Maideleh Posted June 1, 2017 Share Posted June 1, 2017 Has anyone use both? I really can't seem to decide between the two and I'd love a side by side review or even just a general idea of which one you liked better. I'm looking at 2nd grade for a learner with ADHD who needs curriculum to be aesthetically pleasing but uncluttered to keep her attention focussed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Reads a Lot Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Following. The reviews for Science Fusion around here aren't good. But I have no idea whether they have improved it since it launched (a girl can dream, right??). It looks so good. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fralala Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 I have not used both. But I will post in hope that someone who has will see this, and with a positive word about ScienceFusion. My 7 year old, who has a real passion for school-y stuff, loves ScienceFusion. You can buy the student worktext (without the online access) for less than $15 at various places online, and her idea of a good time is sitting filling out those worksheets. So-- even though it's expensive-- I got a subscription. The presentation consists of slides that go over the same information from the student worktext, but in a different way, with the occasional video or activity or opportunity to type in answers to a question. The online component only takes about 15 minutes or less per lesson, although she chooses to also watch the lesson over in Spanish since she's trying to learn Spanish (and for me, this unique way to use it also as a language-learning tool makes it worth the price). Another component my daughter loves, which again might be a thrill unique to her, is the selection of leveled readers available to view online. Each lesson has a few optional "inquiries" -- activities you can do with a minimum of supplies that you likely have on hand. I was preparing for figuring out the online component to be tricky based upon past reviews. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to get our accounts set up and how to "assign" things to her. I think visually that the online component and the worktext would probably be good for your learner; however, I also think that this is kind of a luxury curriculum-- second grade science doesn't require this level of (financial) investment. The topics are nothing that cannot be covered with library books, experience, and discussion. But I feel that way about a lot of elementary science! This is a good program if your child likes doing school-y type stuff and isn't time-consuming. Hope you will also get some reviews of Interactive Science to help you out, and more of ScienceFusion. It really is hard to judge what other kids will enjoy and thrive on especially with these programs that don't offer sample lessons to view (as far as I know). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 (edited) Wow, totally going to jump in here. Hopefully you don't mind answering a few questions for me. As brand new Science Fusion texts are on the shelf at our local used book store, I'm curious. ...So-- even though it's expensive-- I got a subscription. The presentation consists of slides that go over the same information from the student worktext, but in a different way, with the occasional video or activity or opportunity to type in answers to a question. The online component only takes about 15 minutes or less per lesson, although she chooses to also watch the lesson over in Spanish since she's trying to learn Spanish (and for me, this unique way to use it also as a language-learning tool makes it worth the price). Another component my daughter loves, which again might be a thrill unique to her, is the selection of leveled readers available to view online. Each lesson has a few optional "inquiries" -- activities you can do with a minimum of supplies that you likely have on hand. Where did you purchase your subscription from? Are the leveled readers available in Spanish as well? Do the videos have closed-captioning on them in English and/or Spanish? Edited June 3, 2017 by mathmarm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fralala Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 Wow, totally going to jump in here. Hopefully you don't mind answering a few questions for me. As brand new Science Fusion texts are on the shelf at our local used book store, I'm curious. Where did you purchase your subscription from? Are the leveled readers available in Spanish as well? Do the videos have closed-captioning on them in English and/or Spanish? Not at all! I purchased my subscription through Homeschool Buyers Co-op (30% discount currently). You get the worktext in the mail with a code for setting up online access in it. No, the leveled readers only seem to be available in English. Too bad! The screens do have closed captioning in both languages-- it is more like a narrator reading an interactive book than a video, I'd say, although some of the screens do contain brief videos. (OK, and as I was just looking at it to ensure I was being accurate, my 7 year old came up behind me and saw what I was doing and gushed, "Oh, I LOVE it. Really." She would be happy to answer any more questions you have about it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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