helena Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 :001_wub: :001_wub: :001_wub: And it only took a year and a half! :lol: Anyone else ever feel happy sad after finishing something like this? I went to make color copies of the completed BF timelines to glue the images into our regular timelines. As I looked over all the people we studied I was a little sad to say goodbye to this curriculum. We learned so much, read great books, had a few successful experiments ;), and felt deeply moved by the passion and sacrifice of these great thinkers… History of Science is so worth checking out. My kids were too old for it really, but that's okay, we're moving on to something a little older now. I want to leave a glowing review. If you're looking around for a science program give it a chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 So glad to hear such a passionate endorsement! Could it be used secularly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 How Christian-y is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sew happily ever after Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 My son and I just finished the Ben Franklin book. It's fun that remembers so very much and relates it to much of what we see and do in just our daily routines. He bought a Ben Franklin book for himself at a church event. I. Amaze AG how much he has absorbed throughout this. Right now he's on a lego education kick, but after Christmas break were finishing the rest of the BF science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Thank you for sharing. I sure do wish there were better samples on the website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 The Christian-y parts are very easy to work around, we're Muslim and I didn't find it to be an issue. There are 64 lessons with multiple assignments in each lesson. In those, there are 7ish religious tasks. Things like: -Write Psalm such and such in your science notebook. I think that's it… I went through the book when we first got it and crossed all of them out. I never took notice of it again. I think the criticisms (if I remember them correctly) are sometimes correct. The experiments can be sketchy, it's not crazy science-y, it's a lot of history too. It covers a lot, so it's not like doing a solid year of chemistry. You kind of have to love that aspect to do it, it'll keep you moving from Pythagoras to Einstein. Despite all that, we really loved it. Depending on how you add to it with videos, research, books, and doing all the work, there's a lot to learn. I'm so glad we got the chance to read the Jeanne Bendick books. Those were very cool. It's basically the assignment book, a good looking timeline, a bunch of books and supplemental reading, and the Your Story Hour audio books. I don't have super science-y kids, so I'm not out to push them to their limits. Like I said this is seriously on the easy side for my kids ages. We just want to learn and trip out on the world around us. This kept the fire burning. :) We're moving on to Ellen McHenry… We love her too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 had a few successful experiments :smilielol5: Isn't this the truth!?! They really need to do something about the horrid little experiment book. (If you get BF History of Science, skip the experiment book & use anything else!) It was only so-so here. The Bendick books were, overall, a bit of a snoozer for my kids. They were right in the age for BF HoS when we did it. There were some great writing assignments, IMO, but my kids didn't know how to write them yet. So, I spent a lot of time on teaching writing in science. I think it was what you made it. Could be great. Could be a dud. Glad you liked it. :patriot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I use this as part of our 4 year history cycle that invariably lasts 5 years :-). We love BF books....and it is easy to tweak or skip anything you don't want to do, and cheap enough not to care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Great to hear! We will start BF Geography right now, so I hope we will become also enthousiastic. We're about to finish BF geography. We've done one map a year. I told my 9th grader she's too old for Seabird (mostly joking) and she wasn't having it. :) She loves all the Holling books, both of my girls do. And, the maps are the best! Hope your family loves it too. *A word of advice for the maps Make sure you test which pens write well over colored pencil, or if it's better to label first and then color in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Thanks so much for posting this! I think I might add this into our science over the next couple of years. My kids have loved all the BF books we've used in the past but I had totally forgot about the science prog. We're doing a combo of Sonlight and Ambleside this year, and my boys are really loving the books that are about different scientists. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsha Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I plan to do this year. I would love to do it this year. I have a 7th grader that I know would love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsha Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Would I have to beef it up for an 8th grader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Is it something I have to formally use or can I use it to educationally enrich without my direct instruction time. They have plenty to do in formal work so I am always looking for interesting stuff to strew... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Is this the guide to buy to make this work? I always seem to buy the wrong curriculum so sorry if I'm asking a dumb question: http://bfbooks.com/History-of-Science-Study-Guide I'd get the actual books from the library. But is this main book what I'd need? Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 reported Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Would I have to beef it up for an 8th grader? Yeah, I think so. Even though my kids prefer science-lite, it needs more. I did it by adding videos and supplemental reading. Some of the books, such as the one on Pasteur, are for the very young. I didn't stress on beefing it up though. If you have an intense science kid, this is not the curriculum for you. If you have kids like mine, who like it not love it, it's fine. They learned so, so much in the end. I knew if I stressed on adding too much, I'd kill the joy. We also kept up on nature studies, so there was that earthiness going on too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Is it something I have to formally use or can I use it to educationally enrich without my direct instruction time. They have plenty to do in formal work so I am always looking for interesting stuff to strew... I think it can be done very casually. Their workbooks are easy to go through and highlight what you want done. If you do the timeline that could be your "See, we're working through it slowly" affirmation. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Is this the guide to buy to make this work? I always seem to buy the wrong curriculum so sorry if I'm asking a dumb question: http://bfbooks.com/History-of-Science-Study-Guide I'd get the actual books from the library. But is this main book what I'd need? Alley Yup, that's it. There's also the experiment book (which stinks), libraries wouldn't carry it. I think it'd be easy to find correlating experiments in other books though. The kids did like Explorabook, they had a good time with that one. The library wouldn't have that one either because there's little packets of ingredients in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Is this the guide to buy to make this work? I always seem to buy the wrong curriculum so sorry if I'm asking a dumb question: http://bfbooks.com/History-of-Science-Study-Guide I'd get the actual books from the library. But is this main book what I'd need? Alley Forgot to add in previous post that there's also the Your Story Hour CDs. They're like an old time radio program style of recording. Kind of quaint/cheesy. :tongue_smilie: I wasn't sure if my kids would sit through it. Maybe because they've listened to Little Orphan Annie radio program, they're use to the style… maybe they're just content to sit and draw while they listen. I don't know, but it definitely gave more insight to the scientist's lives. The CDs aren't a must have. I'm glad my kids went for it. Not so sure a library would carry the discs. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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