changing from apologia to AIG God's design

[hsmom08]

I was wondering if any of you guys have used apologia young explorers, then decided to switch over to AIG God's design series. Could I have your input please? I'm thinking of switching. Just getting tired of apologia series.

Thanks

[SebastianCat]

I did Apologia Botany with my DS, then switched to Sonlight science for a year (which we hated - the books were good but it was too much jumping around), then to AIG's God's Design for Heaven and Earth, then back to Apologia Flying Creatures this year.

 

Personally, my kids & I can honestly say we prefer Apologia, but I do get tired when we study just...one...thing....ALLLL......year.....long.

 

Compared to Apologia, AIG is more textbook-y. The lessons are more concice in some ways, with a dryer tone, which some people like. It gets the job done without being too "conversational" in tone (like Apologia).

 

One thing I did not like about AIG was that it advertised that it was designed to be used for multiple ages. The "beginner" section of each chapter was too little for my DD, who was in 1st grade when we used it. The "regular" section of the chapter then repeated what was stated in the "beginner" section. So in trying to teach my 3rd and 1st graders together, it felt redundant. My science-loving DS liked AIG, while my non-science-loving DD did not like it.

 

So we've come back to Apologia and have had a pretty good year with Flying Creatures. We plan to do Swimming Creatures next year and Anatomy the year after, then I don't know what we'll do after that.

[lotsofpumpkins]

We've been using Apologia, and will use some God's Design next year. I haven't actually used God's Design yet, so I can't give an opinion on it, but just wanted to say it doesn't have to be a permanent switch or anything. I am going to buy just one of the God's Design books, probably Human Body, and start with that. If we end up not liking it, then we can move on to something else after that, either one of the Apologia books we haven't done yet, or something else entirely. If we do like God's Design, then I will buy more of the books. It's easy to try a little bit of it without spending a lot of money.

 

I have heard that if you don't prefer the wordiness of Apologia, then you'll like God's Design because it's more to the point. I like that it is broken down into age groups, because I will be combining K, 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders.

 

ETA: I was posting at the same time as the reply above. That reply pretty much sums up what I've heard about God's Design, and reminds me why I'm only buying a little bit of our science at a time for next year!

Edited March 6, 2012 by lotsofpumpkins

[SilverMoon]

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Edited April 21, 2023 by SilverMoon

[hsmom08]

Thanks for all the input. I guess part of why I was leaning toward AIG was because they have chemistry for the younger age. I'm going to buy a used set give it a try.

[Paintedlady]

We used Apologia's Astronomy book our first year when my kids were in 1st and 2nd grade and I liked it but didn't love it. Last year we tried AIG and really loved it. I thought it was perfect for their ages now (upper elementary). We're completing the God's Design for Life series, which consists of animals, human body, and plants. We'll be moving onto the God's Design for Chemistry & Ecology set next year.

 

I do add in supplemental materials and extra reading, as well as outlines, experiments, and special projects. We've also added in studies of different scientists that might relate to what we're currently learning. We just finished a supplemental project about George Washington Carver b/c we're studying plants right now, and it's all fitting together nicely.

[brla]

how did this work for you? I have a few that are interested in the Chemistry for next year.

[staceyobu]

We used God's Design anatomy and then switched to apologia. I found the younger section too light and the harder section very technical. We enjoyed apologia a lot more. I wound up basically using God's Design as an outline for getting living books from the library.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Just a note, Apologia is suppose to be adding a Chemistry book to the elementary series soon. Not sure when though.

[Woodland_Mom]

We have used both. I guess I'm different than many who have posted so far. I think I like God's Design Science better. Although, I do like Apologia as well.

I started AIG Science when my kids were in 1st and 3rd grade. We covered human body, Plants and Animals. It was the older version. I liked it because it was very doable. The reading portion was concise and there was enough hands on to keep my kiddos happy. I always felt it was very simple to go to the library and look up books for the topic we were studying that week. I'd fill my book basket with vibrant picture books for the kids to peruse.

 

We have also used Apologia's Astronomy and Botany books. I like them, but have never been thrilled with the writing style. Sometimes I felt that the lesson went on for too long! :bored: The projects are excellent, and this is a very good choice if you enjoy notebooking.

 

We have also completed the newest version of AIG chemistry. My kids were 11 and 9 when we did it. We all loved the course! The reading was concise, but gave us plenty to grasp onto. The newer books have a "beginners" section that you use with your younger kids and a more advanced section with meatier details for the older set. This was perfect for us! There were many times I introduced the topic using the beginner reading section. We'd discuss and complete an activity. The next day I'd read the advanced material and we'd discuss the questions and do the workbook pages (if applicable). All of the new AIG books have color pictures and the beginner/advanced sections.

 

The AIG books don't have as much reading material in them as the Apologia books, but I actually prefer that! I like filling our book basket with library books or supplementing the information with colorful science encyclopedias, rather than get all of our information from one book.

[ChicoryChick]

According to Jeanne Fulbright's website under FAQ the Chemistry/Physics book is planning to be out Spring of 2013, possibly later if there are production problems. Just thought I would pit that out there as we are also planning on doing Chemistry and Physical science next year. While also comsidering AIG, I am looking at RS4K and the Tiner books to supplement.

 

i have done one AIG book in the past with my oldest dd and we found it very dry. This wqs bwfore they were revised by Answers in Genesis and I have heard since that The Planet Earth book (which was the one that we used) was the "driest" of the series.

[naturally]

I have been looking into Chemistry for mine next year. Here's my thread.

 

Also, I asked Apologia about chemistry and they said this year but didn't say any more specific.

[mytwomonkeys]

we used apologia astronomy last year. this year we are using AIG god's design: the world of animals. i love it! i use it as a spine and add a lot of meat to it, but we really enjoy the series! :) based on these two choices, i prefer AIG. i guess i'm odd man out.