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SeaStar
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 6:39am | IP Logged
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I read about this new science program in Cathy Duffy's reviews.
The Sassafrss Science Adventure
is for the elementary grades. It apparently a CM approach using a living book for the text and supplementing with other living books.
You can buy a package deal at Amazon with the book, the teacher's guide (which has the experiments) and the student notebook/journal for under $50.
The book features a set of 12 yo twins and their crazy Uncle Cecil. They use a magic zip line to careen around the world studying animals.
I could only see the sample pages on Amazon, but I feel like my kids would really like this. They would be hooked right away with the zip line.
We tried Apologia Zoology, and that was a flop here because it was fairly boring for them. They are spoiled by living books. The writing in this book seems a little glitzy, but I can probably get past that if they like the story and learn from it. It looks to have a bit of the zany Magic School Bus feel to it, which is very popular here.
Since I've given up on any type of text book science, I am looking at this as just a fun read loud or possibly for dd for next year.
There is an anatomy book due out this spring as the next in the series.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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jawgee
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 6:49am | IP Logged
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Ooooh, that sounds fun! Possibly something for us to do during the summer. We're in the middle of Noeo Bio II here. So far we like it.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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3ringcircus
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 9:07am | IP Logged
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I'm interested, too, although at this point I need a non-biology course for next year. We are doing Noeo Bio I, and I don't like that it's a couple of pages here, a couple of pages there, and it skips around the assigned books. If he doesn't have a natural affinity for the subject, it's difficult to keep his attention.
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Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
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Aagot
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Christine,
For non biology, have you looked at This Real Science 4 kids is rock solid and interesting science. I like NOEO and don't mind the skipping around so much but I see the problem. Some people complain that each book is short but we added in living books and found it a non stressful match for 1-3 gr.
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 3:12pm | IP Logged
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This looks great! I think my youngest would love to read it on his own.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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jawgee
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| Posted: Jan 22 2013 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
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I ordered the sample of the book on my Kindle and started reading it. SO fun! My boys would love this. I think I'm going to incorporate it over the summer and spend lots of time on rabbit trails!
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: March 19 2013 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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Anyone currently using it? I think dd9 would love this next year. We have been expanding on everything with living books in science. She has read several books on each topic. I think it's a very cool way to learn.
I am waiting a little bit before ordering, since I have to order through Amazon.com as the shipping to Canada on the sassafras site is killer.
Now, I am debating, if I get the ebook, dd9 could read it on her iPad. I could use the ebooks for the other 2 books, and save a ton, but add the cost of printing.
Anyone else use ebooks?
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: March 19 2013 at 11:33am | IP Logged
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Thank you for bumping this. I remember thinking it looked really fun for next year, but it had slipped off of my radar, and I'm doing some planning, so it is ideal!
I'm glad you mentioned the e-books because the e-book combo on the site makes a lot of sense for using it with multiple children!
I do use e-books/kindle, but mostly when it constitutes a significant savings as is the case with public domain and out of print books. I'd probably pay the extra $5 for a hard copy, but I'm not adding in the cost of international shipping, so I don't know how much more that adds to your cost.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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mommy4ever
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| Posted: March 19 2013 at 1:17pm | IP Logged
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If I order the hard copy book, I'm paying $25 for it. The e-book is $10.
The 3 as digital copy would be $31, hard copies $65.
That is pretty significant. She is the youngest of my homeschoolers, so no one to pass this on to.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: March 19 2013 at 1:48pm | IP Logged
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If I ordered, I would probably get the digital supplementary material but a hard copy of the book, so that would be $22 plus $15 for the hard copy of the book, $37.
I suppose that would be $47 for you, with shipping costs from Amazon. Better than $65, but still a good bit more than $31.
You might recoup some of that if you sold the book used after you finished. Another Canadian might be grateful 
But, like I said, I do have my son read some of his assignments digitally, and it works fine. And given the fact that this isn't likely to become a classic read over and over or anything and will only be used by one student, it would probably be a good choice for you 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 30 2013 at 3:00pm | IP Logged
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FYI--The newest adventure, Anatomy, is available! And Botany will be the title available next year
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: April 30 2013 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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Be sure you are signed up for their email as they said they would be sending out a email with a discount code for the new book.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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SeaStar
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| Posted: April 30 2013 at 5:51pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for this heads-up!
I am still considering this for next year... hoping it would be more interesting for my dc than Apologia was.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 30 2013 at 7:03pm | IP Logged
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I think I'm going to do it this fall but take the whole year instead of trying to squeeze two in. My 4th grader will have his own science anyway, and I'd be doing it mostly to have something regular to do with the 2nd grader and 5 year old (can't believe he'll be turning 5!).
It sounds so creative the way they made the story work with Anatomy, and my 4th grader will be studying anatomy the second term next year, so, if we coast through the Zoology course, maybe we'll pick up Anatomy mid year.
Thanks, Cassie  I signed up for the e-mail, but I'm not sure I have the extra funds this month to buy a book I may or may not use 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 3:28pm | IP Logged
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I just received my book, teacher's manual and log book.
I really wanted to get a look at this program, so I bit the bullet and ordered these three, figuring I could pay a small amount in return shipping if I thought they wouldn't work for us.
Wow- I am really excited about this program.
The book is very "living"- definitely told as a story (vs. Apologia, which is very conversational but still very much a textbook). The book is also much longer than I thought- it is a fairly hefty paperback and takes you all over the world.
The teacher's manual is all you could want. There are lesson plans for doing science 2 or 5 days a week. There is an experiment for each chapter (which all look fairly easy to do, so none of the angst when an experiment is a big flop) and these use household items mainly, though you do have to order an owl pellet for dissection.
There are also a couple of projects to do each week that look fun- and again, fairly stress free.
There are lists and lists of living books to go with each chapter
Each chapter also has a sentence or two for copy work and dictation.
These could easily be used for memory work each week as well.
The student log book is all black and white line drawings with pages to fill in with drawings, copy work, maps and information. What I really like here is that it is pretty streamlined- the student is recording information.
There are no crossword puzzles or fill in the blank or word searches, which were not a good fit for my son in the Apologia notebook. No little books to cut and paste- he will be so happy.
There is a lot of writing required for the notebook- so I think that for a younger student a lot of that might have to be done as oral narration. However, with the 5 day a week plan, the daily writing/recording is broken down into small segments that should be fairly easy.
I like that there is also independent reading assigned- or the suggested living books could also be used for narration.
I'm excited to try this here- I don't think it will be too hard for grade 3 or too easy for grade 5, which is what I will have next year. If it works well, we will go on to the anatomy series next.
ETA: This would be a fantastic science program to go along with CHC's Tour the Continents for grade 2 (though again- a 2nd grader might do more oral than written work). We used Behold and See 2 this year here for dd in grade 2, and she did not like it as well as B&S 1.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the review, Melinda! I'm so glad it looks good to you in person, too, especially since it is so new and there isn't a lot out there by way of reviews. I, too, am excited that it will count as a "geography" on top of the science--which also seems to be the case with the anatomy book as well. I keep coming back to it, and I'm rarely lured by "programs," so I think we'll be plugging on alongside you
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 9:20pm | IP Logged
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It looks like an interesting program, but I have concerns I feel I need to share.
I was reading through the short sample of the text, and found a significant error in the science.
“We are going to learn about the 5 kingdoms of living things; that is: bacteria, single-cell organisms, fungi, plants, and animals."
2 problems with this.
First, bacteria are single celled organisms. How will they be differentiated from his kingdom called "single cell organisms"?
Second, the kingdom which he calls "single cell organisms" (protista, I assume), does contain many single celled organisms, but also many colonial and multicellular organisms (kelp, anyone?) So the title/descriptor of "single cell organisms" doesn't hold up. Why not just call it protists?
Now, this is just from the small sample of the introductory chapter, so I cannot judge whether this error is corrected later, or if it is merely the tip of an iceburg of inaccurate science. But since this was the only tidbit of science offered, it is all I have to go by, and it was wrong. Naturally I worry about the accuracy of the rest of the material.
One way to discern if the science overall will be reliable is to look at the publishing company and the authors/editors of the texts and review their qualifications.
Unfortunately I have not been able to figure out who is behind the company Elemental Science to figure out who wrote the books (if they are qualified to do so) or if the books have been vetted, etc. I keep getting an error message when I click on the "About Us" tab. Sends up red flags to me.
Maybe someone else can find this information? Melinda, perhaps you have some more info you can share?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 9:24pm | IP Logged
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From the Amazon author pages, FYI:
Johnny Congo, the oldest of 6 children, was born in 1977 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a carpenter and his wife. He graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2000 with a degree in Recreation (yes, that is a real degree). Johnny loves working with the poor, needy, and at risk. He worked at John 3:16 Mission in Tulsa from 2002-2006 as the Children's Director. He now lives in Asia with his amazing wife and two rascally boys where they spend much of their time in rural villages. Congo has been writing stories since childhood. He believes that the language of story speaks clearest to the human soul. His first published work is: "The Sassafras Science Adventures" which he co-authored with Paige Hudson. His writing plans for the future mainly include children's and youth fiction.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 10:01pm | IP Logged
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Was able to read a bit further into the text with the Amazon "Look Inside" feature and just skimming through found an error in the first actual chapter (about Africa).
Author claims cheetahs prefer zebra and wildebeest as prey, just like lions.
Umm. No. Cheetahs are small and prefer smaller prey such as antelope, gazelle, rabbits, etc. They will take a *juvenile* wildebeest on occasion.
(I checked several reliable sources to verify my info. Not a single one listed zebra as cheetah prey.)
Sorry to have to give this promising product a bad review, but I wouldn't feel confident in this text after finding errors this quickly. I'd feel like I had to fact-check everything in it, and then what is the point?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: May 03 2013 at 10:33pm | IP Logged
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Here is a link to the website with the bio and I copied it below.
Here is the bio for the author : Paige Hudson, the author, is a homeschooling mom who first discovered her love of science during a high school chemistry course. Her budding interest led to her majoring in Biochemistry at Virginia Tech, where she received her Bachelor's in Science. As she began her homeschooling years, she felt there was a void in homeschooling curriculum for science, which led her to write homeschool science curriculum for Elemental Science. Her passion is to see all students enjoy and excel in their pursuit of science education, which is why she co-authored "Success in Science". Paige hopes that Elemental Science's classical science curriculum will be a welcome addition to your homeschooling adventure!
Brad Hudson, the director, holds a Masters in Biology and has worked as a research scientist in the field of ecology. He is responsible for verifying the scientific content of our materials. He is responsible for verifying the scientific content of our materials. He also oversees web design, ordering process and the day to day operations of Elemental Science Inc.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: The Sassafrass Science Adventure
