www.eequalsmcq.com

[StephanieF]

Anyone tried either of these programmes-the life science or the earth science?
Stephanie

[StephanieF]

bump!
I thought that it looked good! Especially as the life science one is free!
Stephanie

[Kate in Arabia]

I am currently using the life science with ds 10 for his second science rotation. His younger brother is doing the WTM recs for the first rotation of biology, so with my older he does the work from the life science book, then I print out some extra stuff for him to do on the animals his younger brother is studying.

I think the book is a little "lite" for my 5th grader, but he really enjoys it and I like that it has concrete vocab and tests; it is a step up from what he did for biology four years ago. I try and bolster it a bit by having him do the extra animal reports and whatnot.

[StephanieF]

Do you think that your ds could have done it when he was a first grader?
I am doing a very lite WTM 1st round biology course with ds5 and thought that perhaps I could do it next year when ds will be 6 yrs and reading well.
Stephanie

[Kate in Arabia]

In general I think a 1st grader could handle it -- of course much depends on your first grader. There's some vocab that might be beyond some 1st graders -- [deciduous forest, abiotic, nonrenewable resources] for example, would be beyond my current 2nd grader as an emerging reader -- but I think these would be easily introduced as concepts. There are simple experiments, some writing assignments that would be beyond my kids as first graders but probably not for others (like writing "a day in the life" kind of thing).

In looking around the website my impression was that it was intended for lower elementary, like grades 1-4? I think it has elements that span those grades; the writing level of the textbook, imo, is lower but some of the vocab and some assignments are higher. The tests are generally matching/multiple choice which my 5th grader has found simple, but still it is a cementing of the concepts -- it might be less simple for a younger child, more age-appropriate.

With both of my kids, my older when he was in 1st grade and my current 2nd grader who is doing his first round of biology, we had the greatest experiences following the WTM recommendations for this stage -- animal studies. I'm not totally clear on what you are doing this year, so I can't really speak to whether it would be a good progression. Will your ds be up for another year of biology-related topics or will he want to move on to something else?

In this Life Science textbook, animals are only central in two chapters, where it focuses more on overall patterns among animal families -- life cycles, etc. I guess I feel like the layout of the program is more suitable for my older child than my younger, but perhaps that's more a matter of individual taste.

I'm not sure I'm presenting my thoughts very well here. In summary, lol, for my kids, I think that the writing level and "enjoyment factor" are fine for a younger kid, but the topics covered and some of the vocab and assignments are better for my older kid. Does that make sense?

Fortunately the whole thing is accessible online for free, so you have a good chance to skim through it and see whether you think it would be a good fit for your 1st-grader-next-year, lol. It would be beyond my current 2nd grader, who is not a strong reader (yet); I'm not sure about my older, when he was that age he was a very strong reader, but conceptually it might not have been as engaging, kwim?

I feel like this answer is all over the place, I'm sorry if it comes across a little incoherent.

[StephanieF]

Thanks Kate! I do see what you mean and I think that perhaps it would be better for us to use it later on as you have with your older dc.
Stephanie

[mcconnellboys]

I'm using the life science this year, but not alone, along with other things. I think it's a sound program. I do think it could be used alone, too, I just didn't choose to do that.

[sweetfeet]

I'm using the life science with my 6 year old. We're on chapter 4 as we did nature study at the beginning of the 'school' year. I think it's a wonderful program. My six year old is able to fully understand the terms and ideas presented in the book. She says things are abiotic all of the time now. I enjoy the pictures and the way the material is presented. It's a fun read. There are projects and worksheets in the student portion. She likes doing the worksheets, but does require my help with some of them. The worksheets have fill in the blanks, crossword puzzles and matching.