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What have you used for middle school science?
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What have you used for Form III (grades 7 & 8) science besides Apologia?
Has anyone here used Ambleside Online Year 7 & 8 science?
Has anyone used the guides from Sabbath Mood Homeschool for Form III science?
Thanks,
Melissa
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/We are currently smack dab in the middle of middle school science so I can tell you for 7th grade my ds who hates to read went through some of the Wonders of Creation books. It was his first year on his own and they worked well for him. I am a bit of a science rebel, I really want my kids to love Gods design and it annoys me that I have to follow some scope and sequence rather than allowing them to explore their interests. It kinda surprised me that this year looks a little closer to “traditional 8th grade science”. He is doing Chemistry and Physics with the following resources.
The Elements by Ellen Johnson McHenry
The Mystery of thhe Periodic Table
Exploring Physics by John Hudson Tiner
Ocean of Truth the story of Sir Isaac Newton
Physics for Every Kid Janice VanCleeve
The Way Things Work David Macauley
I cant wait to hear what others say.
Main:
All of the Tiner books
Body by Design
Science Shepherd Life Science book.
All of the Wonders of Creation books
Science DVDs ( I can’t remember titles, sorry)
Mystery of the Periodic Table
Wanted to use but didn’t get the chance ( and recommend):
Body of Evidence
My son continued interest led, living book science through the 7th grade. He began using Apologia in the 8th.
My daughter used a combination of AO year 6 and God’s Design for Chemistry from AIG in the 7th grade. We enjoyed elements of both, but didn’t use all the components of either.
She began Apologia in the 8th.
We tried the Sabbath Mood high school guide for chemistry. It was great! The readings were interesting and the assignments were good as well. In the end though, it ended up not being a good fit for us. There were just too many experiments that required too much prep and special items and ingredients. She schedules an experiment every 3rd day. Also, doing 3 streams of science was a blast at first but ended up feeling disjointed and like we were just juggling too many subjects. We started out gung ho and excited but ended up a bit overwhelmed and burned out. We also found that Sabbath Mood science lessons required more time than Apologia. My daughter finally asked if she could go back to Apologia so that is what we did.
We are using Master Books guide that goes with the Tiner books. We are mostly using the guide for the reading schedules, and doing narrations instead of the worksheets.
Master Books has several nice choices for junior high science.
I really appreciate hearing the suggestions!…and best of all, I have many of the titles mentioned on our shelves 🙂 Our dd will be using AO Year 7 & 8 science this year for 8th grade and most likely next. I’m undecided if we should add a Sabbath Mood study guide to the scheduled reading.
In addition, I’m not sure what to use for our son, who will be in 7th grade, though is not necessarily working on grade level due to dyslexia, dysgraphia, and some sensory issues. He has no cognitive delays, but is overwhelmed very easily.
Right now, I’m thinking…
The Mystery of the Periodic Table (AO Year 6) – may include in our MT
The Elements by Theodore Gray (AO Year 6) – may include in our MT
The Story of Inventions (AO Year 5) – he would read independently
Secrets of the Woods and School of the Woods by Long (AO) – he would read independently
Madam How and Lady Why by Kingsley (AO) – not sure about this one, would most likely read aloud
Men, Microscopes and Living Things by Shippen – (Sabbath Mood) – not sure about this one, would read aloud
Jack’s Insects (SCM) – not sure about this, would also read aloud
Secrets of the Universe (AO Year 7) – he could work through with sister
Does anyone have thoughts on these? I’d also love to hear more ideas about what you’re using!
Thanks,
Melissa
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/Men, Microscopes, and Living Things has several chapters that teach evolution. It also doesn’t teach much about science. It is more of a book about early scientists and some of the ideas that they had, rather than a book about science.
My ds will be in 8th and he will be using Beginnings Publishing Rainbow Science during 8th and 9th as it’s a two year program. This son is not a reader, I’ve accepted that and am using a couple of textbooks for him as a result, this being one.
He prefers a straight forward non story approach. I have to say that dd16 felt the same about chemistry last year and she loves reading. She wanted a linear text so we chose DIVE chemistry and she is choosing 1-2 living books alongside.
I am a CM purist at heart, but I have finally accepted that for MY kids, at certain times and for certain subjects, they prefer a different approach and do better as a result.
I don’t want to take away from any of the great ideas in this thread, but simply add my thoughts in case someone at this stage may have a kid like mine who would rather be playing sports or outside doing anything including chores to reading.
My 7th grade son will be using Rainbow Science!
Thank-you for mentioning it missceegee. Your description of your son is also a description of MY son who is 13. 🙂 After reading your post I looked into it and voila! Just what I have been looking for … so I ordered the kit for Year 1. Yay! For Terms 1 and 2 (the first 12 weeks or so) he will read Isaac Newton by John Hudson Tiner as well as Champions of Invention by Tiner. I don’t have the reading chosen for the remaining terms. 🙂
My 6th grade DD will be finishing a Young Explorer Series Astronomy study with her 2nd grade brother during Terms 1 and 2 (a total of 12 weeks; our terms are 6 weeks each). She will also read Along Came Galileo by Jeanne Bendick, 1 chapter per week. The remaining Term plans are unknown 🙂 but we are interested in studying Ponds/Streams and Birds and Botany. We’ll see where our interests lie once we’ve finished Astronomy!
Thanks Karen for your input on Men, Microscopes…! I appreciate your thoughts. 🙂 I read the first three chapters or so and it is more biographical. This is why I’ve been on the fence.
I also have Jack’s Insects, but not the guide. Can you tell me more about the SCM guide that accompanies it? Would it, could it be appropriate for a 7th grade boy?
Thanks also missceegee! I actually have The Rainbow on my shelf and have looked at it several times, then put it back. I’m just not certain the text would work for this particular child. He loathes Apologia and seems to prefer the living book approach. I just may take it down and look again.
In addition to The Elements, there’s:
Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything
by Theodore Gray
Jack’s Insects Narration & Nature Study Notebook is a bit different than the companion guides for Outdoor Secrets and Pond and Stream. It is written to the student and includes written narration questions, room to write answers to the questions, and pages for drawing insects. There are additional books to read alongside Jack’s Insects to learn more about the different insects and spiders introduced through the story. Interwoven in the Jack’s Notebook are excerpts from William Kirby’s book, An Introduction to Entomology, written in the early 1800s. Kirby was an English country priest who enjoyed studying nature. He is considered the father of entomology.
I think that Jack’s Insects and Jack’s Insects Narration & Nature Study Notebook could be used for 7th grade science. I would allow for 2 days to complete each lesson, maybe 3, if a lesson was particularly long. Definitely don’t try to complete a whole lesson in one sitting!
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