GP science anyone? how about Singapore? OM? looking for secular science....

[Nicole M]

My youngest will be in 6th grade next year, and I'm trying to settle on a secular science program. We've been using Rod & Staff and simply omitting the paragraphs and sometimes entire pages of Biblical stuff. (Unless it's cool poetry from the Psalms, then, if there is time, we talk about that, and the poetic / awe / wonder response to the forces of the natural world.)

What I love about R&S is that it's easy on my eyes - I must have a very low threshold for visual input, because even Science Explorer books seem too busy and bright to me. Also, there is quite a lot of narrative structure in R&S, which also appeals to me. I sometimes feel a little lost with PH. However, as the R&S books progress, there seems to be more emphasis on doctrine, but I'm just looking at sample pages.

So I'm thinking about switching. I love the samples of the GP Science Prep level 2. It looks fantastic. I wonder if anyone here is familiar enough with this to tell me how you use it, how often you do science - just describe what you like.

And, if there is any chance anyone here is also familiar with the Singapore i-Science program for 6th, I'd love to hear what you think as well.

One final option I'm considering... I have an old Oak Meadow 6th grade Life Science course that I never did use with my oldest. We were just starting to homeschool, and I didn't know how to "enter" into this program. It's written for the student, and I couldn't figure out my role exactly. Also, the assignments seemed very open ended and that was problematic for us. But! Now that I have 5 years of experience under my belt, I think we could do just fine with this. One downside is that the quality of the images is very poor, black and white photocopies. I believe they may have updated the text with color images, but the price has also been "updated" considerably. A part of me feels that I should use the things I have, but then, if it didn't work the first time....

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[Laura Corin]

I've heard mixed reports about GP science. Some have been very happy with it. Others have felt that too much is left to the teacher, so it doesn't work so well as a homeschool text. I haven't seen it myself, and maybe it depends on the teacher's background.

Have you done Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry Level I? It's a wonderful course. I'm not mad keen on the physics and bio, but the chemistry is great. We did it in 4th grade, but would probably have got more out of it in 6th. It's only a ten week course, but you could stretch it.... The writer is a proponent of ID, but has avoided the whole subject in her texts.

We did a bit of Singapore science (fine, but not thrilling), then RS4K Chemistry, Bio and a bit of Physics. After that we started using a UK middle school text, but it was pretty boring. I bought a high school bio text and decided to go with that. Calvin and I have had fun and it's going well.

Best wishes

Laura

[8FillTheHeart]

Nicole, I am one that felt that it was too much teaching for me. I have both levels 1 and 2 for sale if anyone is interested.

[Nicole M]

Nicole, I am one that felt that it was too much teaching for me. I have both levels 1 and 2 for sale if anyone is interested.

Which program did you find was too much? Was it Real Science 4 Kids? Or the others?

I searched for a post by you and couldn't find anything on the sale and swap board....

Thanks!

[Nicole M]

Have you done Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry Level I?

No I hadn't thought about this, but I just looked at the samples. It's pricey! So I would definitely look for it used. I'm very glad to hear about this, though. Next year my oldest will be taking chemistry at our local highschool (science is the only course we send our oldest away to do!) and because my two are 5 years apart in age, there are precious few subjects that I have managed to have the boys do together. This might be a wonderful chance for them.....

Thank, too for the feedback about GP, Laura.

[8FillTheHeart]

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. I have the GP science preps. I am too busy currently to post anything on the board (we just moved) but I do happen to know where those two books are.

BTW....we have been happy with PH Science Explorers. (I am certainly not going to push you toward something I , myself, didn't like!! ;) )

[Lynnatbeach]

We have been very happy with Oak Meadow.
Because of OM, my child has many "Oh Wow-that's sooo cool !" science moments.
It fits our personalities and learning styles.
In my opinion. OM would compliment a classical homeschooling style because of it's strong foundation in child development.
Although I can't compare it to the other programs you mentioned, I 'll be happy to describe OM for you.
First of all, it is written to the student in a way that personalizes each lesson. There are always real life examples to make the scientific principles relevant to the student. Biographies of scientists are interspersed throughout the lessons.
OM does not have a daily schedule or lesson plan for you, the teacher to follow. Instead, the lessons are set up in a way that allows the student to spend as much time exploring a new concept as he or she needs or desires. For example, the student reads section 1 in Lesson 3, and then chooses from a list of activities or assignments that follow the reading. These activities are designed to engage each child's individual learning style . We have found that the activities , which range from experiments and demonstrations to researching a topic on the Internet, to be very worthwhile.Activities and projects not only make the lesson come alive, but also make it memorable.
(We take photos of each activity and paste them into a science notebook.)
We have been able to find most of the materials we need in our kitchen and garage.
Oak Meadow is NOT for those who want an x amount of minutes per day to read a section and fill in the blanks type science program.
...and btw, the book is very plain;)

You can visit their web site and look at the syllabus for each grade level.
www.Oakmeadow.com (http://www.Oakmeadow.com)

[Nicole M]

OM would compliment a classical homeschooling style because of it's strong foundation in child development.

... and then chooses from a list of activities or assignments that follow the reading. These activities are designed to engage each child's individual learning style .


I am very familiar with Oak Meadow - We just never clicked with the science, though I used their other materials for 6th & 7th grades, for my oldest. But because he'd been in public school up until that time, he was overwhelmed by having to chose his assignments. He was used to being told what to do, and I just didn't have the experience to know how to help him. It was because of this that I actually sought out other resources, and that's how I found the WTM. So I came to classical education through Oak Meadow (though mainly to "beef up" OM!) and do find the methods of classical education to be complementary to the OM philosophy and approach.

As I said, we didn't really pull it together with OM science. But this is 5 years later, and my youngest is very different and I've come a long way, too. So I'm open to trying it again. And for me, it isn't just an issue of "an x amount of minutes per day to read a section and fill in the blanks type science program." I need to have more guidance so I can know how to engage with the process. I did not find the TM for Oak Meadow to be adequate. I've learned how to create my own study guides, and produce my own materials to support my boys' lessons, but if I'm forking out a lot of money for curriculum materials and still have to make my own TM, then that's frustrating. Part of my issue is that I work outside the home during the school year, and simple fatigue prevents me from having the energy to think on my feet during lessons.

Finally, you mentioned that the OM books are very plain, but you did not say whether the images were in color yet. The sample pages have color images, and always have, but the printed materials I have are all black and white. And I also wonder if they've cleaned up the typos....

Thanks for weighing in.

[Jenny in Atl]

I also have both levels of GP science, and so far, from just looking through, I don't see anything too difficult. I wish Momof7 could post more (but understand about the move!!), or others who did or did not like it. We too are enjoying the PH Explorers; were using the Earth Science Series.

[training5]

Hmm....bumping for more on this topic.

[Nicole M]

Hmm....bumping for more on this topic.

Thanks, training, for the bump.

If anyone is interested in more about Oak Meadow, I had an email from them this morning -- in fact the printed manuals do have color images in them now, so what you order will be comparable to what is displayed on their site, in the samples. Also, their sale begins April 1, I think, 20% off.

I'd still love to hear from GP users!

[Kathy in MD]

I like the CPO middle school text (for CA) far better than Prentice Hall for many reasons.

1) Graphic Layout - The text is not overwhelmed by the fancy graphics, Try This sections, learning hints or a lot of other junk. The text occupies the center of the page, the outer bar typically holds only the paragraph topic for easy skimming. The right hand side holds supplements such as vocabulary words, math problems, and diagrams. It's still bright and attractive, but the text always dominates

2) Background science - the text devotes chapters to any background science that's needed to better understand the topic. For example, in geology the CPO text has a chapter on density and bouyency before discussing why ocean plates dive under continental plates, creating volcanoes and earthquakes. Prentice Hall has one paragraph or less.

3) Clarity - diagrams are simple and to the point. Formulas are marked clearly and explained. The text is clear. Section and chapter end questions focus on the meat and not on small details.

4) Ease of use - I don't need the TE for answers. They're generally easily found in the text. I should state that I've also had a lot of training in Natural Science, so geo and weather are easy topics for me.

It's drawbacks are

1) You probably won't find any used texts or TE's.

2) I'd like more text, however it means I can easily add more living books. :rolleyes:

3) CPO doesn't have all the bits and pieces such as regular workbooks, remedial workbooks, videos, testing materials, etc that you can buy inexpensively from PH. Instead it sells the text, the lab book, the TE, a complete teaching package and the lab equipment.

I spent a lot on PH for this year, but other than the Weather book, PH is sitting on the shelf. The CPO book is what we're using.

[training5]

I have looked at that before. Isn't it rather $$$$? My other bone was there didn't seem to be a link to buy it from the site. Maybe I am just blind and missed it. Would you point me in the right direction?
After getting this well used PH 2000 set today, I am reconsidering PH myself. The pages are really cluttered. My guys are going to get overload.
Oh for a simple, in depth middle school science series! Oh yeah, and doesn't require knowing a specific math program, too.

[Kathy in MD]

I have looked at that before. Isn't it rather $$$$? My other bone was there didn't seem to be a link to buy it from the site. Maybe I am just blind and missed it. Would you point me in the right direction?
After getting this well used PH 2000 set today, I am reconsidering PH myself. The pages are really cluttered. My guys are going to get overload.
Oh for a simple, in depth middle school science series! Oh yeah, and doesn't require knowing a specific math program, too.

very helpful when I called with questions and placed my order. I placed my order over the phone with them, though you can fax or mail one in. They aren't set up for web orders. Here's the link that includes their toll-free number for orders: http://http://cpo.com/ca/textbook.shtml

If your ds's are ultra-sensitive to bright colors, they may still be distracted by CPO, but it's much better than PH. My ds is able to handle it.

It still isn't as detailed as I would like, but the text is written to supplement experiments and teacher lectures. On the other hand, the text clearly explains difficult concepts, such as the difference between weight and mass and I can easily lecture and stress important points with the student text. I'm going to supplement the Earth science we're currently using with DVD's from the Teaching Company. I'm thinking about doing that next year with physical science as well.

I'd love to get my hands on their experiment kits! They look fantastic. Insead I'm also thinking of having my dh look at their lab equipment and try to make some of the major components for physics and just buy a few pieces.

But you're right. It's not the cheapest thing on the market and because it's new you can't find used books.

BTW, the math required is just basic math in earth science (6th grade), so any math program should work. The text even explains how to calculate the volume of a box prior to introducing the formula for density.

[training5]

I visited the site again. It looks like one needs to know what you are teaching to use it. My kids would bemoan the lack of experiments. I would guess Science in a Nutshell kits would fill that hole nicely, though.

I am still curious about GP Science Prep. Any takers on answering why you felt it was too teacher intensive or hard to teach? Secular science is so hard to find.

[Shawna in Texas]

I am still curious about GP Science Prep. Any takers on answering why you felt it was too teacher intensive or hard to teach? Secular science is so hard to find.

Forgot to answer that in the other post. So far not teacher intensive. I hear the second book might be, though. The only thing I've had to do is show dd how to use graph paper. We've had a few discussions when I've felt answers were less complete than the answer book, just to see how well she was retaining things. When we get to chemistry and physics, we plan on a few experiment-type kits.