Hi, I am new to this forum and have so far appreciated the loads of information that everyone has to share. So, I am taking my 8th grader to be out of school to homeschool next year. I am not new to homeschooling as his older siblings were both homeschooled for several years. I have not homeschooled this child yet. Due to some health issues, he has missed larged chunks of info over the last three years. I am trying to fill in the gaps and looking for a general science curriuculum which would be fairly easy to implement and fun to use. I am intrigued by Rainbow science, but a littlle put off by the price. Any ideas you might have would be so helpful. Thanks. Karen
Mine are younger, but we use (and plan to use for middle-high school) Apologia science. Here is their General Science book http://www.apologia.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2
Welcome! I've not homeschooled in secondary science, but I do work as a science/maths teacher, so... There is a lot to be found online for free. Until you know how he learns best, I'd put off buying a curriculum for a while, in case it goes to waste. Some resources: "Experiments in Physics Julius Sumner Miller" (do a youtube search) for crazy professor oldschool physics. No maths involved, but lots of toys. http://www.uq.edu.au/_School_Science_Lessons/year1to6.html (it's grade 1-6 science, but it will be good to fill in any old gaps), and most lessons are only 5 minutes long. You can do all 6 grades in about two weeks if you have to. Khan academy (has video lessons in Biology, Chemistry, etc.) http://homeschoolfreestuff.wordpress.com/science/biology/ (free online biology textbooks, experiments, projects, virtual tours, etc.) http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistrylabexperiments/a/labreports.htm?nl=1 (how to write a lab report) http://phlebotomytechnicianschools.com/52-totally-awesome-science-experiments-you-can-do-at-home (experiments you can do at home) I'm sure some time on Google will bring up more things; these are just ones that I have used. For high school science, you want to make sure he covers biology, physics, chemistry, and earth science. If you look for texts, tests, videos, and activities for each of these, you should cover your bases. Try lots of different things to find out how your son learns and what he likes before making the commitment to purchase something.
Dh likes the look of Rainbow too. I think though that we will be using Apologia. We used that for Biology, Chemistry and Physics and really liked it.
My kids started off with Rainbow, also but I moved them on to Spectrum Chemistry and their Bridge Math series as what usually trips most kids up in science is the math. Good luck. Kim
Thanks for your input! I am starting to look more closesly at Apologia since it seems to be more clearly written-at least as far as I can tell from the samples.
We used Plato science this year. Homeschoolbuyersco-op.org has it on special occassionally. They has it last year in June, so I'm hoping they have it in June again this year.
I have Apologia General Science I would be willing to sell. I've used it with all three of my children; my youngest just finished with it two weeks ago, and I've not had a chance to list it anywhere yet. Send me a PM if you're interested.
And being a first timer if you want to you can also do AoP.com style of learning they are good for Life Pak science, there is a video you can add in for experiemnents and some you can do on your own. We liked Apologia Astronomy too it was really fun and you can get notebooks online to print and do lab style lessons with it. Real Science 4Kids is another style/brand. There really is a lot out there for Science. For 8th grade you can do a lot depending on what your state says you need for science.
Hey I was just thinking I may still have my Apoligia Astronomy as well.. and I did see the Astronomy notebooking pages I have on my transfer list a few hours ago ( from computer to computer that is Lol)
Thank you everyone! You have given many great ideas for me to research. Luckily, I don't have to make this decision immediately.
