g1234 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 1. I don't want to do Labpaq--they were incredibly rude to me a few years ago when I tried to get more info. They wanted me to buy, sight-unseen, and would tell me NOTHING about what I might be getting beyond the list of labs. Wouldn't even provide a list of what was included in the kit, or even a screenshot of one page of the manual...something about "intellectual property rights," which is ridiculous because there are all sorts of curriculum providers who offer generous samples so you can make an informed decision. 2. Quality Science Labs--seem like the nicest people in the world and answer my questions quickly, kindly, fully, and in very helpful detail, but their physics kit was, well, kind of thin, and the manual was semi-literate, and we found too many outright mistakes that cost us a lot of time. We ditched it after a few labs. I'm not inclined to try their biology. 3. I get weak in the knees when I consider finding good labs online and buying the parts. Tried this once years ago for middle school bio and earth sci. Huge work, big expense, and most labs didn't work well anyway. 4. Bruce Thompson's Illustrated Guides seem great, but we tried the Chem two years ago. It looked amazing when we perused the manual, but when we bought the kit and tried to use it, it was incredibly frustrating--confusing instructions, grossly misleading approximate lab duration times, etc. I have spent the last hour or so researching these forums and found a review of his Bio kit that had exactly the same complaints. 5. This is just us, but it really must be a secular provider. We don't want scriputure quotes or "worldview" aspects. We've been down that road before and it just won't work for us. I mean that with no disrespect to those for whom this does work well. It's just quirky us. Where does all of this leave me? So far, I feel like the answer to that is, "In a pickle!" We are looking for a nice, standard high school level--not AP, but also not just fun whiz-bang kitchen biology. Can anyone offer any hope? Is there a kit out there for us, or can someone talk me off the ledge about finding good labs and putting together the pieces myself? ETA: We're probably using Campbell and Reece's Concepts and Connections as a text, but I don't need the labs to correlate with the text in any precise way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 nm. Just saw you don't want the Illustrated Guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeschoolingHearts&Minds Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephinsocal Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Dangit, I was looking at the Illustrated Guide myself. I guess I'm on the same quest, then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 So what I came up with is: The set of virtual labs that come along with the purchase of Kolbe Biology. We have access to Pearson SucessNet and there is a virtual lab workbook and virtual lab bench on the site. Did osmosis experiment with a couple eggs and vinegar and syrup. Classroom versions of this lab use dialysis tubing, but the egg was a lot more fun. (I suspect classrooms skip the egg because the tubing is cheaper and they don't end up with the mess of eggs. This is similar to what we did. I wish I'd thought to use cola. http://www.csun.edu/~klb27749/csun_coursework/695/longitudinal_study.htm Bought a microscope from Home Science Tools. I wanted one anyway. Bought 4 dissection kits (frog, worm, fish, crayfish) Bought Microscopic Life kit from HST (I think it was this one. http://www.hometrainingtools.com/microscopic-life-kit) Bought Hand Washing Kit from HST (http://www.hometrainingtools.com/bacteria-handwashing-kit) I figured that gave me a good balance of microscopic stuff as well as dissections. It seems like a lot of modern bio labs focus on stuff like working through genetics. These are more tabletop exercises than experimental labs. This site was a big help to me. (Doing all of the listed labs would be repetitive and too much.) https://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/waldron/ I've also wanted to make a Winogradsky Column for a number of years.http://www.mbari.org/earth/2013/resources/Tom_Hanson_winogradsky.pdf With the scope it was a little under $300 from HST. You could drop the scope and the Microscopic Life kit if you needed to keep costs down. (But for me, the scope is really, really fun.) You might also ask around and see if anyone will loan, rent or sell you a scope. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Our first trip through Biology, I did the labs from Miller/Levine Biology. I just went through, chose the ones that were homeschool friendly and ordered the necessary supplies. We have a well supplied lab, so it wasn't a stretch at all. They worked consistently and the instructions were clear. Our second time through we used DIVE and it would be far to religious for you. I did like his labs though. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I have selected my own labs. Some of them came from the M-L lab handbook and some from the Illustrated Guide. But I am most excited about the ones I took from the (free) E.O. Wilson Life on Earth texts that I dowloaded from itunes. I got a few from a Walch book...I can come back with the title. And then I found some miscellaneous ones online. I have gathered more than we will be able to do, but that makes me feel secure LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g1234 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Well, it's nice to know I have company! Thank you so much Sebastian, Momto2Ns, and Penguin, for specific ideas. Hmm. Maybe you are talking me down from my terror of pulling together my own labs. I am going to look at the resources you all mention. They sound wonderful! Maybe they can help me. Sebastian, by the way, I made Winogradsky columns with my kids and a group of their friends a few years ago. They were really fun to make, and we did get some interesting changes, but not the amazing color zones that we had seen pictures of. It was still cool, and you're making me think perhaps we should try again. Thanks a lot, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I plan to buy a non-religious, run-of-the-mill lab manual and pick and choose what exercises I want to do. I'll peruse the materials necessary and purchase from Home Science Training Tools or some other such company. I am considering Pendarvis and Crawley "Exploring Biology". I've taught out of that book before, it has clear explanations, the materials are generally simple and easy to access, and there are tons of labs to choose from (you wouldn't want to try them all, there are too many for one year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I picked up this very interesting book from NSTA, and I'm planning on using selected labs from it as well as from the Serendip site that Sebastian linked above. https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781938946202 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Well, it's nice to know I have company! Thank you so much Sebastian, Momto2Ns, and Penguin, for specific ideas. Hmm. Maybe you are talking me down from my terror of pulling together my own labs. I am going to look at the resources you all mention. They sound wonderful! Maybe they can help me. Yes, thanks to everyone. I think you've helped lots of folks with this thread! If you or anyone else wants to share their finished plans, it would be great to see the balance of number and types of labs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Bought 4 dissection kits (frog, worm, fish, crayfish) ... I've also wanted to make a Winogradsky Column for a number of years.http://www.mbari.org/earth/2013/resources/Tom_Hanson_winogradsky.pdf Kids did frog, fish and crayfish because I cook those regularly for Chinese dishes. So they can dissect all they want before I cook. We can buy live frog, fish and crayfish from the Asian supermarkets. My youngest want to do the Winogradsky column after I showed him the NASA YouTube video. We'll follow the NASA guide written for 5-8th graders for this kid. We'll go mud collecting tomorrow since we plan to hit the park. NASA Winogradsky educator link http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/astrobiology/fieldwork/lessons/Winogradsky_5_8.pdf ETA: The creek behind my house supplies some interesting worms and bugs for dissection :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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