Science for my Ker, Help?

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

I'm looking for a science program for my ds, 5. I'm a HUGE fan of inquiry-based science and have (and love) BFSU, I'm just having a very difficult time actually doing it. Why? It's not laid out intuitively for me, not scheduled at all, and I want to be able to buy a program (with a supply kit! and a bundle of books!). I think about it like SWR vs AAS. I love the idea of SWR but couldn't implement it consistently. AAS came along and made phonics/spelling a breeze to get done daily. I need the same for science!

 

So, my problem is figuring out which program would be best. My ds is young, LOVES read-alouds, experiments, getting outside, and projects. I'm not big on endless paper crafts or worksheets. I don't care if it's one subject all year or a variety. I've been looking at LLB (too much library use, not enough meat?), RS4K (only 10 weeks?!), REAL Science (any living books?), SL K, NOEO (very mixed reviews), WP, and on and on. Should I just sit down with BFSU, place a big Amazon order, build my own science kit, and make my own schedule?

 

I love nature study and could use some help implementing this consistently, too.

 

Part of me thinks, it's only K science, not something to worry too much about. On the other hand, my ds is so interested in all things science, I know he would love the time reading, discovering, exploring with Mama.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Edited March 30, 2009 by Bayt ul-Hikmah

[fast1]

i almost thought of doing the same, but is amazon trustworthy?

[MommyJo]

I was actually going to use Sonlight until many reasons have since changed my mind. We are pretty much laying it all out on our own for each subject this year. I want my children to learn some of what they want and other things that I know they will like. Although a whole Preformed curriculum is nice, I have two children I am combining into one program so I have to tweek things here and there to get it right, order some things that have two levels, etc. but it's working out fine and our culture study "history" has got me so excited and I hated history growing up. We have mostly hands on things like dressing like some cultures, cooking certain foods, etc. and I just know they will love it. We are following LifePac science 1 because it's MAJOR easy and I can make it more or less difficult with the alternative tests, etc. Then we will be adding our own additional resources, hands on, etc. We just had this laying around and thought this would be a nice worksheet type program as a basis for the real fun!

[Pongo]

I will be doing a year of Chemistry with my 4th and 5th grader but my 1st grader would be lost, I think.

 

I had purchased One Small Square several years ago and after going through them I decided that I should have used them:glare:

 

I have a summer to do list and I have added, among other things writing a mini-lesson plan for each book. They are so colorful, they are Science/Nature books for children ages 6-9.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Should I just sit down with BFSU, place a big Amazon order, build my own science kit, and make my own schedule?

 

I love nature study and could use some help implementing this consistently, too.

 

 

 

I agree with all of what you said. I even bought SWR and ended up using AAS. Science is my thing though, so I plan to sit with BFSU this summer and plan it out, complete with a science kit, for my dd's K year. So that's my vote.

 

As far as nature study, I've narrowed it down to using FIAR nature studies or the Outdoor Hour Challenges. Or maybe I'll use both. :)

[~Kirsten~]

I could have written your post myself a few weeks ago! I know exactly, exactly how you feel, even down to the part that it's "just" K science!

 

I've decided to go ahead with BFSU, though. I sat down one afternoon and just pounded out a schedule. I told myself it didn't have to be perfect, or exactly precise, but I needed a schedule. Then I started with the first lesson on my list, read over it, and looked through the library for books that correlate from Nebel's list and my own Amazon searches. I see you're in MD as well, and I just recently found out that there is a state-wide library card. I'm not sure how it works, or where you are, but it seems we should be able to get books from any county. We're in Montgomery county, and though we don't seem to have any of the Rookie Read-About books, we have several from each lesson so far. I'm close to Howard county, too, so I'll use that as my back up. There was one lesson that didn't seem to have many books, so I may order a few from Amazon for that, but honestly? I might not worry about it!

 

For nature study, I still don't quite know how we'll handle it yet. I'm tempted to just wing that part for now, going with weekly walks both around our neighborhood and in the parks nearby. So far, I've always let DD's questions and interests outside guide us, and we've had a lot of fun and great success with that.

 

I'd gladly post my schedule for BFSU if you want to look it over. I know a few others have posted schedules on the Yahoo group, but I'll also admit that as much as I love science, I've been quite intimated by the Yahoo postings and even by BFSU. :blush: Really, though, I really love the idea of giving DD an overview of all the disciplines, especially in such a well-rounded, well-founded way. I don't know if I'll continue with it in 1st, or if I'll follow more of a WTM approach, with 1 discipline per year. But we'll see how it goes, because after all, this is "just" K science. :D

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

Thank you so much for your feedback, everyone. Kristen, I would love to see your schedule! I live in PG county and have seen the statewide library cards but haven't used one. The Howard County library system is great! I go to the Savage and Laurel branches occasionally. I live a few blocks from my local branch, but it's depressing how few resources and really good children's books they have. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet, order what I have to, and make BFSU work. It's definitely the approach I want, I just wish it were packaged in a more user-friendly way.

 

I'm still open to hearing about that perfect program that's hiding out there somewhere...

[LadyAberlin]

We are using Sonlight K but we won't do Sonlight Science next yr. There isn't enough to it. My son is such a science nut that he wants an experiment everyday. We do 3 days of sonlight science in 1 day. So It isn't enough. I think we are going to do Our Los Banos Human Anatomy since that is what he is most interested in. Also I'm going to do the Outdoor Challenges and I'm ordering The Private Eye guide and Jewler's loupes, Talking to Fireflies and shrinking the moon and Smal wonders for my nature stuff. Also I'm getting TOPS Get a Grip and Lentil Science for a more hands on mathy critical thinking type science. I think that will be enough to satisfy him. I hope.

 

I just wanted to add that I thought on the samples of Real science odyssey they have a whole list of book suggestions per lesson.

[~Kirsten~]

Kate, I really think you could make it work with very few library books, or with purchasing a few select books. I do really want to be able to reinforce the lessons through the week with reading correlated books, but it looks like there's definitely overlap with the recommended reading, so you could really get by with even just one or two books per lesson. From the schedules I've seen others put together, it looks reasonable to plan for between 10-14 lessons for kindergarten.

 

Now, I'm reasonably certain that my schedule ensures that all the required background lessons have been covered, but I'm still in the process of going through, lesson by lesson right now. So there could be an error or two in there, just so you know! :tongue_smilie: I will also say, the book makes so much more sense and seems so much easier when I read it in order of my lessons rather than just sitting down and reading through Thread A, Thread B, and so on. I really think it will be doable, if that's any help!

 

Here ya go! Hope it helps a bit! Feel free to PM me, if you want to talk about it more.

 

Lesson A/B-1: Organizing Things Into Categories

Lesson A-2: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Lesson B-2: Distinguishing Living, Natural Nonliving, and Human-Made Things

Lesson C-1: Concepts of Energy I: Making Things Go

Lesson D-1: Gravity I: The Earth's Gravity/Horizontal and Vertical

Lesson A-3: Air Is Substance

Lesson A-4: Matter I: Its Particulate Nature

Lesson C-2: Sound, Vibrations, and Energy

Lesson C-3: Concepts of Energy II: Kinetic and Potential Energy

Lesson B-3: Distinguishing Between Plants and Animals: The Plant and Animal Kingdoms

Lesson C-4: Concepts of Energy III: Distinguish Between Matter and Energy

Lesson D-2: Day and Night and the Earth's Rotation

Lesson D-3: Read and Draw Maps

Lesson D-3a: North, East, South, and West

Lesson A-5: Distinguishing Materials

Lesson A-5a: Magnets and Magnetic Fields

Lesson B-4: Life Cycles

Lessons B-4a AND D-4: Identification of Living Things AND Land Forms and Major Biomes of the Earth (concurrent lessons)

Lesson B-5: Food Chains and Adaptations

Lesson B-4b: What Is a Species?

Lesson D-5: Time and the Earth's Turning

Lesson D-6: Seasonal Changes and the Earth's Orbit

Lesson A-6: Matter II: Air Pressure, Vacuums, and the Earth's Atmosphere

Lesson A-7: Air: A Mixture of Gases

Lesson B-10: Plant Science I: Basic Plant Structure

Lesson C-5: Inertia

Lesson B-6: How Animals Move I: The Skeleton and Muscle

Lesson C-6: Friction

Lesson D-7: Gravity II: Weightlessness in Space/Distinction Between Weight and Mass

Lesson A-8: Matter III: Evaporation and Condensation

Lesson A-9: Matter IV: Dissolving, Solutions, and Crystallization

Lesson A-10: Rocks, Minerals, Crystals, Dirt, and Soil

Lesson B-11: Plant Science II: Seed Germination and Seedling Growth

Lesson D-8: Rocks and Fossils

Lesson B-7: How Animals Move II: Different Body Designs/Major Animal Phyla

Lesson B-8: How Animals Move III: Coordinating Body Movements: The Nervous System

Lesson B-9: How Animals Move IV: Energy to Run the Body

Lesson C-7: Push Pushes Back

[~Kirsten~]

As far as nature study, I've narrowed it down to using FIAR nature studies or the Outdoor Hour Challenges. Or maybe I'll use both. :)

 

I just recently came across the FIAR nature studies, and they look wonderful! Thanks for the reminder!

[sagira]

I think BFSU is worth it. All I did was make a schedule for myself, then pick and choose. I love the fact that we can deviate from it without feeling guilty as it all connects anyway. I pick the threads ds seems to be interested in at that particular moment. This is why there is no schedule, and I'd like to keep it that way. I always tweak things anyway. I love BFSU. I'm making connections myself that I never made before and I'm starting to see the world in a different way. Ds is asking questions and is acquiring a basic understanding of the way the world works.