lots-o-rice Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I reallllly want to like Apologia. I have done general science with both my older boys, my freshman ds has now done both Physical, last year and Biology this year. It is sooooooooooooo boring. I would like Ds12 to do something else for Physics next year. I have done Dive with Apologia with my oldest this year, he wasn't impressed. He said it was just a super dry lecture to listen to along with the super dry textbook. Maybe something more interesting? Any recommendations. Thank you ahead of time, K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Recently I saw this free Coursera class mentioned here on the boards. It looks really good and accessible, so I signed up. The instructor has also written related books (one goes with this class) that get positive reviews. If you enroll you can download the videos for viewing later. How Things Work There's also Derek Owens Physical Science. I have no personal experience, but DO gets good reviews here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 If you don't mind secular, Conceptual Physics by Hewitt is quite enjoyable. We matched up a lot of TOPS units and kits from Home Science Tools and had a great, gentle high school physics year. Maybe get a Teaching Company Great Course on a physics topic -- they are lecture series and are 80% off through Jan. 31. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookspr Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 We are using Hewitt's Conceptual Physics this year for my 8th grade daughter and she is enjoying it. We will move onto Conceptual Chemistry next year. I also registered my son for the Coursera class on How Things Work as mentioned above. He is also going through the same subjects and my daughter is in the CP book but using the free CK-12.org website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee67p Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 lots-o-rice, I completely understand your perspective on Apg bks. We tried Swimmy, flying AND astronomy when G3 were younger. We found Elemental Science and loved it (open and go was wonderful). I'm looking forward to the middle grade level physics that should be coming out this year. BTW, Barb @harmonyartsmom http://harmonyfinearts.org/2010/03/making-apologia-science-texts-work-for-our-family/ wrote about making the Apologia texts work for her non-textbook family at the above url. Noeo science thru Logos School has great resources (http://www.logospressonline.com/physics-iii/), but I've not used their teacher guide. more power to ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 lots-o-rice, I completely understand your perspective on Apg bks. We tried Swimmy, flying AND astronomy when G3 were younger. We found Elemental Science and loved it (open and go was wonderful). I'm looking forward to the middle grade level physics that should be coming out this year. BTW, Barb @harmonyartsmom http://harmonyfinearts.org/2010/03/making-apologia-science-texts-work-for-our-family/ wrote about making the Apologia texts work for her non-textbook family at the above url. Noeo science thru Logos School has great resources (http://www.logospressonline.com/physics-iii/), but I've not used their teacher guide. more power to ya! We are another family who have used and really like Elemental Science. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 We are loving BJU. The DVDs have helped amplify things and lead us through the labs. (We do most labs, but the DVD helps a lot). It's been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColleenInWis Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Our family has the same opinion of Apologia as yours, lots-o-rice. We can't really see the point of reading and memorizing a series of boring facts just to take a test and get a score. I will be watching this thread to see what ideas others give. Oh--I'm forgetting about the exciting labs, in which you can experiment to answer a question that you really aren't asking (or maybe you aren't even clear what the question is) and that has been answered countless times by other people anyway. A couple things I can add: If other families in your area are in the same boat, you can really bless them by getting a co-op together. Even Apologia wouldn't be so bad if a group could do the labs together, discuss the material, study for tests together (once a week?). There is a similar co-op an hour from us which I seriously considered doing for our son, but didn't. They rotate through the science courses. I think homeschool families need all the encouragement they can get in the area of science! Online physics courses that are highly recommended. This article is from 2009, so perhaps there is some outdated info, but it may provide some leads. Another list here. How about comic books about physics? We were going to do physics this year, until my son mentioned he wanted to learn about the human body. So, it's anatomy and physiology right now, instead. We started w/ a college textbook, but that was way too much, so we are now using online resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 We switched to BJU online for similar reasons. I also found that they didn't retain info nearly as well as I would like. Science is now a favourite class for my guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Physics of Superheroes is a pretty neat book. Backyard Ballistics and Art of the Catapult are also highly engaging. None of these is a textbook, however, so it would be a much more unschooled feel. Thames an Kosmos kits are fantastic and do contain a "textbook" in the form of project guides. Thames basically teaches through lab work and inquiry. The Great Courses have numerous selections and many libraries carry them. We can access just about anything through InterLibrary Loan for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosepetal Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 We switched to BJU online for similar reasons. I also found that they didn't retain info nearly as well as I would like. Science is now a favourite class for my guys. Which online Science(Grade 5,6 or any other) your kids are doing?and their price per year with books?Do they have to do labs at home ?Do they need your help in Science subject or kids can do those classes independently?Is BJU Online a vigorous program for future Scientist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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