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Newbie planning, science specifically
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Hi, ladies. Just a quick question before I have to run off to the store. 😉
I’m searching through the science options for 1st-3rd grade.
I already have three Nature Readers from Christian Liberty Press in our library. Would you recommend using these in place of Outdoor Secrets and Pond and Stream?Also, I have a 6th grader who is behind the curve, so to speak, in science because of our struggles over curriculum. I am strongly considering purchasing Apologia sciences as basically read alouds/readers for him to use along with narration and notebooking, and of course, any nature studies we all do together. Any ideas? I haven’t had time yet to peruse the recommended sciences for his grade level, though I would also throw in biographies and other living science books from the recommended lists. Is this too much, even for an avid reader?
I’m new to a full CM approach to our homeschool, but feel so strongly that this is where the Lord has led me over the last 5 years of searching. I’m hoping to put together a doable plan using SCM resources and what we already have on hand until our finances allow for me to go fully SCM/CM. I’d appreciate any advice and lots of prayer!!
TIA!
Re: Outdoor Secrets: If you could swing purchasing O.S. and its companion, and if you can find most of the books at the library (or other living books on the topics), I’d recommend it highly! I have a 6yo daughter and we’re loving it so much. I wish I’d had this when my older girls were younger. It’s deceptively simple in appearance, but it provides a wonderful springboard to various nature topics for discussion and drawing. And the field trip possibilities are great, too.
If that’s not possible, perhaps you could use the nature readers and add in some living books and real-life experiences on the topics presented there.
I think your plan for your 6th grader sounds perfect, too.
Take heart – you can do this!
SCM and Apologia are both great choices for science…we’ve used several books from both programs over the years. The CLP Nature Readers are great too. I have the 1st grade reader that I like to use for reading practice, but it would also be a great living science book.
Finances are a concern here as well. I somewhat follow the free curriculum guide, but often make substitutions to use materials we already own or had already been using before switching to SCM. It’s very easy to substitute in your own books or materials. I often change out books in the SCM history guides so I can use books already on our shelves. AO has some great free resources for picture study, composer study, folksongs, poetry, etc as well.
We have used all of the Science Nature Readers for each year as a reader. We do add in more science either as a family or individual. We have been pleased with Outdoor Secrets, which can be used for only one term, or spread out the whole year. 4th grade and up is best for Apologia Exploring Creation, in my opinion, adding in a few living books. I think you have some good ideas going here.
If there is a Project Wild coordinator in your area, you could contact them to get their free curriculum. I have it and my daughter loves it. Using other resources, you can integrate more art and literature into it as well. http://projectwild.org/resources.htm
Ok, so I have been seriously planning with a real budget in hand finally. Yeah. It’s not spreading the way I’d like, so my question is can I use the extensive (and free online) living science suggestions for 1st-3rd without them missing out on something?
And what about my 6th grader? If he uses the book suggestions, as well as following along with everything we do with the younger ones, is he going to get enough science to have him ready for physical science next year?
Science is NOT my strong suit, and I’m definitely new at trying to approach it through living books, rather than a text book.
Thanks for the feedback!Here is a possibility for 1st-3rd that was written by a fellow CM mom: http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/2012/02/among-farmyard-people-lesson-plans.html
You could skip the Draw Write Now portion and find the picture books at your library (or substitute for other similar titles). If you don’t already have Favorite Poems Old and New, Amazon has inexpensive copies of it. I spent about $5 with shipping on my copy and we’ll be using it for years!
Another possibility, is the Handbook of Nature Study. I’ve finally figured out how to successfully use it. You can find it online for free, but it’s a rather large book to scroll through. Basically, you (the parent) read the lesson portion ahead of time and choose a few things to share with your DC. There are also some discussion questions to ask them (usually while outside observing your object of study). The questions are designed to get them looking really closely at the object. It would be a wonderful resource to go along with living books. You could try it with the online version before investing $20 in a hard copy. I think it’s a great resource and we’ll be using it all through their school years.
To answer your question, I don’t think they’ll be missing anything by just reading the books. We plan on switching to Apologia for high school and I’ve heard great things about how well it’s prepared homeschoolers for college science.
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