CAtoVA Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Any experiences good, bad, or mixed with either of these or both of them at the primary level (grades K-1)? I'm looking at purchasing a science curriculum for my DD (aged 6—1st grade) and can't decide between Nancy Larson Science Level 1 or Elemental Science either K5 Intro to Science (if I want my 3 year old tagging along) OR Biology for the Grammar Stage. Cost really isn't the deciding factor but *fun* and somewhat gentle is important. I do enjoy teaching science and I plan to do it 2x per week. HELP! Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I haven't used Elemental Science, but we have used Nancy Larson 2 in the past and I have 3 set for this year. It is the one science that actually gets done here because it's mostly put together already. All I have to do is show up. :) I like it a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 We tried Elemental science Biology for Logic stage last year. It was the one topic we just didn't do. I may still try to work through it for summer some, but DD just feels like it is busy work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Elliotrae, how old is your DD? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have tried both. Nancy Larson was the clear winner here. I found that Elemental wasn't enough. It was read a page or two in encyclopedia and then do the notebook page. It got old very quickly for us. And it wasn't enough information for my daughter. I also didn't feel like the lessons also flowed very well. It seemed choppy and we didn't really enjoy it. I also didn't find that the experiments always went well with the lesson. Nancy Larson was clear, easy to use, and my kids retained all the information. It was awesome to have a kit with all supplies and the manual is scripted (which I thought I would hate) but I enjoy not having to pre-read the lessons or plan ahead. It gets done and my kids find it fun. I blogged about Nancy Larson here and I compared several programs here. I blogged some reasons why I like the program and wrote about some questions I was asked at a convention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClassical Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I have Elemental and also their other program by same company - Sassafras; we are using that as our spine this year with me supplementing and adding in some things from Elemental, and we use Discovery science Streaming alongside science as the video and information quality is great. I can't speak for nancy Larson though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 I am worried that I may grow to hate the scripting of Nancy Larson and that the constant questions will kill the joy for my DD. The Nancy Larson samples do not show any experiments but obviously with all the materials in the kit there are experiments. Are there "write-ups" for the experiments in Nancy Larson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAtoVA Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Thanks for the replies!!!! Anybody else have any comments about (experiences with) one or the other or both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3innc Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Elemental science felt very repetitive to us. Read, narrate, read, narrate. Experiments did not always feel like they fit. Plus I had to gather all supplies. Not bad, just not for us. We did not enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I did not care for NL. The scripting was way too much for me. I don't mind a little, but it was way over the top. I also didn't care for the picture cards and plastic bugs. I would rather see those things in person. That said, it is very easy to use. Everything is there and you know exactly what to do. It just wasn't for me. See the following: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/431832-is-nancy-larson-science-1-worth-the-pros-cons/ http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/474827-why-discount-nancy-larson-science/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I had pretty much the same experience with ES. We did Biology, I found it very dry. I also found a lot of experiments didn't fit the topic. We will be using something else next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Though NL looks appealing to me, I've not used it b/c of the cost. We have only used Elemental Science for one year..... last year we used Logic Earth. My dd loved it! She mainly used this on her own with the exception of our end of the week discussion days & experiment days. I documented the majority of her experiments on my blog. (There is a page dedicated to ES Earth). We added lots of science videos/docs and extra reading. This year we used something different....... Let's just say we are going back to ES structure for next school year so science gets done in my house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly1730 Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Though NL looks appealing to me, I've not used it b/c of the cost. We have only used Elemental Science for one year..... last year we used Logic Earth. My dd loved it! She mainly used this on her own with the exception of our end of the week discussion days & experiment days. I documented the majority of her experiments on my blog. (There is a page dedicated to ES Earth). We added lots of science videos/docs and extra reading. This year we used something different....... Let's just say we are going back to ES structure for next school year so science gets done in my house! I am so glad that you shared this! ES Logic Earth is what I have settled on for this year, but then I was having second thoughts, ugh! Are there suggestions for the science dvds/readings in the curriculum or did you find those on your own? Just curious, I can't tell by the sample on the website. I have high hopes of science getting done in my house too this year:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I have NL for this coming year. I decided to go with it because it sounds like it will actually get done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyinMD Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I purchased Nancy Larson Science 3 to use for the coming year. I haven't gotten to use it yet but I was wanting something different for this year and I really liked how it came with pretty much everything I needed. I haven't used it yet to see if the scripting is going to drive me nuts or not yet. I'm really hoping to like it because it was more than I've ever spent on an elementary science program. I bought two extra sets of student pages to use with 3 children so I'm pretty invested in it at this point. I'm going to use it with 4th grade twins and a 2nd grader. We have used Elemental Science the past 3 years and overall I like the program but I was ready for something different for next year. We did the Earth Science and Astronomy this year and mostly finished it (a few experiments didn't get done). There were a few experiments I really didn't care for like the one using toothpicks to simulate metamorphic rocks. My kids said it was the worst experiment ever but we've certainly had some duds of experiments here over the years. I probably should have done Chemistry with them this year instead of the Earth Science. My son found some of the book choices babyish and I think the kids were to the point where the Kingfisher Young Knowledge Series of books was just too easy for them. If you were using it with a younger child then it may be a better fit. My 9 yo dd has dyslexia and works 1-2 grade levels below where she should be and it was a better fit for her. I do think it is a nice program and I really like the narration pages. I have also used about half of the Physics program with my now 13 yo a few years ago and it seemed more in depth than the Earth Science did. I really didn't like the quizzes on any of the levels we have used and thought they could be more in depth than they were but they were quick and easy to do at least. I have tried several science programs at our house in 11 years of homeschooling and I found ES one of the easier ones to get done. The lessons were quick and for the most part I didn't have to pull together a ton of unusual supplies for experiments. I really thought the kids got a lot out of the experiment write ups for about half of the experiments. Some of the experiments were kind of duds but that seems to be pretty typical with many elementary science programs trying to stick with experiments with common household items. I like how the program is relatively inexpensive and easy to implement without a lot of planning on my part. I have only used the Grammar stage ES programs. The Logic Programs look much more in depth. I purchased the Logic Stage Biology but haven't used it. I don't think my kids are ready for it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrayshire Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I am so glad that you shared this! ES Logic Earth is what I have settled on for this year, but then I was having second thoughts, ugh! Are there suggestions for the science dvds/readings in the curriculum or did you find those on your own? Just curious, I can't tell by the sample on the website. I have high hopes of science getting done in my house too this year:) Added those on my own from Discovery Education, Nova, etc. Oh, but ES does have the Want More section that has extras like virtual field trips, research projects, activities, experiments, etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kknickrehm Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Comments about Nancy LArson Science 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I just used Science 2 last year. What do you want to know?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Elliotrae, how old is your DD? Thanks! Sorry, I just noticed this. She is just turning 11. I see that many love ES so I have really been giving it more thought. I think we were having some level of difficulty because, although she is entering 6th grade, she has not had a classical education or any formal writing courses until last year. So even though, she should have been entering the logic level of education in her content classes, she didn't really have the outlining, summary, and narration skills to do many of the assignments without frustration. I am trying to decide what we are doing for science this year and I am thinking of giving it another try. The price is right and I do love the way it is set up. Her writing has progressed over the year so maybe it will be easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steadfast Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I just used Science 2 last year. What do you want to know?? How does NLS work with multiple grade levels at once? Also, how many different areas of science get looked at in one year? (I think it doesn't just stick with one area of science like the ES does, correct?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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