Judahslamb Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I´m looking at The Human Body - God´s Design for Life and I like the series (I see plants, animals etc.) but I am wondering for how long is one book to be used for? How are the lessons planned and how many are there? What are your over thoughts on this curriculum for science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 There's 35 lessons per book. I think it's designed to do 3 lessons a week, 3 books per year. Last year we did the Heaven and Earth series. This year we did 2 of the Life series plus one go-along book per week, plus notebooking about half the lessons for my 4th grader. Next year we're doing the last one plus go-alongs plus notebooking (wanting a light year with the new baby coming). I like it because it's complete by itself, but light enough to add onto if I want (and light enough to happen consistently no matter what). I like that it's open-and-go, and the experiments/projects aren't required. I do think some of the tests are a bit difficult, especially for kids in the younger end of the range (3rd and 4th). DD was in 3rd gor the Heaven and Earth series and I ended up writing my own tests because they were just way too difficult for her. The Life ones seemed more reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 It was a flop in this house. If I recall correctly I had something like a 7th, 6th, 3rd, and precocious 1st at the time. The reading tone was appropriate for the older kids, but the fact depth was appropriate for the younger kids. We didn't make it more than a few lessons before I had to put the big two in something much more meaty or they would have revolted. The little two did finish the first book, with me prereading the lesson and paraphrasing as I read aloud. We never picked up another one. It was simple to use and didn't require planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 It works for my 2nd and 4th grader. We plan on continuing next year. (This year we did Life, planning on Heaven & Earth next year.) We don't do any of the extras; I read it aloud and they "journal" about it (draw and label a picture or something). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Yes, to what caedmyn said upthread on how to use. It's funny, we used it in a co-op when the kids were younger and I didn't care for it at all. Last year, I needed something that the kids could do completely independently and it ended up working out really well. I actually am planning to use it again this fall for my 4th(DD) & 6th(DS) grader. We have the whole set, so my DD is doing 2 of the blue books (earth & space) and 1 of the green (life). I forget which ones she picked. My DS is doing the red books (physical, I think?). I am planning to have my DS outline what he reads. We haven't done outlining yet, and I thought that the reading is nice and short that it may lend itself well to that. He will also be doing more of the worksheets/tests/etc. that are on the CD. Also, we load up on books weekly at the library, so I am not worried about them getting enough. One more thing, the books may or may not have helped this, but both kids scored very well on the ITBS science section. May not have helped, but it definitely didn't hurt, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 We're planning on it for next year for my 3rd grader. We plan to do all 3 Life books, 3 lessons a week. I chose it because the lessons are short and sweet and always have a hands-on demonstration or something to do. So far I like what I see as I look through the books. Appropriate depth for elementary, but not too long of a lesson before you get to the fun stuff. We also do supplementary reading from the library for science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 My DC loved this series! I found it very open-and-go, which was great for the year we used it for (new baby, plus a move). There were some really good worksheets with drawing & labeling, which I prefer over multiple choice & fill-in-the-blank. We only did the Animals book, so I can only speak for it. My one issue was the lack of science experiments. Our "experiments" were to make dirt cups (when we studying worms) or slither along the ground in different ways (when we studied snakes). These were some of the better activities...we skipped most of them. It could have just been the book, maybe the other books have better experiments. If not, there should be some great experiments to go with the human body on Pinterest or from a library book. Not sure what ages you have, but I found my younger ones preferred to listen to the older kids' reading portion. There is a shorter lesson at the beginning for younger ages, but my younger DC enjoyed the other one best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 My one issue was the lack of science experiments. Our "experiments" were to make dirt cups (when we studying worms) or slither along the ground in different ways (when we studied snakes). These were some of the better activities...we skipped most of them. It could have just been the book, maybe the other books have better experiments. If not, there should be some great experiments to go with the human body on Pinterest or from a library book. I find the World of Animals book is the most like this in terms of experiments. The other books are much better. I have the whole series and have used them a lot. We've gone through all four sets, lesson by lesson, and we've also used them as fun reading or independently as interest-led. I used Science in the Beginning for one year but we went back to God's Design after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judahslamb Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 Thank you all for your replies, this definitely helps with the planning, I was thinking to buy just one book for the year! I think I will go with two as we will probably doe only two lessons a week but if I do go ahead with the three, is there any particular order you would suggest doing the series with? I forgot to mention that the kids ages are 8.5 and 10 currently and so it seems like they will be fine for them. I don´t think we will test but I see on the website that there is a CD that you can purchase with worksheets etc. Again, is there a logical order to follow or whatever interests them the most? We´ve learned a lot about animals in the past and although they would like to continue with that I was thinking to start with the body as we´ve never really covered anything in this area. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 We have used this series off and on. It really wasn't a great fit for our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyhock Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Again, is there a logical order to follow or whatever interests them the most? We´ve learned a lot about animals in the past and although they would like to continue with that I was thinking to start with the body as we´ve never really covered anything in this area. You're looking at the Life series, right? There really is no logical order. You might want to think about doing the Plant book at a time of year where you have plants outside accessible for experiments and activities. I did that one over the summer once. Two lessons per week gets through two books very nicely in a year. That's what we just finished doing this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Thank you all for your replies, this definitely helps with the planning, I was thinking to buy just one book for the year! I think I will go with two as we will probably doe only two lessons a week but if I do go ahead with the three, is there any particular order you would suggest doing the series with? I forgot to mention that the kids ages are 8.5 and 10 currently and so it seems like they will be fine for them. I don´t think we will test but I see on the website that there is a CD that you can purchase with worksheets etc. Again, is there a logical order to follow or whatever interests them the most? We´ve learned a lot about animals in the past and although they would like to continue with that I was thinking to start with the body as we´ve never really covered anything in this area. Thanks again! Just fyi ... The worksheets and tests are a free download, you don't have to buy a CD. Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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