Physical Science

I have finally made some headway with the physical science for next year. It took me awhile to really get into it because first of all, it's not my favorite of sciences, and second, the lab stuff was just too overwhelming. But I need to order the lab stuff, so I had to jump in.

The thing about the labs for this course is that they all use wildly different components--6 V batteries, density cylinders, hooked weights and a demonstration balance, various metal electrodes, alligator clips, and wires, mini light bulbs and bases, magnets, optic bench, spectroscope, various different chemicals with all the glassware associated, as well as burners . . . and that's just some of the things! When I printed off the order form for BJU physical science from hometrainingtools, it was 7 pages long and cost over $200! That's for one person! The course is an introduction to physics and chemistry, so it hits a ton of different topics. Obviously some trimming had to be done.

I was able to find a used lab demonstration DVD online from BJU, so I have been watching the labs. Wow . . . it is really not too fun to just watch a bunch of labs being done, LOL. I would not want to do all my high school science that way, for sure! But it was very helpful for me in seeing what labs were extra, what things I could substitute, and most importantly, which labs could be done in one big group with only one apparatus, and which ones would be most beneficial for us to do in smaller groups. We'll have a total of 7 students next year, although Eric will be roughing it in Hawaii and will have to watch us. So that leaves 6 students, and I think we'll break them up into 2 groups of 3 for a lot of labs. That will give more hands-on experience, especially for the ones who might be more timid and not naturally just leap in to participate. But that does mean I have to buy enough stuff for 2 groups for those labs. I'm not sure how chemistry (in 2 years) is going to work out! I can see that getting really expensive! Although . . . not as expensive as a class at the community college. And I do want the kids to have good hands-on lab experience in high school, like I did--even if they don't have a super-experienced teacher like Mr. Minor to teach them!