Bocky Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Please help me figure out a great plan for physics for my 5th grader. She loves building (legos, blocks et c), and is interested in "circults and stuff", so she wants to do physics this year. Previously I have taught science to both girls combined and it has worked well. This year I am teaching my 7th grader separately, using So You Really Want to Learn Science as review and to teach study skills. We will also be reading living science books as read alouds, starting with A Really Short History of Nearly Everything. If you've got any good physics titles, please chime in. For my 5th grader, I am looking for physics resources that she can use largely independently. She is great at working independently, and finishes much faster than her sister, so typically has at least an hour 3 days a week she could spend on science BUT I am usually engaged with her sister during this time. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Would exploration education appeal at all? http://www.explorationeducation.com/ I can see it being to tethered to the computer. What about some TOPS Science units? They need to be prepped up front, but then you are good to go. They are totally hands on. Would the Electricity or Magnetism units appeal at all? http://www.topscience.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaTX5 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 We have the Snap Circuits Jr. set we got off of Amazon for our son that he loves. He reads through the directions himself and building it. He is doing Christian Kids Explore Physics with his coop and he loves it. There is some reading followed by a quiz and followed by a hands on activity, but it is very Christian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Ds (4th) is using Horrible Science for physics topics this year with the demonstrations found in the book, a few from VanCleave's book, several lesson plans I found online, some Bill Nye, plus the Intellego unit on electricity and the Make: Electronics book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Bite-Size Physics by Science Jim! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 We are going to use The New Way Things Work this year, along with the videos. My library has the whole set! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Dd really liked Exploration Education at that age. Very self-directed and hands-on. All the stuff to do all the projects comes in the box - the textbook is online, but there is also a physical workbook that you write responses and labs in, and every lesson you either build something or do a hands-on experiment with something you built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Would exploration education appeal at all? http://www.explorationeducation.com/ I can see it being to tethered to the computer. What about some TOPS Science units? They need to be prepped up front, but then you are good to go. They are totally hands on. Would the Electricity or Magnetism units appeal at all? http://www.topscience.org/ Exploration education looks very interesting. I could totally see this getting done, and I really like that it comes with all the components. We are moving for the fourth time in nine months -sigh- and so putting together the supplies for experiments is quite a pain. Having the computer do the teaching would help. It will be her first computer-based course (apart from doing Reflex math facts last year), so it would be interesting to see how well she likes working with screens. Tops science: I actually have (in a box somewhere) the electricity and magnetism guides. We were going to do Sonlight Science E this summer, but found it unengaging. Even though it came with a kit, I still had to find lots of supplies. It seemed a bit parent intensive, but perhaps with the prep up front. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 We have the Snap Circuits Jr. set we got off of Amazon for our son that he loves. He reads through the directions himself and building it. He is doing Christian Kids Explore Physics with his coop and he loves it. There is some reading followed by a quiz and followed by a hands on activity, but it is very Christian. She has Snap Circuits Jr - it is a fun kit! She loves to reverse the circuit so that the fan flies up into the air. Thanks for the suggestions. Christian Kids Explore Physics looks like it would be fun in a coop setting. I originally planned a coop physics class for my dd, but it was poorly organized, and she hated it :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Ds (4th) is using Horrible Science for physics topics this year with the demonstrations found in the book, a few from VanCleave's book, several lesson plans I found online, some Bill Nye, plus the Intellego unit on electricity and the Make: Electronics book. Horrible Science is a great idea. She enjoys Horrible Histories. I will look into getting these for supplemental reading. Did you mean the Intellego Unit study 3-5 Physical Science: Electricity? Looks like fun! Can it be used independently? Is there a kit? Big bonus points for a kit! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Bite-Size Physics by Science Jim! :) It looks like a really engaging curriculum. I am wondering if my dd would be able to use it on her own? It looks like it would be fabulous for a coop though. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 We are going to use The New Way Things Work this year, along with the videos. My library has the whole set! :) I have the original The Way Things Work. The videos look like a lot of fun, and right up dd's alley. Yes, my library has them too! Thanks for this. I can see her really enjoying these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Dd really liked Exploration Education at that age. Very self-directed and hands-on. All the stuff to do all the projects comes in the box - the textbook is online, but there is also a physical workbook that you write responses and labs in, and every lesson you either build something or do a hands-on experiment with something you built. Thanks for recommending this. It is always very useful to hear how it worked for other families. It does look like it would work very well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Horrible Science is a great idea. She enjoys Horrible Histories. I will look into getting these for supplemental reading. Did you mean the Intellego Unit study 3-5 Physical Science: Electricity? Looks like fun! Can it be used independently? Is there a kit? Big bonus points for a kit! Thank you! That's the one. It's written to the instructor, but I have had ds use it independently. There isn't a kit to go with it, but I found the items pretty easy to get either on Amazon/Ebay or a couple of local stores. The Make:Electronics Book does come with a kit you can buy on the Make website. They say you can find things cheaper elsewhere so that's what we've tried, but tbh, I wish I had just bought the kit from Make for a section at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Would exploration education appeal at all? http://www.explorationeducation.com/ I can see it being to tethered to the computer. What about some TOPS Science units? They need to be prepped up front, but then you are good to go. They are totally hands on. Would the Electricity or Magnetism units appeal at all? http://www.topscience.org/ A third recommendation for Exploration Education. :) My older boy used it several years ago and did it completely, absolutely independently. (It was quite a year for me and this got handed off). Last year, I taught it in co-op. I loved that everything needed for the experiments and hands-on demonstrations is in the box. And the instructions and online slides are so detailed that your dd could do everything by herself. The only danger might be a too-hot glue gun. We added in many things for the class (b/c it was a co-op and we needed to extend the lesson). One of my personal favorites was having the kids each design and make a Rube-Goldberg machine after we studied simple machines. They were so creative and pretty challenging! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 It looks like a really engaging curriculum. I am wondering if my dd would be able to use it on her own? It looks like it would be fabulous for a coop though. Thanks! There is nothing in Bite-Size Physics that needs a group. I suppose it could be used in a co op if you wanted to, but it's written directly to the student. I spent a couple/few weeks doing it hand over hand with my precocious 4th grader, teaching her how I wanted her to keep a notebook and such as we worked together. Now she uses it alone, and occasionally teaches some of the lessons to her younger sister. The experiments use common household items and she sets them up herself 90% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 That's the one. It's written to the instructor, but I have had ds use it independently. There isn't a kit to go with it, but I found the items pretty easy to get either on Amazon/Ebay or a couple of local stores. The Make:Electronics Book does come with a kit you can buy on the Make website. They say you can find things cheaper elsewhere so that's what we've tried, but tbh, I wish I had just bought the kit from Make for a section at a time. The Make : Electronics book and kit look very interesting. I think I'll put that on her Christmas list (which so far is populated by legos and a gazillon monster high dolls :-)). Thanks for posting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 There is nothing in Bite-Size Physics that needs a group. I suppose it could be used in a co op if you wanted to, but it's written directly to the student. I spent a couple/few weeks doing it hand over hand with my precocious 4th grader, teaching her how I wanted her to keep a notebook and such as we worked together. Now she uses it alone, and occasionally teaches some of the lessons to her younger sister. The experiments use common household items and she sets them up herself 90% of the time. Good to know that it is written for the student. Thanks for giving a picture of how you have used this. It really helps to see how I could model using the curriculum to set it up for independent use. This is my back-up choice, I think, mostly because with our impending household move common household items aren't all that common around here. I can't wait to be settled again (which happens after our final move in November). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocky Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 A third recommendation for Exploration Education. :) My older boy used it several years ago and did it completely, absolutely independently. (It was quite a year for me and this got handed off). Last year, I taught it in co-op. I loved that everything needed for the experiments and hands-on demonstrations is in the box. And the instructions and online slides are so detailed that your dd could do everything by herself. The only danger might be a too-hot glue gun. We added in many things for the class (b/c it was a co-op and we needed to extend the lesson). One of my personal favorites was having the kids each design and make a Rube-Goldberg machine after we studied simple machines. They were so creative and pretty challenging! Lisa Thank you for your recommendation. I really like the look of this, and that it comes with a full kit. We will try Exploration Education Standard Level. Your coop sounds awesome :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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