Apologia General Science....opinions please!

[Melissa in CA]

Would love to hear your thoughts! Did your dc find it dry? Interesting? How were the labs, were they fun? Can they be done independently? Opinions, please! :D

[MerryAtHope]

We really enjoyed this book this year! We didn't do all the labs, we kind of pick & choose between those we have time for & look interesting. My son is in 7th grade and has done almost all of the labs independently--I've helped occasionally with gathering supplies.

 

Merry :-)

[keithfamily5]

The labs were her favorite part. She has some reading comprehension issues and kept getting lost in the text. She passed the tests, but wasn't retaining, but that's just HER and where's she's at. We finally stopped in Module 4. (Mechanical advantage, inclined plane, etc.) I have many friends who love it! It just didn't work for us as well.

 

We're going to try Rainbow Science for 8th grade and see how that goes.

 

HTH,

Patty

[ABQmom]

I think it is a great text. It's written to the student, and I find it very engaging. There is a learning curve with it if your student isn't used to reading a text and learning from it. I have found that I have to teach how to take notes from the text and how to study those notes. Otherwise, my kids won't retain the information. Other than that, we have found it to be very interesting.

[coffeegal]

Would love to hear your thoughts! Did your dc find it dry? Interesting? How were the labs, were they fun? Can they be done independently? Opinions, please! :D

 

My oldest has been using it this year, and it's been a success. He's not complained about the reading being dry, although I suspect he'd prefer to read one of his library books. ;) The labs are excellent. Ds has been able to complete them by himself. Actually, he's been mostly working independently. Lol, we had an interesting discussion last night sparked by Apologia General Science. I love it when a child is spurred to contemplate a topic, and then bring his opinion up for discussion at the dinner table. :D

[silliness7]

:iagree:

I think it is a great text. It's written to the student, and I find it very engaging. There is a learning curve with it if your student isn't used to reading a text and learning from it. I have found that I have to teach how to take notes from the text and how to study those notes. Otherwise, my kids won't retain the information. Other than that, we have found it to be very interesting.

 

 

I also read and took notes myself and then we would come together and compare notes. This discussion helped his retention immensely! We also discussed the On Your Own and Study Guide questions.

 

My son enjoyed the labs. He did most of them independently. We did skip some. The ones that required digging into dirt in January up here in the tundra, we did not do :D

 

My son enjoys this book alot and is drooling over catalogs dreaming of the other courses he gets to take in years to come. A word of warning, the first chapter is a quick overview of the history of science. There is a LOT of material and the names do start running together. Don't give up on it after the first chapter. The rest of them are much different.

[Melissa in CA]

The labs were her favorite part. She has some reading comprehension issues and kept getting lost in the text. She passed the tests, but wasn't retaining, but that's just HER and where's she's at. We finally stopped in Module 4. (Mechanical advantage, inclined plane, etc.) I have many friends who love it! It just didn't work for us as well.

 

We're going to try Rainbow Science for 8th grade and see how that goes.

 

HTH,

Patty

 

Just took at look at Rainbow Science....and WOW! Do you know someone who has used it? It's awfully expensive. I would have to know it was REALLY good before I could bring myself to pay so much, KWIM? The kit looks top-notch though.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

My dd has not started it yet, she is in 6th grade this year, but she is VERY EXCITED to start it! I catch her reading it now already at times! I will have her take notes on it, and we do have the multimedia CD (not the textbook on CD) that she will use along with it. She is more than excited to start this book!

[Deb in NZ]

Dd loved GS. She worked independently & did well. We used the audio cd along with the text. Dd would listen / read the chapter, take notes, do the OYOs & labs. I would let her use her notes for the Study Guide, but not the text. She used the tests that come with the book. Ds#1 tolerated GS, but he doesn't love anything school-like. I had ds#1 read / listen to the text, narrate back the info to me orally, do most of the labs, & take the alternate tests. Ds#2 is just starting module 6 of GS. He's enjoying the book & working mostly independently. I require him to do the OYOs & Study Guides, but let him use his text. He's not quite ready for taking notes yet. I also use the alternate tests for him.

 

Using the audio cd along with the text has been very beneficial for my dc. For dd it helped her to learn to take notes from lecture, something very valuable for her now that she is in tertiary level classes. For ds#1 it allowed him not be held back by his reading comprehinsion issues as his oral comprehension is much, much higher. For ds#2 it is helping to increase his reading speed & comprehension.

 

We really like Apologia's General Science. Module 1 is very difficult, but all the others are easy & fun after that.

 

Blessings,

[Mommy7]

My dd has really enjoyed Apologia's General Science this year. She has done it completely independently, except for the learning curve previously mentioned regarding learning to take notes and study. She has done well with it. The hard module for her was #4. My dh didn't have time to help her with it, so we just skipped it and kept on going. She just truly didn't understand it. The others have not been that way, though.

 

She has found the reading to be thoroughly engaging and extremely interesting.

 

If you think your dc might enjoy lectures on the course, they are available at the Apologia website as well as www.redwagontutorials.com. I can see how we might want to use that with future courses. It is reassuring to know they are there, just in case, kwim?

 

Have a great year!

[gingersmom]

My daughter is finishing up the book with an A average. She loves it. We do the study guide at the end of each module and have done nearly every experiment.

 

There is a yahoo group for Apologia General Science that is quite active.

[Cinder]

Ds1 completed half of General Science. He thought it was wordy and dry. He also didn't like the way the experiments were presented. As in, do this experiment and here's what should happen. He felt if the text just comes out and tells you what's going to happen, why bother doing the experiment. Prentice-Hall Science Explorer books worked better for him.

 

Ds2 is doing God's Design for Science. These move quickly, so I may add in some PHSE books as well.

 

 

Cinder

[silliness7]

He also didn't like the way the experiments were presented. As in, do this experiment and here's what should happen. He felt if the text just comes out and tells you what's going to happen, why bother doing the experiment.

 

I found this incredibly valuable, especially for those experiments that we didn't do, but also just to verify that we did the experiment correctly.

[8filltheheart]

I'll be the dissenting voice since everyone else liked it. We detested it here. Wiles is extremely smug in his young creationism POV and implies you are less than intellectually honest if you don't agree with him.

[RENEEinVA]

My dd enjoyed the book, however she found some of the labs a bit tedious or too simplistic. She completed 99% of the work independently. We also don't completely agree with Dr. Wiles' beliefs, however we always use his ideas as stepping stones to discuss what our family believes.

[keithfamily5]

Yes. I do know one family personally that used it and LOVED it! Money is a big issue for me. I've found the student book and TM at our homeschool library. I still need the lab book and the kits. I'm trying to decide if I can put the needed supplies for labs together myself or if I'm going to spend just as much money hunting everything down.

 

Money is the reason I'm still undecided. I've never spent that much before on one subject for one kid.

 

I'm praying. Maybe I can find some other things used still.

 

Patty

[mombygrace]

My children, 6th and 7th used it this year in a coop my DH co-teaches and have enjoyed it. We used the audio book as well. We got the companion CD but never got into it. They did the course work independently but did the labs as a group.

We plan to use physical science next year but I would require them to take notes as well.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I used it with 2 students, grades 6/7 & 7/8 (we started in Jan). One loves to read, the other not really. The reader thought it was easy, the non-reader found it dry and boring. The non-reader preferred the variety of Noeo compared to the text style of Apologia. They both found the experiments to be a little too light, i.e., easy to do, but leaving them wanting more.

 

The experiments were too easy for us. We prefer more experimentation. For this reason alone, I'd suggest either supplementing or finding something more hands on. I understand Rainbow Science offers more experimentation, yet still provides Christian science. *I* made the mistake of getting to grown too fast in middle school and not allowing them to work out the lil' bit of child still in them....hands on, hands on, hands on!

 

The accessories were helpful.

 

Notetaking is necessary.

 

B/c of the lack of hands on, I will not use GS for those up and coming. I will instead, use Noeo and/or my own Noeo (kits with living books). I will, however, use the Biology in high school. It's not as dry and the labs are very biology consistent with most bio. programs.

[Melissa in CA]

I used it with 2 students, grades 6/7 & 7/8 (we started in Jan). One loves to read, the other not really. The reader thought it was easy, the non-reader found it dry and boring. The non-reader preferred the variety of Noeo compared to the text style of Apologia. They both found the experiments to be a little too light, i.e., easy to do, but leaving them wanting more.

 

The experiments were too easy for us. We prefer more experimentation. For this reason alone, I'd suggest either supplementing or finding something more hands on. I understand Rainbow Science offers more experimentation, yet still provides Christian science. *I* made the mistake of getting to grown too fast in middle school and not allowing them to work out the lil' bit of child still in them....hands on, hands on, hands on!

 

The accessories were helpful.

 

Notetaking is necessary.

 

B/c of the lack of hands on, I will not use GS for those up and coming. I will instead, use Noeo and/or my own Noeo (kits with living books). I will, however, use the Biology in high school. It's not as dry and the labs are very biology consistent with most bio. programs.

 

Tina,

 

So you would recommend NOEO for 8th grade then? Just curious cuz I know that, except for their Chemistry III, all of their kits only go to 6th. I'm curious what NOEO kits you've done. We did the Chemistry II kit when my son was in 6th and it literally bored us to tears. Booooooooring. Mid-year we dumped it and went with something else...back to BJU I believe. I thought NOEO looked so wonderful in theory, but it was just not a good fit for us. I love the thought of a 'whole books' approach to science though. I've even considered SL's Science 6 but have heard it's not one of their better sets.

 

Goood grief. There must be something out there that we'll like. Somewhere.

[TXMary2]

My ds is dong the GS right now. He struggled at first, but now we have our reading/study/note taking routine down and he gets A's and B's on the tests. I am more than satisfied with it and he loves the content.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Tina,

 

So you would recommend NOEO for 8th grade then? Just curious cuz I know that, except for their Chemistry III, all of their kits only go to 6th. I'm curious what NOEO kits you've done. We did the Chemistry II kit when my son was in 6th and it literally bored us to tears. Booooooooring. Mid-year we dumped it and went with something else...back to BJU I believe. I thought NOEO looked so wonderful in theory, but it was just not a good fit for us. I love the thought of a 'whole books' approach to science though. I've even considered SL's Science 6 but have heard it's not one of their better sets.

 

Goood grief. There must be something out there that we'll like. Somewhere.

My first rec, based on research and not experience is Rainbow Science. It covers Chem, Phy, Bio in one text, with building and crossover to help understand the family of sciences as a family and not individuals, as it takes you through a couple years of science.

 

We did, or rather are finishing, Noeo Chem 3 for 7th and 8th graders. It uses the Thames and Kosmos 2000 kit. That kit has rec'd mixed reviews here on the forum, but we have fared well with it. I especially like that if there's an area we have heightened interest, we can do more experiments!

 

We're getting through Noeo Chem 2 by doing more experiments from the books rec and what I have at home. We really Need more hands on. Not for understanding, but for fun!

 

I emailed w. Noeo and they are supposed to be coming out with Physics 3 this coming fall. My fingers are crossed, as all level 3's are marked 6-9th. I'd love to use it and have high school physics knocked out! I'd even postpone Apologia's Bio. to get it done and be able to count it in 9th grade :)

Edited May 5, 2010 by johnandtinagilbert

[mrsrevmeg]

My son has loved it this year. Science is the only subject that he never complains about. Some of the experiments are kind of gross (he had to collect earthworms once and grow botulism once) but none are too hard for him to do on his own. My youngest son likes to help out. He says that Nathaniel is the scientist and he is the IGOR.

[hsbeth]

We're just finishing up GS here. Frankly, dd enjoyed it way more than I did. I found the text to be wordy and dry, but she wasn't bothered by it. But I suppose it suits her particular learning style, she does love to read. Retention was decent. She did take notes and do about half of the experiments. Most she was able to do quite independently.

 

Next year she'll be doing Rainbow Science (physical and chem half) at a local co-op.