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Larissa

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  1. Although I had heard some negative things about apologia chemistry, we used it several years ago with my oldest dd. She also went through the advanced book. She scored an 800 on the subject test in Chemistry, won a full-tuition scholarship to an engineering school and blew away the competition in her honors-level engineering chemistry classes in her first year at college. She herself credits the apologia books for her success in chemistry. I looked at several texts used in public schools (my dad was a high school physics teacher, and he had samples of all the publishers' science texts) and I thought apologia covered the same topics, and would be easier to use since it is a self-teaching text. So, apologia worked for us, and I will be using it with my younger children. Larissa in NJ homeschooling 4, one in college
  2. My daughter is a freshmen Engineer. She did Apologia, a year ahead, so she did bio in 8th, chem in 9th, physics in 10th. Then she took county college courses for physics and chemistry her junior and senior year. She used Singapore NEM (started NEM 1 in 6th grade, finished the series in 9th) and new additional math (I think that's the title), but we added a geometry book for the proofs. Then she used a standard US pre-calc and calculus textbook for senior year and got AP credit. She's doing terrific in honors engineering science classes with that background--in fact she has the highest test scores in her honors chem class and she attributes that to her Apologia background. Larissa in NJ homeschooling 4, ages 8, 10, 12, and 14 one homeschool graduate, age 17
  3. but she is very pleased with the science she learned through Apologia. While I know some people don't seem to like it for various reasons, we are pleased and are using it with our other children. She began with bio in 8th grade, did chem in 9th, physics in 10th, and then won a scholarship to take physics at a state technical college. She already knew most of the physics they covered that semester. Then she took chemistry at our county college (a most un-homeschool friendly school...) but did very well and won the chemistry award at the college. She currently has an A+ in second-semester honors chemistry, and she attributes her high scores to the preparation she received from the apologia chemistry textbook. For me, the beauty is that the textbook is truly self-teaching so the student has to "own" the science rather than sit passively as someone spoonfeeds it to them. That's my 2cents... Larissa 4 at home, ages 7 to 14, and one at college, age 17
  4. and it was a big leap from Primary 6B. It took us a year and a half to do NEM 1, but my dd was working ahead to that point, so we were ok. We did add geometry for formal proofs--we used the teaching company geometry DVDs for that. There are answers to all NEM books, but teacher guides only for 1 and 2. She did New Additional Math after NEM and is currently doing calculus. She scored 800 on the Math SATI and 800 on the SATII Math level 2, so it is a very powerful curriculum. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  5. We did it at co-op and tried to make it more fun with games like charades and bingo. My kids enjoyed the class and continued to Latina Christiana and Henle. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  6. not that I really liked it, but it was a good starting point. I bought Streams and sold it--we are Orthodox Christians and I was offended by the anti-Catholic and Orthodox bias of that book. I am considering going spine-less for my next child. It seems near impossible to find a good one for high school history. Larissa in NJ
  7. She did great (800's in English Lit, Chemistry and Math level 2), but she said she doesn't recommend doing it that way. We wanted to give her as much time as possible to study, so we pushed them to the fall of senior year, but probably should have spread them out a bit more. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  8. so I would set them up at the sink or in a basin. They loved pouring, learning about displacement, sink and float games, making soap bubbles, etc. This was a fun thing I reserved only for school time, so they really looked forward to it. Other things they enjoyed were magnet letters, playing with school supplies like cusenaire rods (there is a book where they make the letters with the cusenaire rods) and counting bears and the balance and the pattern blocks. Writing letters in sand or rice (on a tablecloth on the floor) was fun. They liked using the white board. Sorry--my youngest is turning 7 soon, so I'm getting fuzzy, but there are lots of ideas out there. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  9. I thought I was familiar with all the abbreviations--but you stumped me! Larissa
  10. What can others recommend for elementary-level science at a co-op? We did Noeo at home, and loved it for the books and complete experiments, but I don't think that would work in co-op unless everyone bought the young explorer kits and books (Not likely to happen). The class is currently doing apologia, zoology 3, but it really lacks hands-on activities. So the class is just reading a chapter and reviewing it each week. What have other people used? Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  11. I got my oldest into Apologia for general science and just kept her there. It worked because it was self-teaching. We did some experiments but not all (She didn't really like doing them, and I didn't like running around finding things.) She was well-prepared for college-level physics and chemistry after finishing the entire series. My next son did a little sonlight science, a little Real Science 4 kids, a little noeo, and now he's in Apologia as well. We also found a co-op for experiments, so that's good. A friend of mine is doing rainbow science, and I looked at the cost and work involved, and just thought "no, I can't make that happen." My next two are currently doing apologia zoology 3 with co-op. I'm not really thrilled. It's too much reading and not enough hands-on for them. We used noeo in the past, and that was much better. So, basically, I like the idea of doing fun, hands-on science with the little ones, but getting them to the point of being working independently through apologia for high school. I know apologia has its limitations, but its strength is that mom doesn't have to lecture advanced science topics while trying to teach other children. And, yes, I also second guess a whole lot of my homeschooling... Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  12. and see if your child knows what he needs to know to place into algebra. Pre-algebra generally does begin simple algebra, but some kids seem to intuitively know this and can begin algebra. Larissa in NJ
  13. My oldest didn't like doing hands-on experiments either. She read, but she liked science so she read Apologia and ended up doing very well. She's took college physics and chemistry and is going to college. I think even the Apologia author says that the experiments aren't that important, as long as you know what should happen and why. Larissa in Nj
  14. but I don't think they would inspire much love of writing in most kids. They tend to be dry and the examples aren't that much fun. I would think of skipping the writing in R&S and doing something else. Something like WWE? Larissa in NJ
  15. then continued straight through with Singapore NEM and New Additional Mathematics. She is currently doing AP Calculus as a senior. She scored at the 99th percentile on all math standardized tests, including 800 on the SAT and 800 on the Math level 2 subject test. Singapore gets all the credit! It is a great program. I don't think Saxon holds a candle to it. I think Miquon helps kids think outside the box from the start. My current first-grader is doing Miquon and Singapore and is doing great. However, kids have to be wired that way to an extent. I have others who need much more hand-holding than Singapore and Miquon give. They went into MUS or TT. Those kids just don't get excited about math the way my oldest and youngest do. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ
  16. but I don't think it's thorough enough for grammar. I like diagramming, so I use Rod and Staff in addition to the literature study. Larissa in NJ
  17. I loved Noeo when I found it. We had tried so many science curricula where the experiments came from books and would require things that I didn't have. I would tell the kids "wait until I go to the store so I can get borax and balloons and string" or whatever and we would never get to the experiments. With everything in the kits, our experiments finally got done. Some books we liked more than others. I didn't like that the 2 levels weren't integrated. It would have been easier for me. Still, we enjoy Noeo and will stick with it. Larissa in NJ
  18. telling one thing they remember from the passage. So, it's pretty simple to start. Sometimes the copywork is copying their own narration. So that might be plenty. If your child does copywork very easily then move on to dictating that one sentence. Level 2 moves onto narrating the main idea of a passage, but it leads the child there by going over questions first. You'll probably be able to move into level 2 relatively quickly, but doing a bit of level 1 to get used to the routine might be helpful. Larissa in NJ
  19. It's at noeoscience.com and it doesn't have DVDs, but the experiments are all packed and ready to go. There are living books and it works for multiple ages. We've liked it. Larissa in NJ
  20. You can see the table of contents and sample pages at http://www.epsbooks.com Your 13 yo seems the right age for these. Larissa in NJ
  21. because of its ease of use and the ability to get all the solutions on the CD-ROM. The only other thing you could think about would be the MUS that now has all solutions. But I think TT is even more user-friendly, so I would stick with that. Larissa in NJ
  22. but if you can't, plenty of us learned Latin as our kids did, staying maybe a lesson or two ahead. I taught Prima at our co-op while my older kids were doing LC and Henle. Because I was helping older kids, the teaching was relatively easy. Plus I did watch DVDs to see how the lessons would work in a classroom. But, as you said, it's terrific if you can learn ahead of time. Larissa in NJ
  23. and we find that though there is some dictation and copywork in FLL, it is not a regular thing. We are doing FLL 1/2 with WWE 1 with my 1st grader and FLL 3 and WWE2 with my 3rd grader. They have both made progress in their narration skills. I really enjoy the stories they use. We have often gone to the library to read the rest of the book after reading a short section in WWE. Larissa in NJ
  24. the schedules on Donna Young's website. It's donnayoung.org and you click science and apologia and there are schedules for the sciences. Larissa in NJ
  25. We also tried an "fun" co-op. It was gym and music. There was some forensics and drama, so the older kids had some classes, but not enough to off-set losing an entire day. We joined a different co-op which is focused on academics. We co-op for Latin, science and literature/writing. The kids also get a gym class. Now we miss a day of school, but we are doing classes and the kids are still getting time to socialize. Not sure where you live or if that's possible. Larissa NJ
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