redquilthorse Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Starting this fall, I will be adding my 5th child to the school rotation as she starts kindergarten. My oldest will be in 8th grade and working through some rigorous curricula, including Omnibus II. I am looking for history/science suggestions for my other 4 kids. I would love to simplify my school day wherever I can. History and science seem to be the most difficult subjects for me to get through consistently. My second oldest will be in 5th grade, then my other 3 will be in 3rd, 2nd, and K. It seems hard to combine all 4 and still challenge my 5th grader. In the past, we have used both living books and textbooks, so I am open to both. I do think I prefer textbooks for science past maybe 4th grade or so. I would love suggestions for curricula for history and/or science for the younger 3 especially. We have used lots of different things over the years, but nothing that we have loved so much we want to stick with it. And our stage in life has changed enough that I'm re-evaluating some things we used in the past. So I would love to hear what has worked for other people! Basically I want something that will (1) get done, (2) not bore us to tears, and (3) not cost a small fortune. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Actress Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 The Apologia Exploring Creation books are great for teaching multiple elementary ages. They have Astronomy, Zoology (3 of these), Anatomy & Physiology, probably others. They are from a Christian viewpoint. Pretty inexpensive, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalfam Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I've been checking out Wayfarers by Barefoot Ragamuffin Curricula for similar reasons. It has science (light on experiments!), History, and Geography combine for all age groups. It is a schedule, complete with all subjects, that you can pick and choose what you want to "plug in" to it for your group. The schedules are inexpensive, and then you will need to purchase or check out the books you want to use with it. Barefoot Ragamuffin is the same publisher that puts out ELTL that so many people love. It looks really neat, you can pick and choose what your want, and you can find materials based on what you have available at the library, or what is interesting to you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 We had a great year using Wayfarers this past year! For this upcoming year, I used Wayfarers as a guide to put my own thing together. I wanted to do a two-year American history but still continue using Quark Chronicles as our science spine, so I had to use the books that have been released. So for history (American history-up through the Civil War), my older kids will be using the Foster books (Columbus, Washington, & Lincoln) as a spine and they each have individual literature reading lists for the same time period. My younger kids will be using the D'Aulaire books and the If You Were...books as their spine. Together as a family we are doing a Book of Centuries and using the 200 American History Questions from Memoria Press. We also have family read-alouds we will do together at night that are based on the time period we are studying. For science, we are studying Anatomy and Astronomy using Quark Chronicles as our science family read aloud. Together we will be doing science experiments using the Janice VanCleave books, and we will also be putting the Scholasitc Body Book together. Each child has their own science book to read (CK12 for oldest, CLP grade 5 science reader for second, and Usborne First Encyclopedia for youngest two). They all each have some living science to read too (Burgess books for the younger two and The Secret of Everyday Things for the older two). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage81 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Mystery Science - aimed for kids ages 6-12, all online, no lesson planning required. Supplies for experiments are needed, but it's nothing too complicated. The videos are engaging and they could be watched by many different age groups (my kindergartner enjoyed them). How you expand on each mystery, whether it's through additional reading, lapbooking, additional experiments or whatever else is fun, is where you can customize based on age/grade. You can sign up for a free trial where you'll get to view some of the mysteries. There's also a deal on Homeschool Buyers Co-op right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat w Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I did and do beautiful feet ( literature based) and add in a program like abeka or bju to take turns reading the text and working the fun activities :) Science , Sam exact thing. Bf has history if science and most if the books to read are in the libraries. Then...an abeka or bju text taking turns reading aloud the pagea and do the VERY fun activities guides :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistachio mom Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) Hi. I am also looking at teaching Omni 2 with my oldest and my younger ones working together for science. I do understand where you are coming from.... We are on the trivium cycle of biological science this year. I am using Answers in Genesis God's Design in Science as a spine for my 2 younger children (2nd, 5th) and Apologia Biologiy for my oldest. AIG is a multilevel science designed for elementary up to grade 8. (I am also adding in information using a national geographic ency of animals, some DK books about plants, library books about classification. I am using a Memoria science guide to help me be systematic with our study of mammals.) The Mr. Q website also has free resources for science plan. https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/gods-design-science-curriculum/?sku=40-1-323 http://eequalsmcq.com/homeschoolers.htm Answers in Genesis books have multi level lessons that you can build on with research from other library books. In my opinion, this would be an inexpensive way to combine science content and still tailor assignments to fit the maturity/academic levels of your elementary children. I usually use 3 books per year. Sometimes, it might be appropriate to use 2 books if you are adding in other resources. Their books are discounted at the CBD website. Are you wanting to teach a particular trivium cycle? http://www.christianbook.com/human-body-gods-design-life-series/richard-lawrence/9781600921612/pd/921612 Mystery Science website and Supercharged Science DVDs with Aurora Lipper are other solid choices. These would be more expensive. For history, I have a plan to study Greece/Rome and Middle Ages with my younger two. The 5th grader is doing Veritas self paced online with a reading list that comes from partly Veritas, Memoria Press titles, and titles from the old WTM book. I have the old edition that gives spines for each era of history. My 2nd grader will be watching her sibling do the online work. We will also fill in with Veritas Cards and Story of the World Middle Ages and the end of the first Ancient Times book. I will use some of the pages from the activity books or Map Trek when appropriate also. I have both children doing separate Geography pages from Evan Moor. Since my 2nd grader is young and still building fluency, I am putting more emphasis on her with reading skills by reading Middle Ages/fairy tale picture books from the library. I am working on building a memory work plan to incorporate concepts they both need this school year. Honestly, for me, if I keep everyone in the same general history era, the same general branch of science, and fill in with grade level geography, make my own reading list, grade level grammar and math, etc.... --- it keeps us unified enough for me not to feel crazy. A product that is multilevel for history or science might give you flexibility to adapt it up or down for you particular teaching situation. Edited July 17, 2016 by Pistachio mom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondchen Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I can't say from experience, but I just finished going through Science in the Beginning (by Jay Wile) to prep for next school year, and it looks great! It's designed to be used with multiple ages (through about 6th grade, I think). The follow-up questions at the end of the lesson are at three different levels, and the oldest kids are given notebooking instructions. My kids are 9, 7 and 4 and I think it will work well for us. Obviously it will be a bit much for the 4yo (who is really just tagging along) but she'll probably enjoy it, and I think it's in the sweet spot for the others. And it's inexpensive - about $40 for the one manual + teacher helps, and the experiments use mostly ordinary household items. I don't have to buy anything at all for the first unit. We also plan to supplement with living books, many of which I found on the lists in BFSU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 We have loved Mystery of History. It has worked very well for all of us right up til this coming year when my oldest 2 are in high school and need something different for history. I had my DD do Mr. Q life and earth science on her own when she was in that awkward stage of being too old for what her younger sister was doing in science but too young for Apologia General. It served its purpose and was fine and I'm glad I had a good option for her during those years, but I don't know that I would use it for younger ones. For elementary science, especially for teaching several younger ones together, I like God's Design for Science. All of these except Mr. Q are Christian curricula, so if that's not what you're looking for, I apologize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redquilthorse Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 Thank you for all of these great suggestions! Some of them are new to me so I will be doing more research. :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 There are two curriculums that I've seen get the job done - SOTW and Apologia Exploring Creation series. That said, you'll have to fold in additional reads for your 5th grader for history, but that's okay - just hand that child a new book every Monday or use the Kingfisher to look up whatever you read about. The other option that makes a nice add-on would be the IEW history based writing series (Ancients, Medieval, etc.) After years of playing and trying curriculum, I'm using SOTW Ancients with Kingfisher, IEW Ancients, and an Apologia book for my K-6 crowd with additional assigned titles for reading time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistachio mom Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Hi again Friend, Another publisher you might want to check out for history options is Memoria press - their famous men series. Famous Men of Greece, FM of Rome, FM of the Middle Ages, FM of Modern times. If you are wanting your elementary history to reflect your 8th grader's era the FM MIddle Ages is very good. Greenleaf Press also publishes a similar title: Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation. All of these history sources are short biographies with an optional activity book. The Memoria activity books include things like maps, vocabulary, facts about the main people, they also have tests that are appropriate for upper elementary. I did not use the flash cards. A few years ago, my oldest did FM of Middle Ages, Greenleaf's FM of the Renaissance and Ref all in one year. We may have also done the FM of Modern times that year too. It has been a while ago. https://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/classical-studies/famous-men-middle-ages/ http://www.greenleafpress.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=50 Yesterday's Classics also has a nice series on the story of the middle ages. These titles have been a positive addition to our history curriculum. The Streams of History series. This website is a wealth of history titles. http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/catalog/displaycatalog.php?catalog=history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsha Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 There is a new on coming out. I pre-ordered it. It looks very interesting. It is for multiple ages. http://www.jennyphillips.com/history/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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