jillian Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 So those of you who use god's design for science tell me all about what you like/dislike about it. I am floundering back and forth between following the publishers for apologia and God's Design. I like the idea of both being creation oriented but I think God's Design would follow the flow of TWTM much better than Apologia but I dunno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selh09 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 jillian....I'm wondering the same exact thing and I'm also going back and forth between the 2. Although I can't offer any advice, I am glad you posted this question! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4boys Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Well, I will start but although I have read much of the GD books and own them, we aren't actually starting them until after Christmas sometime. So hopefully some ladies with more experience will also chime in. I, too, was trying to decide between Apologia and GD. I decided to go with GD because I love Answers in Genesis and because the GD books cover more subjects than the Apologia books. I didn't think I would want to spend an entire year on one thing and with GD, there is a bit more variety. I can tell you that the GD lessons are short and almost every one has an activity of some kind (some of them look really neat and some are just a crossword puzzle) and I'm also excited about doing the unit projects too. The new series is in full colour and I really like the Special Feature pages, which take a break from the lesson to introduce the kids to some famous scientist or some active volcano, etc. I also like that I can have all my kids doing the same science and it is written from a Biblical perspective. Plus, it follows the WTM science cycle, and I can use the books over again with all my kids, even up to Gr. 8. My 7yo has been getting me to read the lessons to him for fun and he is really excited about starting. I hated science in school and I am really glad to have found something that has me excited about it for once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Well, I will start but although I have read much of the GD books and own them, we aren't actually starting them until after Christmas sometime. So hopefully some ladies with more experience will also chime in. I, too, was trying to decide between Apologia and GD. I decided to go with GD because I love Answers in Genesis and because the GD books cover more subjects than the Apologia books. I didn't think I would want to spend an entire year on one thing and with GD, there is a bit more variety. I can tell you that the GD lessons are short and almost every one has an activity of some kind (some of them look really neat and some are just a crossword puzzle) and I'm also excited about doing the unit projects too. The new series is in full colour and I really like the Special Feature pages, which take a break from the lesson to introduce the kids to some famous scientist or some active volcano, etc. I also like that I can have all my kids doing the same science and it is written from a Biblical perspective. Plus, it follows the WTM science cycle, and I can use the books over again with all my kids, even up to Gr. 8. My 7yo has been getting me to read the lessons to him for fun and he is really excited about starting. I hated science in school and I am really glad to have found something that has me excited about it for once! That's why I am leaning towards GD. If anything I might wait and see if dd develops a passion on an animal or something and use apologia to get more in depth or to supplement summers or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 So those of you who use god's design for science tell me all about what you like/dislike about it. I am floundering back and forth between following the publishers for apologia and God's Design. I like the idea of both being creation oriented but I think God's Design would follow the flow of TWTM much better than Apologia but I dunno Jill, I think either choice will be fine. Both use a lot of proper terminology, so be prepared to repeat definitions a lot. They are always included when the term is introduced, but not always repeated later, I just go ahead and repeat it each time. Some things will go over their heads in either series, and you have to be OK with that. They will get it next time. If you have a hands on learner than GD has more activities. Not all are experiments, but it still has more to do. If your child likes reading Apologia has more reading. I personally use the Apologia books in the younger years, but that is because my kids want to study animals or plants. In 4th grade I start the Earth Science GD books and have them begin answering the questions orally and cover vocab. In 5th I have them start reading on their own and still answer the questions orally as well as cover vocab. In 6th I have them write out their answers, write out their own vocab cards and start taking tests to prepare them for Apologia General in 7th. Have you asked what your kids are interested in? I couldn't believe I had kids who could care less about space, astronauts and such. I thought all kids love that sort of thing. :001_huh: Heather p.s. My kids are so bad about not wanting to cover other topics that we have done Apologia Botany, Winter Promise Animals and Their Worlds, Apologia Zoo 1, 2 and 3, and are now doing GD Plants. After doing GD Animals we will probably go back to Apologia Botany because I am out of material. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 well dd is a bit young but she LOVES animals but also loves stuff with space and stars--but that may change as she gets a bit older Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 We have used God's Design for the past two years (the three "life" and two of the "earth" books) and plan to keep on going. I first looked into this program because I liked how its four different series corresponded to the WTM sequence (life sciences, earth sciences, chemistry, physics) and because I wanted a science spine that would have a biblical base. We love the series. It covers a broad range of info, but does it in short, easy to manage lessons. It is easy to supplement with other books (we do a lot of Magic School Bus books, Eyewitness books, and Usborne science books, J. Van Cleave books), or you could do just the text if you wanted to keep it short and sweet. We also keep a science notebook a la WTM to help cement and review things. I love the fact that the lessons are broken into segments for lower and upper elementary; this has been a huge help to me as a teacher, I'm no longer reading through a lesson hoping to find the bits I think they might understand. This different layers of info will be helpful later on as well; I plan on going through the books twice, and folding in more WTM logic stage sugesstions as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Ooo! I like this thread! I can't get into Apologia for some reason...DH and I are both biologists, go figure. I prefer the easier-to-open-and-go GD series.... In fact, I need to start using it again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheriGene Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I have to admit I have an undergraduate degree in Biology and a master's in Physical Thereapy so I might have a little bit different perspective. I get so excited when we do science. I looked at the Apologia elementary books and decided on GD also because it covered more areas of science. I also love AiG, so it was a no brainer. However, I like Apologia for the 7th grade and up texts and plan to use them. So far I have been through the three books in the Life series and just finished the Universe book. I am looking forward to doing Our Planet Earth. Each book has been very thorough. I don't always require my dd to know all the terms and take all the quizzes in the format given. In 1-3 grade, I have just let her enjoy it and get familiar with science. It could turn into drudgery and I have to remember that she is not a graduate student! We'll hit most topics again 7th grade and up and then it will be time for details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillian Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 I have to admit I have an undergraduate degree in Biology and a master's in Physical Thereapy so I might have a little bit different perspective. I get so excited when we do science. I looked at the Apologia elementary books and decided on GD also because it covered more areas of science. I also love AiG, so it was a no brainer. However, I like Apologia for the 7th grade and up texts and plan to use them. So far I have been through the three books in the Life series and just finished the Universe book. I am looking forward to doing Our Planet Earth. Each book has been very thorough. I don't always require my dd to know all the terms and take all the quizzes in the format given. In 1-3 grade, I have just let her enjoy it and get familiar with science. It could turn into drudgery and I have to remember that she is not a graduate student! We'll hit most topics again 7th grade and up and then it will be time for details. I am a 'freak' and planned out my ideal curriculum and texts through high school and am thinking of doing God's Design simplified in content (a bit, cutting back on the breadth of content, etc) for grades 1-4 and then re using them for grades 5-8 and using Apologia for high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I actually use both science programs simultaneously. I've used all four years of GD and we are recycling through the biology stuff this year. I've added in Apologia's land animals and botany this year as well. Next year will be Earth Science again, so I am planning on GD for half the year and Apologia Astronomy for half. My eldest will be in Apologia General next year. She is doing an outsourced Bob Jones Science 6 this year with a local co-op in prep for that. I plan on using Apologia for most of our high school courses unless something even better comes along by then. I have an undergrad degree in pathobiology and a veterinary degree (so I have lots of science but I don't like teaching it;)) and I think my dc will learn a lot more than I ever did through high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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