 and we're over half through the Diversity unit and I STILL can't figure this thing out. I have everything....HOTS, homework, test, extra notes, teacher's guide, activity books and textbooks. Nothing seems to line up! I don't understand what to do from the teacher's manual. Maybe I just can't get a grasp on the 5E thing, or whatever it is. But unlike singapore math, there are no indicators when to stop in the textbook and do the activity book. The teacher's guide is numbered like 1,1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. (are these supposed to be daily lessons?) but the textbook isn't, and at times, the section headlines don't even match up, so it's very difficult to figure out where to stop/begin. Today takes the cake. We are on Diversity - Animals. In the textbook, it describes four of the animal groups: fish, insects, mammals and birds. In the HOTS/homework book, it asks for five animal groups and shows pictures of amphibians/reptiles, but no insects! I finally find one little blurb on a page in the textbook that says (paraphrased) "These are only 4 of the animal groups. Use your library and the internet to discover more." REALLY?! OK, I get that they can't cover every animal group in one chapter/section, but to then cover topics in the homework that weren't specifically covered in the textbook....this is too much. I give! Am I missing something? I can't spend an hour every day preparing JUST for science. I really wanted to like this curriculum. We are Christians, but want a secular science and I was SOOO hoping this would be for us. I also have a nanny who usually ends up doing some of their subjects with them, and almost exclusively does science with them, so I really can't ask her to spend an hour prepping. Is it impossible to find what I'm looking for? A strong, secular science with a daily lesson plan that can be completed with my multi-level children (4, 2, and K) in about 20 minutes a day with minimal teacher prep. HELP!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I have no idea about that curriculum but what you just described would make me nuts! We use Nancy Larson and it is very clear and easy to use. I spend about 15 min a week glancing ahead in the manual and laying out supplies. It's the only thing that gets done with my crew! And it is secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Yeah, it was hard for me to implement. I bought the whole she-bang too and now I have huge MPH teacher guide, HOTS, etc... Sounds like you want something more open-and-go and I don't blame you, that's what I wanted as well. You might want to check out RSO Science, which is easier to use and secular, and I could see using it with all those ages, maybe supplement with extra books/videos for your older children. Your 4th grader (and maybe 2nd grader) might also like Mr. Q. Science. You can download the first year free. That's what we've ended up using, we've been learning a lot from that and it's so easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 OK, I get that they can't cover every animal group in one chapter/section, but to then cover topics in the homework that weren't specifically covered in the textbook....this is too much. I give! Yep, this is what drove me nuts about MPH. The program assumes that the teacher has a certain level of background knowledge and is fleshing out the textbook with that. We used MPH 5/6 to supplement Prentice-Hall Science Explorer so my DD could usually find the info she needed to complete MPH in her PHSE textbook. But sometimes we had to rely on the Internet, which was rather frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 MPH drove me nuts too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I was ok with it for a year, but we switched because I missed BFSU and ds wasn't getting as much out of it as I thought. I do like it, though. The ideas in the TM were fun. I just picked and chose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 That's disappointing to hear that it seems so disjointed. I almost bought the student textbooks just to use as extra science readers. Maybe they would be ok just for that...but not if you used it as your only science. Is it impossible to find what I'm looking for? A strong, secular science with a daily lesson plan that can be completed with my multi-level children (4, 2, and K) in about 20 minutes a day with minimal teacher prep. HELP!? Another option not mentioned yet is Noeo Science. It's secular, can be used with several different age groups. I haven't started ours yet (Yikes! I feel behind!)...so I don't know exactly how open and go it is...but it seems to be pretty easy to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I used MPH in conjuction with BFSU#2. I bought the whole shebang: workbooks. textbooks, teacher's guides, lab notebooks. The only thing we used was the textbooks which did have lovely color illustrations which worked well with BFSU. But mostly it was a waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 The name irritates me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Yep, I agree with all if the criticisms of MPH science. I bought the text only of Galore Park Junior Science books 1-3 (2-4th grade) and much prefer them. We read, answer the questions & narrate each section. I always intend to accomplish the "to do" boxes, but usually just reading/discussing them works just as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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