Guest Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Can I please hear some reviews for Science Shepherd Biology? My ds hates Apologia, and I think BJU Biology might be too much for him. Has anyone used the Landry Academy for SS Biology? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I'm interested also as I'm thinking about using Shepherd Biology on my own next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Science Shepherd generally gets good reviews. Here are some past threads: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/508262-so-science-shepherd-biology/?hl=%2Bscience+%2Bshepherd http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/354677-opinions-on-shepherd-science-biology-from-those-who-have-used-it/?hl=%2Bscience+%2Bshepherd http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/287302-science-shepherd-biology/?hl=%2Bscience+%2Bshepherd You might also consider DIVE. You can use it with the text of your choice, but I consider it less rigorous than BJU and more rigorous than Apologia. Even if you use the BJU book, DIVE tests are quarterly, instead of with each chapter and I think this leads to them being less focused on tiny details than BJU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Lava Mama Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 DS used Science Shepherd this year. He has used Apologia in the past (elementary and 7th & 8th grade) and it bored him to death. He did DIVE (9th) last year and was lukewarm to it. He is really enjoying SS this year. This is coming from a kid who loves science but hates biology. I think he likes it because it is really challenging. He found Apologia and DIVE too easy, thus boring. Good luck! Hot Lava Mama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 My oldest is using SS this year. I like it a lot. The text is very good, and we like the lab manual & DVD. I would definitely recommend it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Thank you both! What do you plan to use for Chemistry after SS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Summer, We're using SS this year. Dd really does not like it. We're getting through it, but I'm not sure if we'll do it again with the next kids. We have two primary problems: first, wording taken from the text is sometimes reworded differently in the Parent Companion. This is very relevant when dd and I are studying with the Parent Companion, and it drives dd crazy. Many times I'll ask her a question and she'll use the text to find the answer, but the answer she gives is worded differently in the Companion... it makes it difficult to understand if she got the question right or not. Second, some information between the text and the Companion are simply downright opposite from each other. For example, if the text says that the mushroom is brown, the Companion might say the mushroom is pink. It just makes you wonder how much information is wrong. Now, I'm not a biology person, so there is no way for me to know how much is right/wrong. We have used the internet to check questionable questions/answers when something has looked fishy. If I were picking a biology again knowing what I do now, I might choose BJU Biology for the "ease" of having a DVD teacher (they also do online teaching), maybe Kolbe plans with the Miller-Levine book, or possibly Campbell's Concepts and Connections.... but I have no idea how we would "do" this. (Maybe look a syllabus up on the internet?) The Christian vs. secular thing is important to me, yet I would find some way to bring out the balance if we were to try a secular text. Dd would want to know the secular point of view if she had to take a biology course, so I'm fine with that. I really wanted to like SS.... really! It's just that there have been too many questionable things that make me unsure. ETA: If you click on the big biology thread posted at the top of the page, type "Shepherd" in the search window. You'll pull up a couple of other posts about SS... one is mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 My dd is going to do her choice of science next year (equine) and then do chemistry at the cc the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 My son really liked SS. We did find some errors.. The author was very glad to receive them and very quick to respond with the correction. My son did not like Apologia Chemistry the following year. I want to do something different next time for Chemistry but I don't know what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Lava Mama Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thank you both! What do you plan to use for Chemistry after SS? We are currently looking into this. DS enjoys chemistry, so we are going to get an honors or AP course to really challenge him. We can't do online because of a number of factors going on next year. We also want a hands on lab. At this point, we are leaning toward BJU because of its rigor. Haven't make a firm decision, though. Hot Lava Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dovrar Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 My son really liked SS. We did find some errors.. The author was very glad to receive them and very quick to respond with the correction. My son did not like Apologia Chemistry the following year. I want to do something different next time for Chemistry but I don't know what. Were the errors you found in the first or second edition? Would you mind sharing the response that you got for those of us who are using SS as well? Thanks so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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