shellbelle Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 My son absolutely loves science! We have never used a formal curriculum, but he has read tons of books, listened to audio, watched documentaries, etc. He is really into robotics and astronomy and wishes to be a scientist some day. :) I would like to use a formal curriculum this year. Has anyone ever used Apologia General Science for a younger child? His reading and comprehension are high school level, but writing is typcical for a 10 yo. I did see that the 1st edition is really inexpensive at CBD. If not Apologia, do you have any other recommendations? We have done Supercharged Science in the past, but that is the extent of our experience with science curriculum. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2smartones Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yes, an advanced 5th grader can certainly handle it, and besides, you don't HAVE to require all the writing. Use it however it works best for your situation. (I believe the 1st edition is the one we have... it was gifted to us, so I didn't care which one it was, but I know it's an older edition.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 DD11 will use it this fall (6th), but I expect it to be quite easy for her. But she likes the book and it has good experiments. The writing component isn't overwhelming - mostly lab writeups and a few short essay on the tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 It is definitely accessible but my kids really don't like Wile's texts. (very preachy) General science is also a completely non-necessary course so don't feel like you have to spend a yr on it. If I had to choose amg textbook options, I would go w/Prentice Hall's Science Explorers over Apologia's general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2smartones Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 GenSci definitely isn't necessary, no, but I think it's a great intro since she said she hasn't used textbooks to this point. GenSci reviews a lot of the things that would've been learned in the K-6th Young Explorer series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 GenSci definitely isn't necessary, no, but I think it's a great intro since she said she hasn't used textbooks to this point. GenSci reviews a lot of the things that would've been learned in the K-6th Young Explorer series. I personally still do not believe it is necessary. My kids don't use any textbooks until high school level science and don't take general or physical. All high school level textbooks (and college level for that matter) start at an introductory level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2smartones Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Physical is my favorite, though. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Apologia General has a real different writing style than your standard text book. It's not very formal. Drove me crazy, but DS16 and DD11 both really enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 We did it with ds9 and dd11. Went really well. There are questions at the end of each chapter that they need to answer. Dd is a fabulus note taker so she had no problems. I helped ds by making study cards for each chapter. He could answer but not write that much. We did it all. Flew through it. Apologia physical science same experience. We loved both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) If the child might go into the sciences, and especially if you are concerned to teach a young earth/creationist perspective, I would say there are two problems with using Apologia generally -- though perhaps this General Science will suit you well. My comments are based on the Astronomy and Flying Creatures elementary books. First, some of the science is misleading or wrong, relative to standard science, and not all of the differences btw. Apologia and standard science are highlighted. Second, and more importantly, Apologia is particularly prone to making mistakes about what empirical scientists believe when it is arguing against old-earth and evolutionary science: often, "straw-men" positions are cut down, absurd positions that no actual old-earth scientist holds. The danger here is that if the child meets real scientists he may be startled to find out that the vast majority of old-earthers are not stupid, nor are they anti-Christian bigots, and his faith will be quite vulnerable if it is tied to an Apologia-like idea of Creation. I myself am old-earth and evolutionary in my perspective, but I am sympathetic to the goals of conservative Christian parents and think that the children should be armed with the more-sophisticated arguments for creationism, and a better sense of what scientists actually do and believe, than Apologia provides. Scientifically speaking, I would strongly suggest starting with some TOPS and perhaps GEMS modules. The electricity TOPS shouldn't have anything you can't teach with integrity to your faith, though the astronomies will assume a very old earth naturally. But you are unlikely to find my suggestions attractive if you are young-earth {wry smilie}. Perhaps other posters will have good suggestions that are appropriate for you ... Edited July 21, 2012 by serendipitous journey general usefulness, improving of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.