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R.E.A.L. science users - how do you schedule?


Mommy22alyns
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I finally got my copy of R.E.A.L. science earth/space for next year and it looks like tons of fun. I am curious how other users have scheduled it though. Have you used an actual "spine" or just assorted extra readings? How have you done readings/labs/etc.?

 

Any help is appreciated! I've sort of tossed aside my Living Learning Life Science while we're in human body studies, but I'm still not 100% comfortable without some guidance. :001_smile:

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We're also using Life right now and we do a unit a week and we do it all on Saturday. We have so much other stuff going on during the week this worked out better, but when we were using it during the week, we would do the reading page 1 day and maybe part of a multi step lab, the next day would be the lab or finishing the multi step lab. Then on a third day we would do the second lab if there was one or some extra reading, maybe a Magic School Bus video if we were really interested in the subject.

 

HTH

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We are about 2/3 thru Earth/Space and we have really liked it. I did a thorough schedule for it because when I did Life I hadn't done a schedule (just flew by the seat of my pants!) and it was wayyy to easy to put off and too hard to wrap my head around what I was supposed to do for the experiment(s), reading to the kids to make it more meaningful, and to gather up supplies for the experiments. Now I am much more organized and it is a breeze!

 

So...for a 36 week schedule I break up the units into weekly chunks with each week doing science twice a week (T/Th in my case). I like to do the reading assignments on the Tuesday and the experiment(s) on the Thursday. This doesn't always work out because sometimes you will have to have up to three experiments in a week to fit it all into 36 weeks, so for those weeks I just do reading and one experiment on Tues. I make a list of what reading materials I will use on which week,using the list at the front of the book (I made sure to purchase at least 1-2 books per week or use the library)and also have a list of what materials I will need for that day's experiments. Also, I made sure to buy all the non-consumables in the summer and I store it in our "Earth/Space" box. The rest of the consumables I note on my sheet a week or two ahead of time so I can get it next time we are in town (we live rurally- so this is very important!).

 

I noticed that R.E.A.L. Science has put out their chemistry level now (Yahoo!) and they have included a schedule with it (what a bonus). It would most likely be really helpful for you to look at this because the idea or how they set up the schedule is much the same as what I do for Earth/Space. Check it out at http://www.pandiapress.com .

 

HTH!

Trish

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We are using Life this year. We do science two days a week, and generally do one unit a week. (There are only 28 units, so I have planned to spend a few extra weeks on some units, like insects, and mammals, for example.)

Day one, we read the For My Notebook page, do copywork, and do one lab or activity. Day two we read any additional readings (from books in our home library, which I coordinated with the units, or whatever I find at the library), watch any coordinating videos from Discovery Streaming, and then do the second lab or activity.

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This is working well as a "do the next thing" subject for us. On Sunday evenings, I plan out my week. During that time, I look over the science and make sure I have what I need for the labs. I also grab any relevant books we have and put those near the science stuff.

 

On Tues. and Thurs. we do the labs and reading. Since I am doing it for 2 really young boys (5 and 6), I break up the reading into these two days, and we almost always look our topic up in the UILE of Science. They love that book.

 

My oldest is doing Chemistry, and we follow this same routine, though I am thinking of adding in Tiner's Exploring Chemistry.

 

HTH.

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We are planning on using REAL life science next year and I am in the middle of trying to figure out my schedule, too. :001_smile: For those of you that are doing one unit per week, how much time do you spend on a weekly basis (on average) including reading time and lab time? I'm trying to decide if it's something we can do in one day or if we'll need to break it up.

 

Thanks!

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We do our lessons all in one day (we use Saturdays because they work best for us and that's all we do is science) it takes us maybe 1hr max, that's if there is more than 1 activity. We have had a few that took us longer, but that's because we followed a few rabbit trails and kind of got "lost" in the fun of it all.

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We do our lessons all in one day (we use Saturdays because they work best for us and that's all we do is science) it takes us maybe 1hr max, that's if there is more than 1 activity. We have had a few that took us longer, but that's because we followed a few rabbit trails and kind of got "lost" in the fun of it all.

 

Thanks! That's good to know! I have a 1.5 hour block in my schedule right now and it sounds like that should be more than enough time. :001_smile:

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