What to do for science? There are so many options out there, some cheap, some expensive, some in-between. Some come with everything, others give you lists of supplies that you "should have on hand"...
What I want in a science program:
Something engaging and informative
A variety of topics (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)
Easy to put together hands-on activities (i.e. labs)
Something comprehensive that they can build on
Under consideration, I have the following:
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding
Pros: Covers a wide variety of topics; easy to implement hands-on activities; future levels coming out soon
Cons: Harder to adapt for a 4th grader than I thought; figuring out order of lessons a bit difficult; would have to supplement with lots of library materials; lots of teacher prep
Real Science 4 Kids
Pros: My kids have gone through pre-level 1 biology (a couple of years ago) and loved it; very clear text; could easily supplement text with good hands-on activities
Cons: the price; some of the projects aren't great, and the lab reporting is a lot of writing
Note: Truthfully, if I had the money to spend, this would be my number one choice, but even used, they're costly. If I could, I would buy just the student texts (pre-level 1 for Fairy, level 1 for Elf) for biology, chemistry and physics, and we would come up with our own activities/lab reports.
Unit Studies
Pros: We could choose our own topics, and follow them for whatever period of time we maintained interest
Cons: Again, a lot of teacher prep, library research, etc.
Units from E=McQ
Pros: Can mix and match units from 4 different disciplines; funny and informative; easy hands-on projects
Cons: Cost (again). At $15 a unit, this could add up quickly! Also printing costs - since it's a download, I would have to print out everything I wanted in print!
Nature Studies
Pros: Very easy to implement and very inexpensive; can follow kids' (nature-related) interests; it would give me an excuse to buy this book; would connect the kids with our local environment
Cons: doesn't cover all the areas of science I would like
Hmmmph. I'm sure there are lots of ideas/curriculums I am missing. Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?
I looked at Real Science 4 kids and loved it. Have you seen the connections supplements--science and art, science and history, science and music, etc.--that goes along with the chemistry program? WOW.
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