Looking for some information on Rainbow Science

[TheAttachedMama]

Hi Everyone,

Man, finding a good middle school science program is REALLY hard.   I just went scrolling though the 7th and 8th-grade planning threads for ideas and most people listed ??? for science.  :)   So I know I am not the only one who hasn't been able to find a good program.    For now, I am looking for some more information on Rainbow Science.   Could anyone please review the program for me?   

Some specific questions I have are:

• What does a typical week look like in terms of reading and experiments, the number of times per week scheduled, etc.? 
• How long per day do you spend on the course?
• Would it be possible to complete the 2-year program in 1 year?
• Are there tests?
• How religious is the course?  I know there is a biology component to year 2, so how is evolution/age of the earth handled?  We are Christians, but we tend to use mostly secular science material.   

Thanks so much!

Cathy

[TX Native]

I have not used this yet, but purchased it and briefly looked it over.  I can answer only a couple of your questions.  To complete year 1 in just one year, the readings are twice/week and the labs are once/week. My understanding is the reading is light and doesn't go as in depth as something like Apologia, but the labs are easy for the student to do independently, everything needed is included in the lab kit except 1 gallon of distilled water, and the labs actually work.  I am not sure how much religion plays into the course, but the publisher/writer is Christian.  There are review questions (not sure about tests), but I think they are light.  I chose this program mainly for the great lab reviews since most of our science in years past has been more reading and little lab work.  I CANNOT stand piecemealing science labs week to week.  I read some people do both years in one year or skip the 2nd year to move on to something more in depth.  The website says a 9th grade credit can be given if you add in a couple of things to the Biology portion, but I am not planning to give HS credit since it is written for a 7th-8th grade audience.  I am planning to call year 1 Introduction to Physical Science for my son's 7th grade year.  I may or may not supplement with other Physical Science stuff and may or may not speed it up to get in the 2nd year in 7th grade.  

[TheAttachedMama]

On 7/17/2018 at 3:48 PM, TX Native said:

I have not used this yet, but purchased it and briefly looked it over.  I can answer only a couple of your questions.  To complete year 1 in just one year, the readings are twice/week and the labs are once/week. My understanding is the reading is light and doesn't go as in depth as something like Apologia, but the labs are easy for the student to do independently, everything needed is included in the lab kit except 1 gallon of distilled water, and the labs actually work.  I am not sure how much religion plays into the course, but the publisher/writer is Christian.  There are review questions (not sure about tests), but I think they are light.  I chose this program mainly for the great lab reviews since most of our science in years past has been more reading and little lab work.  I CANNOT stand piecemealing science labs week to week.  I read some people do both years in one year or skip the 2nd year to move on to something more in depth.  The website says a 9th grade credit can be given if you add in a couple of things to the Biology portion, but I am not planning to give HS credit since it is written for a 7th-8th grade audience.  I am planning to call year 1 Introduction to Physical Science for my son's 7th grade year.  I may or may not supplement with other Physical Science stuff and may or may not speed it up to get in the 2nd year in 7th grade.  

6

YES!   I am with you.   I am actually dreading science next year.   I purchased RSO Biology 2...and although there are lab kits, you still have to find ALL sorts of stuff from week to week.   I always feel like I am on some crazy scavenger hunt trying to find and organize random weird things:   fresh flowers, extra reading, plaster of Paris, Mr. Sculpy clay so I can make organelle sculptures....ugh.   

I actually thought about using Apologia just because the labs look so much easier to pull off.    Give me a frog kit to disect---I'm golden!   Give me a list of crazy random things I have to find/prepare each week---I usually just wind up skipping the labs.   

[Maryam]

Sorry so late, just saw this! I used Rainbow Science last year, and my daughter LOVED it. We easily did 2 years in one. She’d read two sections (chapters) on day 1, and answer the questions at the end. Day 2 she’d do the lab. Day 3 two more sections. Day 4 lab. Day 5 quiz on all 4 sections (found on their website). 

It is taught from a creationist point of view (which, as a Muslim, I appreciated). But it wasn’t preachy, just some mention of how God designed the world as such. His disagreement with evolution as a theory is clear. But it’s something you can discuss with your child if you wish. 

His writing style appeals directly to the age group. My daughter found him very funny. He manages to make difficult concepts well understood and approachable by the language he uses.

It was thorough and sparked a love of the subject in my daughter. So, in sum, I highly recommend it. 

[kristin0713]

On 8/12/2018 at 8:23 AM, Maryam said:

Sorry so late, just saw this! I used Rainbow Science last year, and my daughter LOVED it. We easily did 2 years in one. She’d read two sections (chapters) on day 1, and answer the questions at the end. Day 2 she’d do the lab. Day 3 two more sections. Day 4 lab. Day 5 quiz on all 4 sections (found on their website). 

It is taught from a creationist point of view (which, as a Muslim, I appreciated). But it wasn’t preachy, just some mention of how God designed the world as such. His disagreement with evolution as a theory is clear. But it’s something you can discuss with your child if you wish. 

His writing style appeals directly to the age group. My daughter found him very funny. He manages to make difficult concepts well understood and approachable by the language he uses.

It was thorough and sparked a love of the subject in my daughter. So, in sum, I highly recommend it. 

 

I'm  considering this for next year.   Did you find it challenging to do two labs in one week?   And how long did it take her to do the readings and questions for two sections?

[Taffy]

We're using Rainbow Science now and spreading it over two years; so I'm not sure my feedback will be helpful. The lessons are very short. It takes my son about 20 minutes to read a chapter and answer the end-of-chapter questions in writing (albeit, my son's written answers are generally the bare minimum number of words a kid can write and still manage to answer the questions).  A lab generally takes about 20 minutes also.  

[historically accurate]

I did Year 1 with two different sets of kids - one was grade 6, one was my younger 2 (grades 7&5). It worked with all of them. The youngest was a tagalong, and she didn't write out the review questions, but she was able to keep up with the program. 

• What does a typical week look like in terms of reading and experiments, the number of times per week scheduled, etc.? It's scheduled 3x per week, read/answer question 2x & 1 lab. I usually had them do 2x per week Rainbow (1 reading/1 lab) and then watch a documentary, read a different book on the topic, or write a small report 1x per week. 
• How long per day do you spend on the course? 20 - 30 minutes per time. 
• Would it be possible to complete the 2-year program in 1 year? Definitely. I didn't want to do the biology (we switched to Quarks and Quirks), so it wasn't an option for me, but year 1 doesn't really take much time, and I assume biology is the same. 
• Are there tests? There are quizzes on their website. I printed them and had them in a binder. I don't recall tests, but I didn't test my younger two and I don't remember my oldest taking tests, but maybe? https://www.beginningspublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Rainbow-Biweekly-Quizzes.pdf I found the quizzes, but no tests on their website.
• How religious is the course?  I know there is a biology component to year 2, so how is evolution/age of the earth handled?  We are Christians, but we tend to use mostly secular science material.  It has Christian overtones, such as stuff like "God's decision to make..." or "God's design...", a review question or two that was to be answered with a Creation viewpoint. We are also Christian, but use 90% secular especially in science. Honestly, there wasn't all that much in year 1 that I recall being an issue for us.