Apologia Lab Kits - did you?

[whiteisle]

I'll be getting General for ds13, Flying Creatures for dd11 and Astronomy for ds8 this year.  I was wondering about getting everyone the lab kits, especially for the General. 

 

What are your thoughts about buying the kits?

[Tess in the Burbs]

I like kits from Natures Workshop Plus. Each week in It's own bag and lists what else we needed. For Physical my ds was completely independent b/c the labs were ready to go.

[MDL]

I bought one for Botany, which was very handy and totally worth the $$. Next year we are mixing up the Zoology, and I looked over the supply lists, and most of it seemed readily available in my house. I'm not much of a shopper, and loathe having to run out for supplies, so it's possible I will cave and buy one, depending on the enthusiasm of my students[emoji3] sometimes opening something from a box makes it feel more exotic/official for them....

 

 

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[Jess4879]

I think it depends on the book.  For Zoology 3 we didn't buy the kit.  I had most of what we needed and/or was able to get the rest for very little $$.  I'd go over the supply lists and decide which items you'd need.  Some (like General, I believe) require some items that are harder to get.  For those levels, I'd buy the kit and save the headache of trying to scrounge up obscure items. 

[SebastianCat]

Look at the supply lists before you buy a kit.   I taught General at a co-op last year, and there were only a handful of items (like corks and alum, for example) that I didn't already have at home.  It really depends on your goals and how your family works.

 

I have friends who buy the kit each year because it includes EVERYTHING needed.   The kit stays in a box, in a designated area in their house, and the child knows to go to that box for any experiments.  No one takes anything out of the box unless they are doing a science lab.    Mom doesn't need to run to the grocery store to buy a 2-liter bottle of soda, when the family doesn't drink soda, just because one child needs the 2-liter bottle for a lab.    I'm more of the type to look ahead and see that in the next chapter, I'll need a 2-littler bottle, so I start asking if I can take empty bottles home when we're at a church social.