skimomma Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I am looking for guidance from people who have used this program for more than one year. We are currently using the Biology curriculum for a 5th grader who LOVES science. It is the first science curriculum I have not tossed mid-year, so I am calling it a success. And I am tentatively planning to use it again next year for 6th grade. I have two questions: 1. Where/how do you collect experiment materials? The biology year had a kit we could buy. I did. It did NOT contain everything I needed and I found that highly irritating! The stuff that was not included was hard to find and typically not on hand. And seriously, where am I supposed to find SLUGS in the middle of winter!?!? Not that I expected slugs in the kit.....but the authors have to know that much of the U.S. is under a foot of snow during that time of the school year..... The other years do not even offer a kit. Are the other years as tedious when it comes to finding the necessary materials? Any ready-made kits I should look for? This is my weakest homeschooling point. I seldom plan ahead and it is not at all uncommon for us to mix up the schedule so materials might be needed on a last-minute basis. 2. We found some of the biology experiments to be duds. Is this true for the other years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I am getting ready to use ES for the first time (Logic Chemistry) and didn't see the kit offered online so I contacted them and they said they offer kits that are sometimes not listed online since they are repacking them and are basically out of stock at them time, but are still offered. Just thought I'd throw that out there. They offered to make my kit right away and ship ASAP if I needed it. I told them I was still in the thinking stages of our next yr. The person that responded said that the only things I should have to gather that a kit wouldn't provide are hard to get items. Hmmm..... Other than that, I basically have the same questions as you. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 I am getting ready to use ES for the first time (Logic Chemistry) and didn't see the kit offered online so I contacted them and they said they offer kits that are sometimes not listed online since they are repacking them and are basically out of stock at them time, but are still offered. Just thought I'd throw that out there. They offered to make my kit right away and ship ASAP if I needed it. I told them I was still in the thinking stages of our next yr. The person that responded said that the only things I should have to gather that a kit wouldn't provide are hard to get items. Hmmm..... Other than that, I basically have the same questions as you. lol Thanks for the info! What is the point of buying the kit if the "hard to get" things are not included? That is the whole point! This was my experience with the biology kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I only used Biology. I completely re-ordered it so I would be able to do plant stuff in the spring & the slug stuff before it got cold. (Although, I admit I checked all the labs first & skipped scheduling several because ... I didn't want to mess with them? :leaving: I didn't buy the kit. I think I still have a frozen (but opened) package of something in my freezer from one of the experiments . . . I would assume you could do that with the others. I know there is grass seed in the Astronomy/Earth Science one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CmpSciMom Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 We had that problem with Biology too. We also skipped a lot of experiments because the items were hard to obtain (slug, pond water) or because the experiments were boring. We started using Earth Science and Astronomy in January and haven't had quite the issues with experiment supplies, yet. I did look over the whole curriculum and I don't remember anything being crazy except the bromeliad. We will probably skip the dirt and seed experiments too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 We had that problem with Biology too. We also skipped a lot of experiments because the items were hard to obtain (slug, pond water) or because the experiments were boring. We started using Earth Science and Astronomy in January and haven't had quite the issues with experiment supplies, yet. I did look over the whole curriculum and I don't remember anything being crazy except the bromeliad. We will probably skip the dirt and seed experiments too. Thanks. I might steer us towards Earth Science next year then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Nothing to add re ES, but I so feel your frustration on the experiment/activity stuff. This is the story of my life. I am so sick of programs claiming to only require basic everyday things and not finding half the stuff or having to spend a lot of money on dumb stuff (and then in the end the activity stinks anyways). Biology is particularly challenging. A lot of the activities are the sorts of things you cannot do in winter. Even getting dirt is difficult because you can't dig through ice for dirt. And who wants to spend money on a big bag of dirt when you only need a tiny bit? Slugs...yeah I would not know where to get a slug. I've never even seen slugs in summer where I live. Sorry, I know I'm not being helpful! Just commiserating! Yeah. I am with you. I know science. I like science. I want my kid to continue to like science. I can not get it together enough to be prepared for each experiment. I just want a curriculum that comes with every single thing I will need. Including slugs. Is that asking so much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dauphin Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 You pay a lot for it up front but supercharged science has kits for sale that have eve.ry.thing in them. Except occasionally truly common household items (pencil? Paper clip?) but lots of Easy to find items also included (nails, styrofoam tray, straws). With her video instruction explanations of the experiments, you really can just open the box and let them go at it. No dud experiments yet, either. In fact, she kind of emphasizes "wow" stuff because she believes that's what gets them asking questions and wanting to know more for themselves. Be prepared for sticker shock but add up how much you were already spending considering you were buying from different vendors at different times so serious shipping costs especially if you has to rush order some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dauphin Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 You pay a lot for it up front but supercharged science has kits for sale that have eve.ry.thing in them. Except occasionally truly common household items (pencil? Paper clip?) but lots of Easy to find items also included (nails, styrofoam tray, straws). With her video instruction explanations of the experiments, you really can just open the box and let them go at it. No dud experiments yet, either. In fact, she kind of emphasizes "wow" stuff because she believes that's what gets them asking questions and wanting to know more for themselves. Be prepared for sticker shock but add up how much you were already spending considering you were buying from different vendors at different times so serious shipping costs especially if you has to rush order some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 You pay a lot for it up front but supercharged science has kits for sale that have eve.ry.thing in them. Except occasionally truly common household items (pencil? Paper clip?) but lots of Easy to find items also included (nails, styrofoam tray, straws). With her video instruction explanations of the experiments, you really can just open the box and let them go at it. No dud experiments yet, either. In fact, she kind of emphasizes "wow" stuff because she believes that's what gets them asking questions and wanting to know more for themselves. Be prepared for sticker shock but add up how much you were already spending considering you were buying from different vendors at different times so serious shipping costs especially if you has to rush order some. OK, you got me. I am looking this over. This is the kind of thing I need..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Just coming back to add that if you email the Elemental Science company, they should be able to provide you with a kit list. I just pulled up the one they sent me for Chemistry Logic and plan to compare it with the list of materials needed that is found in the SAMPLE of the teacher's guide online. In an email, Paige said that you should only need to gather very common items like baking soda, vinegar, etc. From the looks of this list, I'd say there are some things I sure don't want to have to find that are included in the kit. I think I'm getting ready to go ahead and order ES Logic for both middle school kids for the coming year and give it a shot. The kit looks well worth $60 IMO.. time NOT collecting materials also being a factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Just coming back to add that if you email the Elemental Science company, they should be able to provide you with a kit list. I just pulled up the one they sent me for Chemistry Logic and plan to compare it with the list of materials needed that is found in the SAMPLE of the teacher's guide online. In an email, Paige said that you should only need to gather very common items like baking soda, vinegar, etc. From the looks of this list, I'd say there are some things I sure don't want to have to find that are included in the kit. I think I'm getting ready to go ahead and order ES Logic for both middle school kids for the coming year and give it a shot. The kit looks well worth $60 IMO.. time NOT collecting materials also being a factor. I am back on this plan so this is good to know. As much as I love the idea of the whiz-bang of Supercharged Science, I see too many issues that would prevent it from being a success in my home. I would rather suck it up and just learn to get materials together to use a program that I know works in our house rather than do the bigger job of trying to make the Supercharged program into a coherent "curriculum" that properly prepares for high school science. Not to mention, I have nowhere to put that many boxes of supplies in my tiny house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Rainbow Science comes with everything you need except a gallon of distilled water. And I mean everything. It covers 2 yrs of science for 6th-8th. Some people use it with 5th graders but I have seen these materials and while the text is easy to understand, the labs are hefty. http://www.beginningspublishing.com/version2/rainbow.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Rainbow Science comes with everything you need except a gallon of distilled water. And I mean everything. It covers 2 yrs of science for 6th-8th. Some people use it with 5th graders but I have seen these materials and while the text is easy to understand, the labs are hefty. http://www.beginningspublishing.com/version2/rainbow.htm Thanks for the suggestion! Off to read the website..... OK, I am reading and see this is not a secular program. How "not secular" is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 The Rainbow Science is exactly what I want....except for the religious part. It does not look like it is "adaptable" for someone who needs a secular program. If anyone knows of something very similar but secular, I am all ears! This is so frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 skimomma - There have been SEVERAL threads about Rainbow Science over the years. Most seem to believe it is easy to secularize the "year 1" materials (Physics/Chemistry), but not quite so easy to secularize the "Year 2" (biology/other) materials. FYI - both years of reading are contained in one book. There are two 'years' of lab kits & lab books to purchase, I think. I included both Rainbow Science threads & generic "secular science" threads for middle school. If Rainbow isn't what you are looking for, perhaps the links contain something that will help. Also, the links at the top of some of the threads might be helpful to track down other threads of the same nature. Secular HSers: Anyone Use Rainbow Science? What does the HIVE think about Rainbow Science? Secular middle school physical science? Complete, secular science program Thoughts on secular middle school science Rainbow Science Who is using/has used The Rainbow for middle school science? Looking for middle school science that is fun Plate Science/Rainbow Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 skimomma - There have been SEVERAL threads about Rainbow Science over the years. Most seem to believe it is easy to secularize the "year 1" materials (Physics/Chemistry), but not quite so easy to secularize the "Year 2" (biology/other) materials. FYI - both years of reading are contained in one book. There are two 'years' of lab kits & lab books to purchase, I think. I included both Rainbow Science threads & generic "secular science" threads for middle school. If Rainbow isn't what you are looking for, perhaps the links contain something that will help. Also, the links at the top of some of the threads might be helpful to track down other threads of the same nature. Secular HSers: Anyone Use Rainbow Science? What does the HIVE think about Rainbow Science? Secular middle school physical science? Complete, secular science program Thoughts on secular middle school science Rainbow Science Who is using/has used The Rainbow for middle school science? Looking for middle school science that is fun Plate Science/Rainbow Science Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Thanks for the suggestion! Off to read the website..... OK, I am reading and see this is not a secular program. How "not secular" is it? We're doing this now and it's easy to kind of read past the religious references, but I'm more stuck on the chattiness. It's a little too chatty for my taste. We're planning to finish out the year, though. It does have everything you would need for the experiments. For some reason though the Nancy Larson demonstrations were more memorable than what we've done with the Rainbow. But we ran out of Nancy Larsons to do after NL4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have never used the program, but I just want to make sure you all know about http://www.hometrainingtools.com/ I don't think I have ever had a year where I don't sit down with the science book in one hand and Home Science Tools on my browser and I just fill my shopping cart with what I need for the coming year. And yes, bio is a pain in the butt because you have to time everything. I frequently end up moving stuff around to fit the season. In my dreams I can afford supercharged science. We spend quite a lot on homeschooling stuff, but even I can't stretch our budget that far. But, man, I understand why some of you do. If I could, I absolutely would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 26, 2014 Author Share Posted March 26, 2014 I have never used the program, but I just want to make sure you all know about http://www.hometrainingtools.com/ I don't think I have ever had a year where I don't sit down with the science book in one hand and Home Science Tools on my browser and I just fill my shopping cart with what I need for the coming year. And yes, bio is a pain in the butt because you have to time everything. I frequently end up moving stuff around to fit the season. In my dreams I can afford supercharged science. We spend quite a lot on homeschooling stuff, but even I can't stretch our budget that far. But, man, I understand why some of you do. If I could, I absolutely would. Thanks for the resource. This will be helpful for sure! I am seriously contemplating the Rainbow Science and trying to "secularize" it. I just cannot find anything else within my budget that meets my other requirements. I keep going back and forth between that and trying to make Elemental Science continue to work for us. But then we do another week of Biology and I remember why this program is just too dry for us. Someone could really make it rich by coming up with logic stage secular science. I am starting to think high school science might be a real problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 FWIW, when it comes to Elemental Science, I have read many times that the Biology course is WAY different in 'dryness' than some of the other Logic stage courses. I haven't used it myself, but that's one reason I did decide to order the Chemistry-Logic was to give it a whirl. The price is right and it's secular. For both kids' material, teacher's guide and kit for the year it was only $120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 There is lots of secular science available for the middle grades. What there isn't much of is 'open and go' secular science. I have had to get out of my own comfort zone. I also chose to branch out into the world of science textbooks. But there are things like TOPS science, CPO science, Mr Q 'advanced' science programs, Joy Hakim's "Story of Science" with all the 'extra bits' to make a science program, many middle and high school textbooks, GEMS, RSO has a middle grades biology curriculum, Ellen McHenry, BFSU books 1-3 (covers K-8th grade science), Derek Owens Physical Science is secular and his algebra based physics is almost secular enough to count, lol, Exploration Education, Supercharged Science, etc, etc. There are a couple hive members who have put their own science plans online, Quarks and Quirks comes to mind, for example. I have used the decidedly non-secular life science plans at Guest Hollow because she used secular materials. When she warns to skip pages of evolutionary content, I just don't skip them. It was pretty easy. It is out there, I promise. Sometimes you have to be creative, and you almost always have to buy the 'stuff' yourself, but it is there. But, leaving the grammar stage also seems to mean leaving behind lots of those 'open and go' materials. Even the non-secular folks have to deal with that. And high school science isn't much more difficult to put together than other high school material, it is more expensive. Those labs are no longer optional (I don't personally count them as optional in the middle grades) and the materials start to really add up. However, if you get a start in the middle years you will have amassed a good amount of equipment by the time you get there. But I know you can all do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 But I know you can all do it! "Can" and "want to" are two different things. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 "Can" and "want to" are two different things. :laugh: welcome to my life. Did you seem my posts on the 'if I had to do the logic stage again' thread? Middle school is a slog. It just is. A worthwhile slog but a slog nonetheless. There is a teensy tiny part of me that is glad my son has decided to go to ps for high school. We would have got through high school just fine, I was looking forward to it, but I also think it might have killed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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