science in beyond question and a vent

[momofone]

o.k., our 2nd day into HOD and so far great!

If you all remember, I thought we'd try the Beyond/Bigger combo..... but now....not so much, but not a bad thing!
Now, it looks like all Beyond with the addition of R&S 2, since we're ready in that area.
Let me describe today's science with Bigger!
ds was very interested in the seashore book, like I knew he would be, but he is soooo unconfident about his drawing ability and almost refuses to draw He ended up doing a drawing of one of the tides, but I don't feel like he really "got" it. He was asking me what "energy" was.

Since we had a hard year last year, I admit that we did not do very much science, only a little. We spent alot of time trying to figure out his math problems and fighting with another well loved program that just didn't work for us.
My gut feeling tells me to just go on and do the science in Beyond (I have the book) and maybe add library books or something when and if possible?????
What do you all think?? We will also do a science experiment class with a local co-op in the spring, so that would be good also.
Just needing suggestions since I'm new at this method, kwim??
Thanks all and Blessings!
Tina
ds-8 years Beyond/Bigger

[water2wine]

!
ds was very interested in the seashore book, like I knew he would be, but he is soooo unconfident about his drawing ability and almost refuses to draw He ended up doing a drawing of one of the tides, but I don't feel like he really "got" it. He was asking me what "energy" was.

Well energy is a hard concept to grasp but I am guessing you are thinking there was a disconnect there. Maybe but the lesson was about the gravity of the moon moving the tides and that is sort of a movement and an energy. Maybe that is the connection he was making. I think if I were in your shoes and really felt like Bigger was the right level for Science when you started out from the placement chart then I would maybe give it a little time. Kids that aren't used to drawing from what they have read even if it is copying a picture take some time. I just have one boy but he was really resistant to drawing at first and now you can't stop him.

In the end you are going to be the best judge. Beyond may ultimately be where you find is the best fit. But just wanted to offer up some thoughts.

[momofone]

Thanks water2wine! I guess I need to look over the Bigger science again. I really think he would be happy with both. It's just finding that right fit, kwim? Thanks for the idea. I will have to think it over.
Blessings!
Tina

[juliekay]

Hi Tina,
I agree with water2wine in the aspect that I found Bigger to be right on level - maybe just a tad on the thinking side sometimes - which is what you want - right? HOWEVER, you're the Mama & you know what's best. Boys love science!
I just wanted to share with you that I have an 8 year old doing Preparing this year to which has a TON of drawing in it and he responded similarly to your son's response. It is frustrating especially to a task-oriented child to look at a beautiful picture, do their very best only to have it end up looking nothing like the picture. AND for a task-oriented child it is almost easier to say, "Forget it, it's a waste of my time" and move on to something they can finish with satisfaction. (I’m also task-oriented ) I told my son that this year he needs to slow down and just do his best. When he finished I was sure to tell him how very proud I was of him for completing the task. He seems to respond well to those words of encouragement and affirmation and thankfully has stuck to the plan AND his art has improved in just 4 short weeks of Preparing!

[Tree House Academy]

You have gotten some great advice thus far. I just wanted to put in my plug for the other option. I think that HOD is so well written and things tie together so nicely that doing Science from BOTH manuals at the same time could get really confusing...especially for a child who has not had a tremendous amount of Science in the past. For about 4 weeks, I was doing Beyond and Bigger with 2 different children, and there is no way I could see those two going together Science wise. ???

My thought would be to place your son in the manual that best fits him overall. Then, if you find that the Science in that manual is not "enough," then take the topics introduced in that manual and add in materials that surround those topics. You can get books from the library, look up experiments online, or even do a lapbook on the topic. You don't have to stop at what is in the manual if you don't want to...but I would definitely suggest picking one manual and sticking with it over trying to use two manuals for one subject. That would totally befuzzle me. LOL

[momofone]

We're only doing the science in Bigger. Sorry, if I was confusing about that.

We're going to continue the science in Bigger for now and see what happens. I'm a bit nervous about everything since our year last year was a disaster. So, we'll see what happens and we can always switch out with Beyond's science if need be.
I appreciate all the wonderful support! You all are a tremendous help!

Tina

[water2wine]

I'm a bit nervous about everything since our year last year was a disaster.

Tina I had one of those disaster years or at least a good part of a year where what we were using was a complete bomb. I completely understand where you are coming from on that. It is hard to recover from that. When I switched again after that I thought of it this way. I think ps wastes a good quarter of the year on testing, review and just trying to get order in the class. So even if you were to hit a bad fit for a quarter of the year in truth your child would still be ahead. And if that quarter of the year the only thing you taught was for the child to see God in everything eternally you would be way ahead. For me that is a big comfort to sort of realize that. It takes a little while for your child to learn something as completely different as HOD. But once you get him solid in it the transition the next year will be much easier becasue the year ahead of it was designed to prepare you for the next level.

[momof2n2]

What is your hope for next year?
I ask because if you do Bigger Science THIS year, if you progress to Bigger next year, what will you do for science.
I have done both Beyond and Bigger and now doing Bigger again.
Bigger science was phenomenal! My most favorite part of Bigger. AND when I did it with my 8 year old, my 6 year old could handle it. I am not sure he got all of it, but he loved it. Now that we went back "down" to Beyond for him he is a little let down. I mean from doing science everyday to every few days.

[lmercon]

I'll add my 2 cents. I did Beyond last year and am doing Bigger this year. I don't think I would do Bigger just for the history and science. Beyond is a beautiful program that is rich in stories and adventure. The science is light, but is just enough on most days. If your ds is science minded, there are lots of add-ons you could do with him. Adding in a nature study is a fabulous way to pique the interest of a budding scientist while training his observational and drawing skills. There are some great websites that offer fun science experiments. He could bird watch or collect rocks and identify them. There are oodles of ways to incorporate science. Bigger is such wonderful program. One of our favorite parts is the notebooking. I would hate for your ds to dislike this portion. Maybe he needs another year of practice sketching what he sees. Having his own nature notebook, without the pressure of it being an assignment, might really give him the experience he needs to excel with Bigger next year.

So, unless you are sold-out to the idea of doing Bigger this year, I would strongly encourage you to shelve it and just enjoy the beauty of Beyond this year and supplement science as a delight-driven component of his education. That way, Bigger can be enjoyed as it should be next year. Really, there is no rush. My sil used Bigger last year with her 10 yo, and it worked out great.

Just a thought,
Laura

[momofone]

You know, you are right! I could do the science in Beyond and be just fine with it. However, my ds is a science lover, so I probably would add because of that in itself.
R&S 2 is the only thing I would need to add, which doesn't seem like a big deal so far. He does fairly well with grammar in this stage of the game.

Thank you all for helping me sort this out. However, I will have to fight my son to stay away from those "square" books. He LOVES them!
I think you all should be curriculum consultants!!!
Tina

[lmercon]

Just so you know, there are quite a few other OSS books out there that are not used in the HOD programs. If you scan the next couple of programs and make a note of which ones are not used, you could pick them up for your little guy. They are fun books.
Laura

[frankesense]

I am doing Beyond with my 7 year old science lover this year. At first I thought that he would be disappointed only doing science twice a week and want more but now we are 6 weeks into it and I'm finding that it is still enough for him. With all the other activities, he still has plenty of stuff to do. He is doing a nature study too (reading about and finding things in nature) and I think that this helps. I had almost chosen to go with Bigger mainly because of how much he loves science. And though I thought he could understand the concepts; I wasn't sure he would be ready to do all the notebooking and drawing confidently yet. I am now glad that we stuck with Beyond this year. I just have other science things (books and activities) on hand for days when I think he is ready for more exploration and discovery but have found that for the most part he is content with what we are already doing.

So, my two cents would be that maybe you could just leave him in Beyond this year and just have other books on hand for him to look through when he is interested. The other activities in Beyond give him practice drawing so that by next year he will be more confident in doing that himself in Bigger.

[water2wine]

Agreeing with the other ladies. I thought you were using Beyond for La and math or something while suing the Bigger program. I would stick with the science and history from the program you are using. But I still think your kid is smart for thinking the way he did.

[momofone]

Thanks again!
water2wine, I'm using everything in Beyond except the language.
DS is more than ready for the R&S 2 book. I had planned on the science, but I have decided to just wait until next year on that when we'll be doing the history in Bigger also.
As far as math, we have kept our current math Abeka math 2 (used loosely) and we've added singapore 1B. We're halfway through that and we'll use Bigger's plans for 2A when we get to that book. At that point, we'll keep using the 2 maths or go with singapore only. Spelling is still an issue. DS is a great speller. We don't want to continue Abeka spelling. So, we may use the spelling/dictation in Bigger. We will decide on that one over the weekend.
With the science, I'm still debating, but it looks like just beefing up the science in Beyond for him would be good. Oh and for reading, we have started with Buffalo Bill (we had already read many of the others) and plan to move into DITHOR after finishing the readers.
Maybe, me listing everything will clear up some confusion. Sorry, about that!

I appreciate you all soooo much! Thanks for helping me sort this out.
Tina

[my3sons]

My boys have both loved Beyond's science, and I think it's because they get to do an experiment every week. Plus, they get to do it themselves - a key way to go about it, IMO - rather than me doing the experiment and them watching (which is what I did with other science programs). Anyway, I think your ds will enjoy Beyond's science so much, and I'd hate for him to miss it anyway. I was just thinking, since you already own the Bigger manual, maybe you could take the lab sheet format from the Appendix in Bigger, and extend Beyond's experiments that way, by orally discussing it instead? That would both extend Beyond's science in an easy, consistent way, and also help train him for Bigger's science the next year to come - without requiring him to draw/write each time. I liked Beyond's science just as it was, but if you are hoping to extend it a bit without adding a lot extra fine motor skills, that would be an easy way to do it - anyway, just an idea to ponder or throw out if it doesn't appeal . Have fun with Beyond - it is such a wonderful way to learn!

In Christ,
Julie