sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Is there such a thing for hs science? Apologia is what keeps popping up. What about Galore Park and Singapore? Any experiences? :bigear: PS: I love researching ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I used some of the texts written for the public schools. Loved them. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 We used Conceptual Physics and Campbell's Biology with great success. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I have found them a great inspiration when thinking through a high school level secular science education at home. Home Chemistry is a blog following a year (last year) of doing chemistry at home. Home Biology is a blog by the same lady, begun last month. Both blogs are beautifully written with great ideas, experiments, fantastic links and reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 We're using the 8th grade Singapore right now and plan to continue with their high school stuff. The middle school level is definitely rigorous (and heavy on math!) and definitely secular. I also have a stack of PS texts here (although mine are getting old...) and really they aren't bad at all. Especially if DS plans to sit for the AP exams we'll almost certainly be hitting those at some point. I seriously can't stand elementary level PS texts (and some middle school level), but by high school and college level, they're actually quite good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura K (NC) Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I've heard great things about Campbell's biology. I have the book but we haven't used it. I don't know if Campbell makes a high school version and a college version too, but I bought a Campbell's Biology book at a used book store and it's really, really tough. I thought A Beka (sorry, not secular) was a tough book, but this Campbell's text was about twice the strength. Zumdahl wrote a very good chemistry book. I had it picked out a few years ago for my kids, and was thrilled when a local private school offered a chemistry course using this text. My son used it, only having had algebra 1, but the text involved trig (which the teacher coached them in, and my son did fine). It's very mathy. I don't know anything about the different editions. From this site and numerous recommendations here, I'd like my kids to use Giancoli's text for physics. There's an online class somewhere that offers this course, but I forget where (I can look it up if anyone's interested). A friend's math-brilliant son is doing physics at the community college and he is finding it super-simple; I am waffling between having my son do physics in community college and having him use this beautiful Giancoli text at home. Community college will be free, but this Giancoli book is probably more rigorous. My friend's son will do AP physics at a local high school (we're able to use some public school classes here in our county) AFTER he does the physics at the community college. My son's friend is definitely headed toward some type of engineering, math, or science field. I'd like to prepare my son for the same, though he's not as sure about his major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 We used Conceptual Physics and Campbell's Biology with great success. Conceptual Physics is from Kinetic Books, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 From this site and numerous recommendations here, I'd like my kids to use Giancoli's text for physics. There's an online class somewhere that offers this course, but I forget where (I can look it up if anyone's interested). A friend's math-brilliant son is doing physics at the community college and he is finding it super-simple; I am waffling between having my son do physics in community college and having him use this beautiful Giancoli text at home. Community college will be free, but this Giancoli book is probably more rigorous. My friend's son will do AP physics at a local high school (we're able to use some public school classes here in our county) AFTER he does the physics at the community college. My son's friend is definitely headed toward some type of engineering, math, or science field. I'd like to prepare my son for the same, though he's not as sure about his major. Thank you so much! Love the site with comparisons! :D Off to bookmarking :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Is there such a thing for hs science? Apologia is what keeps popping up. What about Galore Park and Singapore? Any experiences? :bigear: PS: I love researching ;) The Galore Park programmes are designed for middle school. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I don't know if Campbell makes a high school version and a college version too, but I bought a Campbell's Biology book at a used book store and it's really, really tough. I thought A Beka (sorry, not secular) was a tough book, but this Campbell's text was about twice the strength. I believe that Campbells comes in three flavors: the book entitled Biology is the top of heap, used by many AP courses and college bio courses. SO and some AP courses use Biology: Concepts and Connections, a step down from the big Bio book. Then there is Essential Biology. Not sure how this varies from the other books nor if the latter would be considered a basic bio text for high school. Zumdahl wrote a very good chemistry book. I had it picked out a few years ago for my kids, and was thrilled when a local private school offered a chemistry course using this text. My son used it, only having had algebra 1, but the text involved trig (which the teacher coached them in, and my son did fine). It's very mathy. I don't know anything about the different editions. My son is taking chemistry at the CC using a new book by Burdge. It seems highly readable. The Chem Skill Builder software that they use seems particularly good for solidifying skills. From this site and numerous recommendations here, I'd like my kids to use Giancoli's text for physics. I think there are a couple of Giancoli texts also. I have seen the one that requires algebra II/trig skills (not calculus) and thought it looked good. I have not had the opportunity to peruse the Giancoli calculus based physics text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Conceptual Physics is from Kinetic Books, right? No, we used the text by Hewitt which I believe is now published by Addison Wesley. But you can find older editions at library sales or on Ebay. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 So I'm assuming Spectrum Chemistry doesn't fit the bill? I like the conversational way it's written and the fact that's it's independent for the student, and easy on the teacher. A lot of textbooks are so dry. Rigorous and interesting? A la Foerster's for Math? Would be nice if it came with videos too.. and/or experiments. A narrative would be even more desirable.. Hmmm, I have a feeling I'm shooting too high now :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 (edited) I believe that Campbells comes in three flavors: the book entitled Biology is the top of heap, used by many AP courses and college bio courses. SO and some AP courses use Biology: Concepts and Connections, a step down from the big Bio book. Then there is Essential Biology. Not sure how this varies from the other books nor if the latter would be considered a basic bio text for high school. Don't forget Biology Exploring Life by Campbell. Basic secular high school bio course. It is colorful, interesting, w/ lots of components to choose from. EDIT: I see you wanted rigorous. I would not call EL rigorous (especially since ds 13 is having an easy time w/ it). Edited October 3, 2008 by Beth in SW WA more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 I'm really impressed with reviews and information on Campbell's Biology texts and Giancoli's Physics. Not so convinced about Chemistry yet. Thanks! I'm sure this thread will help someone! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 OK, would Zumdahl's Basic Chemistry be a full high school course or just an introduction for non-science majors? Does anyone know how it compares with Spectrum Chemistry? I know Spectrum is not entirely secular, but it's close enough for me. Very few Christian references. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 I have found them a great inspiration when thinking through a high school level secular science education at home. Home Chemistry is a blog following a year (last year) of doing chemistry at home. Home Biology is a blog by the same lady, begun last month. Both blogs are beautifully written with great ideas, experiments, fantastic links and reviews. What thorough, informative, blogs. Thank you for the links! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 On my shelf at the moment, waiting to be used as dd is doing an 8/9 year (she's 13 and needs to grow up a bit;) before starting high school) we have: Conceptual Physics by Hewitt plus another book or two to go with that. He has one now for gr 9/10, but this is the college one as I got it free from my brother-the-physicist who ended up not needing his sample copy. Conceptual Chemistry by Sudocki, Hewitt's nephew, along with the CD-Roms for Chemistry Alive! & the Thinkwell Chemistry CD-Roms, etc. These are both rigorous secular books. They're a bit math light, but we're planning to do Physics in gr 9, Chemistry in gr 10, then Biology then AP courses. Dd's goal is to major in biochemistry in university. Hopefully all my dc can make some use out of these, because even with the freebie pair of books & a used Sudocki text & CD-Roms, it adds up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 If I wanted to use AP texts in high school (my dd wants to be an ear, nose, & throat specialist), any recommendations for what I should be using in middle school to prepare her for that? Science is not my strong suit. So far we've done a mish-mash of curriculum I designed myself (this worked great in the younger years), and this year we are doing a co-op using Apologia's (younger book) book about sea creatures. I do NOT want to go any further with Apologia. I bought several Prentice Hall books, which look good, but I'm not a qualified judge of how rigourous they are. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 If I wanted to use AP texts in high school (my dd wants to be an ear, nose, & throat specialist), any recommendations for what I should be using in middle school to prepare her for that? This is the book I am using with 'Calvin' - it has been a great fit. It's used in the UK as a two-year course from age 14-16; for many children, this is most of the bio they will get, but the more dedicated will do two more years (AP equivalent). If you are interested, I can send you the table of contents and any sample paragraphs, so you can see about the level: http://www.amazon.com/Longman-Biology-IGCSE-P-Bradfield/dp/1405802065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223071404&sr=8-1 The book doesn't come with answers to the questions, but it's pretty easy to work out what's required. There are also free exam papers available, with answers, that cover exactly the same syllabus. About that guest house... more by email. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 Clarification of Campbell texts: Campbell has 4 different Biology textbooks - the big one, Biology, and the one he is best known for, is an AP text, and a *really* fabulous one.. and is used in college 200 level Bio classes. His Biology: Concepts and Connections is also a college text, often used in 100 level Bio courses for non science majors, and makes an easier AP text. His Essential Biology is even simpler, but is really a further simplification of the original text, and not a good primary text for any class, imnsho. His Biology: Exploring Life is a high school text, and is *perfect* for your average 9th grade student. It can be a solid foundation for a rigorous AP course, or the only bio class a student ever takes. It is not an advanced course, and can be undertaken, even by the faint of heart. (I think I gave the publisher's website for this text in an earlier post.) Thank you so much for the clarification. This really helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 If I wanted to use AP texts in high school (my dd wants to be an ear, nose, & throat specialist), any recommendations for what I should be using in middle school to prepare her for that? Perhaps Rainbow Science would be a good choice. Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Science is another option I keep seeing as an option for those not wanting to go the Apologia route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 There is very little religious content in Spectrum Chemistry. So far I have found only 4 places where anything religious is mentioned at all and those weren't a problem for me. I have flipped through the whole thing, but we have only actually done the first 10 lessons and the first 5 labs. I think Spectrum will be great for my oldest and my youngest. I'm not sure it will be enough for my middle dd who will definitely be going into the sciences. I plan to use Kinetic Books for Physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth in Canada Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 We had a great year of using Conceptual Physics w/ my grade 8 dd a few years ago. Grade 7 ds is using Conceptual Chemistry this year and will do Conceptual Physics next year. (DD's year of using "The Extraordinary Chemistry of Everyday Things" was not as great.) My intent is to do high school science at a honours or AP level--because the kids will already have a good grounding. This is, so far, working well for dd who is using an AP chemistry book this year. There's a lot of science talk around the dinner table in this house, and both kids were a bit ahead in math. You'd want to at least be doing algebra concurrently with these books--and you'd want the child to be able to think well about abstract concepts. (A public school teacher was telling me about her difficulties in teaching some grade 7 kids--because their brains just weren't mature enough to get the abstract concepts required. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 I love the discussions! I will keep in mind what you teaching mamas are saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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