monalisa Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 I need to decide on dd12's 7th grade science for next year. She could take a live weekly Apologia General Science class taught by a college professor with extensive science 7-12 teaching experience. The General Science textbook will be the basis for the structure of the class, but the class will go above and beyond the typical Apologia General Science co-op class. The weekly classes will include experiments (not just the ones in the GS text) and discussion with homework that includes the text. The other option I'm considering is the BJU Life Science course with DVDs. I have read great reviews of this class taught by Mrs. Vick, and I like the looks of the samples on the BJU website. Honestly, I seriously dislike the Apologia General Science textbook. It is so visually unappealing to me, and extremely wordy. I have a science/engineering background, and it seems very light to me. The BJU text seems much better, and more like a typical textbook that dd will need to start working with in high school and college. I can't decide if the live class opportunity outweighs my dislike for the Apologia text. This would be dd's first live academic class, and would probably be a good experience for her to have to turn in work to an outside teacher. She has more overall interest in Life Science than the myriad of topics in the General Science book, but she would probably enjoy the interaction with the other 10 or so students. She is very strong in science, having done some of the Apologia elementary series, some BJU, and a lot of self-directed reading. I will probably have her do the BJU high school courses on DVD or with DIVE. If you've used or looked closely at both of these courses (Apologia in a live format, and BJU with the DVD) what would you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 (edited) . Edited April 21, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monalisa Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Even though I can't see us ever using GS again, in fact I sold ours, I'd jump at the experience of having a skilled teacher going over and above over a DVD any day. Having someone passionate about the topic, who already has all that knowledge in his head to draw from, is HUGE. I only get my STEM kid around such people a few times a year (uni open houses), and he always comes home so full of new information and excitement. They can meet him right where he's at and carry away from there. If you go with the class, I'd get the textbook on audiobook. You can probably find premade Quizlet sets for the important vocabulary she'll need to do well on the tests. Thanks SilverMoon! That is very helpful perspective. You put into words what was bubbling around in the back of my mind about the teacher and couldn't articulate. I hadn't thought about the audiobook, but dd is a strong auditory learner so I'll check into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 For us, I would consider a couple of other things... 1. What's the make up of students in the class? Is it "7th/8th grade" but includes a bunch of 5th/6th grade "advanced" students (as vetted by parents?). Getting into Middle School I felt my kids needed to be challenged as honors students with legitimate peer groups by skill and age. This year we passed up a "high school" biology class because the kids in it were mostly "advanced" 8th graders - some of whom are really 7th graders by age. That's not what we need. 2. Schedule. We travel a lot and I don't want to by tied down to a class. There are a couple of local teachers I would make an exception for, but not many. 3. Books. My DD looked at the Apologia biology book for 9th and hated it. She opted for BJU. I don't think she (STEM science kid) could stomach the apologia text for the year. Not sure that helps. We used BJU for 6, 7, and 8, and now for biology (I've blogged about our experience recently). I'd LOVE for my kids to be in a great, challenging classroom, but so far what I've had locally doesn't fir the bill. I hope you guys find a good fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) On 8/9/2015 at 6:14 PM, FriedClams said: Edited May 14 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I would be very excited about the in person class even though I am also not an apologia science fan. The only reason I would say not to consider it is if your schedule overall is super packes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monalisa Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 It is only 7th/8th graders, thankfully. The schedule is what is a little tricky. It meets on Friday afternoons, which is inconvenient for weekends when we need to go out of town. Twice a month it is part of a larger enrichment co-op that dd is part of, but the other two Fridays it would be a stand alone class for my dd. On those Fridays, it will require 2 hours of driving for me (the co-op days we are in a carpool and I only do 1 hour of driving). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Two hours of Driving for one class would get old REALLY fast for me, personally. Especially since you are already making that trek once a month. Every time I sign up for something that requires large amounts of wasted time in the car and then time sitting there (even if I try to redeem it by shopping or grading papers while waiting) I totally regret it. I think your time would be better spent starting a book club or inviting friends over who live nearby. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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