Live2Ride Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 (edited) BJU Biology or Apologia? I have a Freshman who is starting Biology. I like that the BJU text has human anatomy included, and seems quite in depth. I know Apologia separates them into two separate years of study. I also was thinking that going with the BJU text might be difficult and feel rushed. I want her to have good grounding on both... What are some Pro's and Con's to the two and what would you recommend. I honestly think this kid will be headed towards a science specific field of study based on some of the careers she's interested in. And I have both texts in hand. Been comparing, bu I'd love those with experience to help me out, :) Edited August 4, 2012 by CountryGirl2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 BJU Biology or Apologia? I honestly think this kid will be headed towards a science specific field of study based on some of the careers she's interested in. :) BJU if she's a science-y kid. The format of Apologia and lack of pictures bored me silly. The wordiness of the explanations and the layout of the lessons drove my dd nuts. We're just starting, though... only BTDT insofar as making the decision between the two. Just the lab book availability was worth choosing BJU as far as I was concerned. We're also using Miller-Levine, though, at least for certain topics. We still prefer the layout of the BJU text to the Miller-Levine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 4, 2012 Author Share Posted August 4, 2012 Thanks! Anyone else? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 (edited) We loved Apologia -- and I have two science-y guys. While the text looks dry, both my guys liked the way Jay Wile wrote to them. I liked the homeschool-friendly structure and testing materials (I'm sure BJU's materials are equally homeschool-friendly). However, if my two had not liked the texts, I would have changed in a second! I would ask your ds which text she prefers. IMO, student ownership is a big help in laying the groundwork for a successful year. Either text will give her a good grounding in biology -- and if she likes the subject, chances are good that she will want to revisit it in an advanced class in 11th or 12th. So any "holes" will eventually be filled. :) Good luck! Edited August 4, 2012 by Brigid in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRTX Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I like Apologia better for the human anatomy stuff. It goes into so much more depth (after all it is a year text), but I like BJU for the other. That probably did not help at all. I have had one do BJU through a co-op and it was hard. My next did Apologia (just one book) and the third did both Apologia books. I did not have time to thoroughly teach biology to my two oldest and neither were going into a field where they needed it. The third wants to be a nurse and I thought the thorough year on human anatomy was beneficial. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Thanks. I plan to have her look over them herself and see what she thinks. I know that we can always get more books and do more experiments to beef it up should it not feel like it's enough. Thanks so far for the imput! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 We haven't used them yet, but when presented with the options of BJU vs. Apologia, my dc much preferred the BJU for the detailed descriptions and the visuals. However, when I compared Miller and Levine to BJU, the explanations were so much clearer in M&L that I've decided it's the best choice for us, even though it's a much thicker book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 We haven't used them yet, but when presented with the options of BJU vs. Apologia, my dc much preferred the BJU for the detailed descriptions and the visuals. However, when I compared Miller and Levine to BJU, the explanations were so much clearer in M&L that I've decided it's the best choice for us, even though it's a much thicker book. Where can you pick up the M&L texts? I'd like to look at it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibaker103 Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Apologia Bio was so dry, boring, and colorless my ds refused to use it. We used ck12.org Honors Bio which was awesome. Ds said it was detailed and interesting while being clear and specific. It was well laid out and extremely easy for me. Ds was able to do it independently and come to me whenever he was ready for a quiz, test, or unit exam. The only thing I did was add in some Netflix documentaries and dissections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Where can you pick up the M&L texts? I'd like to look at it too. I got mine used off either Amazon or ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Where can you pick up the M&L texts? I'd like to look at it too. I checked it out from the library through Inter-library loan to preview it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 What we have done: Use BJU for biology, but stop when you hit the human anatomy. (It isn't covered in their DVD classes.) Take a separate year and do anatomy with the Apologia book. I have also used the Apologia biology. I don't think it was half as good as BJU, but Apologia's anatomy is fantastic. There is really too much information to cover both well as one course. Take two years and get all the interesting tidbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 What we have done: Use BJU for biology, but stop when you hit the human anatomy. (It isn't covered in their DVD classes.) Take a separate year and do anatomy with the Apologia book. I have also used the Apologia biology. I don't think it was half as good as BJU, but Apologia's anatomy is fantastic. There is really too much information to cover both well as one course. Take two years and get all the interesting tidbits. this is hubby and my thoughts as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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