lindsrae Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I looked at Apologia at a hs convention last year and really liked the look of it. But my eldest is only in first grade, and I thought it would be a little much for her. We are working on REAL science this year...it is ok, and I know I should supplement with more books, but science is just the last priority for me right now! I think I will enjoy having the accountability (and the "check--we finished a chapter" feeling) that a textbook will provide. So what kinds of kids enjoy Apologia? What kinds of teachers appreciate it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We use it and really like it but it is wordy. My daughter loves to read and can read it on her own so it works well for us. We go much slower than the recommended pace. Because it can be used for such a wide range of ages and there is so much information in the book we just can't get through a lesson every other week like it is scheduled out in the notebook. If I had to read it out loud to her we would get through even less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We use it and really like it but it is wordy. My daughter loves to read and can read it on her own so it works well for us. We go much slower than the recommended pace. Because it can be used for such a wide range of ages and there is so much information in the book we just can't get through a lesson every other week like it is scheduled out in the notebook. If I had to read it out loud to her we would get through even less. Maybe that would work here, too. We tried it this year (1st and 3rd grade) and dropped it because I couldn't keep to the schedule and felt that the girls were zoning out while I was reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I tried using parts of it for interest-led science, but I've found that it works better for us to just let my son read it on his own when he wants to. We have Astronomy, Zoo1, Zoo2, and Zoo3. I know he's finished reading the Astronomy book, and he's read bits and pieces of the others. I like having them as "pull off the shelf and reference" type books. For example, one day he got an interest in insects, so he pulled out the book that discussed insects and read up on them. We're using BJU Science for our "official" science this year, but we won't finish it. We're not textbook people. I think we do better with library books and science kits, and just having some science books like Apologia and others on the shelf to reference when we want to. (and RSO wasn't a good fit here either) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The Astonomy book is really great. I amnot YE so I had to delete a couple of sections, but I was more than happy with the focus on God's creation of the universe. My kids literally hung on every word and they were 5 and 4 when we used it. They are used to reading higher level stuff though because we follow more of a CM approach. The main things that I loved about it: The experiments work and you don't have to buy expensive materials. The experiments that require more time and energy have more bang to them and are worth it (this was a problem that I had with the experiments in RSO Earth and Space...they were time consuming and expensive and didn't even teach that much to be worth it most of the time). It is filled with information. I learned a lot reading it and we have checked out almost every space book our library has. The book is up to date and very readable. My kids loved narrating and illustrated (I didn't do the notebooking journals). I bound all their narrations and coloring pages (they usually colored while we were reading from free coloring pages off the internet) into a book for them when we were done. The lessons were short. It only took us about 10-15 minutes to read each section. I can see how not everyone would like it, especially kids that don't like to be read to. I have all 6 books and I would start with Astronomy. Botany and Anatomy look a little too advanced for early elementary. They also make excellent reference books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsrae Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 This is sounding like a good fit for us! I appreciate the replies. Can anyone describe the notebooking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Because I habitually over-purchase curriculum:lol: I have both the junior and regular notebook for Anatomy & the notebook for Astronomy. For each lesson there are generally narration type questions, minbooks (the regular notebook activities might involve writing vs. just cut & paste for the junior book), sheets to record experiment notes & results, crossword puzzles (in the junior book it usually has the first letter filled in as a clue), a Bible verse for copywork, and a page with suggested library books and/or DVDs to go with the lesson. There are coloring pages in the junior book but not the regular. They are well put together and well worth the cost in my opinion. We love the materials I have just decided to live with the fact that it will probably take a year to get thru the book because Science is often what gets skipped when we take too long on other subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The experiments work and you don't have to buy expensive materials. The experiments that require more time and energy have more bang to them and are worth it (this was a problem that I had with the experiments in RSO Earth and Space...they were time consuming and expensive and didn't even teach that much to be worth it most of the time). :iagree: We have enjoyed all the experiments we've done. Some are even easy enough that my six year old did them herself. It is filled with information. I learned a lot reading it and we have checked out almost every space book our library has. The book is up to date and very readable. :iagree: With this too...we're doing Anatomy and I'm learning right along with dd I can see how not everyone would like it, especially kids that don't like to be read to. I have all 6 books and I would start with Astronomy. Botany and Anatomy look a little too advanced for early elementary. They also make excellent reference books QUOTE] We originally started the Astronomy and then shelved it because i re-read the WTM and decided to to Anatomy with ancient history and Astronomy with the middle ages. If we had stuck with Astronomy we might have finished faster because the Anatomy is pretty advanced. It's not that dd can't understand the information it's just so full of content in each chapter we end up staying on each lesson for several weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28kds Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We are doing "Swimming Animals" with my 5th grader. He really likes it. We do the journal also because I think it helps with learning to actually write something down. I don't do everything. I usually don't have the stuff for experiments so that gets put on the shelf but I do like the journal. It has crossword puzzles of the words they learned, a fascinating facts page to write and draw some fascinating facts they learned and gives a place to write down observations and stuff when you do the experiments etc. I would get the journal again. We read together because my son likes to do it that way. He likes the time with me and we talk about it as we read. It is a but much, imo, to go along their schedule that is listed in the journal so we just do a few pages a day and plan on just the one subject per year. I already have "Astronomy" for next year just wishing they had something that covers a variety of subjects for the year instead of 1 per year. That would be my only complaint but i understand that they did each book according to how creation was started. It is easy for the kids to understand and my little ones like to come and listen sometimes when we do science. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookamama Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Very useful information here! Thanks everyone for your input! I'll be checking it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 We have Astronomy and i haven't even been thinking of it as a textbook. It's just a read aloud here. I didn't realize there was a schedule (although it should have been apparent) and have just been reading a comfortable amount (one titled section, usually) a couple of times each week. I don't have the notebook. Sometimes I'll have DS narrate. Usually we discuss it and end off on a tangent, pulling out my iPad as I have a few astronomy apps on there (which gets us outside stargazing at night, also, now that we have something to tell us what we're looking at). Basically, we are a study and teacher pair that like to read and discuss and then go further with our own explorations as far as our curiosity leads us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 We are also doing a very slowed down schedule with Zoology 1. It takes us three weeks to complete 1 chapter. It will take us longer than a traditional 36 week school year to finish it, but I like the slowed down schedule. We add in living books, fiction books, and documentaries (Winged Migration is awesome!!!) to give it an even more CM feel. I like Apologia because I am learning just as much, probably more, than dd like other PPs have said. Dd likes it because she loves learning about animals. I am letting her pick what books we do each year. We are planning on Zoology 2 next year and then Botany after that. I know some people have a problem focusing only on "biology" topics so much, but when we started Zoology 1 one of the very first chapters is devoted to flight. We learned a lot of physics during that chapter and the experiment was to design two different types of gliders to see which design flew better. So even though it's lots of "biology", you do hit on some other scientific disciplines. We use the lapbook sold here because the Jr. Notebook wasn't out yet when we started last fall. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) I am doing Astronomy with my two 6 YO's right now and we are really enjoying it. We are using the Jr. Notebooks and I would definitely get them again. They are great. My sons enjoy coloring and the notebook comes with coloring pages so they do that while I am reading. One of my sons is very into cursive so he was also doing the cursive copywork (they include the same Bible verse in cursive and manuscript). I have them each tell me some facts they found interesting from the reading and I write them down for them in the notebook. They provide the illustrations to go with it. They also narrate to me and I write it on a separate piece of paper, which might be a bit overkill. We have not been doing this very long so we are still trying to find our perfect groove. Both the notebook and the text provides various activities and projects to do, including the previously mentioned minibooks that are provided in the notebook. Today my two sons and I were all playing roles of the sun, earth and moon, as we were rotating and revolving. They enjoyed it and really understood the difference. We were going to put a rod in the yard and measure it's shadow every hour but the sun was not out today or yesterday. We were also going to use a magnifying glass to focus the sun's rays and melt a chocolate bar and burn a hole through a leaf but we are waiting for the sun to make an appearance. Something to look forward on the next sunny day. Another project we did was to paint various shaped Styrofoam balls to represent the sun and all of the planets. We have a long hallway upstairs so we measured it out and hung our sun and planets approximate distances from the sun. The boys were both amazed at how far some of the planets are from the sun and from other planets. It was a great learning project and we will probably keep our planets hanging for a long time. So, we are really enjoying it. As a PP said, my sons also love to be read to and are used to listening to books well beyond their level. We are all really learning a lot and I also agree with what someone said about it not seeming like a textbook but more like a read-aloud. Very interesting information and I am learning right along with them, although we too cover the chapters a bit slower than the schedule in the Jr. Notebook. Edited April 5, 2012 by Lea in OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 This may be bad, but I am NOT science-y, and I think what I like about it is that I don't feel like I have to try to attempt to be a scientist to use it. I read it with the kids. We discuss it together. We enjoy and discuss the photos together. We narrate and write and maybe do the crossword puzzle or the lapbook component in the notebook. We read some of the other books together that the notebook recommends. Then we might do an experiment here and there, if it appeals to us and I don't have to make a shopping trip to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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