JessBurs Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 So we have been using Real Science Odyssey for the past few years (chem 1, physics 1, and now in the middle of bio 2). However, as I start to formulate plans for next year I have gotten stuck because RSO only has a semester long astronomy 2 course and I would need a companion earth science to go along with it to make it a full year course (as I understand it). I am a bit disappointed because we have really enjoyed the RSO courses. Parts in particular we have enjoyed: - the very hands-on approach that has provided great discovery and reinforcement for my kids - the rigor. I don't think I learned some of the material my kids are covering in bio 2 until 9th grade bio. - the built-in quizzes and tests in the level 2 curriculum. It has been great for my kids to get an introduction to test-taking skills and want to continue building on what they have learned. -the fact-based approach. We are Catholics, not creationists. Does anyone have any recommendations for an earth science course that would go along with astronomy course from RSO? I cannot find any-- everything seems to be combined earth science and astronomy together. If such a thing does not exist, does anyone have any recommendations for a different curriculum for this level that would be a good fit based on what we really liked about RSO? I do want to make sure I find a great astronomy course as one of my children in particular loves everything about space and is very excited that astronomy is the target course for next year. Grateful for any and all suggestions people might have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Bean Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 I don't know about rigor in comparison to RSO, but have you considered k12 Independant courses? https://www.k12courses.com/subject/science/filter/course_length/12-months/course_type/independent-study/grade/6th-grade,7th-grade,8th-grade.html I know of one other: https://centripetalpress.com/ Same books as Novare but without the religion. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foofaraw Posted November 21, 2021 Share Posted November 21, 2021 How about combining a Weather and Geology guide from Sabbath Mood Homeschool ? https://sabbathmoodhomeschool.com/living-science-curriculum/form-2-science-curriculum-gr-4-6/ I would preview the books at level 2 or 3 and see which is a better fit for the rigor of content from your perspective. My understanding is her guides and book choices are not young-earth-creationist, and she has some secular versions available if preferred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemesew Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 You could fill in that semester with The Good and the beautiful science units! We have done Space science, Arthropods, Geology, Energy, and a few others that my kids have enjoyed! We only do science 2x a week but you can easily do it more often for more rigor. https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/pre-k-8-curriculum/science-health/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Novare earth science might work. It is less hands on than rso, but checks the box on everything else. It's intended as a full year course and includes some astronomy, just the first chapter. The geology and meteorology is really in depth. My son has commented several times how much he likes it. It is labeled as "Christian" and is not ye. We are Catholic also and my degree is in biology and chemistry. This is actual science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 What about a Moving Beyond The Page unit? They're shorter, and you can do 2 easily before moving on to Astronomy. The 10-12 units include Weather & Climate and Our Changing Earth. I would NOT trust The Good And The Beautiful for a fact based science curriculum. Their first edition pdfs for language arts used to include geography, and both level 2 and 3 had the same lesson on Pangea breaking and moving to their current places overnight because the tower of Babel fell. The stunning lack of critical thinking and understanding of physics displayed had me swear off any core lessons from them. Their book list of bad books was nearly as uneducated, but not quite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemesew Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, HomeAgain said: What about a Moving Beyond The Page unit? They're shorter, and you can do 2 easily before moving on to Astronomy. The 10-12 units include Weather & Climate and Our Changing Earth. I would NOT trust The Good And The Beautiful for a fact based science curriculum. Their first edition pdfs for language arts used to include geography, and both level 2 and 3 had the same lesson on Pangea breaking and moving to their current places overnight because the tower of Babel fell. The stunning lack of critical thinking and understanding of physics displayed had me swear off any core lessons from them. Their book list of bad books was nearly as uneducated, but not quite. Their (The good and beautiful) science units are all amazing! I have used them and they are very good. Your experience has not been mine. Also they updated their stuff (they do so frequently) so your experience wasn't even with their current stuff. I've used pretty much everything and I've never seen that reference so they must have taken it out. Edited November 23, 2021 by seemesew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 10 hours ago, seemesew said: Their (The good and beautiful) science units are all amazing! I have used them and they are very good. Your experience has not been mine. Also they updated their stuff (they do so frequently) so your experience wasn't even with their current stuff. I've used pretty much everything and I've never seen that reference so they must have taken it out. You are more trusting than I am. Burned once, I don't keep sticking my foot in the fire to feel if the coals are hot. I honestly don't care if they've taken it out. The fact is, IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND DEFINITELY NOT TWICE. I'm glad her current products work for you, but getting an iffy product is not what the OP was asking for. And may I only hope that TGTB writers have finally read From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and stops writing about how bad it is because the two brothers run away and the older brother has terrible vices. This is who you are trusting your science education to, and you should be wary and not defensive when informed about it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Bean Posted November 23, 2021 Share Posted November 23, 2021 (edited) TGTB sounds like the insane sentence in Apologia Elm. Astronomy that said black holes are caused by sin in the universe. After reading that one and other silliness (dinosaurs living peacefully with humans?), I never picked another one up. Why, oh why, can't people stick to actual science fact? But now I have derailed this thread. My apologies. Edited November 23, 2021 by Green Bean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seemesew Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 On 11/23/2021 at 4:09 AM, HomeAgain said: You are more trusting than I am. Burned once, I don't keep sticking my foot in the fire to feel if the coals are hot. I honestly don't care if they've taken it out. The fact is, IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND DEFINITELY NOT TWICE. I'm glad her current products work for you, but getting an iffy product is not what the OP was asking for. And may I only hope that TGTB writers have finally read From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and stops writing about how bad it is because the two brothers run away and the older brother has terrible vices. This is who you are trusting your science education to, and you should be wary and not defensive when informed about it. I am not being defensive. TGAB definitely has mistakes but I've not seen the ones you've mentioned, that's all I'm saying. Also, there is a fair amount of untrue facts about their company and their content because the creator is a Latter-Day Saint "mormon" so I try to share my good experiences and what I have personally seen and used (btw, I'm not saying you are that way just that, that bias is there). On 11/23/2021 at 10:25 AM, Green Bean said: TGTB sounds like the insane sentence in Apologia Elm. Astronomy that said black holes are caused by sin in the universe. After reading that one and other silliness (dinosaurs living peacefully with humans?), I never picked another one up. Why, oh why, can't people stick to actual science fact? But now I have derailed this thread. My apologies. TGAB does not ever say anything like that. You can see much of their science in the samples for yourself. They are actually pretty secular if you skip the "God created this beautiful universe" type of statements and very few bible verses (which are never the basis of their science, whether you think that is good or bad...) in my experience they are very factual and science based compared to other Christian companies I've used in the past. OP The units in TGAB are short 6-7 weeks if done twice a week and for an older student you would need to do more than that. It may not be the fit you are looking for and that's fine, I just thought I'd share another option you may not have heard of 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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