lovemy9kids Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 My son is doing Apologia Biology this year and we do not have the money to buy a microscope etc. for the experiments. What should I do? Anyone in the same boat? Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Apologia says of itself that if you can't afford the microscope, then make sure you do all of the dissections, and the "regular" experiments in order to count for credit. if you wanted to add in more.... you might end up seeing online pics of the various slides even if you can't get the slides and borrow, rent, etc a microscope. maybe there are some on here from various modules? http://appliejuice.wordpress.com/apologia-biology/ ??? -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 oops.. here's the link to where Apologia says that about doing 2 out of the 3 categories of labs https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26_29 Exploring Creation With Biology contains three types of laboratory exercises for the student to perform: 1) Household labs - Only household equipment is used. These labs should be done by all students. 2) Microscope labs - Require a microscope + slide set. These labs are optional. 3) Dissection labs - Require a dissection kit. These labs are optional (except for Internet course participants.) We do not REQUIRE you to perform the microscope and dissection labs. They will be beneficial to the student (especially if he or she is science-oriented) but they are not absolutely necessary. Thus, you should not feel pressured into purchasing the microscope or dissection equipment. Do so only if you can afford it! For students who wish to count biology as a “lab credit†they must complete 2 of the 3 types of labs. For example, the student could do all of the household labs and all of the dissection labs to receive lab credit. This eliminates the need to purchase the microscope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Dive science is very cheap and has screen shots with detailed explanations. There are lab sheets to fill out while you watch. It wouldn't follow the book exactly, but maybe you could use the reading syllabus to match it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skadi Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 This pocket microscope is 60x - 100x magnification and is only $13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Could you make it a Christmas - or other occasion - present to the whole family? With a family your size, a good microscope would get a lot of good use and the cost per child would be very small. Maybe you could check Craigslist and other places for a used one? I would think that the cost of the microscope would be money better spent than for dissection materials as the "animal" only lasts for one dissection. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Can you check Craig's List for a used one? I bought a triple beam balance that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Apologia says of itself that if you can't afford the microscope, then make sure you do all of the dissections, and the "regular" experiments in order to count for credit. if you wanted to add in more.... you might end up seeing online pics of the various slides even if you can't get the slides and borrow, rent, etc a microscope. maybe there are some on here from various modules? http://appliejuice.wordpress.com/apologia-biology/ ??? -crystal Credit for what? [or maybe I'm interpreting the phrase incorrectly? to me, "count for credit" implies some sort of actual high school program - something official or whatever. know what I mean?] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 My son is doing Apologia Biology this year and we do not have the money to buy a microscope etc. for the experiments. What should I do? Anyone in the same boat? Renee We used YouTube videos. I was amazed at what is available free! Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 We used YouTube videos. I was amazed at what is available free! Faithe :iagree:We did Bio in a group setting and just pulled up the slides on youtube. I think every experiement from Apologia Bio was on Youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I'm teaching the Apologia Anatomy course at our co-op and we plan to use online slides as it will be easier for me to do with a group. (I have a projector and we can all look at it together.) Here is a list of anatomy/histology resources I pulled together from just a quick search. There are probably many more. All are free except the eAnatomy site which is partially free. Google Body Inner Body : http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html Anatomy Atlases: http://www.anatomyatlases.org/ eAnatomy (requires paid subscription but some modules are free): http://www.imaios.com/en/e-Anatomy Histology Slides University of Kansas http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb/index.htm University of Illinois https://histo.life.illinois.edu/histo/index.php University of Michigan (can zoom in and out) http://www.med.umich.edu/histology/dmindex.html Histology Zoomer Atlas (also allows you to manipulate slide) http://www2.yvcc.edu/histologyzoomer/histology_zoomer_page.asp Blue Histology: University of Western Australia (has online quizzes) http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I'm teaching the Apologia Anatomy course at our co-op and we plan to use online slides as it will be easier for me to do with a group. (I have a projector and we can all look at it together.) Here is a list of anatomy/histology resources I pulled together from just a quick search. There are probably many more. All are free except the eAnatomy site which is partially free. Google Body Inner Body : http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html Anatomy Atlases: http://www.anatomyatlases.org/ eAnatomy (requires paid subscription but some modules are free): http://www.imaios.com/en/e-Anatomy Histology Slides University of Kansas http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb/index.htm University of Illinois https://histo.life.illinois.edu/histo/index.php University of Michigan (can zoom in and out) http://www.med.umich.edu/histology/dmindex.html Histology Zoomer Atlas (also allows you to manipulate slide) http://www2.yvcc.edu/histologyzoomer/histology_zoomer_page.asp Blue Histology: University of Western Australia (has online quizzes) http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/ Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Credit for what? [or maybe I'm interpreting the phrase incorrectly? to me, "count for credit" implies some sort of actual high school program - something official or whatever. know what I mean?] I would assume she means credit as a lab science on the transcript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Credit for what? [or maybe I'm interpreting the phrase incorrectly? to me, "count for credit" implies some sort of actual high school program - something official or whatever. know what I mean?] elegantlion is right. That's what I was talking about and the link with the details spells it out. Transcript talk. not anything else. I meant in terms of "science with Lab". Some places, like TN, that makes a difference. They are nit picky in TN on some of this stuff. But you can still call it science with lab if you do the 2 other kinds of labs. so you don't have to buy a microscope... of course.. there are online slides of it too. in other words, is it considered "one high school" credit on transcript without lab? or what to do to make it "science with lab" for that credit on transcript even if you don't have a microscope. make sense or still confuse? -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 elegantlion is right. That's what I was talking about and the link with the details spells it out. Transcript talk. not anything else. I meant in terms of "science with Lab". Some places, like TN, that makes a difference. They are nit picky in TN on some of this stuff. But you can still call it science with lab if you do the 2 other kinds of labs. so you don't have to buy a microscope... of course.. there are online slides of it too. in other words, is it considered "one high school" credit on transcript without lab? or what to do to make it "science with lab" for that credit on transcript even if you don't have a microscope. make sense or still confuse? -crystal Kinda makes sense. :D I've never actually seen a "transcript" (as opposed to a regular "report card") but I gather it's a recording of the classes and grades a person has taken and received…. I guess I'm more used to the thought that for homeschoolers, the parent decides what's what -- when you say "they" are nit picky with regards to TN (Tennessee? ha took me a bit to straighten out which letters got doubled in there!) who do you mean? [if you don't mind me asking] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emubird Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) If all you're doing is looking at prepared slides, a microscope isn't at all necessary. There are plenty of pictures of these things. We never used a microscope. There's plenty that can be done in a biology lab without it. If you just need labs to fulfill a lab credit, you can work around the lack of a microscope and find other lab ideas. And a lot of ps high school courses that say they have a lab don't actually do all that much lab work, so if you're just trying to meet that standard, you probably don't need to work as hard as you think. It may be more educationally useful, in the long run, to spend time on designing experiments and thinking about how to present data than just looking at a few things under a microscope. If you need other lab ideas, you might search on the web for suggestions. Edited September 2, 2011 by emubird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) I don't know how accessible nature centers, natural history museums (or even history museums if they are dealing with archeological specimans) - (Nan first proposed this years ago), schools and universities are to you, but these places would have a microscope and if you would bring the slides of things that you want to look at, they would probably let you pop the slides in and look at them for a half an hour....(Definitely best to call ahead or see if there is someone you know in your community who works in one of these places). Another place is a local factory where they work with chemicals or biologicals... Some of these places would have better microscopes than most of us could afford to buy...plus, since you would have to be accompanied by someone who knows how to use them, you would get lots of "help" in how to use one. This would also involve community networking and if one of your children turns out to be quite interested in what is seen under a microscope, the experience might lead to other experiences...:001_smile: You could make the slides ahead of time - search google for how to make your slides - onion cells, cheek cells, leaf cells, etc. Here is a start on Home Training Tools . The more knowledgeable you are when you speak with the person from whom you are requesting assistance, the more likely they are to want to help...so look for some unusual slides to make... Joan Edited September 2, 2011 by Joan in Geneva Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Kinda makes sense. :D I've never actually seen a "transcript" (as opposed to a regular "report card") but I gather it's a recording of the classes and grades a person has taken and received…. I guess I'm more used to the thought that for homeschoolers, the parent decides what's what -- when you say "they" are nit picky with regards to TN (Tennessee? ha took me a bit to straighten out which letters got doubled in there!) who do you mean? [if you don't mind me asking] I don't mind. Who is nit picky? The colleges around here. They have an assumption that all undergraduate incoming students will have had 3 lab sciences while in high school because that is the minimum state standard. Therefore, the "umbrella schools" that do the administration of homeschoolers in our state make sure that homeschool families are knowing to include enough labs to not put a homeschooled student at a disadvantage when enrolling in college. You see, where we live, we have to report to someone in order to be legal. We either report to the local school district, or to an umbrella school (or also called Church Related School). So, they get some say in it as well as parent who homeschools. the other side is that in order to set your own standards in your own, you have to have something to compare and contrast and make some decisions. College admissions standards is only one of them. There is the "yes, we homeschool we can set our own graduation requirements" side of it all. But there is also the side of "well... you know.. the colleges might require stuff for full admission, so I might want to take that into consideration as I decide. and I really don't want my child at a disadvantage to other students." so there's a bit of integrity with it as one designs what is best for their student. So, microscopes, dissections, other labs are "normal" part of earning lab science. My whole point all along with the original poster was that even if she isn't able to use a microscope, as long as she did the other categories of labs in the Apologia Biology text, she can have the integrity to say "we got biology with lab done" without feeling like she somehow short changed her student. (and of course the other posters in this thread, said the same thing too.) I guess one could say that transcripts are fancy report cards that are for the entire high school "career" not just for a specific year. But I'd encourage you to follow a link here to learn some more on them http://www.hslda.org/highschool/academics.asp#transcripts and for a bit more on the "credits" thing, this might be helpful for high school years http://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/EvaluatingCredits.asp Hope some of that helps as you get through the high school years. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Kinda makes sense. :D I've never actually seen a "transcript" (as opposed to a regular "report card") but I gather it's a recording of the classes and grades a person has taken and received…. I guess I'm more used to the thought that for homeschoolers, the parent decides what's what -- when you say "they" are nit picky with regards to TN (Tennessee? ha took me a bit to straighten out which letters got doubled in there!) who do you mean? [if you don't mind me asking] OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!! You better learn!!! If your kids are going to go to college, then they need to have a transcript and you have to be able to prove to the colleges that what is on your transript is legitimate!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to make one for my children to do dual credit, take special summer camps, etc. They are absolutely necessary!!! Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emubird Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!! You better learn!!! If your kids are going to go to college, then they need to have a transcript and you have to be able to prove to the colleges that what is on your transript is legitimate!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had to make one for my children to do dual credit, take special summer camps, etc. They are absolutely necessary!!! Christine But that being said, making a transcript isn't really all that hard. It helps to look at a few examples, but most colleges that we dealt with took our word for the courses we put on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Who is nit picky? The colleges around here. They have an assumption that all undergraduate incoming students will have had 3 lab sciences while in high school because that is the minimum state standard. She makes a good point - it depends on where you are applying and your state standards... In this thread about "what makes a lab science good enough to be called with a lab" there is a link for the different state requirements for number of lab sciences required per state (though I think not all states are actually listed)...and it seems to vary between 0 - 3... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!! You better learn!!! If your kids are going to go to college, then they need to have a transcript and you have to be able to prove to the colleges that what is on your transript is legitimate!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had to make one for my children to do dual credit, take special summer camps, etc. They are absolutely necessary!!! Christine A little rust check might fix that sticky ! key you've got there. :tongue_smilie: Why are you having birds at me? I'm not familiar with "transcripts" - I didn't go through high school myself, so I never had any. Dh went to tenth and eleventh, but doesn't have any old paperwork kicking around. Dd14 is just starting high school this year - it starts in tenth here, not ninth like in the USA. (and she might be going to PS in a few months if/when we move) I've never had a summer camp want any sort of school reports, and I don't really know what your "dual credit" is --- I think that's something to do with high schoolers also taking college classes? I don't think that happens here. I've never heard of anyone doing it… high schoolers just go to high school. I'm going back to check out the detailed post from Crystal and peek at the links. Not everybody does everything the very same way. There. Now you can set those birds off to fly south for the snowy season. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I don't mind. Who is nit picky? The colleges around here. They have an assumption that all undergraduate incoming students will have had 3 lab sciences while in high school because that is the minimum state standard. Therefore, the "umbrella schools" that do the administration of homeschoolers in our state make sure that homeschool families are knowing to include enough labs to not put a homeschooled student at a disadvantage when enrolling in college. You see, where we live, we have to report to someone in order to be legal. We either report to the local school district, or to an umbrella school (or also called Church Related School). So, they get some say in it as well as parent who homeschools. the other side is that in order to set your own standards in your own, you have to have something to compare and contrast and make some decisions. College admissions standards is only one of them. There is the "yes, we homeschool we can set our own graduation requirements" side of it all. But there is also the side of "well... you know.. the colleges might require stuff for full admission, so I might want to take that into consideration as I decide. and I really don't want my child at a disadvantage to other students." so there's a bit of integrity with it as one designs what is best for their student. So, microscopes, dissections, other labs are "normal" part of earning lab science. My whole point all along with the original poster was that even if she isn't able to use a microscope, as long as she did the other categories of labs in the Apologia Biology text, she can have the integrity to say "we got biology with lab done" without feeling like she somehow short changed her student. (and of course the other posters in this thread, said the same thing too.) I guess one could say that transcripts are fancy report cards that are for the entire high school "career" not just for a specific year. But I'd encourage you to follow a link here to learn some more on them http://www.hslda.org/highschool/academics.asp#transcripts and for a bit more on the "credits" thing, this might be helpful for high school years http://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/EvaluatingCredits.asp Hope some of that helps as you get through the high school years. -crystal Thank you! This actually makes quite a bit of sense - and I'm peeking at the links…the "simple" transcript PDF document actually looks pretty much like a report card to me… although I think the schools here stop giving letter grades at the end of elementary and start using percentages. Meaning, your end of the year mark is 95% or something, not a letter. We're just poking into the high school years now (dd14 is in tenth - the first high school year here) and she may end up going to ps later in the fall, so I'm not sure how much I'll have to do with regards to high school type record keeping, but this is very helpful. We have to register here as well, but the organizations that you register with are extremely anti-ps, so they pretty much carry the message of "just don't do what the PS does." I'll go back to those links again after, have a newbie who wants some attentions. Thanks again! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Our library actually has a microscope and some other cool stuff that you can check out, in the children's section. It can't hurt to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 :iagree:We did Bio in a group setting and just pulled up the slides on youtube. I think every experiement from Apologia Bio was on Youtube. Yes it was...and then some. The slide shows were better than ANYTHING I ever was able to get to see on a school type microscope. We were all fascinated...and some of the experiments came with some wonderful teachers...AWESOME! Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Thank you! This actually makes quite a bit of sense - and I'm peeking at the links…the "simple" transcript PDF document actually looks pretty much like a report card to me… although I think the schools here stop giving letter grades at the end of elementary and start using percentages. Meaning, your end of the year mark is 95% or something, not a letter. glad it was helpful. I still feel like a newbie on so much of it. One of my friends put both letter grades and percentages on her children's transcripts. That family had spent a lot of time outside of the US as well as inside US so it made more sense to them to do letter and percentages. I guess in my experiences the difference between report card and transcript is that transcript is cumulative while report card is just for semester or year. There is not one and only way to do it correctly. I remember working in university offices where we'd have to read transcripts from all over the place. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemy9kids Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Thank you all for your help. I never thought of You Tube! What a great idea. I am relieved :001_smile: Renee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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