Apologia General Science or something else for 7th grade?

[KellyMama]

This was our first year at home (6th, 4th, 2nd) and we picked Apologia Anatomy and Physiology for science - it was an all-around success. We all got so much from it and I felt it was easy to tailor to the 3 grade levels we had in our homeschool classroom.

 

Now for 7th I'm stumped on what to do. I'm vacillating between just letting my DD do General Science on her own or having her do science with us again (we're leaning towards another Apologia study this year - possibly Swimming Creatures). I feel as though there is a lot of repetition in General Science because half the book covers anatomy (which we have done - very thoroughly) and I've also heard it's very "dry" - which I think will be difficult for her if she sees how much fun we're having with our Swimming Creatures text.

 

I've enjoyed us all doing science together this year - makes experiments, science-oriented field trips etc very easy to coordinate, but if General Science is what she needs, she is fine to work alone (relatively self-motivated/will stay on task).

 

What are some solid science options for 7th and (I guess the bigger question is . . .) what is the determining factor for 7th gr science? I figured it was just an extension of preparation for upper level sciences? Also, we prefer a Christian-based curriculum.

[5 Hikers]

I'm using Exploration Education with my 7th. We used Apologia for most of elementary.

 

Rainbow Science looked really good too.

 

I am very happy with my choice. I got the box last week. It comes with most of the supplies. The lessons are done on the computer so he can be independent.

[KellyMama]

I'm using Exploration Education with my 7th. We used Apologia for most of elementary.

 

Rainbow Science looked really good too.

 

I am very happy with my choice. I got the box last week. It comes with most of the supplies. The lessons are done on the computer so he can be independent.

 

Thanks - that does look good! Did you order the Advanced kit/course? My only concern would be the degree of difficulty with it being geared towards 7-12th graders.

[5 Hikers]

Thanks - that does look good! Did you order the Advanced kit/course? My only concern would be the degree of difficulty with it being geared towards 7-12th graders.

 

 

I went with Standard. The only difference between the standard and advnaced is the amount of paperwork. THe experiments are the same, I asked. The advanced has them doing full lab reports and the standard fills in the procedure for the lab reports. They still have to answer the hypothesis and results, just not write out the entire thing.

[KellyMama]

I went with Standard. The only difference between the standard and advnaced is the amount of paperwork. THe experiments are the same, I asked. The advanced has them doing full lab reports and the standard fills in the procedure for the lab reports. They still have to answer the hypothesis and results, just not write out the entire thing.

 

Thanks! Can you tell me what swayed you to EE vs Rainbow? I'm loving the look of Rainbow right now so I wondered what made the difference for you? Also, what are your thoughts for 8th grade since you will already have covered physics? I was contemplating Apologia Physical Science, but obviously, with either EE or Rainbow, that won't be the case. With Rainbow, I could stretch it out to the 2 year plan they offer, but with EE . . . what do you pick for 8th? :)

[5 Hikers]

Apologia reminded me so much of college textbooks. I just want them to love science and find it fun.

 

I went with EE over Rainbow because of cost. Also, I like that it is on the computer so it is more independent.

 

For 8th I might go back and do Rainbow. So, that would be 8th and 9th. Then we could move on to Spectrum for 10th.

I don't know what to do for 11th and 12th if I go that route, but I have some years to figure it out.

[Renaissance Mom]

When my oldest was still in 5th/6th grades, I was planning ahead and looked at Apologia General Science and thought, "Snore City!" I just rebelled at the thought of a formal textbook. I drooled over Rainbow but couldn't quite get over the expense.

 

Due to some odd circumstances that I won't get into here, I begrudgingly decided to use the Apologia text (and ended up teaching it at our co-op -- but that's another story). My non-science-loving dd loved it! She loved the way Dr. Wile explained things. She loved that he regularly referred to Scripture and creation. By the end of the year, she declared she wanted to be some sort of scientist.

 

Could this have happened with Rainbow or some other curriculum? Probably. Maybe. But my dd was ready for this approach and I didn't even realize it. I had been so concerned with finding something that LOOKED interesting that I lost sight of the fact that content matters more than form. For us, that content needed to present science but also show how it is a result of God's work, not a deviation from it.

 

I certainly don't think that one curriculum is for everyone. However, I don't want anyone researching possibilities to think that this text should automatically be weeded out because it is a textbook.

[KellyMama]

When my oldest was still in 5th/6th grades, I was planning ahead and looked at Apologia General Science and thought, "Snore City!" I just rebelled at the thought of a formal textbook. I drooled over Rainbow but couldn't quite get over the expense.

 

Due to some odd circumstances that I won't get into here, I begrudgingly decided to use the Apologia text (and ended up teaching it at our co-op -- but that's another story). My non-science-loving dd loved it! She loved the way Dr. Wile explained things. She loved that he regularly referred to Scripture and creation. By the end of the year, she declared she wanted to be some sort of scientist.

 

Could this have happened with Rainbow or some other curriculum? Probably. Maybe. But my dd was ready for this approach and I didn't even realize it. I had been so concerned with finding something that LOOKED interesting that I lost sight of the fact that content matters more than form. For us, that content needed to present science but also show how it is a result of God's work, not a deviation from it.

 

I certainly don't think that one curriculum is for everyone. However, I don't want anyone researching possibilities to think that this text should automatically be weeded out because it is a textbook.

 

Thank you for this review! I really have loved Apologia this year for all the reasons you listed! My kids were eager for science every day (I treated it like a read-aloud and they "took notes") - even the non-sciencey ones. ;)

 

I think my primary hesitation is based less on Apologia or a "textbook" approach but on the fact that we studied anatomy so in-depth this year that I felt much of the second half of the book would either be skipped over or review (which would = boring/demotivating).

 

If we do go with Rainbow, I'll be looking at purchasing a used textbook to reduce the cost somewhat. I think I can get it down to closer to $230-240 (rather than $270) by doing that. Considering I can potentially reuse it for the other 2 kids if we like it, or resell items from it, I'd be ok with that investment (although gulping heavily while shelling it out).