5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy successor to the green book (BFSU #1)

c. · February 5, 2012

We're just a few lessons away from completing this 2nd level of Nebel's BFSU series of science books, and here are my thoughts:If you are new to BFSU, you may want to start with the green book, which is strongly prerequisite for the blue book. There are some pretty advanced concepts that aren't normally taught at such an early age in traditional curricula. (I'm thinking about kinetic and potential and other energies.)We've had a lot of fun with this book. Some of our highlights:*Directly observing Brownian motion by observing diluted whole milk under a microscope*Measuring displacement and understanding why and how objects sink and float*Constructing our own thermometer*Observing convection currents over a stove top, then applying those observations to Hadley cells in the atmosphere*Directly observing microorganisms' motility: flagellum in a Euglena, cilia in a paramecium, and amoeboid movement in an amoeba. It was awesome.*Learned how things fly, from helicopters to airplanes to birds*Spent a great deal of time studying center of gravity/center of weight. Who knew there were so many ways to demonstrate this concept?*Learned about ground water, run off, and related water cycle topics, I, as a mom, was only dimly aware ofWe are in the middle of simple machines and will study a bit of electricty before moving on to BFSU 3 (the purple book).I will say that compared with the green book, BFSU #2 doesn't correlate as well with it's bibliography. For example, in the botany section, we learn about meristem cells and how plants grow. You won't find any elementary curricula describing meristem cells. All the other kids are learning about xylem and phloem. Xylem and phloem. All the children's nonfiction botany books describe xylem and phloem, not meristem cells. Nebel believes it is more important to study how plants' cells grow and differentiate, particularly in contrast to animal organisms. I was only able to find correlated reading in an advanced botany textbook that was not cited in Nebel's text.Like BFSU #1, the blue book requires preparation, preparation, preparation. This is true of nearly any science curriculum, though. If you are homeschooling and teaching science at home, you need to be organized to be successful, and this is particularly true for Nebel.Unlike BFSU 1, you need to purchase a high quality compound microscope adn a triple beam balance. We also purchased a stereo microscope. The scopes are not cheap, but then, so is private school, and we use it so much outside of BFSU.BFSU does not include any worksheets, exams, or other school-y busy work. Students are expected to take their own notes in their science notebooks. I resisted this at first, but now I see the value of this. I now sit down with each student individually as they document what they understand and know, and it gives me a chance to assess their knowledge and make sure everything it set in their minds. I wish I had done this sooner, as this text does not provide any other sort of assessment. If you favor a curriculum that includes worksheets, fill in the blanks, quizzes, tests, and general busywork, this is not the curriculum for you.We have been more than pleased with the science education we are all receiving and look forward to BFSU #3. Thank you, Dr. Nebel!

5.0 out of 5 stars Requires very organized teacher, GREAT science

F. · January 5, 2022

The experiments are solid, I really love how it interweaves different scientific fields together, and it's helped me to organize a scientific notebook for my kids, rather than using the worksheets that come with other programs.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wordy

A.W. · October 24, 2025

Excellent text. Detailed, thorough, comprehensive. It's wordy, however, and you have to read the lesson several times to pull out important information, disregard repetitions, and reorganize thoughts/ideas for a logical presentation to the students.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful curriculum

S.:. · July 29, 2014

I LOVE Dr. Nebel's science books. I wanted to provide this review having read a negative review that was very well written and made me think twice before ordering. This book does require effort from the teacher. It is not exactly an open and go book. He leads you in a process where you provide or demonstrate a concept to your student and then through Socratic questioning lead your student to the key ideas of the lesson. That cannot be done with tons of worksheets and textbook materials. It requires observation, discussion, experimentation - and it is AWESOME. He walks you through how to create these aha moments for your child and then gives you suggestions on how to have your child demonstrate their learning. You do have to take the time to read the material and make your plans prior to performing the actual lessons. But I love these books and I especially love how the lessons very purposefully build upon each other. These books teach kids how to think like scientists not just how to memorize long lists of vocabulary words. FYI these books don't have pictures, just straight information on how to communicate complex ideas to your kids.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Science Curriculum

N.L.E.M. · February 2, 2012

I love this program. What I think is exceptional about Dr. Nebel's curriculum is that he teaches science in all four threads (Nature of Matter, Life Science, Physical Science and Earth Science) so that children will ultimately be prepared for rigorous study of high school level biology, physics and chemistry. Elementary science education in the US public schools is generally not systematic in its approach and does nothing to ensure that children are building an understanding of scientific concepts. We would never expect children to just jump into Algebra, Geometry and Calculus without preparing them with a systematic foundation in mathematics; however, most elementary science education is basically a hodge podge of fact memorization and "cool" experiments where the actual science behind the experiment is never fully explored, leaving children ill prepared for the demands of high school science. I have looked at (and purchased) a number of other programs (e.g. Noeo Science, Great Source Sciencesaurus) and this is not just the only program that really teaches science in this manner, it is also more engaging, more hands on, and the only curriculum which doesn't seem to be full of busy work. BFSU is not for everyone. It is not open and go, and if you have gaps in your own science background (as I do) some lessons may seem intimidating; but, if you are serious about your child's science education and you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars (as you would with a program such as the Supercharged Science online classes) this is a wonderful curriculum.

Comprehensive and easy to use

K. · October 15, 2019

I supplement my complete curriculum with this science curriculum. After looking at a ton this is by far my favorite. It is comprehensive and well written. You do have to put together the lessons based on the info provided including reading resources and assignments, but it is worth it. This is one of the only “hard” science courses I have found for advanced elementary science students. We used the previous book in series also.

professional

J. · March 13, 2024

Professional science books with reasonable priceDetailed instructionsCovered a lot of science areasMy kids like ithighly recommended

Great book (for homeschooling and not only)

A.O. · October 21, 2021

All the books in this series are a great way to teach your kids about science, in a thorough yet simple way.We love it!

An excellent text - highly recommend!

A.C. · September 13, 2020

This is a really good text, and I highly recommend it.