hisforhomeschooling Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I feel like I posted a lot about science last spring. I was all for doing interest-led biology type stuff, following the WTM model for 20 weeks of animals, 10 weeks of anatomy, and 6 weeks of plants. I found very quickly in September that this wasn't a good fit for us, mostly because it was hard to lay out in advance. We have been doing Mr. Q's science, very loosely. I kind of feel like I have failed the kids for science and for biology this first year. I know it's just supposed to be intro and fun, but they love science and I just feel like I haven't been tapping into that. Not having a plan overwhelms me. So, I want a book for next year. I want it all laid out. If it is laid out, we will do it, the kids will know what to expect, and I won't feel like a failure. I like the WTM idea of cycling through the 4 main catergories 3 times, so I want to do earth and space next year. The kids are so excited about doing space and volcanoes and earth quakes and all that. The two programs I am looking at are Christian Kids Explore and Elemental Science. Any experiences? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanabug Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 My daughters did Elemental's Earth Science & Astronomy last year as 1st and 3rd graders. What I liked:- Easy to find supplemental books - Experiment kit available for purchase - Experiments were easy to duplicate and fun - Fairly open-and-go What I didn't like:- The same format each week got a little boring. - Too much written narration, especially for my younger one. - Internet links from Usborne book didn't always work - Not really enough information in the readings - I would have liked a list of extra books that we could pick up at the library for further investigations. I have ES Chemistry on the shelf for us to do this spring/summer, but we may move to NOEO for Physics next year. I haven't looked into Christian Kids Explore. Lana 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBadd Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 I feel like I posted a lot about science last spring. I was all for doing interest-led biology type stuff, following the WTM model for 20 weeks of animals, 10 weeks of anatomy, and 6 weeks of plants. I found very quickly in September that this wasn't a good fit for us, mostly because it was hard to lay out in advance. We have been doing Mr. Q's science, very loosely. I kind of feel like I have failed the kids for science and for biology this first year. I know it's just supposed to be intro and fun, but they love science and I just feel like I haven't been tapping into that. Not having a plan overwhelms me. So, I want a book for next year. I want it all laid out. If it is laid out, we will do it, the kids will know what to expect, and I won't feel like a failure. I like the WTM idea of cycling through the 4 main catergories 3 times, so I want to do earth and space next year. The kids are so excited about doing space and volcanoes and earth quakes and all that. The two programs I am looking at are Christian Kids Explore and Elemental Science. Any experiences? Thanks! What did you end up using? I'm looking into both options for my 2nd and 1st graders 😉 Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalusignan Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 I've done/tried both. This is my experience. We did Elemental Science Biology for the Grammar Stage in 1st. While it was not horrible and it got done, I didn't love it. Mainly because 20 weeks of animals was just looooong. In 2nd grade I decided to try CKE Earth and Space. I hated it! It was completely unorganized, difficult to implement, and definitely not as user friendly as Elemental Science. We did about 6 weeks, scrapped the rest of the year, and finished with nature study for the remainder of our year. In 3rd grade I decided to go back to Elemental Science, and since we didn't get much covered in Earth Science, I purchased Earth Science and Astronomy for the Grammar Stage. We are on Week 9, and I'm loving it. I actually like it a lot better than their Biology, it's getting done each week, and we're enjoying it. Hope that helps!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 I like Elemental Science and planning to do it next year again. I skipped some of the memory or writing assignments that looked boring. Some projects were better than others, but it gave me a good framework. This year, we are enjoying RS4K though. I am finding it gets done more than ES did, but this was mainly because I tried to supplement too much. I definitely shouldn't donthat. Now I outsource extra fun science stuff and stick to the curriculum. I also find that I need to gather all the supplies in a kit at the beginning of the year or I will blow off the experiment or spend too long scrounging around for supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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