My Attempt at a Schedule (of sorts) for Science

Update 2014
This is a summary of how we did Apologia Science:

I started having a class with my oldest daughter and 2 cousins, and it grew to include friends and siblings.  We generally had classes once a week. 

For Apologia, I took 2 weeks to do a module/chapter, and reserved 1 day for test, 1 day for the study guide, 2 days for experiments (1 class each week), and divided the chapter into the remaining 6 days.  What days the experiments fall on depend on how the chapter is laid out. 

On harder chapters we sometimes took 3 weeks, and on chapters with math, we had 2 classes a week.  

Pretty much I was studying/planning as I went, so the moms and I worked out schedules when things like this came up.  

On super easy chapters, we just had 1 class.  I think there was just once or twice we did that in the 5 years that I had classes.  

I had started by having kids begin the chapter at home a few days before class day, because I did not want to do experiments on something they had not at least read about.  
That did not always work, so I changed it and things worked much better.  If you are doing a class w/ a group, then I would suggest having a class to do an overview of the chapter and some small/shorter experiment(s) before beginning the chapter.  I found that an overview really helped the kids see where we were headed.  Then if you are doing classes weekly, you might have one more class for additional experiments.  

Occasionally I would allow 3 weeks for a chapter if there was a lot more vocabulary than usual, material that I thought would be quite new to the students, or a lot of math.  I also made up extra math/formula problems for classwork and for practice.  I do not still have those, unfortunately.  

Sometimes I would have visuals or handouts for them to look at along with me, or to read aloud.  We discussed as we went...  The kids knew there would be a "quiz-game" at the end, and they could win chocolate, so they listened pretty well.  =) 

Near the end of class, I asked questions aloud and they all wrote the answers on small dry erase boards and showed me when they saw me looking their way.  I wouldn't tell who was right or wrong until all had answered, and they got one try.  We tried several different ways, including written quizzes on paper, but we all agreed that this was our favorite way.  I loved that *all the kids got to answer each question, and that we could discuss each answer as we went.  Often I would ask a question more than once especially if some missed it, or would just ask it in a different way.  
Each kid got a point for each correct answer. 
Chocolate was awarded at the end of the quiz -- 1, 2, or 3 pieces.  I tried to make sure each kid got something.  If one or two kids did not do well, I may give them 1 piece, and the others got 2, 3, or 4.  

Usually I had already gone over most questions during the 'teaching' time, questioning them as we went, re-questioning ones they missed, etc.  So they learned to pay attention and did pretty well when we got to the quiz-game.

The below was written in 2010. 

I have so thoroughly enjoyed doing science experiments these past 6 months!  If you've been on my blog even a few times, you will know science has become one of my loves. ♥  lol.
Rebekah did a block schedule with history and science last school year (2009-2010), and started science in late January.  However, after several weeks, I knew neither Rebekah nor I were going to be able to understand that science.

I do not remember where online that I found out about Apologia science, but when I read that it was written specifically for homeschoolers whose parents may not know much about science, I gave it a second look!
We started using Apologia science in March (2010), so we've had to speed it up a little, doing more per week than is intended.  We're still finishing up Physical Science.  We should be done in a couple of weeks!

Then we get to begin Biology!  =)  (Aug. 2010)

I have been asked a couple of times (yes, that means 2 whole times) how I schedule our science, when we do the experiments, etc.
They are intended to be done as your child comes to them. 
However, I have 2 other kids come to do experiments with Rebekah, and we do it once a week. 
We do experiments each Monday on the material they have already covered.  (This was later changed, as explained above.)

We started out doing the lab reports together for the first several weeks, which took longer, but I wanted to be sure they knew how to do them.  I do make them write it all down in a notebook, and not use a form.   Now they seldom look at the examples I gave them.  I also gave them a sample blank form to look at.
Then they were to finish them on their own at home.
They bring them back the next week and get points for completing them.
They win chocolate. 😊

We discuss each Monday what pages should be done which day of the week, and they write it down.
I do have a set # of pages for the week, but as homeschoolers, some days get filled up with outside appointments, etc. and may need to be scheduled a little differently for each family.

I reserve Mondays for class/experiments (although some experiments may be done at home), and schedule the chapter reading/questions to be done Tuesday - Friday the first week, and Tues-Wed the second week (as well as watching any videos I've posted).  The Study Guide will be on Thursday of the second week of that Module, and the Test on Friday.  The parents are responsible for checking and grading these, except in cases where the parent is not sure of the material, and not able to judge whether an answer is acceptable.  

On Monday, we've been quizzing out loud, having a "Quiz Game" where they can win points.  This has motivated them a lot!  =)
And ended up being more discussion than I planned.
Which is good.  They're learning.

Probably only a handful of people in the world would be interested in this post, but I wrote it anyway. 🙂