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How old was your child when he/she did Apologia Biology?


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My dd was 15 and it was just right for her. My ds tried to do it when he was 13 (to keep up with his sister :), but found it was way too hard. he could have done it, but it would have been so painful, that he wouldn't have learned much. He is doing it now, a year later. He is much more ready. He actually is excited about doing it and has said he was thankful he put it off a year.

 

HTH

Nicole

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We did biology with both my kids when they were 13, but we didn't use Apologia. We used a conglomeration of other materials.

 

I don't think they really got the biochemistry, but they hadn't had chemistry yet. When my older daughter went back to review bio for a test she had to take, she picked up the biochem a lot more easily. She was older and had had chem, but I don't know which of those was responsible.

 

From what I've heard of Apologia, though, it's a lot of memorizing, which isn't really what biology is all about. (But I'm speaking from hearsay.) If that's the case, I would think Apologia would be hard no matter what age you did it at.

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I am trying to decide if my child is too young to really grasp Apologia Biology. How old was your child? My daughter is 14years and 1 month. I am thinking we need a growing year?? Opinions???

 

It really is variable as to the development of the child. The typical student will do well with biology at age 14, 9th grade. My oldest daughter did a much more challenging biology than Apologia at 14; she could have done Apologia easily at 12 or 13 had she been homeschooled at the time but she is also extremely bright.

 

My next two children are bright with learning challenges that affect memory. Apologia was too difficult for my second child at 14yo; we tried and set it aside. However, she did well at 15yo. My son, who is dyslexic & has difficulty with memorizing but is otherwise a strong science student, is starting Apologia Biology this week. He will be 16 in a couple of months and is in 10th grade. I specifically delayed him doing Apologia because of the memory challenges & we did Earth Science last year from another publisher.

 

Has your daughter done Apologia Physical Science? If she did and did well, I'd just move on to biology.

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I am trying to decide if my child is too young to really grasp Apologia Biology. How old was your child? My daughter is 14years and 1 month. I am thinking we need a growing year?? Opinions???

 

Older dd was 15 (10th gr.)younger dd was 14 (9th gr.)

Older ds was 14(9th grade), younger ds was 13 and 2 mos.( 8th grade) when we started.

Faithe

 

ETA: I think it depends on the child. You are her Mom. If you think she needs a year...then give her the year. It really is OK.

 

~~Faithe

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ETA: I think it depends on the child. You are her Mom. If you think she needs a year...then give her the year. It really is OK.

 

 

 

:iagree:

 

My daughter (who really loathes science) is doing fine with Apologia Biology this year - she's 14.

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I don't think they really got the biochemistry, but they hadn't had chemistry yet. When my older daughter went back to review bio for a test she had to take, she picked up the biochem a lot more easily. She was older and had had chem, but I don't know which of those was responsible.

 

 

:iagree: I have a younger student doing biology this year and he is doing great, with the exception of the biochemistry stuff. He's had no trouble with the rest of biology--but this was way, way over his head. I'm planning to try it again at the end of the year after we've finished the rest of the material.

It really surprised me how 'stuck' he got with biochemistry--even the introductory stuff. I think we need another developmental leap for it to stick.

Edited by homeschoolally
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My ds was 14/15 over the course of the year that he took it. He did fine. He really liked it too.

 

I'm doing something different with dd, as Biology is "not her thing". This has DVD's and we're doing a lot of living books/reading, which she loves. So far so good!

 

I agree--it depends on the child!

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My dd is doing it this year - she is a 15 yr old sophomore.

It is very time consuming + she has no interest in biology so it is a major chore.

Regardless of how bright a person is THIS IS DIFFICULT MATERIAL.

Look it over for yourself and see how long you think it would take you to go through one module - then decide. I'd say "go with your gut", if you think your DD would do better next year, then that's what I'd do.

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From what I've heard of Apologia, though, it's a lot of memorizing, which isn't really what biology is all about. (But I'm speaking from hearsay.) If that's the case, I would think Apologia would be hard no matter what age you did it at.

 

I would say that memorization is a HUGE part of biology. At least, that was my experience in my Anatomy & Physiology and Micro classes and for dh in MANY of his various Bio courses (he has degrees in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries).

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I am trying to decide if my child is too young to really grasp Apologia Biology. How old was your child? My daughter is 14years and 1 month. I am thinking we need a growing year?? Opinions???

 

Biology is math-light and age isn't that important IMO. I think 14 is probably fine for many/most children. However, you want to make sure your child is able to finish at least Algebra I at the same time so they have that under their belts before starting Chemistry as it requires quite a bit more math than Biology does!

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Thank you all. I'm not the OP but your responses really assisted me. I've been putting off purchasing our science this year. I've wasted so much on science that has bombed. I've made the decision to go with Apologia for high school and I'm nervous. I've been uncertain what book to start my 9th grader on. Based on what you all have said, I would say it's safe to say I want him to go through physical science this year because I just don't think he's ready for the load biology will be.

 

I really need this to be the right decision. Science is a big gap for us but it's not so bad that it can't be corrected in high school. I really need to pick and stick to a science curriculum and really need this to be the one. :)

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Our ds is 12 (he will be 13 the end of this month) and he has worked throguh the first 6 chapters over the summer. He LOVES science and can memorize anything very easily, so he has done well. Like others have said, I would go with your gut feeling. You know your child the best :).

Blessings!!

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Thank you all. I'm not the OP but your responses really assisted me. I've been putting off purchasing our science this year. I've wasted so much on science that has bombed. I've made the decision to go with Apologia for high school and I'm nervous. I've been uncertain what book to start my 9th grader on. Based on what you all have said, I would say it's safe to say I want him to go through physical science this year because I just don't think he's ready for the load biology will be.

 

I really need this to be the right decision. Science is a big gap for us but it's not so bad that it can't be corrected in high school. I really need to pick and stick to a science curriculum and really need this to be the one. :)

 

Jessica our situation was similar. We had terrible science books before finding out about Apologia. So my dd went into their physical science text with very little science background and it was a great course. It was the first year she liked science! I'm betting your son will enjoy it as well. :)

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Ana is 14.5. CJ is 11.5 and is doing it "with" her - meaning she's doing the reading, he's doing the listening. She's doing written work, he isn't. They're both memorizing vocabulary. So essentially he's sitting in on her class. (But, I'm lazy and he's science minded so that's the way it is.)

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