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Science curriculum
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I am so excited about finding this site. The CM method fits so beautifully with my our schooling philosophy of learning, and I’m glad to know it actually has a name and method! We have a 5 yr old who will be starting with homeschooling in the fall. I’m curious what the recommendation are regarding the science part. I see that 106 Days of Creation is recommended, but has anyone started a child this age with the Apologia Elementary? What would be the pros and cons of Apologia instead of 106 Days? Thanks for any input!
One more question…has anyone started the Handwriting along with the Delightful Reading at this age? Or should I wait until she is older? She knows her alphabet, and is always trying to write the letters.
Thanks!
I haven’t done 106 days of Creation – but I think the Apologia Elementary would be over the head of a 5yo…. If you do choose to do Apologia – Astronomy is considered the easiest of them
I think for a 5yo I would stick to doing a lot of nature study and use living books that would support that. Younger ones really love to be outdoors, and you can just do a lot in your backyard, walking around your neighborhood, or even a nearby park. If you’re blessed to be in a less urban area or a rural setting, it’s even easier to do nature walks and then plan some nature studies around that.
My kids are older than yours, but I decided to switch to a living science books approach instead of Apologia books for now. It better suits my 12yo special needs child. He reads at about a late 2nd- or early 3rd-grade level, and his learning abilities can range from 2nd-grade to 5th-grade levels, so he also had a bit of difficulty grasping the Apologia book, Flying Creatures. But reading a variety of living books on science topics is giving him (and his younger sister) a good grasp on science overall, and it seems to hold their interest better.
For that age, I think either 106 Days, or even just reading living books and nature study. We did 106 Days of Creation last year (2nd grade age, 7/8y) and started the Apologia Astronomy book this year (8/9y). It works well to go through 106 Days before beginning the Apologia series. Its like a fly over before coming in for a landing on the various subjects for more detailed study. 🙂
Back in Kindergarten (5/6y) we were using Five in a Row, and didn’t do seperate subjects. For 1st (6/7y) We just read through the mammals section of the Handbook of Nature Study and the Burgess Bird Book. Ds especially enjoyed the bird book and looking up the birds we read about on allaboutbirds.org.
Melissa
I would stick with living books and nature study. I second the Burgess books. The Animal Book and The Bird Book are more dense but even his stories like Little Joe Otter contain a lot of info on how the animals live.
I was just looking at Apologia’s younger kdis science curriculum at our yearly convention. I have to admit I was tempted by it. But in the ong run I think it is not for me. For a 5yo I am skeptical of how much of it they would really take in and remember. For my slightly older kids I thought it looked like a good referece book but not something I wanted to use as a science curriculum. I actually wrote a blog post on just that topic though I have it scheduled so it won’t be published for a couple of days.
Nebby
Welcome! You’ll love it here!
I didn’t have the advantage of homeschooling since the beginning. This is our first year and our boys are in 5th and 2nd. If I had started in K, however, I would have probably not done any formal science, just Nature Study. I think that’s what I would recommend: just spend lots of time out-doors observing and talking about nature, reading picture books and nature readers about the things you see — bugs, birds, plants, animals, etc. Ask questions like “What do you think it would be like to be as small as an ant?” or “How do you think a squirl remembers where it hides all its food?”. These aren’t right or wrong answer questions, just get you thinking and communicating your thoughts type questions. Instill in your child a sense of wonder about the world around her and her loving heavenly Father who created all these things. Personally, I would avoid anything too formal in K.
As to handwriting — I would definatley start in K. If your child is starting to form letters on his or her own, then I recommend instruction in correct formation because so often they can develope bad habits. I’m still trying to retrain both of my boys because they’ve developed such bad habits in PS. You can do either cursive or print as you prefer. Handwriting Without Tears is often recommended, but I’ve not used it myself. We are using Beautiful Handwriting for Kids (Italics) that I got from Currclick.
Have you looked at the SCM Outdoor Secrets and the Outdoor Secrets Companion? My sister is using mine for her 5 year old and they LOVE it – my niece literally begs to do it everyday.
My personal thoughts since I have all the SCM and several of the Apologia would be this (and is the plan I am using for my 4 and 5 yo this coming school year:
We will of course be doing nature study and nature walks. (We just got home from home where my soon to be 5 year old found and identified the cardinal we could hear singing. We saw 2 baby bunnies and looked at the little tunnels in the grass that they ran into to escape us. We learned about identifying poison ivy, honeysuckle which we could smell and see, identified and observed the butterflies, etc…all this in context because my older daughters are doing it too). =)
Anyway – in addition to Nature Walks and Study (plus the backyard feeders, flower and veggie gardens, etc) we will be doing:
K – Outdoor Secrets and Companion
1 – 106 Days of Science
2 – Considering God’s Creation
3 thru 6 – Apologia – botany and zoology most likely, plus whatever else I like
And during this time, once my girls are fluent readers, they will be reading the Thornton Burgess books as additional science reading on their own. My older girls love these.
I would definitely use the Delightful Reading and Handwriting together if she is ready.
Welcome to the forum cekfamily!
I have a ds 5yo (6 in December) that will be doing a kinder year starting in September. Here is what we will be using:
Scripture Memory – SCM Scripture Memory System
Math – Rightstart A math
Science/Nature Study – Outdoor Secrets and Companion (my library has all but 2 or 3 books)
Reading – Delightful Reading
Writing – Delightful Handwriting
Poetry – Now We Are Six
Character – A Child’s Book of Character Building
Read Alouds – Aesop Fable, Farmer Boy, James Herriot and many others to transition into narration.
Blessings on your upcoming year,
Carolyn
I would do Outdoor Secrets (I just finished this with my 1st grader.) Another lady from here has something similar posted here:
We’ve really liked the Amoung the …. series. Also, the Burgess Bird book was a favorite here.
I would do a lot of nature walks and read great books. That’s all you need right now. Wet his appetite!
We did try Apologia Astronomy when my DD was 5, almost 6. We enjoyed the first section, a general overview of the solar system. We had fun making a paper-mache model of the solar system. (Imagine 5 kids under six with enough slimy paper to cover two of those giant party balloons to make Jupiter and Saturn!) After that though, when the material became more detailed about the sun and each planet, we got bogged down. It was just a bit too much. We could have slogged through, but I decided to leave it for later.
Instead we have done reading from The Burgess Bird book and Burgess Animal books, and this month we started 106 Days of Creation. I think it’s a much better fit, especially because I have younger kids who tag along. I do like the Apologia books, but I think I’ll wait a couple of years, when my DS will be 7 and we can do it together.
Joanne
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