7th (6th) grade science curriculum ideas- engaging and challenging

[momof2cowboys]

My ds (11) will technically be in the 6th grade next year but since his bday falls just a few days after Sept. 1 we started his schooling early so he has always been doing a grade level ahead in his school work at home. So he would be starting 7th grade coursework next year.

However, I have really created a disaster with his science because we have done Apologia throughout the years and completed all the elementary textbooks. He is quite smart in this area and thus we went ahead and did the General Science book this year. This has left me wondering what in the world to do with him next year?!

He will not be ready to move on to Physical Science (the recommended 8th grade) text as a 6th/7th grader due to the math component. 😳

I have looked at the BJU curriculum and several other science curriculums and find them rather basic at the 6th/7th grade level and find that they read much like the pschool textbooks I remember.

I need something that will excite and engage him and am even willing to go with an outsourced online course. Any suggestions?

[Starr]

Have you looked at Conceptual Physics? I believe there is a high school and a college text. It doesn't have the same level of math.

[MDL]

That doesn't sound like a disaster, it sounds like you're doing awesomely!!

 

Online G3 has a class Physics for 21st century students https://www.onlineg3.com/product/physics-for-21st-century-citizens/

 

My upcoming 7th grader was begging for chemistry next year (he wants to blow stuff up!![emoji15]), and I let him choose from a few options. He went with Ellen McHenry The Elements/Carbon Chemistry. http://ellenjmchenry.com/product-category/elements/ We haven't tried it yet, but it looks good. There are also some fun things at Guest Hollow. http://guesthollow.com/store/product-category/curriculum-schedules/

 

Why not ask him what type of science he wants to do and let him help choose the curriculum? [emoji7]

 

Hth

 

 

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[2_girls_mommy]

You could do robotics, find a team or do projects at home. You could do computer programming. You could get the books from Memoria Press called the Exploring the World of >>>(insert chemistry or biology or astronomy here) and take a light science year just reading and focusing your hands on stuff in other areas this year. 

 

My current 7th grader did the new Wile elementary series, History in the Age of Reason. There is a full set of them to go along with chronological history. I like it as opposed to the going so deep into one subject like the Apologia series. This series goes through history teaching about the scientists chronologically and giving experiments to go along. I added the Usborne Encyclopedia of Science, and we have done notebooking, experiments, looked at the online links with the encyclopedia, etc. You could just pick the book that goes with your history cycle. Yes, this series is for up to 6th grade, but I was comfortable with my dd's science background that she was fine with this for 7th grade. 

 

Honestly, you could just use the Usborne encyclopedia and explore whatever you want, adding living books, doing experiments and kits. I would look through the Well Trained Mind logic stage science and see what it recommends. I don't know what the current edition says for logic stage. But it serves me well whenever I use their recs for anything. 

[ScoutTN]

What does he like? Does he have ideas about what he'd like to study?