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Sabbath Mood Homeschool science guides
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I did a search and found a few posts and comments from last year, but since the guides are so new, I thought I’d post again to see the latest feedback. DS is in 4th and I am considering doing the form 2 weather guide with him this spring. Anyone else done a form 2 guide? Curious as to how independent it is, how much time it takes compared to what she says, how much your child likes it, etc. Any thoughts would be welcome!
We are currently working through this guide. My son and I take turns reading aloud to one another. He orally narrates back to me from his readings, and I jot everything down in his science notebook. Then, he sketches or draw a picture/diagram from his reading. There are experiments that would require some ordering and preparations.
There are some samples on the website that you could take a peek at.
We also did the Astronomy guide as well.
I also have a Form 3 child that is working through her form 3 guides. We are really enjoying them!
I also have a form 1 child that I do science with as well, in the Sabbath mood style.
I am looking at these for the fall. I’m not sure about their recommendation to schedule three different streams of science for the year. I would have three DC in three different grades (5th, 7th, 9th). The samples are very appealing. I don’t see why my students couldn’t work independently.
We are currently trying out the samples for forms 4-6 for Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy. Both my daughter (9th grade) and myself are really enjoying them. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a science curriculum that is truly Charlotte Mason in nature. I love the 3 streams of learning! We are applying it to our history studies and our science studies right now. I am planning on trying out 3 streams of math as well. It adds so much interest to our school days. We are loving the variety.
Doing 3 streams of science with the Sabbath Mood science guides averages out to less than $100 per year per student. As much as I love them, I don’t think I would pay that much for science for elementary school-especially if I had to buy for multiple children. However, for high school, I think the guides are completely worth the money! There is also the option of scheduling one guide per term instead of doing 3 streams at once. That way you could potentially buy as you go through the school year which would mean you wouldn’t have to come up with all of the money all at once.
I still think my favorite science for elementary school and middle school is simply reading and narrating from great books, with some science notebooking added in. The guides would be great at those ages but the cost might be a bit prohibitive and I am pretty frugal.
I will be spending about $80 on science this year if I buy all 3 guides and their required books. I already own 2 of the necessary titles so that is nice. I could save money by buying the ebooks but I really prefer to have them already printed out for me. That’s not too bad for high school science.
Coming back to add that you could combine some of your students and that would make it more affordable. The 7th and 9th grader could do weather or astronomy together and the 7th and 5th grade might be able to share some as well.
I’m thinking of using the weather guide but haven’t decided. My 9th grader will be doing earth science and I already have several books but haven’t figured out *how* I’m going to use them. We have Signs and Seasons for astronomy, along with a new telescope, so that’s covered. I have several geology focused books, as well. There’s a lot out there for earth science that I’m having a hard time narrowing it down!
Does anyone know if additional Sabbath Mood science courses will be offered in the fall? Two of my students did weather and astronomy this year with AIG.
I’m also looking at these… any idea why Biology seems to be done so much more (yes, I know only for 1 time a week instead of 3 for the others…) – but every year?
I am going back and forth for science this year. I have 4 students for next year: grade 2, grade 4, grade 7, grade 9 – so that puts us into a bunch of different forms.
I’m going back and forth between…
- Science in the Beginning series from Dr. Wile for the 3 youngest together and Apologia for the oldest
- AO’s science (which also does multiple streams of science once you get to a certain point…) – Year 7 for the oldest and not sure which for the younger 3… Madam How and Lady Why has NOT been popular with the kids that have gotten that far…
- The Sabbath Mood Science Guides
- possibly the Good and Beautiful Science units?
submitted too soon….
– It is kind of ‘scary’ considering an unusual science choice for high school! I also own Apologia Physical Science (which I would use for my oldest – he did like General Science 2 years ago, but this year we did AO’s year 6 science which he has also really enjoyed.) And I own Apologia’s Chemistry 2ed (which I grabbed when I saw it for sale at a good price). I own the Dr. Wile’s elementary series as well, and could match it roughly with our history period… I also own Signs and Seasons. My son was probably going to do Physical Science for his science class and Astronomy for one of his high school options. (One of the careers he is considering is being an Astronomer)
Suzukimom,
According to the podcasts about science at A Delectable Education, the reason for one day of Biology every year, all year, is because there is just SO much biology information, and how that plays into political decisions, what to vote for, etc. I got the feeling it would be to make sure the student had time to really learn about ethical biology (though that is not a term they used), like stem-cell research and more.
I am also looking at these guides for a 4th grader next year. I have had the Rey “Find the Stars” book for years and not really known what to do with it! This is perfect! I love the book.
SandraK-I’m pretty sure SM plans on releasing new guides each year so that those who have begun using them can continue with them.
Suzukimom-Makayla is correct about the reasoning for scheduling Biology each year. There are several great posts on the SB blog that explain her reasoning for this.
The reason I prefer SB science over AO science is because the guides are what take the living books and turn them into high school level courses. Have you looked at them? They schedule experiments and share websites and provide the scaffolding that so many of us have a hard time doing on our own.
It is a bit scary to veer from the normal path for high school science but I am convinced (at the moment) that it is best for my daughter.
This past year, our homeschool was becoming less and less Charlotte Mason and I began to notice a distinct difference to our days. They felt a bit harried and stressful. My daughter enjoyed her learning but would often get this weary look when studying Biology. She actually really likes Apologia and would have been content to continue using their books through high school. However, I noticed that much of the focus went from the joy of learning science to frustration over the huge lists of vocab words and the need to always do perfectly on the tests.
Seeing the atmosphere of our homeschool change pushed me to reexamine Charlotte Mason’s methods for high school. The Delectable Education podcasts have made CM high school seem challenging but doable and delightful to both my daughter and myself. We have only recently began using these guides, along with following 3 streams of history. We are trying out 3 streams of math this week. We tossed the writing curriculum and went back to written narrations, this time doing at least one every day. All of this has been a breath of fresh air for our homeschool. The days fly by and we love learning about so many different and fascinating subjects each day. My daughter is growing and learning so much.
All of that said, I do want to be realistic-we’ve only been doing this for 3 weeks now (the science guides and 3 streams of history). I am convinced and would like to continue this way for the remainder of my daughter’s high school years. However, I will need to take her feelings and goals into consideration as the years go by.
Right now the SB guides are just what we need!
I guess I still don’t see what is so special about biology… but then I wouldn’t have taken any biology at all in high school except I needed to for the International Baccalaureate Program. When I look at it, I guess it isn’t really that much more than Chemistry of Physics… it just turns out to have 1 extra term’s worth (as each year of biology at 1 class a week is the same as the other 1 term courses at 3 classes a week.) I just know that we are wanting to do a lot more astronomy for my son, but as that is looking like another science course for us anyway…..
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