Juggling 2 levels of science

[carriede]

I've been doing BFSU Vol 1 with DS7 for K-2. We're on target to finish the book this year. Ideally, we'd start Vol 2 next year for 3rd-5th, but...

 

DD5 is in K this year. She tagged along with DS last year and has "offically" started science this year. So she'll have 2 more years with Vol 1 - WHILE DS is doing Vol 2...?

 

That seemed daunting, so I researched other curricula and considered keeping them together.

 

Problem is, DS is very science-oriented and is more than ready to take it up a notch, detail wise. But he's still very mom-dependent.

 

So, I think they need to be working at different levels, but still with mom. I don't want to hold DS back and I don't want to push DD too far along. I really like using BFSU. Courses like Elemental Science make me feel like I need to check all the boxes, but I can force myself to get over that.

 

So, practical scheduling suggestions? Curriculum suggestions (not the video based one, we have to limit screen time here)?

Thanks!

[Syllieann]

This is my second year juggling two levels of bfsu. To make this work, I broke down each lesson like this for volume 1:

 

Day 1 Review of prerequisite lessons (ask the discussion questions from those; start with earliest lessons)

Then I schedule 1 day for each "part" of the lesson

Next day is reading one of the suggested books

The last day we do discussion questions and review prerequisites for the next lesson.

 

For volume 2 I do it the same, but after the lesson parts I schedule 2 days for discussion/notebook entries. In that level I also schedule more living books for independent reading.

 

Occasionally there will be more than one day of reading or a documentary, so this is just my general plan. It's not rigid. In terms of teaching, I schedule for my older to have science M, w, f, and my younger to do science t, r. Whenever my older has independent reading scheduled for his science time, I do a lesson with the younger instead. This keeps it so I only need to teach one child per day and I only need to keep one "part" of a given lesson in my head. I read that part the evening before, which is a small, manageable amount to do each day.

 

Like you, I looked at a lot of other things and tried to figure out a way to combine, etc. I strongly prefer to stay away from YE and screen-based, so that gave me limited options. The first month or so of both levels I was on my toes, but I have settled into a routine now. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not seeking something else at this point.

[carriede]

This is my second year juggling two levels of bfsu. To make this work, I broke down each lesson like this for volume 1:

 

Day 1 Review of prerequisite lessons (ask the discussion questions from those; start with earliest lessons)

Then I schedule 1 day for each "part" of the lesson

Next day is reading one of the suggested books

The last day we do discussion questions and review prerequisites for the next lesson.

 

For volume 2 I do it the same, but after the lesson parts I schedule 2 days for discussion/notebook entries. In that level I also schedule more living books for independent reading.

 

Occasionally there will be more than one day of reading or a documentary, so this is just my general plan. It's not rigid. In terms of teaching, I schedule for my older to have science M, w, f, and my younger to do science t, r. Whenever my older has independent reading scheduled for his science time, I do a lesson with the younger instead. This keeps it so I only need to teach one child per day and I only need to keep one "part" of a given lesson in my head. I read that part the evening before, which is a small, manageable amount to do each day.

 

Like you, I looked at a lot of other things and tried to figure out a way to combine, etc. I strongly prefer to stay away from YE and screen-based, so that gave me limited options. The first month or so of both levels I was on my toes, but I have settled into a routine now. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not seeking something else at this point.

Thank you so much for your reply. I never would have thought to break down the lessons into such small increments.

[Miss Tick]

I've been juggling book 3 and book 1 (now 2) We do science on Tues and Thurs. I just shoot for one "part" at each sitting. Sometimes, though, it does make my brain hurt. I have light worksheets I put together over summers for each lesson in book 2 and 3, so that helps keep me on track. I also try to maintain my view of science before high school remaining a content subject, so we focus on discussion of concepts more than filling in blanks.