Guest Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Which science do you prefer for 8th to 12th grade, Apologia or BJU with the online option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 BJU will be more rigorous unless you do the advanced books of Apologia which would mean starting them earlier than 8th grade. For me, the decision is based on what my child wants to do. For my non-science major, I've used Apologia. She made a 35 on the science section of the ACT, so it didn't "hurt" her. For my ds, who is probably going into a medical field, I plan to use BJU online. It will teach more than I ever could, and I think it will prepare him better for taking tests over larger amounts of material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I have two science/math kids. We have do BJU. I highly recommend it. We've done grades 6,7 and are on 8. Friends who have used both say it's much more thorough than Apologia. We tried something different (easier) this year and my kids asked to ditch it and go back to BJU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 :lurk5: Listening in... If you just bought the textbook, how do you do experiments with BJU? I heard they were more for a classroom set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 :lurk5: Listening in... If you just bought the textbook, how do you do experiments with BJU? I heard they were more for a classroom set-up. I haven't used high school level BJU yet, but you can purchase kits here that might help. They are very pricey, though. Logos Science kits have coordination with Apologia, BJU, or A Beka and some are a little less. I hope to find other students taking the same course or something similar and possibly do a co-op lab class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 :lurk5: Listening in... If you just bought the textbook, how do you do experiments with BJU? I heard they were more for a classroom set-up. You wouldn't buy just the textbook. BJU courses are complete only when used WITH the tm and ancillary materials. There are lab manuals and a tm for the lab manual. And yes, it will cost you $$$ to stock up everything. Once you're stocked up, the labs are quite good. Some people will use the BJU videos then send their dc to co-op or Landry for the labs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 For the op, if this is for your oldest with ASD, if I could humbly suggest, you might consider broadening your list of options. If she *likes* textbooks and does well with them, you're fine, proceed as planned. If she's NOT good with textbooks and the only reason you're thinking that way is because you're concerned about high school, you would have more options. I used the chapter topics from Miller/Levine (macaw) to create a non-traditional biology for my dd for this year. Last year she did the Georgia PBS online (free!) chemistry. They also have a physics. They're quite well done, very typical content. We've been throwing the Bio 101, Chem 101, etc. videos into our mix, But for some kids they're a really good starting point to create a year of structure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thank you everyone. I am asking for my 13 year ds(not our dd with ASD). He did apologia General Science last year and loved it. We started the year with Heart of Dakota's MtMM science, but he hates it. He doesn't feel like he is learning enough with it. He went to a space cosmosphere for a field trip last year and fell in love with space and the universe so I thought he might enjoy BJU's Earth and Space course. I also liked the idea of him having the teacher to connect the dots and make sure he is really learning the material. He didn't enjoy doing all the experiments in Apologia so watching the labs online would be sufficient for us. But, I hate to spend $350 on something he might hate. He is a science lover though so I doubt he would hate it. I wish it was Dec. for their $99 sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 The BJU earth science is great so far. We were 4 chapters in and I'm super impressed. We use the DVDs - and it's super amplifying and well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Are the dvds this year of the new edition or old edition? The earth/space just got updated and totally rewritten. You might check that as it might help you decide. (or make you more confused, lol) If, for instance, it's new edition dvds, the books will likely not be available used either, meaning it's no savings to wait for the $99 sale as you still have to buy the books. If the dvds are still old edition text, then the text might be available on the cheap. Or if you really like the new edition, then you'll lean way even if the videos aren't ready yet. But yes, your idea sounds great! I never could convince my dd to do the earth/space science, sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 We used BJU for 5th-7th grade (I taught). Ds used Apologia Chemistry, but I also own the BJU Chemistry books. There is no comparison in depth of study. BJU is far more rigorous and is a far more in depth study of whatever topic. If your child is interested and capable, BJU is the far superior program. That said, the best science is always the one that gets done and if BJU is too much, Apologia is a tremendous scale back. It is easier to read, easier to implement, less time consuming, less expensive... you get the idea. BJU is also far more in your face YE. Apologia is YE creationist, but there is less focus on religion in the books than there is in BJU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Are the dvds this year of the new edition or old edition? The earth/space just got updated and totally rewritten. You might check that as it might help you decide. (or make you more confused, lol) If, for instance, it's new edition dvds, the books will likely not be available used either, meaning it's no savings to wait for the $99 sale as you still have to buy the books. If the dvds are still old edition text, then the text might be available on the cheap. Or if you really like the new edition, then you'll lean way even if the videos aren't ready yet. But yes, your idea sounds great! I never could convince my dd to do the earth/space science, sigh... The online still uses the old book. I compared both and I love the new Earth Science text, but I have always heard BJU science is hard to teach on your own. If anyone has any advice or tips on teaching this course on our own I would love to hear. I wish they had a lab dvd for the new book, and we would definitely go that route. I like having the option to watch the labs, and then just picking and choosing the ones we want to perform at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 The online still uses the old book. I compared both and I love the new Earth Science text, but I have always heard BJU science is hard to teach on your own. If anyone has any advice or tips on teaching this course on our own I would love to hear. I wish they had a lab dvd for the new book, and we would definitely go that route. I like having the option to watch the labs, and then just picking and choosing the ones we want to perform at home. I didn't do Earth Science, but I taught up through Life Science without DVDs. Really, the TM is less friendly in 7th grade and up for a homeschool parent, but all the info you need is still there. There are demonstrations and further explanations. The schedule isn't all laid out like the younger years, it is given each unit and I think it must add up to about 200 days if you follow it. Ok, maybe not, but we did have to condense it some to make it fit in our school year. If you enjoy digging into science with your ds, there is no reason you have to stop. On the other hand, there is more cost involved in doing it on your own that kind of balances some of that initial DVD outlay. Those demonstrations aren't free. BJU isn't good about using "around the house" kind of materials. My HST order each year was always very high, but that would have been true even with DVDs because we still would have done labs. Another option to consider for high school is using BJU with DIVE. DIVE is much less time intensive and less expensive than BJU but gives the extra teaching component and does all the scheduling. The Physical Science (ICP), Biology, and Chemistry are all aligned to BJU although he gives reading guides to go with various other texts as well. They have an 8th grade Earth Science, but it doesn't align to BJU and it was developed after my kids were older than that, so I've never seen it. We have used ICP and Biology and dd will use Chemistry in the spring. Ds tried ICP, hated it and abandon it after a few months. Dr. Shoreman isn't for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 To do the BJU on your own, you're pretty much assuming you have a textbook happy child who will sit down, read a text, and do the work. If you want it to come to life, with lectures, fun stuff, etc. ,give up and get the dvds or use DIVE or a co-op class or something. Look at the online samples of the tm and look at who is successfully using it and how they did it. I used the physical science with my dd, yes, but I tossed the book and did ONLY the labs and threw in videos I found online. We tried the life science doing the text together and the dvd of the labs. That didn't work out well for *us* but my dc is not your dc. The people on the boards who seem to do well with BJU without the dvds have very textbooky kids who will just pick one up and use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I've used both with my older guys. They did Apologie for Gen. Science to Biology. Yes, they learned, but it was dry. We switched to BJU Chem for 11th grade. I far prefer the online courses. With a used text and the December sale, it was quite reasonable. I bought a bunch of science supplies, but I'll admit they didn't get used much. Ds16 tended to watch the demonstrations rather than doing most labs. I'm anticipating ds 11 getting far more use out of them. By high school, I wouldn't expect kids to be doing all kitchen experiments. I taught BJU 5 and 6. For grade 7 and up, we'll use the online option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thanks to the posters who answered my question. When I looked at BJU at the homeschool store, it was just the textbook. I didn't realize there was a TM and an online course you could use for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Just to be different, I don't have textbookish kids at all. I have a science degree and love to teach science. We read the book together, but then I teach/discuss to fill in. We do nearly all the labs and many of the demonstrations too. BJU doesn't have to be just read the textbook. The TMs give tons more than that if you use them and spend the time to prepare. Since science is my thing, I had no trouble doing that and enjoyed it. I know not everyone can or wants to, but it really bothers me when I see BJU described as dry and textbook only. They really offer a very complete hands on program. It is up to the teacher to take advantage of the resources offered in the TM though. The TMs are more homeschool mom friendly in the lower grades and switch to a school feel at 7th grade that makes things more challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I've used both with my older guys. They did Apologie for Gen. Science to Biology. Yes, they learned, but it was dry. We switched to BJU Chem for 11th grade. I far prefer the online courses. With a used text and the December sale, it was quite reasonable. I bought a bunch of science supplies, but I'll admit they didn't get used much. Ds16 tended to watch the demonstrations rather than doing most labs. I'm anticipating ds 11 getting far more use out of them. By high school, I wouldn't expect kids to be doing all kitchen experiments. I taught BJU 5 and 6. For grade 7 and up, we'll use the online option. How much time commitment is it when you do BJU online? What do you need to buy? Ds11 is doing Apologia General Science now. He reads and does the notebook and the quizzes and tests by himself. But I don't know how much he retains. It is getting done and he never complains. I wonder if I should just let him use Apologia or switch to BJU online. I do want him to be challenged and have a good science foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 We are using Apologua Academy for 8th grade physical science and we hate it. The teacher drones on and on like a lecture basically repeating the book. She gives the kids a college level syllabus and no reminders or discussions about how to do the projects. Like a college prof sue repeats over and over, "just look in the syllabus." Kids are failing the lab reports because she required a 3-4 page formal lab report like college level although she gave no sample lab report. I know another mom enrolled and she is having the same issues. We paid 550.00 hoping for a little inspiration and regular testing accountability. Instead, in reality we paid 550.09 for a boring teacher to lord it over a bunch of 8th graders with absolutely no inspiration. She also sometimes says ridiculous things that make no sense. Such as "did anyone ever tell you not to take a shower in a lightening storm?" ?? Honestly we are very very unhappy with apologia academy! And we have used very rigorous distance learning options before so it's not that my son us lazy or unused to outside accountability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 We LOVE the textbook though, just to clarify. You could look into the Potters School for other live online course options if you really love the look and feel of the Apologia text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 We are using Apologua Academy for 8th grade physical science and we hate it. The teacher drones on and on like a lecture basically repeating the book. She gives the kids a college level syllabus and no reminders or discussions about how to do the projects. Like a college prof sue repeats over and over, "just look in the syllabus." Kids are failing the lab reports because she required a 3-4 page formal lab report like college level although she gave no sample lab report. I know another mom enrolled and she is having the same issues. We paid 550.00 hoping for a little inspiration and regular testing accountability. Instead, in reality we paid 550.09 for a boring teacher to lord it over a bunch of 8th graders with absolutely no inspiration. She also sometimes says ridiculous things that make no sense. Such as "did anyone ever tell you not to take a shower in a lightening storm?" ?? Honestly we are very very unhappy with apologia academy! And we have used very rigorous distance learning options before so it's not that my son us lazy or unused to outside accountability. Thank you for sharing this. I was on the Apologia Academy's site yesterday, and saw that I could download recorded modules for $15 each. That option is ruled out now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 You are welcome. We are very disappointed, and since it's already almost November, we will have to stick out the year and make the best of it as a learning opportunity for how to salvage a grade, respect someone who is difficult to respect, and rise to expectations even when they are unreasonable. Meanwhile, someone today said they took some Landry Academy online classes and really liked them- even loved them. I guess they are doing things quite differently over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 How much time commitment is it when you do BJU online? What do you need to buy? Ds11 is doing Apologia General Science now. He reads and does the notebook and the quizzes and tests by himself. But I don't know how much he retains. It is getting done and he never complains. I wonder if I should just let him use Apologia or switch to BJU online. I do want him to be challenged and have a good science foundation. The videos are about 1/2 hour long. Quizzes and tests are mostly online although you need to input in class quizzes. In chemistry, I had to mark an essay portion of each test and to mark some lab work. The answer keys/rubrics were very easy to follow. The teachers do a very good job of review in class. Whether or not the class takes more than 1/2 to 3/4 or an hour per day depends on your student. I'm anticipating science taking longer for ds10 since he takes a long time to learn vocabulary. If the December special is the same this year, it costs $99 plus the text in the higher grades. Because these don't generally use the newest text, they can be found used cheaply. Lab equipment/dissection materials will be extra, but you'll need them regardless of which program you use. That said I keep trying to order a used grade 8 text. Twice I've received volume B without A. I will soon have 1 volume A and three Bs. Wouldn't be so bad except I have exchange and and extra pickup fee that's non refundable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks, Punks in Ontario. So you do not need to teach anything yourself, right? Dc does the reading, watches the videos, does the experiments, and writes reports and takes quizzes/tests online. Am I right? $99 is really a great deal compared to $500 to join a real class. I am really tempted. My son is turning 12 in a few days. He is doing Apologia General Science, which does not take much time at all. However, I do not know if he learns well with it. The positive thing about it is it gets done and he never complains about doing it. So, ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Another question: is the video viewing once a week or every day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The video-viewing is daily. We have used online BJU science for several years now and my 14 ds really loves it. However, my 12 dd prefers Apologia Science on her own... My ds is a strong audio learner, so I am thankful to have this option for him. Blessings, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The video-viewing is daily. We have used online BJU science for several years now and my 14 ds really loves it. However, my 12 dd prefers Apologia Science on her own... My ds is a strong audio learner, so I am thankful to have this option for him. Blessings, Brenda Is there sample video somewhere for ds to see if he like it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 You are welcome. We are very disappointed, and since it's already almost November, we will have to stick out the year and make the best of it as a learning opportunity for how to salvage a grade, respect someone who is difficult to respect, and rise to expectations even when they are unreasonable. Meanwhile, someone today said they took some Landry Academy online classes and really liked them- even loved them. I guess they are doing things quite differently over there. Edit to add: I was wrong! Landry doesn't use Apologia. So sorry for that. I was just going to suggest Landry Academy, if you wanted to go with the Apologia text. We are extremely happy with the one Landry class my son is taking this year, and we have "prebought" credits for the coming years. We also enjoy BJU science with the DVD/Online teacher. We will buy the $99 deal for 6th grade science in December. The major difference between Landry & BJU has been that the Landry class is live with interaction between teacher and students. My son has attended the office hours of his teacher to get tutoring and extra help when needed. My son really needs that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Is there sample video somewhere for ds to see if he like it? Yes. Go to: www.bjupresshomeschool.com and then browse by subject and/or grade under the DVD option and you can view samples. Two of my ds's favorite teachers are Mrs. Vick and Mr. Harmon. They do a great job with teaching science and I love that I don't have to do endless labs with the dc because they do a lab online practically every day as part of the class. Currently, my ds is dong BJU Space and Earth Science which we purchased at the $99 Dec. sale last year, and we hope to do the same this year with Physical Science. Blessings, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I was just going to suggest Landry Academy, if you wanted to go with the Apologia text. We are extremely happy with the one Landry class my son is taking this year, and we have "prebought" credits for the coming years. Landry doesn't use Apologia for their high school level science classes although they do use a lot of BJU for history. Bio is Science Shepherd, Chem is Spectrum Chemistry and Physics is Conceptual Physics. The advanced levels use standard, secular AP texts even for biology. The 8th grade level Pre classes uses Life Science Shepherd, Friendly Chemsitry and Tiner's Physics (from Memoria Press). We haven't used them for an online science class, but Trinqueta has done a Lab Intensive and 4 online classes. The teachers know their subjects and are engaging lecturers. We've never had a problem with unclear assignments or unrealistic expectations. They cover the textbook and follow the syllabus. They also post a weekly page with all the assignments due and links to download any materials or take quizzes and tests. They're very well organized. If you want to use Apologia, Virtual Home School Group offers free at-your-own-pace classes. I'm using their Saxon Algebra 1 now and like it. Even if you don't like it, the price is right so it's worth looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 We are using the apologia general science with the notebooking journal. We used the BJU 6th grade science with Mrs Vick last year. My dd keeps telling me how much she liked science last year, compared to this year. :( She says she learned so much more. That being said, we are only one quarter the way through this year, and I am hoping it gets better. I am planning on using the BJU online course next year, this year it was just too expensive for our budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 peaceful isle and others who have used BJU online science, do dc only watch the online video 1/2 hour a day, do their reading and exercises, labs, quizzes and tests without you being involved much? Also is the high school level science also the same sale price as the December $99 sale? I would like ds12 to try one next year after he finishes Apologia General Science. So one more question: do I get the 7th grade or 8th grade BJU science for him? Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 peaceful isle and others who have used BJU online science, do dc only watch the online video 1/2 hour a day, do their reading and exercises, labs, quizzes and tests without you being involved much? Also is the high school level science also the same sale price as the December $99 sale? I would like ds12 to try one next year after he finishes Apologia General Science. So one more question: do I get the 7th grade or 8th grade BJU science for him? Thanks a lot! We have used both the DVDs and the online distance learning. We now like the online feature that tests and quizzes are mostly done online (and are graded for you). I will occasionally make adjustments, but this represents an additional time saver for me, plus my ds enjoys the technology of doing tests online. Regarding grading other assignments, I will sometimes grade them myself and other times let him grade his own work. I hope they offer the same deal for high school classes. I guess I will find out very soon! While there is a bit of overlap between Apologia General Science and BJU's Life Science, I would be inclined to pick the 7th vs 8th grade BJU science based on whether you and your dc are more interested in doing the topic of life science vs space and earth science. Also of note is that Apologia Physical Science seems to have a big overlap with BJU Space & Earth Science, so you probably wouldn't want to do both of those. Blessings, Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thanks, Punks in Ontario. So you do not need to teach anything yourself, right? Dc does the reading, watches the videos, does the experiments, and writes reports and takes quizzes/tests online. Am I right? $99 is really a great deal compared to $500 to join a real class. I am really tempted. My son is turning 12 in a few days. He is doing Apologia General Science, which does not take much time at all. However, I do not know if he learns well with it. The positive thing about it is it gets done and he never complains about doing it. So, ...... No I don't need to teach anything myself. I have had to facilitate the odd activity, and mark the very odd item. At the end of each chapter, we usually go over the review questions orally, but ds can do this independently if it's necessary. With my younger ds, I will have to do more rienforcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Another question: is the video viewing once a week or every day? Every day. The whole Life Science course is 176 lessons long, although the last couple of chapters are optional if you run out of time. You will want to pace yourself a bit carefully to make sure you don't run out of time since access to the program is less than 13 months long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 We are using the apologia general science with the notebooking journal. We used the BJU 6th grade science with Mrs Vick last year. My dd keeps telling me how much she liked science last year, compared to this year. :( She says she learned so much more. That being said, we are only one quarter the way through this year, and I am hoping it gets better. I am planning on using the BJU online course next year, this year it was just too expensive for our budget. You could see if they have the online sale in December. For the last several years, they've offered the online streaming for $99 per subject. You have to purchase your own student books, but you have access to the teacher's material online. If you purchase it then, you can access the whole next calendar year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Well, now I have to rearrange science starting time if we want to take advantage of the December $99 sale. I do like the online science idea, especially if we are not ready to take outside class yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 peaceful isle and others who have used BJU online science, do dc only watch the online video 1/2 hour a day, do their reading and exercises, labs, quizzes and tests without you being involved much? Also is the high school level science also the same sale price as the December $99 sale? I would like ds12 to try one next year after he finishes Apologia General Science. So one more question: do I get the 7th grade or 8th grade BJU science for him? Thanks a lot! I am more of a lazy mom. I tried to get the items for the labs for her, but if they were too random, then she just did the lab with her teacher. In other words, just watched and then wrote down answers , charted , etc. she did the tests and quizzes herself. The teacher would let the students know a test or quiz was coming up in a few days. She loved science. I found it quite easy to implement BJU science and am really thinking about the online version come December. You could get the 7th or 8th grade and not go wrong. It depends on what you want your child to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.