Heidi Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Does anyone still use these? We didn't do any science this year (it was a crazy year anyway). I have all of the apologia elementary series and my kids like reading through them on their own sometimes. I tried to do Astronomy a few years ago and we all lost interest pretty fast, plus I think they were too young. I'm really busy. I don't have time for science. Anyway, so I was thinking about getting the journals for my 4th and 5th grader to make it interesting and independent. Good experiences? Bad experiences? Other suggestions? I'm all ears. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I like them. My DD has seemed the most into using it. I skipped some of the stuff with the boys. The anatomy one for elementary had a lot of stuff to cut out and my boys didn't enjoy that all that much. But I liked having it all there in a book easy to use along with the lesson plans at the front of it. I felt it was worth buying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 My kids have used them since 3rd grade. I think they have helped solidify the content and would recommend them. When my rising 7th grader saw the size and depth of the General Science notebook, he was glad he had done the elementary notebooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mschickie Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I love them. It is a great way to introduce the kids to taking notes. We don't always remember to put pictures in but we get the facts. We have done one for Swimming Creatures, Land Animals and the new Chem/Physics book. Next year when we do Anatomy we will use one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I didn't buy the journal the first year we used Apologia (Astronomy). I typed out his narrations for each chapter, we did all the activities, and that was it. The next year (Flying Creatures) I decided to buy the junior notebook, and I liked it except ds doesn't like to color and also the lines were so big there wasn't enough space to write everything he wanted. I bought the regular notebook for Chem/Phys. He liked doing the crossword puzzles and the minibooks. But then he started complaining about it because a lot of times filling in the minibooks was totally redundant after doing the "what do you remember" page. For the upcoming year (Anatomy) I decided to drop the notebook. I decided that all I really care about is him being able to fill in the "fascinating facts" pages, and we don't need to buy the journal for that. He can write out what he wants to say in a regular composition book. It was nice having the literature suggestions, but then again, there were an awful lot of chapters that really didn't have much. So I don't know if it was worth it having the book just for that. The lesson plans in the front were helpful, but since I decided to drop all the extra busywork, I don't think I will miss that. The pages to record observations on all the "try this" activities would have been helpful if I were making him record that. In some ways having the notebook helps you to stay organized, but I also think it can end up being more work for the student if you feel driven to fill in every page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I bought the lesson plans that go with the text and notebook. I was able to set up the entire year using the lesson plans and my soon to be 4th grader does it independently. I skipped over a few of the experiments (like buy a tadpole and raise some other critter). The experiments we do together and they don't require a lot of time. I bought the lab kit when Mardel had 40% off and it's been a life saver for me. I hate hunting down all the little parts to do an experiment. For me, it was well worth the $, all the lab supplies are in a little plastic baggie and labeled by the lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 So far, they've been a bust here. Not enough space to write in, and perhaps my kiddos were too young for them anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 The only one we've liked was the Anatomy notebook. I had my child use this one last year on his own. He listened to the lecture while following along in the book, came & told me about what he heard & we wrote down the stuff he loved the most in his notebook. It worked really well for him. I'm not a fan of Apologia in general, but this worked for us last year. :) I found some of the others a bit frustrating to use. They provide a notebooking page AND mini book for the SAME thing, but then totally skip a designated area to record other information?! It's odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 My dd(10) used the Swimming Creatures one this past year and loved it. Ds(12) is going to join us next year for Apologia by choice and is going to do the journal as well. He's older and I expect some writing in science, so for me, it's a great summary tool. But he was on board to do it. Obviously you could just have them summarize the reading on paper for cheaper lol. But I also liked the drawing aspect of it. Labs in the future may need a picture and might as well try some now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Thanks for all of your comments. I decided to try them out this upcoming school year, so we'll see. Dd10 chose Swimming Creatures and dd8 chose Astronomy. We're excited about them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgiven Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I buy the notebooks every year, and every year my kids end up not using the notebooks. My boys hate to color, so the junior notebook journals didn't work for them either. My DD did Who Is God this year, and she was doing the journal. One day I noticed that she just stopped doing her WiG work, and she said the journal was so tedious, that she understands what it's teaching, and wondered why it was necessary to do all this stuff when she understood. I let her stop the notebook journal and she went right back to WiG without complaint. She's one of those that can learn just from reading. Lucky her. LOL Anyway, I didn't buy the journals for Anatomy for next year, and it's nagging at the back of my mind. Should I buy them just in case they want to use them this time? But then I think of the waste of money when they don't use them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaD Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Berta- what lesson plans are you talking about that you bought? Sounds interesting! We did botany this first year (K). At the beginning of the year, DS couldn't read or write, so I didn't feel the junior notebook was worth it. However, within a few months he was reading and writing, so I went back and bought the junior journal. I felt it was inexpensive enough that I didn't feel guilty picking and choosing what to do. As the year (and his abilities) progressed, we did more. I should note that my son enjoys coloring while I read the lesson and he enjoys the mini books/lap books (as do I- probably because I'm not a crafty mom, so this helps fill in those gaps. Lol). Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 We are using the FREE ones that you can get on the "book extras" site using the code in the intro of each book! It works well and doesn't cost anything other than ink and paper at home. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Berta- what lesson plans are you talking about that you bought? Sounds interesting! We did botany this first year (K). At the beginning of the year, DS couldn't read or write, so I didn't feel the junior notebook was worth it. However, within a few months he was reading and writing, so I went back and bought the junior journal. I felt it was inexpensive enough that I didn't feel guilty picking and choosing what to do. As the year (and his abilities) progressed, we did more. I should note that my son enjoys coloring while I read the lesson and he enjoys the mini books/lap books (as do I- probably because I'm not a crafty mom, so this helps fill in those gaps. Lol). Hope this helps. http://www.christianbook.com/lesson-exploring-creation-zoology-swimming-creatures/lynn-ericson/pd/427105?event=1016AEM It breaks the book down into daily lessons. If I remember correctly, the lesson plans do not include what to do with the notebook other then some suggestions. I went through the daily lessons and assigned notebooking pages that matched up. For me it was well worth the $6 to have the lessons already mapped out for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 can kids who have never done notebooking, and espeically the earlier Apolgia notebooking jump into the General Science book and pick up the notebooking techniques? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 can kids who have never done notebooking, and espeically the earlier Apolgia notebooking jump into the General Science book and pick up the notebooking techniques? Yes, it can be done, but the workload is significantly heavier in General Science than in the Apologia elementary books. I just looked at two of the journals for comparison. The General Science notebook has 450 pages, while the elementary Chemistry & Physics has 205 pages. Both are scheduled to be completed in a year - 28 weeks for Chemistry & Physics, and 34 weeks for General Science. There are a lot more experiments in General Science as well. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 http://www.christianbook.com/lesson-exploring-creation-zoology-swimming-creatures/lynn-ericson/pd/427105?event=1016AEM It breaks the book down into daily lessons. If I remember correctly, the lesson plans do not include what to do with the notebook other then some suggestions. I went through the daily lessons and assigned notebooking pages that matched up. For me it was well worth the $6 to have the lessons already mapped out for me. These lessons plans are so helpful! Too bad they don't include completing the notebooks though. I'd love to have that done for me, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Lavendar Girl...actually, the notebook journals actually have brief schedules for the book and the journal and when to do activities and projects. It is broken over two days per week. 2 weeks per chapter. I find it really helpful to stay on track. My son loves his Botany journal and pages through all the time. I scribe the notes for him as he narrates back. He draws the pictures and does the activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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