Guest Hollow Botany after Apologia?

[MDL]

My 7th grader looooooves Botany and trees in particular. We worked through Apologia Botany two years ago and while he pretty much groaned and resisted it all year, he now says it is his absolute favorite and has a deep passion, possibly wanting a career as an arborist.

 

He is also a lover of books, so Guest Hollow Botany schedule is appealing to him.

 

I have two concerns:

 

1. Will this be too redundant? It looks very similar to Apologia.

 

2. He is currently using Ellen McHenry’s The Elements and hating it. There could be multiple reasons for this. He really wanted to study chemistry this year, but the main motivation was to “blow things upâ€! So, it’s a bit disappointing for him on that note. Also, I’ve left him fairly self directed and he tends towards slacker. I’m working through Apologia Zoology with my 2nd grader, and just don’t have time to oversee separate science lessons.

 

What do you think? Has anyone done both? Any other resources for deep Botany study?

 

Thanks!

[Lori D.]

My 7th grader looooooves Botany and trees in particular. We worked through Apologia Botany two years ago and while he pretty much groaned and resisted it all year, he now says it is his absolute favorite and has a deep passion, possibly wanting a career as an arborist.

 

Bristol County Agricultural High School's Arboriculture web page is a resource to look at for you and DS to see what DS will need to become at arborist. :)

 

 

He is also a lover of books, so Guest Hollow Botany schedule is appealing to him...  I’m working through Apologia Zoology with my 2nd grader, and just don’t have time to oversee separate science lessons.

 

Then it sounds like he would likely enjoy Guest Hollow Botany. (No personal experience with either Guest Hollow or Apologia's Botany programs to know if they are similar or would overlap too much.)

 

However, I think you would still be looking at the problem of DS working independently -- it sounds like he's really not quite ready for entirely solo work. Much as I know that's not what you want to hear, it sounds like, no matter what science program you go with, that you still need to be involved to some extent with 7th gr. DS in some way. A *lot* of students are just not ready for full-solo work until well into high school, and for best success, as much as it is exhausting and time-consuming for the parent, and as much as you want to not have to be involved in every thing the middle schooler is doing, you still need to be there to direct, mentor, discuss, and be a part of things.

 

Perhaps have him do the daily readings solo, and then spend 10 minutes with him afterwards having him sum up, and you ask questions -- not "quizzing", but expressing interest, and allowing him to share what was of interest to him. And sometimes arrange to do the readings *with* him. And then for the hands-on element, everyone could be doing that at once, and you bounce back and forth between 7th grader and 2nd grader. The key is make a short window of time daily to be involved and show 7th gr. DS that you are following along and are interested.

 

Or, outsource your 7th grade science to a local co-op, or hire a tutor to come in 1-2x/week for an hour or two. An upper level high school student who is really into science, or a college student majoring in science who needs a little extra cash would be ideal.

 

If switching programs, just me, but I would be inclined to stick with Chemistry, but perhaps go for something that involves hands-on regularly -- one day is reading the lesson, the other day is doing the hands-on: Rainbow Science -- Christian; science program that is complete with all supplies, is solo-working (written to the student) and 7th grade covers Chemistry & Physics topics. Not a lot of "flashy" or "blow stuff up" experiments, but it is written informally and designed to help students work mostly independently.

 

 

2. He is currently using Ellen McHenry’s The Elements and hating it. There could be multiple reasons for this. He really wanted to study chemistry this year, but the main motivation was to “blow things upâ€! So, it’s a bit disappointing for him on that note. Also, I’ve left him fairly self directed and he tends towards slacker. I’m working through Apologia Zoology with my 2nd grader, and just don’t have time to oversee separate science lessons.

 

JMO: Switching programs always requires transition time, so you'd be losing some momentum, and honestly, it doesn't sound like switching back to Botany is going to solve your problem of needing DS to work solo -- it sounds like you did Apologia Botany together, and that may be part of what DS is looking for/needing in the science this year.

 

Perhaps the fastest and easiest solution might be to invest in several chemistry kits with a "flashy" factor, and DS gets to use those solo after completing his daily assignment with The Elements. That way he gets to "blow things up", AND he is motivated to get his science done, which might help him work more independently (although, I would still strongly encourage a daily 10 minutes of parent involvement with DS to help keep him going). Ideas for kits:

 

Science 4 You Explosive Science kit

Thames-Kosmos Chemistry Chem C500 kit

Smart Lab Extreme Secret Formula kit

Smart Lab Ultimate Secret Formula kit

FIZZ Chemistry kit

TOPS: Analysis -- a bit more formal/structured experiments and less "flashy" factor

 

"Kid wants to blow things up" -- past thread with more ideas

 

 

...Any other resources for deep Botany study?

 

Here's a list I'm reprinting from my post in the past thread "Gardening for credit". While these are for a high school credit, I would guess that many of these could be used by a 7th grader. (Just an FYI: it would require a lot of time on your part to organize and direct these "Do It Yourself" studies):

 

complete course:

CLE: Introductory Horticulture -- high school course materials (textbook by Reiley, workbooks, Teacher Manual)

 

textbooks and materials:

Fundamentals of Horticulture (Bird) - textbook

Horticulture: Princles and Practices (Acquaah)

Botany for Gardeners (Capon) - resource

American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening (Brickell) - resource

MN Nursery & Landscape Association: Introduction to Horticulture - free downloadable lesson plans, info PDF files and power points

OSU: Master Gardener Online -- short course series

 

additional resources for a DIY course:

Study.com: Free Online Horticulture Courses -- list of free courses on specific topics in horticulture

Coursera: What a Plant Knows -- 7 week free course

Botany Adventure (Wright) -- hands-on projects for gr. 6-12 to go with a Horticulture/Botany course; Cathy Duffy review

The Private Life of Plants -- 4-part video series by David Attenborough

Tutorial Material for Botanists - big list of Botany topics with lots of resource links

Weinger High School Agriculture Dept.: Intro to Horticulture -- syllabus, units, power points

Newton High School: Introduction to Horticulture -- handouts, which give you an idea of topics covered

 

past threads:

"Be honest: if you used Ellen McHenry's Botany 8 lessons - how did you do it?"

"Botany course for high school"

 

 

BEST of luck in finding what works for your family! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Lori D.

[MDL]

Lori, thank you!! That is an awesome post with so much information. I’m going to take my time tonight to go through it carefully!

 

And, you’re right I think he has been too independent, so maybe just finishing up the semester with more input from me will have a beneficial effect.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lori D.]

And hopefully someone who is familiar with both Guest Hollow and Apologia Botany will jump in and answer your direct question. ;)