Teneo Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 While I want T's official K year to focus on the 3Rs I want to introduce him to the other disciplines and sort of whet his appetite. BFSU 1 is popular on here and says it starts at K. I've noticed some use it for K but seem to use it slowly before really delving in BFSU in 1st. Science Is Simple is written for 3-7 year olds. It uses books and experiments to teach children how to observe, predict, ask questions and investigate. Seems like a good option. Would you use BFSU or Science Is Simple with someone in K? (I've also considered going the simple route in grade school with Science Fusion or Interactive Science) http://www.amazon.com/Science-Is-Simple-Activities-Preschoolers/dp/0876592728 http://www.amazon.com/Building-Foundations-Scientific-Understanding-Curriculum/dp/1432706101/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393087245&sr=1-1&keywords=building+foundations+of+scientific+understanding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I used BFSU in K - we did about half of it and since it is meant for 3 years of schooling I felt this was more than enough. She liked the experiments and learnt a lot. Also there is a lot of review built in - you can revise parts as you move on as they are prerequisite knowledge for other chapters. We may finish it this year in first and then will have to decide again. I do not know about Science is Simple so it is hard to compare. I know some people find the preparation required with BFSU to be too much, but I have never had that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I know nothing about the programs you listed. WHat got all my kids hooked on science was simply having fun with it. Watching Sid the science kid movies with dd and recreating their experiements were great for dd6. Buying little science kits from the $ store, or toy store, sometimes even the better ones from the "teacher store" (like young scientists). Lots and lots and lots of nature study. keeping pets, hatching chicken eggs, raising butterflies, pond dipping, playing with prisms, talking with science terms in regular play (simple machines, friction etc all work through play). Erupt "volcanos" and talk about chemical reactions. Get kits to make homemade gum, chocolate, lip balm etc. THey love it, it again introduces chemical reactions, but leaves them with a concrete item at the end that is useful. play with a microscope, sneak outside in your pj's to study the stars, pose inquiring questions while you examine things. "I wonder how many legs that centapede has? I wonder what color a robin's egg is? I wonder why those wasps live in a next up there, when other ones live under ground? I wonder what these white things are growing on the potato? etc. Introduce researching through those questions, look up the answers in different places, keep field guides handy to look things up, use the internet, go to the library and check for answers etc. Of course if you are more comfortable with a set curriculum go for it, but for my kids I found the best way to hook them was to see science is everywhere in everything we do and it is fun. Once they were hooked we continued with that but then added curriculum like apologia elementary science, sonlight science K(ds10 used it in 1st) etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 We've actually used both! BFSU is definitely more complex and harder to implement, and will probably last longer, we'll be going over the same concepts as my DD gets older, digging deeper. But she's having fun glossing over the subjects at the more simple level that she's capable of processing now. Many of the experiments in SMS and BFSU cover similar concepts and reinforce each other. One of the strengths of BFSU is the way it interrelates different concepts, many of the subjects are linked to the others, which gives a deeper understanding, and it's the main reason we started working with it. And like you said SMS does a great job of teaching a scientific way of thinking/observing. Both have given her a love of science and really helped her observe her world. (And experiments are just plain fun, the more the better in my mind!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teneo Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 We've actually used both! BFSU is definitely more complex and harder to implement, and will probably last longer, we'll be going over the same concepts as my DD gets older, digging deeper. But she's having fun glossing over the subjects at the more simple level that she's capable of processing now. Many of the experiments in SMS and BFSU cover similar concepts and reinforce each other. One of the strengths of BFSU is the way it interrelates different concepts, many of the subjects are linked to the others, which gives a deeper understanding, and it's the main reason we started working with it. And like you said SMS does a great job of teaching a scientific way of thinking/observing. Both have given her a love of science and really helped her observe her world. (And experiments are just plain fun, the more the better in my mind!) Very insightful. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Nature journalling worked for my Ker. It taught her to care enough to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teneo Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Nature journalling worked for my Ker. It taught her to care enough to look.Oh, we're doing nature studies. I grew up with them. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I highly recommend BFSU. You can go as deep or as shallow as you like. It is basically a tool for the parent to find a way to talk about and teach science. It works for us. I read the chapters. Get my vocabulary in order. Take note of examples and glance over the experiments. We don't do many experiments, mostly because little boy is little and I don't think he would get that much out of it. And I also believe if is hard to teach how the experiments work without him having some good background knowledge first. Most experiments he does do are of his own creation. Today he decided to explore a chunk of ice that he brought in from the outside. First he put it in the freezer to see how it reacted in the cold. Then he put it in a container and out it in the fridge to see if it change its stae of matter. After hours of observation he decided to carry it around the house shaking it to see how movement effected it. Then he decided to rub it in his hands and observe friction and heat transfer. What the ice did to his hands was equally as fascinating. He then added some salt to the ice to see what happened. And eventually he melted it down completely by using a hair dryer. I could not have come up with a better experiment if I had tried. But he only came up with these ideas because he has a basic understanding about states of matter, temperature, friction. The other good thing I like about BFSU is that we freestyle it. I read the information, file it into my head and we use library books, DVDs and YouTube clips to teach. It is also integrated so the science disciplines meld into each other. Which is how science really is. Each lesson builds upon the lesson before. I don't know any other curriculum that does this so well. I think I should mention what it was that got my little fella so interested in science. It was Peter Weatherall DVDs. He still loves them. They are full of information and have catchy fun tunes. I know others really like the Magic School Bus or Bill Nye too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am seriously considering this for my k next year. He learns so well online. http://www.science4us.com/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 On 2/22/2014 at 11:40 AM, nature girl said: We've actually used both! BFSU is definitely more complex and harder to implement, and will probably last longer, we'll be going over the same concepts as my DD gets older, digging deeper. But she's having fun glossing over the subjects at the more simple level that she's capable of processing now. Many of the experiments in SMS and BFSU cover similar concepts and reinforce each other. One of the strengths of BFSU is the way it interrelates different concepts, many of the subjects are linked to the others, which gives a deeper understanding, and it's the main reason we started working with it. And like you said SMS does a great job of teaching a scientific way of thinking/observing. Both have given her a love of science and really helped her observe her world. (And experiments are just plain fun, the more the better in my mind!) Can someone tell me what SMS is? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Nature Journaling and magic school bus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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