Apologia not working...Elemental Science good alternative?

[raganfamily]

My 12 ds has been using Apologia General Science this year and has struggled and cringes when its time for science. 

 

I just saw Elemental Science and feel this might be a good fit.  If you have used this what do you think?  What did you plan for high school? 

 

I thought I found the best sequence with Apologia, but it does not seem to be a good fit for him.

 

I have no problem switching mid year, but not sure what to use.. Is it possible to use Earth Science and Astronomy  then next year (January) combine the Chemistry and Physics and call it Physical Science for high School.

 

At that point I might switch back to Apologia Biology or Kolbe Academy Biology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Murrayshire]

I'm confused. Your ds is 12. Is he 7th grade or 8th?

 

We use ES but not necessarily the way it is written to be used. We add different components and jump around through the books. For instance, my 7th grader did part of Eath Logic 1st half of school year..... 2nd half we will throw in physical logic. Next year for 8th we may start Chemistry Logic..... So in 9th she can begin Bio on high school level.

I wouldn't use the Classical series for high school, imo.

 

Have you seen ES High School Science? They have a Physical Science course that could easily be used in 8th. You would have to register for it though, unlike their elementary and middle school materials.

Just a thought!

[Professormom]

We used ES for Earth and Chemistry in middle school. I thought it worked out nicely. We scheduled it twice a week. One day for reading and some of the writing work and one day for the experiments and sketching. I did add a Holt text for the Earth Science because I have an avid reader who could handle a little more. The experiments are such that they really didn't need me for most of it. He could do things independently (set up, etc.) and I would just kind of hover to lightly discuss what he was working on. We did Chemistry for 6th, Earth Science for 7th.

 

This year is Kolbe Biology in 8th, as well as a separate local lab group. This is fully a high school course, but works well for bright 8th graders as well. The reason I did this was because we are going more the "physics first" route for high school. My thought is that we will go with:

 

9th - Physics using Conceptual Physics (college version) with a NY Regents lab manual I found online, Johns Hopkins CtY lab kit (with a few a la carte items) and the Novare lab guide. I signed up for the Conceptual Academy materials which includes the videos. The authors have been TERRIFIC... Responsive to questions, etc. I will incorporate the problem solving book to include more math. My goal with this class is to get a really good conceptual understanding of physics, as well as really hone in on what lab work is and how to write up detailed, quality lab reports.

 

10th - Honors Chem with Chang book and the Tang syllabus

 

11th - AP Biology with Campbell

 

12th - He can now choose from AP Physics or AP Chem or another in-depth science according to his interests

 

That was probably more detailed than you needed. I have been back and forth with this for the last month or two, so you are getting my (hopefully) final brain dump, lol. Novare has some good sequence ideas in one of their newsletters as well. They are available on their website.

 

I am not a fan of Apologia. I have some basic issues with the stance they take on certain topics. But I also know that some people really appreciate the way the text is written in a more conversational format, and that can be very useful for the child that learns well that way. Homeschool science choices can be challenging. Good luck!