RainbowSprinkles Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Is anyone here using Apologia for science? Would you share your opinions on it, specifically Astronomy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 We started astronomy and dd6 was enjoying for the first few chapters. We switched to anatomy because I re-read wtm and it recommended studying anatomy with ancient history & astronomy with the middle ages. We should be getting back to astronomy soon. For us it is a good fit. Dd loves to read so it's not a problem that it's wordy. I should mention that ahe is a strong reader so indon't know that most elementary age kida xouls eead Ns xomprehen the material on their own. There's a lot of information in each chapter. We use the notebooks and move a little slower than the recommended schedule because science Is often what gets bumped on busy weeks. there is definately a Christian worldview presented in the material. I plan to do all the elementary books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 We love the Astronomy book!!!! It is very meaty which I love because my DS5 loves this stuff and already knows so much (we have literally read every book in the library). I am Christian so I love the comments about God, but I am old earth so I skip a section every once in awhile. It isn't a big deal to do that though. The included activities are great and are not very time consuming or expensive which I love. I also have RSO Earth and Space and find that those experiments are much more difficult to do and require finding weird things even though I bought the kit! I have heard some complaints about their kids not being interested, but I haven't found that to be the case at all. Even my 4 year old pays attention most of the time. I can't speak to the notebooks since we don't use those. I just have them narrate to me and draw a picture of what we learned. I write down the narrations for our notebook. I had a lot of doubts when ordering this product, but I have to admit that I absolutely love it. 5 stars!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 The Apologia books were too much for my boys in 1st and 2nd, but now in 3rd my oldest is eating up Zoology (flying creatures). I'd try to browse one before deciding and see if it'd be a good fit yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 We all love the their astronomy book. Unfortunately, one of the reasons is because we can get the info without having to do any experiments. She has sensory issues, so I really appreciate that. And yes, it is FULL of information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I tried Astronomy this year but I'm finding it a challenge for my 6yo. We got distracted down a bunny trail unit study about dolphins, then whales, then sharks, etc. and haven't gotten back to it yet. I did buy the notebook and then also printed some extra mini-books. I think it's a difficult thing for a young child to wrap their brain around - the universe and planets. Talking about how plants grow or the water cycle is just much more easily grasped. So, I'm still on the fence - haven't given up but we're not loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I like Apologia. I would like it better if I didn't have to read it all outloud to my kids. It is very wordy, but they love it. My DS 10 is perfectly capable of doing it by himself, but his little sister joins us. We have done Zoology 1, 2, and Astronomy. Astronomy was my least favorite, but I still liked it. We loved, loved the flying creatures! That was our best science year ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Apologia Astronomy has been a hit here! The kids are learning so much and often ask for more when it's time to stop reading for the day. We are using the free note booking pages and that has been working well. We are definitely planning to use others in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 This is my first year using Apologia and we are doing Astronomy. I love it and my son is loving it. Science is his favorite subject so the fact that it goes into detail is great. We are enjoying the projects and experiments also. We didn't buy the notebook, he has his own and that has been fun for him. I also like that it gives "creation confirmations". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm37 Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I like Apologia. I would like it better if I didn't have to read it all outloud to my kids. It is very wordy, but they love it. My DS 10 is perfectly capable of doing it by himself, but his little sister joins us. We have done Zoology 1, 2, and Astronomy. Astronomy was my least favorite, but I still liked it. We loved, loved the flying creatures! That was our best science year ever. :iagree: I like the description "wordy." :) It really is perfect. We just love birds and so I was really looking forward to the Flying Creatures book. Oh, my, too much information even for us. My girls asked me to please stop, please! That is one of the few books where that happened. Blessings, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Astronomy was my least favorite, but I still liked it. We loved, loved the flying creatures! That was our best science year ever :lol: We were the exact opposite! We tried Flying Creatures last year and did not like it at all. I would not have tried Apologia again, except that I already owned Astronomy. We are using it this year and all three of us were just commenting today that this is our favorite subject this year! We've all learned so much (yes, me included!). I think one thing that made a big difference here, though, was that last year I tried to do science 2 days per week and read about 1/2 a chapter at a sitting. That was FAR too much for 'my' boys. They lost interest and didn't retain anything. This year, we only read 2-3 pages at a time. Sometimes we get through a chapter in a week, sometimes in 2 weeks, but they are remembering the information better and also enjoying it more. Now I'm thinking we might have to go back and try Zoo 1 again one of these years. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketgirl Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 We are also using Apologia for Science for the first time, although we chose Zoology 3. We love it. We have been doing it every day, completing a chapter each week & my kids seem to love that pace. But I would like to slow down enough that we can digest what we are reading, find more books or videos about what we are reading, before we go on. So I am contemplating a week on, a week off, or a Monday, Wednesday kind of schedule.. not sure yet. (I would think that Astronomy must be kind of hard anyway!!?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 We are using Apologia Zoology 1 so far and I have to say that for science it seems to be the only one that has come close to what I have been looking for. The colorful real-life images, the information (besides my son I am learning so much too :)), the experiments and notebook, all have made this program the most useful for science in our home (and we have tried a few others ;)). So far it seems to be a keeper and I went ahead and bought Zoology 2 even though we will be using Houghton Mifflin Science 3 after we finish Zoology 1 and won't be getting to it probably till the summer. We are not YE but so far this has not been an issue and all the information just seems so interesting to us. It has given me an even greater appreciation of God's creations :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted October 29, 2011 Author Share Posted October 29, 2011 Thank you for all the replies! I haven't decided yet... I don't know if I want to spend a whole year on just Astronomy.. Did you get tired of it after a while or did you actually finish the whole book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Thank you for all the replies! I haven't decided yet... I don't know if I want to spend a whole year on just Astronomy.. Did you get tired of it after a while or did you actually finish the whole book? I will let others answer this since we are on Lesson 5 (of 14) in Zoology 1 currently and will be using another program besides Apologia anyway. ETA: We are also not using the Astronomy book that you are asking about yet ;), so another reason that I cannot reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 We are doing it as a 6 week unit study so no boredom here. I don't think my kids would be bored if we did it all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 (edited) OK, I can reply on the getting tired part (at least up to this point) and so far we have not experienced that at all. We did take a break due to our move but we were so heavily involved even when we were not using the book doing nature walks, observing our bird feeders and taking pictures etc. and the interest to the flying creatures book we are using has not worn off in the least. But just like every program, it is not for everyone. I think you need to evaluate the program vs. how your kids learn best. We are mastery oriented and don't have a problem focusing on one topic and expanding on it over an extended period of time. This is not math, it's science, and there's just so much to learn about our physical world! Then again, there is a lot of information packed in the Apologia books and if you and your children prefer a type of program with more of a variety you may want to look elsewhere. Each book has 14 lessons which it is suggested they be covered one per two weeks, so 28 weeks altogether. Depending on the child's age and his/ her interest level, you could do some if not all the lessons one per week and still have time in the same year to use something else for variety as well. HTH. Edited October 29, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I'm doing apologia astronomy with my 6 1/2 yo right now. I like the book, a lot, but I think he's too young for it. It's just too much information and it's overload for him. We're going to finish it, but I'm going to simplify it and use books from the library instead of all of the apologia text. The best part is the projects, ds loves those. Right now I'm actually trying to figure out what to use instead of apologia since it's just not working for us right now. As in what to do when we're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 don't know if I want to spend a whole year on just Astronomy.. Did you get tired of it after a while or did you actually finish the whole book Well, since we're using it right now I can't say if it will get tiring or not...but at the pace we're doing it (spending 1, occasionally 2 weeks per chapter) we plan to finish up early enough in the year to do Earth Science for the rest of the year. We are going to use A Child's Geography Explore His Earth. This book seems quite similar to the Apologia books in its style, amount of projects etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I will say that I have adapted my use of Apologia now as more of a reference system. I have given myself permission to use parts of the books but not all of them, and come back to topics at different times. This was very liberating. For instance, we were wearing out on the fish book, so we dropped it and are coming back around to it based on my daughter's keen interest in fish right now. I will go back to the others at other times, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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