Momma4 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Hi, 2017 will be our first year homeschooling, actually any form of schooling since we chose to delay formal education until 7yrs. So, I'll be teaching reading, writing and maths to my 7yr old and will have the K5.5er and 3 yr old tagging along and whilst I don't expect anything from them I know they'll want to be involved. What would you all recommend for Science? I liked the idea of Elemental Science, especially the sassafras books but from what I've read it's pretty light on science. I know my kids will love any kind of experiment but I need something that is open and go, subscribes somewhat to the classical approach and has easy, fun experiments. So I'm considering The Real Science Odyssey. Do you think this would be a good fit, taking into account my 7yr old will just be starting to learn to read and write? I could get him to dictate his answers to me. What particular area of science would you begin with - Biology etc? Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 REAL Science Odyssey Biology would probably be a good fit. The experiments are pretty easy but also fun. I like the lab sheets because they encourage the scientific method of making a hypothesis and then recording results and answering a few questions about what happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Agree w/ PP that RSO is likely a good fit. Classical sequence is typically Biology - Earth & Space - Chemistry - Physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 There are so many different science programs out there that I think it's just what is a best fit for your family. Our kiddos are similar in ages and we are doing RSO chemistry. I'm not following the classical sequence. Just whatever my oldest seems to be interested in and what is appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 At that age my girls LOVED the Grammar Stage Biology program from Elemental Science. The nice thing about her program is that you get a two day and a 5 day schedule so you can do what fits in best in your home. Also for an additional fee, you can buy the experiment box that has all the stuff you need for your experiments. This has been a lifesaver for me! I love her programs, we will be doing Physics this fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma4 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 What's the schedule like for the RSO? I really only want to do science once a week, is that even possible?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 This isn't open-and-go, but I always like to throw it out there: Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. Even if you use this book only as reference material for yourself, it will make YOU a better science teacher and give you a good idea for the scope and sequence of elementary science. I can't praise this book enough. :-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma4 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Thanks Monica, I'll look into the book you mention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 For those ages, some of the GEMS books would be enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domestic_engineer Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 Mysteryscience.com It doesn't necessarily subscribe to the classical approach per say, but the beauty of it is ... that it gets done! It's online, and the teacher prep is very easy. And not too much writing for the kiddo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freelylearned Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 We did RSO Chemistry this past year and it was scheduled two times per week. Each lesson took us 20-40 minutes to complete the reading, lab, and lab sheet. There's no reason you couldn't couldn't combine two lessons or just do a lesson per week and stretch the curriculum over two years. I also like the Let's Read And Find Out series for those ages from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusyMom5 Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 For those ages I would recommend Magic School Bus, Cat in the Hat, Let's Read and Find Out, and Usborne Beginner Science books- they are internet linked so they have web pages to expand your lessons. Otherwise, I'd just explore nature. You can find simple fun experiements on Pintrest if your kids take an interest in something you read about. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epicurean Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 I would focus on nature study, because it's so relevant and accessible at that age. You could use Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman as your spine. Here's one of many posts you can find online about it: http://maandpamodern.com/tag/parenting/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma4 Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 Thanks so much for all the great recommendations everyone. I had a look at Mystery Science but there only seems to be a few lessons and many are for the older ages. Did I miss a section on their webpage maybe? I was thinking maybe we could get away with reading some Usborne books and finding our own interest led experiments but I fear it just won't get done, so I'm leaning more towards a programme that I have to follow and stick to. I'll have a look at the other suggestions you've all made. Thanks again. Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Have you downloaded the REAL Science sample? I would do so. There is a lot of writing and data collection in the Biology edition for those ages, IMO. There are some positives to the curriculum, but it's not open-and-go. There isn't a lot of teaching with it. It's more an activity supplement. We started with it when DD was 5-5.5 years old. You can see her completing some of the labs in the link below and what we ultimately ended up doing with it. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/R.E.A.L.%20Science%20Odyssey - Scroll back to read from the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Let's Read and Find Out!!! Seriously, just check out every book in that series that you can find. Read them together on the couch, discuss and do the simple experiments. Your children will learn so much. Easy. Stress free. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) A good suggestion. There are many out-of-print ones too you could track down (or read online at openlibrary.org) to round out your unit/theme/cycle. You can pair them with The Magic School Bus and/or Bill Nye DVDs too. There are experiments on the Bill Nye DVDs as well. ETA: I actually found this combo so good that I created a homeschool helper for the ones dealing with the human body. http://www.currclick.com/product/86146/Exploring-the-Human-Body-with-Four-Favorite-Science-Series--Unit-Study?manufacturers_id=808 Let's Read and Find Out!!! Seriously, just check out every book in that series that you can find. Read them together on the couch, discuss and do the simple experiments. Your children will learn so much. Easy. Stress free. Edited June 21, 2016 by pitterpatter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma4 Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 Great ideas, thank you. Yea I've downloaded the sample and writing was a worry for me, but I thought they could dictate it to me. I've also considered not having a curriculum at all for science and just reading lots of books and the odd experiment here and there. What worries me with this is that it may not get done or will be completely uncohesive. Thankfully I've got time to decide 😃 I was even considering reading the sasaffras books at bedtime. We spend ages reading in bed 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Wanted to throw a plug in for Home Science Adventures, particularly the microscope one. It was quite fun, easy to follow, and could be nice for the youngers to tag along with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3curlytops Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 We did Sonlight's kindergarten science last year, uses mostly Usborne books. I bought a core, but you can purchase science separately from Sonlight or Bookshark. Science was probably the most favorite thing we did during Kindergarten, and the kit of supplies makes it fairly easy to do an experiment each week. If I had to pull all the strange materials together, we'd never do a science demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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