Science in a different order?

[kesmom]

My 5th grader is doing biology this year. She has a really strong interest in chemistry and I'm considering having her study that next year and save earth science/astronomy for 7th. Is there any drawback to this that I'm missing? We are using Elemental Science and I would probably stick with that series. 

 

 

 

 

 

[redsquirrel]

There's no problem.  I personally found middle school chemistry to be such a PIA (that is NOT saying you will...ok?) that I did 'general science' in 5th, and now in 6th we are doing earth and space, 7th will be life science and in 8th we'll do physical science...that has a strong chemistry component, btw.

 

I did the 5th grade life science, 6th grade earth and space, 7th grade chem... with my older boy. It was fine but nothing bad is going to happen if we flipped the earth science and the life science, kwim?

 

The one thing that I personally think is important is that as you go along with science it should become more math based, that is why I save physical science for 8th grade, by then my kid has algebra and can do science based math.  In high school science becomes very math based, so it's good to get their feet wet in the middle grades. But again, i am just speaking for myself. You do what works for you and your kid!

[Farrar]

I don't think there's anything magical about the order in WTM. If anything, I find it very random.

 

The only thing I would say to consider is that if you're going to be using classical programs, most of them will assume that the student is the grade level of the WTM grade for that science. A year off is probably fine, but depending on the program, something might be too hard or too babyish once it's a few years off. But you could always find other resources.

[2_girls_mommy]

No. I kept the WTM cycle in elem school, but even that meant that my younger child that joined in got the classes out of order. So when my odd was doing chem in 3rd grade, the 1st grader jumped in with her that year. Then they finished up chem and did some basic physics in 4th and 1st grade. 

 

We take science at co-op and by their 5th/3rd grade years, the work there took up a lot more of our time. So they both did biology years that year. Then we did a year of Robotics and a semester of astronomy (skipping earth altogether that year) for 6th/4th grades. 

By 7th grade we were completely off cycle. Co-op was doing Apologia physical science, and the 7th grader joined that class, putting her in high school biology in 8th and chemistry in 9th. It is just the way it worked for her. They are no longer together. Younger dd did the Apologia physics/chemistry that year for 5th. Then her class did the Apologia human anatomy her 6th grade year. This year while her sis is in Chemistry her class is using the new Wile series which is not one branch of science at all, but a study of all scientists in the modern era. (Science in the Age of Reason.)  I did feel that the younger had a lack of earth science, so we did a 9 week unit study of earth science over the summer between her 6th and 7th grade years. 

 

I like the WTM rotations just because it works as well as any, and I like working from a general guideline. But do what works for you guys.