Middle School CM Styled Living Books Science

Hi! I also use Noeo for my elementary kids and we all love it. My son will be in 7th grade next year and we will be doing Rainbow Science from Beginnings Publishing. We used the High School Chemistry from them with our oldest daughter this year and she really liked it. For Jr. High and Biology she used Apologia and she thought it was just OK. The reason why I switched was because I felt like everyone uses Apologia just because there isn’t an other good Christian science curriculum out there. When I saw Beginnings Publishing at our homeschool convention I thought I would try something different. I jut don’t know if you can get away from using text books for Science with the upper grades. I have heard that Apologia is written in a way that it feels like the author is talking to you and I think Beginnings Publishing is the same way.

Hope this helps!

Danielle

Queen Homeschool also recommends Real Science 4 Kids. This is what Sandi Queen has to say about it….

“Long-time users of the Charlotte Mason method know that much is gained through the many years of varied nature study that we offer in so many different venues. And yet, the question has always come up:

“What do you recommend for upper grade science?” Of course, none of the traditional “out there” curriculums appealed to us, and this was a problem we faced with our own children when they got into the upper grades. Until a few years ago, when I met Christian biophysical chemist and homeschool mom, Dr. Rebecca Keller at a homeschool convention. She was there to promote her new books, “Real Science 4 Kids.”

And I was interested!!! These books were JUST what I was looking for! First of all, they had “life” to them – unlike any of the popular, best-selling (which means nothing if it doesn’t sell the student because it’s boring them to death!!!) textbooks out there. They were wonderful introductions to the sciences for all ages, though they were written to be simple enough for a 4th grader to understand. Knowing this series would be a wonderful, interesting way to introduce the basics of upper level science concepts to my uninterested second daughter, this is what I bought to use for her high school science curriculum that year. And plan to use with the rest of my children as they enter that phase of life.

Keep in mind, these books, even though they are targeted for grades 4 – 6 (and the Level 2 book is geared for grades 7 – 9), cover the basics of everything there is to know for each of the chosen subjects. Since my daughters were not science-minded in that they were not planning on medical school or engineering, I knew they only needed the basic information on these topics, since they had such a broad knowledge of science already from the intense nature study we have done throughout our homeschooling years.

What am I saying here? I am saying that, like all wonderful living books, these books have been found in our family to be truly multi-level. You can use them as young as 4th grade, while the high school student who has not been exposed to these topics or doesn’t really want to “go there” will get what they need from them in a down-to-earth, friendly way. Simply put, these books fill a need in the homeschool market, and we are honored to be able to make them available to you in beautiful, full color, quality hardcover, for many years of use.”

Here’s another site for a literature based science:

http://store.nwcreation.net/index.html

I am using sets from this website paired up with dissections/hands on kits from here:

http://www.hometrainingtools.com

…and lots of real life, hands on experiences, field trips, and a couple of written papers each year. I am doing the above with a high schooler. He loves it, I love it, and because we are enjoying it so much we are always adding books, trips, and DVD’s to go further with our studies.

I also do really like Real Science 4 Kids and am planning to use it. I have to agree with Sandi Queen:

“First of all, they had “life” to them – unlike any of the popular, best-selling (which means nothing if it doesn’t sell the student because it’s boring them to death!!!) textbooks out there.”

They will not retain what is boring.

My 7th grade son is enjoying Apologia this year. He took it in 5th grade but it was to much work for me. Now that he’s older he can do more himself, plus I don’t require him to do all of the experiments. This year he has learned a lot about the scientific method. My oldest daughter on the other hand did Apologia for Biology but didn’t enjoy it as much last year so she’s just doing the Lifepacs (not CM) for Chemistry. So all in all I think that it just depends on the child, their interests, and learning styles. I believe that because Apologia is written by 1 author that is obviously passionate about the subject is why it’s considered a living science program.

I am beginning the CM method with my 3 younger children this year (please pray for me) and I am very much looking forward to this. I’ve been reading everything I can, have purchased several of Sonya’s seminars and books, and am enjoying all of the great insight from the forum. I will have to look into the Real Science 4 Kids that sounds great for my soon to be elementary students. Blessings to you all!