Cirriculum Share

Today I'm showing off a couple of cirriculums at a Materials Fair.  I thought I'd share them here as well:



Real Science-4-Kids
LOVE THIS SERIES for science!  I wish I'd tried it sooner.  I've seen Biology, Chemistry and Physics sets in this series. 
What I like
 -  If I wanted to I could just hand it to my older kids and say, "Here, do this."  But it is also simple and fun for younger kids.

 - It's comprehensive from start to finish  (list of materials, chapter on what it's all about, experiement, quetsion to answer, and a "Why you did this" section).  This is the worst part of science for me, explaining the why of the experiment.  So, I like that!

 - There's not grade level!!!  You just start at pre-level and go through the series. 

Downsides:  There really aren't any (from what I've tried thusfar).



Life of Fred
This is a fun math cirriculum that is more just one big, gigantic story problem.  Each book has a topic: Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Pre-Algebra w/ Biology and another with Economics, etc.  They also have a new elementary series that we are trying for the first time right now. 

Why I like this
 - It teaches HOW to think mathematically.  Rather than rote memorization the student needs to think about the process in which to do the problems. 

 - It is an entertaining series.  Great for sparking interest in math if you have a struggling student.

Downsides:
 - It is not all encompassing.  For instance, there isn't a lot of practice problems so I need to supplement with extra problems and worksheets. 

 - Sometimes there are problems where the author never explained the process.  This can get confusing and time consuming for Mom. 

My recommendation:  I'm going to try just reading the elementary series with my 5 year old this summer/fall, doing the problems along with him rather than having him do a math cirriculum.  I don't necessarily like having them do actual math textbooks at least until they can read on their own.  Once my kids hit 4th grade they can choose between Life of Fred and Saxon math. 

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