After announcing what I thought was a firm decision on the science (see below), I now have to update this thread to let you know we are once again looking in quite a different direction in the science area for the upcoming guide RTR. As I was mapping out the science for the upcoming year, there continued to be a nagging doubt that this was not the route the Lord desired for us to go for the new guide RTR. While the texts of God's Design are beautiful and are very God-honoring, for our situation they are not nearly as narrative as we desired for a CM-style education in the sciences.
I knew this from the beginning but had suppressed this feeling with the more powerful coverage mentality. So, rather than looking innovatively for narrative texts that lead to deeper understanding, I instead focused on looking for solid coverage. As I was awake late at night pondering, I was once again reminded that at HOD we're not looking for an education that is an inch deep and a mile wide but are instead looking for a deep, meaningful experience that leads kiddos to be inspired to search further on their own topics of interest. This led me to see that a change was in order in the science text selection.
My beloved sister and I are currently pouring over some very good options that fit better with the HOD philosophy. We'll hopefully be sharing our new thoughts for science around Thanksgiving time.
As we work toward making this important decision, we ask that you will remember us in prayer. Below, you can see my original post: 
Just in case you missed it on the end of another thread, here is a firm update on the science for RTR:
We are firmly planning on using God's Design for Heaven and Earth 3 book series for RTR: Our Planet Earth, Our Weather and Water, and Our Universe. These have been newly re-released in full color (and are beautiful) and have additions for a challenge section (to take it further in each lesson for up through 8th grade), along with a Teacher Supplement (with complete answers and a printable CD for all needed pages). We really like the looks of these for our earth science focus in RTR. Science would be done this way 3 times a week, with a fourth day each week being devoted to a chapter (and written narration) from a biography about an earth scientist to give it a more living feel.
We are currently planning two options for the biography part. One option will use Exploring Planet Earth by John Hudson Tiner, Along Came Galileo, and a biography of Isaac Newton written by John Hudson Tiner. The other option will include Champions of Science by Tiner, Champions of Mathematics by Tiner, Along Came Galileo, and a biography of Isaac Newton. The reason for having two options is that some parents will already have used Exploring Planet Earth in our extension pack in Bigger Hearts, so those parents could select the other option.
We are very excited about this plan and its earth science focus! Here's a link to the science books that I mentioned above. This way you can have a look inside:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicS ... 7,191.aspx
The other two books we would use are linked below as well:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicS ... 8,191.aspx
http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicS ... 9,191.aspx
We will be omitting the Beginner Section of each lesson and using the upper level material that comes after the Beginner Section. These include the upper level text, the blue boxes (with activities), the burgandy boxes (with questions to answer), and the green boxes (which are the challenge sections for older students in grades 6-8). We will also require some vocabulary words to be done weekly (from the lesson, using the glossary in the back of the science book). Happy perusing!
Now for those of you who desire a different science path, rest assured that the beauty of HOD is that you can easily choose a different science path if desired. However, for those of you who love it all planned out for you, we pray you'll love the variety of science materials you get to use from year to year through HOD.
Blessings,
Carrie
So, I'm bumping it back up!
