kagmypts Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I am beginning to plan out middle school science for my DD and would like to dedicate one year to each of the following sciences: Earth/Space Life Physical sciences Any ideas? Any places to look? I am having a hard time finding anything and need some inspiration. Thank you!ETA - We are not interested in any YE science program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 CPO is secular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 We have had good success this year with using Mr. Q for our fourth grader, and having our seventh grader read the corresponding pages in Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. Then we do the labs together. We did earth science this year but plan to do the same with physical science next year, and depending on time, we might hit chemistry and life science in there too. Mr. Q is inexpensive if you buy it during his January sale, and his life science is free. KSE is pretty inexpensive if you watch for a sale from Amazon, especially if it'll last for several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 We used CPO for Earth and for Life :) Here's the publisher's site for Earth http://www.cposcience.com/home/ForEducators/MiddleSchoolEarthScience/tabid/261/Default.aspxClick on the "ancillaries" in the right column for labs (called 'student record sheets') and other extras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I also used CPO for earth and space and for my next kiddo I will use CPO life science as well. There are lots of CPO threads in this forum. I used the textbook, the teacher book and the stuff available at their website http://cposcience.com/html/homepage/index.html You need the 'student record sheets' for the demonstrations and experiments. It is all available online. Don't worry about buying the equipment, l am sure like most homeschoolers you are used to figuring out workarounds. For physical science, in 8th grade, I bought Derek Owens. He isn't a secular teacher, but my son said he never found anything in the course that was religous. I bought it here: http://www.lucideducation.com/ We bought the whole course on flash drive. If you buy it, be sure to copy the workbook if you want any other student to use the course. The workbook replacement costs almost 40$ and you absolutely need it for the course. But the course comes with video lessons, workbook, tests and answers etc. If you click on "preview this course" you can see the first unit or two and also download those chapters of the workbook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm a biologist and DH is a chemist. We looked at Prentice Hall Science Explorers, Holt Science & Technology, Ellen McHenry, RSO, and Elemental Science. I've heard good things about CPO, but wasn't willing to spend that much money on middle school science. We've decided to go with Holt Science & Technology for Life Science and Earth Science. We're using the all-in-one books, not the short courses. Holt S&T is reasonably priced (Rainbow Resource or CBD), and DH and I were impressed with the texts and the labs. (The labs are in the student text.) Physical Science is still up in the air; maybe we'll continue with Holt S&T or maybe we'll use Derek Owens' course. We'll probably throw in the free ACS Middle School Chemistry curriculum at some point, though DD has already covered most of that material. We're also planning to use a Gizmos! subscription purchased via HSBC as an online supplement 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Wizards Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 My oldest used Holt S&T for Earth, Derek Owens for physical science, and Elemental Science for Biology. I am thinking that for my next one I will do Biology and Earth with Holt S&T and Derek Owens again for physical science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I used PH Science Explorer last year but didn't like the extra materials. This year we are using Holt Science & Technology Life Science and it is so much better. I bought the package from Rainbow Resource and I use the worksheets on the planner cd for the reviews and quizzes. They have the sequence that you want and they are very easy to use, without sacrificing any depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Inman Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 We used Holt for Earth Science and loved it!! 2 of my closest homeschool friends used the Holt physical science and thought it was great too. Good luck! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 We have decided we simply aren't thrilled with Elemental Science, so :bigear: , we are interested in the responses to this, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I really like Elemental Science for the logic stage. My oldest daughter does, too. I don't care for grammar stage as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 A few notes for anyone investigating Holt Science & Technology: Holt offers both high school level and middle school level texts for earth, life, and physical science. The middle school texts are called Holt Science & Technology Life/Earth/Phsical Science. The high school texts are just called Holt Earth/Life/Physical Science. The Holt Science & Technology series comes as either big books (Life/Earth/Physical) or as smaller "short courses" with 5 books for each curriculum. The content appears to be the same, and the publication dates are the same. IMO it's a money grab, as buying all of the smaller books plus teacher materials will cost schools a lot more money. Rainbow Resources and CBD both sell the big books as packages with supporting materials. Each sell it in two formats: either the student text plus a homeschool CD-ROM and a chapter resources CD-ROM, or the student text, teacher text, and chapter resources CD-ROM. The current edition has a publication date of ~2007. Seems overdue for a new edition, but I'm not too concerned about that. I bought the homeschool version from CDB (eligible for free shipping) with the parent CD-ROM. The homeschool parent CD-ROM includes lesson plans, but I find it unpleasant to read. I prefer the teacher edition of the textbook. It has the same information, but because it's not just one huge text document, it's much easier on my eyes and brain. Plus the teacher textbook has all of the pages of the student text, so I can see what my daughter is reading without borrowing her book. Buying the homeschool package plus a used teacher edition on Amazon may be cheaper than buying the student/teacher text package. If you don't want the Chapter Resources (worksheets, tests, etc.), buying everything used is the least expensive option, especially if you don't mind buying the previous edition (first published in 2001). If you're having trouble finding the teacher text used, you might consider buying the CA version of both the student and teacher text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 This is my second yr teaching middle school..first year, MBTP science.. way way way too much work and expectations for it to be middle school science. VERY rigorous and way more than what our science philosophy was leading to burn out at every turn. Very good material, just too much of it. This year my 2nd middle school child came home now I'm HSing 2 and they are going through Elemental Science, Logic Stage Chemistry. We really like it. It's offered in manageable pcs, is done in a very classical way, has 2 recommended schedules, has labs, etc etc. It's getting science DONE here weekly with enthusiasm. Even with the science kit purchase, for 2 kids plus teacher's guide, I found it very affordable. I keep reading how poorly most homeschool science material is written, and I read all types of reviews on ES, but all in all, we are completely satisfied with it. It is also written for a partial year, meaning if we do it every single week, we will finish it way before the end of the year, but we are using that leeway to go slower and examine the elements more, watch element videos, play element games, etc. It's been pretty enjoyable for us and they are learning a ton. So that's my rec. lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Are there hands on activities in Holt? If so, are the materials easy to come by? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Are there hands on activities in Holt? If so, are the materials easy to come by? Holt Science & Technology texts have labs in them, so there's no need to purchase a separate lab manual. The materials seem reasonably simple to me, but we'll feel free to skip labs too. Off the top of my head, the less household-y materials in the Life Science text include stuff like this: a microscope (w/slides and coverslips) pond water fertilizer pH strips large dead bugs (LOL, not sure where I'll get these, but I'll be on the lookout for them) petri dishes (plastic would be fine) juice agar plates (not hard to make at home) pill bugs (from your yard, or get meal worms from the pet store) thermometer (experiment also calls for hot plate, but there's no reason not to heat the water in a microwave or on the stove top, and then measure temp) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zarabellesmom Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 So if anyone has taken a look at CPO and Holt, which do you prefer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I'm a biologist and DH is a chemist. We looked at Prentice Hall Science Explorers, Holt Science & Technology, Ellen McHenry, RSO, and Elemental Science. I've heard good things about CPO, but wasn't willing to spend that much money on middle school science. We've decided to go with Holt Science & Technology for Life Science and Earth Science. We're using the all-in-one books, not the short courses. Holt S&T is reasonably priced (Rainbow Resource or CBD), and DH and I were impressed with the texts and the labs. (The labs are in the student text.) Physical Science is still up in the air; maybe we'll continue with Holt S&T or maybe we'll use Derek Owens' course. We'll probably throw in the free ACS Middle School Chemistry curriculum at some point, though DD has already covered most of that material. We're also planning to use a Gizmos! subscription purchased via HSBC as an online supplement I am guessing you thought that you needed to buy the materials from CPO. You don't need to buy the expensive equipment that goes with the program, for at least Earth and Space and Life Science. It wasn't difficult for me to put together what I needed for almost all of Earth and Space. LuckyMama has some great pictures of her DIY stuff and I found those useful. I made my own convection chamber pretty easily with a plastic storage box, for example. Yes, I had to buy stuff and it wasn't super cheap, but I have found that to be the case with science in general. The good thing is that I have a second kid and I have had to buy very little for science for him. So, I bought the student book and the teacher book used off of Amazon for very little. I printed the student record sheets of the CPO websit for the cost of paper and ink, and I spent... 100$ or less on materials for Earth and Space. It was almost 5 years ago, so I don't really remember, it could have been more like 70$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I am beginning to plan out middle school science for my DD and would like to dedicate one year to each of the following sciences: Earth/Space Life Physical sciences Any ideas? Any places to look? I am having a hard time finding anything and need some inspiration. Thank you! ETA - We are not interested in any YE science program. Here is what Dh and I mapped out for Dd's logic stage science years. 1. We chose a spine for science which presented the topic/concepts in language a Dd could understand. The spine we chose was Christian Kids Explore Biology, Earth & Space, Chemistry and Physics. I've written reviews of the Biology and Earth & Space curricula. Presently, I'm working on the review for Chemistry. 2. We purchased Magic School Bus Science Kits and Janice Van Cleave's "Science for Every Kid" experiment books. 3. The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia (2006 edition), Usborne Science Encyclopedia (2011 edition) and DK Eyewitness selections from the WTM Logic Stage Science added the finishing touches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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