jejily Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Trying to think through our coming year, in hopes of buying used curriculum now with our tax refund. :001_smile: I have been looking at Christian Kids Explore Biology, Real Science 4 Kids, and Apologia Botany, among others. My main concern is that, being a 6th grader, would CKEB or RS4K be challenging enough? As for Apologia Botany, I *know* that, given our personalities, both DS and I would be ready to move to something new by the middle of the year. (IOW, as great as it is, we could not do Botany all year long, in which case, I'd still need another program to flush out the year.) I briefly considered Apologia General Science, but wasn't sure if my son's math skills would be strong enough for that level. Has anyone done this with their sixth grader? If so, was your child really strong in math, or not so much, and did it really make a difference? We've been kind of weak in this area this year, I confess. I don't want to make the same mistake next year. This year, we have been using Considering God's Creation for the most part, but much of it is a repeat of things he's already learned, without adding anything new. I do like the hands-on aspect of it, and the notebooking pages that are a little crafty, but not excessively so. So, the ideal science program would be challenging enough for a 6th grader, with hands-on activities that don't require a huge investment of $$, and some notebooking/lapbooking thrown in for good measure, because we kind of like that. :001_smile: Not too tall an order, right? TIA for your advice and suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 There is very little math in Apologia General Science. I'm doing it with my 6th grader (and my 4th grader tagging along) and it is going very well!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejily Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Mindy, that is encouraging to read. Do you plan to do Apologia Physical Science in 7th grade, then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChildofGrace Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well, I agree that Apologia General Science requires very little math. You might want to map out your long-term plan first, though, to see if you want to begin the Apologia route just yet. Also, there wouldn't be any notebooking involved, if that's important to you. Although it's a little pricey, we have really enjoyed Noeo. I know lots of gals lessen the cost by obtaining the necessary books through the library--or buying the books used--so that might help. It does include experiments and notebooking, so I thought I'd mention it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in DFW Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 He is using Observing God's World. We do the suggested experiments which are very easy and affordable. You can buy a kit from Home Science Tools if you don't want to gather the items yourself. We put our own kit together because we had so much stuff from years past. He ASKS to do science and is disappointed when it's not science day. We don't use the tests, just the Comprehension Checks at the end of each section. You could easily add in notebooking. Ds has remembered so much from this book...we love it. Good luck in your search. Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejily Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 ... Although it's a little pricey, we have really enjoyed Noeo. I know lots of gals lessen the cost by obtaining the necessary books through the library--or buying the books used--so that might help. It does include experiments and notebooking, so I thought I'd mention it to you. Hmmm, I forgot about Noeo. That DOES look good. A long-term plan... uh, well... I hadn't really thought about it! :blush: I have our history planned out long-term, but not science. I guess I assumed I would follow the "typical" public school route (and one that's common among HS'ers, too, I think) for middle school and high school science: 7th grade: General Science 8th grade: Physical Science 9th grade: Biology 10th grade: Chemistry 11th grade: Physics or Human Anatomy 12th grade: Physics or Human Anatomy So, in that case... which Noeo course would you recommend for 6th grade? Biology II, Chem II or Physics II? And, as these are geared for grades 4-6, so you think they are challenging enough for 6th grade? I really dropped the ball this year. I started the year with a different curriculum, an all-in-one unit study that included science, but not to the degree I was happy with... and then I actually abandoned the program altogether in favor of something a bit more rigorous, and science fell by the wayside. :sad: I tried to recover by using CGC (as mentioned in my OP), because we had started that at the end of DS's 4th grade year, but hadn't finished it. After Christmas, I picked that up where we left off last year. So, I'm kicking myself for not doing CKEB or RS4K, or Noeo Biology this year, so we could do Chemistry or Physics next year (6th grade), and then start the middle school / high school science schedule. But, what's done is done. The question is, what should I do for 6th grade, to prepare DS for upper level science classes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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