I have unfortunately started late on science for my 2nd grader, but I have not been able to decide a curriculum. 106 days of God’s Creation, I thought would be a perfect fit, but after viewing the simple, it appeared to have a lot of cut and paste, and that is just not what we are looking for. So, I reviewed and purchased The Outdoors/Outdoors Companion, it seems to be more interesting and I guess hands-on, more of what we are looking for, however, I’m not sure if it will be enough. Then again, I might be looking at this too deep. I reviewed the Apologia, which seems to be a possible good fit, but became discouraged when I read one review out of several, that said it was more of a twaddle book…was this an accurate review. Somehow, for me, it stood out, and was enough to cause me to put it on the back burner. So, at this point, I have no idea what will work best. It is December now, cold weather, and I’m not sure, I made the best decision with the Outdoors curriculum, though it seems truly engaging. Please, I could use all the feedback I can get.
Love the Outdoor Secrets and Companion. The books chosen are really super. The 106 Days starts with a bit of cut and paste, but not all that much really for a second grader. It is is very good and we have totally enjoyed it – especially when we got to the the third and fourth days. It did take me a few lessons to “get into it” since I was used to PS science books. I happen to think that they can be and are enough for a second grader, especially when combined with nature study.
I have not used the Apology series yet, since we’ve been doing the others. I have a couple, though. Is it possible that people think the conversational type writing makes it “twaddley” because most of us are used to modern text books? I’m just wondering that because several people are put off by that more than the actual content in other books I’ve read about.
Another possible resource is the God’s Design for….Series. We are using that after finish Jack’s Insects.
I have loved a series of books called Let’s Read and Find Out Science. The reading level is perfect for a second/third grader, but the information is dense. I use these with my third grader but then have him fill in a Non-Fiction book report form that includes the following:
Title
Author
Topic (Who or what the book is about.)
Write 4-5 facts you discovered about the topic.
Write 6 new words learned from this book.
It is a great exercise in learning to gather facts. Excellent for pre-writing skills. Perhaps a 2nd grader could orally narrate this information to you.