Meadowlark Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 Hear me out. I’m totally over the fluffy experimental science programs out there. I did a few with my older kids with ZERO retention. Therefore, I’m not doing any formal science until 5th grade from now on. I want something streamlined and to the point. I looked at CLE’s website and see that their 5th grade science is the Sunrise Edition and uses a textbook. It looks almost like what I want-a spine with those nice little light units. Of course there’s this little part of me that thinks I’m nuts for even considering it. Can someone talk me in or out of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 I'd just read books instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TX Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 If you want something streamlined and to the point then CLE might be what you want. It is a no fluff get 'er done type of curriculum. We have used their 5th grade science and it met our needs at the time. I would have preferred to just use lots of library books but I had a child that was not a reader and I needed something that would help me make sure that science was covered. Susan in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 I haven't actually ever seen the science, but was just going to say, if you are using it as a spine, then I think anything can work that covers what you want to cover. I am using a CLE My Calendar Book with my 1st grader. It is kind of our spine for her current science. It has her recording something different each day each month of the weather and doing a graph at the end of each month. This month we have springboarded off of it to do a unit on precipitation using other books and project that I shave here that we like. Of course, she is only in 1st grade, so not the same thing at all. It is just my only experience with CLE. I have used those very plain Tiner books that Memoria Press sells as spines for elem/middle science using Well Trained Mind style notebooks and experiments and science fair projects and enrichment at co-op. I would not call one of those books a full science, but they served fine as a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 1 minute ago, 2_girls_mommy said: I haven't actually ever seen the science, but was just going to say, if you are using it as a spine, then I think anything can work that covers what you want to cover. I am using a CLE My Calendar Book with my 1st grader. It is kind of our spine for her current science. It has her recording something different each day each month of the weather and doing a graph at the end of each month. This month we have springboarded off of it to do a unit on precipitation using other books and project that I shave here that we like. Of course, she is only in 1st grade, so not the same thing at all. It is just my only experience with CLE. I have used those very plain Tiner books that Memoria Press sells as spines for elem/middle science using Well Trained Mind style notebooks and experiments and science fair projects and enrichment at co-op. I would not call one of those books a full science, but they served fine as a starting point. Yep- those are scheduled in the MP curriculum. We did the Tiner Medicine book last year (super interesting) and my 7th grader is doing Biology this year as part of the Trees study. I won't do that same path for my next group of kids. I want to go general in grades 5/6 and then heavier in 7/8 (probably with online classes) because they are headed to public HS. Live and learn I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 1 minute ago, Meadowlark said: Yep- those are scheduled in the MP curriculum. We did the Tiner Medicine book last year (super interesting) and my 7th grader is doing Biology this year as part of the Trees study. I won't do that same path for my next group of kids. I want to go general in grades 5/6 and then heavier in 7/8 (probably with online classes) because they are headed to public HS. Live and learn I guess. The Medicine book was my favorite Tiner book by far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTVKath Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 You're not crazy. It is one of my top contenders for my DD for 6th grade next year. I have bought too many "ideal" science curriculums that never get done. My DD reads widely and I will supply her with science books to read if we go with CLE science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_a_Number Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 6 hours ago, Meadowlark said: I did a few with my older kids with ZERO retention. I think the question is... what do you want them to retain? Why are they not retaining it? Honestly, we don't do any formal science at all except for some read alouds and some demos that I've been loosely pairing with BFSU. Most of the science my kids learn is from conversation, anyway. And I feel like that's a fine way to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Meadowlark said: Yep- those are scheduled in the MP curriculum. We did the Tiner Medicine book last year (super interesting) and my 7th grader is doing Biology this year as part of the Trees study. I won't do that same path for my next group of kids. I want to go general in grades 5/6 and then heavier in 7/8 (probably with online classes) because they are headed to public HS. Live and learn I guess. What do you believe they need to have mastered in science during elementary and middle school prior to taking high school level science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 On 2/12/2021 at 8:49 PM, Not_a_Number said: I think the question is... what do you want them to retain? Why are they not retaining it? Honestly, we don't do any formal science at all except for some read alouds and some demos that I've been loosely pairing with BFSU. Most of the science my kids learn is from conversation, anyway. And I feel like that's a fine way to get. Good question...why? I don't know. Maybe no kid younger than about 6th grade remembers science, Idk. But what I did with my older kids is gone in the wind somewhere because although I spent hundreds on Nancy Larson Science, BJU with all of the experiments (that about killed me), they still remembered nothing. However, the year I got pregnant (and was so sick), I just dumped a bunch of non-fiction books in their laps and had them read every day. One always chose science, one always chose history. No coincidence that the one who chose science scored very well on that year's assessment, and the one who chose history scored very well on social studies. So...that's why I'm not doing anymore science until 5th/6th. I know that experiments, while fun, don't lead to lasting retention. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_a_Number Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, Meadowlark said: I know that experiments, while fun, don't lead to lasting retention. Oh, totally. I don't think experiments by themselves lead to much, especially since the showier experiments contain science that's far too advanced for kids to understand, anyway. I do think that demonstrations can be good, though. We've been meandering our way through BFSU (it's not our main science program, which largely consists of just reading together whatever we're interested in, but I got it to make sure we get good coverage of the basics), and it has demonstrations that illustrate things. Those do make the kids think... but they are very tied into a main idea, and the point is to have conversations that involve the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Just now, Not_a_Number said: Oh, totally. I don't think experiments by themselves lead to much, especially since the showier experiments contain science that's far too advanced for kids to understand, anyway. I do think that demonstrations can be good, though. We've been meandering our way through BFSU (it's not our main science program, which largely consists of just reading together whatever we're interested in, but I got it to make sure we get good coverage of the basics), and it has demonstrations that illustrate things. Those do make the kids think... but they are very tied into a main idea, and the point is to have conversations that involve the idea. From what I see online, the 5th grade CLE science *does* have "demonstrations" or activities that go along with the bookwork. It feels like I can handle that and you can even buy a little $20 kit from somewhere in case you don't want to gather your own supplies. I'm just trying to figure out why this wouldn't work and why more people aren't interested in it. Maybe most people combine their kids...or maybe it's just too "booky" or schoollike. Idk. I've already invested way too much in science and this looks like a fairly frugal investment. So, it wouldn't kill me if it didn't work out. But if it did, then I have 4 kids that could use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_a_Number Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 9 minutes ago, Meadowlark said: From what I see online, the 5th grade CLE science *does* have "demonstrations" or activities that go along with the bookwork. It feels like I can handle that and you can even buy a little $20 kit from somewhere in case you don't want to gather your own supplies. I'm just trying to figure out why this wouldn't work and why more people aren't interested in it. Maybe most people combine their kids...or maybe it's just too "booky" or schoollike. Idk. I've already invested way too much in science and this looks like a fairly frugal investment. So, it wouldn't kill me if it didn't work out. But if it did, then I have 4 kids that could use it. You could look at BFSU, too, if you like. Although it doesn't have demos that go along with it and it's not really fun... but it covers the basics nicely and it's just some books. On the other hand, I think people find it intimidating to plan. I wouldn't know about CLE, because we only use secular curricula. So I hope you don't mind me chiming in! You should let us know how CLE goes! If it works well, I'm sure lots more people would like to know that it's a good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 30 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said: You could look at BFSU, too, if you like. Although it doesn't have demos that go along with it and it's not really fun... but it covers the basics nicely and it's just some books. On the other hand, I think people find it intimidating to plan. I wouldn't know about CLE, because we only use secular curricula. So I hope you don't mind me chiming in! You should let us know how CLE goes! If it works well, I'm sure lots more people would like to know that it's a good option. I've heard that about BFSU, which has scared me off. That is the beautiful thing about CLE-the format of the lightunits and the simplicity. Of course, it depends on where you are in your homeschooling journey. I'm at the place that I need simplicity 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Just now, Meadowlark said: I've heard that about BFSU, which has scared me off. That is the beautiful thing about CLE-the format of the lightunits and the simplicity. Of course, it depends on where you are in your homeschooling journey. I'm at the place that I need simplicity 🙂 You could always try SCI which is basically BFSU broken down with demos and note booking pages. It's not quite as robust as BFSU but it's basically pre-planned, which helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_a_Number Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Meadowlark said: I've heard that about BFSU, which has scared me off. That is the beautiful thing about CLE-the format of the lightunits and the simplicity. Of course, it depends on where you are in your homeschooling journey. I'm at the place that I need simplicity 🙂 I totally get it! I'm pretty minimalist with science, to be honest... which is why our main science right now is reading a graphic novel involving alien sea cucumbers together 😉 . (OK, I'm making fun for it for no reason, since it's quite rigorous, but we aren't doing output or anything -- just reading together.) I hope you figure out if these work well! Edited February 19, 2021 by Not_a_Number Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulalu Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I looked at a light unit for 3rd grade science. It looked really boring and basic. Maybe the higher grades are different? But for us I just needed to flip through my friends and know it wasn't going to work for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Servant4Christ Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) I debated this for DS last summer since he LOVED CLE 2nd grade science. I showed him samples along with samples of 3-4 other science programs and believe it or not he picked R&S science and still won't budge after 3 years! He likes that he learns about more than one area of science and has experiments and activities that can be done but don't have to be. It's a little harder to separate that out in CLE since they tell you to "stop and do this" right in the middle of a lesson. There is usually a short list of activities and experiments to choose from after the lesson in R&S as a way of showing you what you just learned in action. I personally like this setup and find it very easy to add to. I look up experiments and demonstrations in our Apologia books and on Youtube to go along with the lessons when time allows. We're in the 5th grade book now and after the human body unit, he'll read Guy Stuff by Natterson (boys version of The Care and Keeping of You) about the upcoming changes he'll go through when puberty hits. I really like that we can do a unit and then break away or take a break before starting the next unit. Edited February 20, 2021 by Servant4Christ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.