Real Science for Kids - Chemistry Pros and Cons?

[ELaurie]

I've been looking at this for ds 8 who will be in third grade next year - Would love to read a few of your reviews.

Thanks,

Laurie

[ELaurie]

Related que: should I purchase the TM?

Thanks!

[swimnactmom]

I am using Chemistry Level 1 for my son who is in 5th grade. It takes some very complex concepts and does a great job simplifying them. However, there is a lot of advanced vocabulary and large words used. One thing that I particularly like about it is the amount of teaching material it provides for the teacher; it is not simply a book of experiments. There is one experiment to do for each chapter. The lab workbook is simple with easy to follow directions. The textbook is colorful, clear, and refreshing to look at. I think it is a great program and I would use it for 4th grade and up because I consider the volume of vocabulary to be a distraction to the actual science learning that needs to take place. I also bought the "Connects to Language" workbook but will not be using it. I don't think it's worth the time (we will start latin next year.)

[swimnactmom]

The teacher's manual is essential for performing the experiments. It doesn't add much to the lessons prior to the experiments though but you need to buy it for the lab work.

[ELaurie]

Is the level 1 book too difficult for 3rd grade? The Pre chem book looks fairly basic, but might not be quite enough. Of course, I can also use it as a spine and supplement in other ways.

[ELaurie]

I found some sample chapters online, and can see that there is a lot of vocabulary in the Level 1 book - I think I'll save that for later! Thanks for alerting me : )

[swimnactmom]

I think if your child is bright you could do this in 3rd grade. The hard/new words are always defined right there, as soon as they are used- it's just that there are a lot of them. Because of that, I'm just not sure if a younger child would get frustrated or overwhelmed. My son would have had his eyes crossing in his head if I tried this in 3rd grade. But then again, my older son could have done this in 3rd grade.

[Paula in PA]

I want a fun and relatively light year for science, with a heavy focus on experiments / hands-on stuff. I think the pre-level will give just enough information without overloading dd. I will be adding Fizz, Bubble, Flash and Super Science Concoctions to it to round out the year, plus any library books I find. At this point, I really think chemistry should be a introduction and kept fun. We have plenty of time later to get into the details. :)

Paula

[KIN]

I decided on pre-level 1 for my 3rd grader as well. I'm not sure how to round out the year, though.

[debbiec]

I'm a science nut and teach science at a co-op among other places. I was very intrigued by the program because it got beyond the surface and was a little challenging. After having done the program, here are my thoughts:

My son at the time was in 4th. He is very bright, interested in science (though not as much chemisty). I liked the lab format that it uses. But I agree that the concepts are understandable, but in my opinion, are beyond the information needed for this age, or really any at elementary level until middle school. I know the author wrote this for her own children, who I assume are probably as scientifically inclined as the author, but I would venture to guess, that most kids won't fall in that category. If you truly have a very scientifically/chemistry oriented kids, it would probably be a good match. But overall, I was a little disappointed with the price for it, which didn't include that many lessons. You can zip them through really fast.

If I were to use it, I think I would supplement it somehow, to stretch it.

I think she did a great thing writing it, I just feel that the marketed ages aren't quite appropriate, unless you have exceptional kids in those areas.

[ELaurie]

Thanks Debbie!