Apologia or Abeka science for 7th grade?

[Julpost]

I'm looking for a program that my 7th grader can do independently. Cost is a major factor, Abeka is only $18 and Apologia is about $80. Is there that big of a difference in quality of material between these two?

[mamato4girls]

Apologia is not something to do independantly (IMO), it involes a lot of reading and a lot of experiments. I do not have experience with A Beka's science but we love Rod and Staff Science.

[Julie in MN]

I'm not sure how you come up with A Beka for $18? Well, I suppose just the student textbook, without the other 6-7 pieces, it might be 18? But then the Apologia textbook alone should be less than $80.

 

I would think that in 7th grade, any standard general science would be okay. My biggest factor would be how user-friendly the experiments are between the 2. Doing those is essential at our house.

 

And I agree with mamato4girls that 7th graders will often need a teacher to at least guide their study skills and go over the main concepts.

 

JMHO,

Julie

[Rhondabee]

I think a lot depends on what you envision for high school. If you think you will use Apologia in high school, then I would choose Apologia for 7th grade. (And, since the new edition just came out this year, I'd imagine the old edition would be pretty cheap used.)

 

But, if you *aren't* going to use Apologia for high school, I would probably choose a more traditional textbook.

 

hth,

Rhonda

[Donna A.]

I think it also depends on what you envision for that child's future beyond high school. I have a 7th grader this year who desires to be a nurse. I've heard so many great things about Apologia and its being "college prep", but after studying the Apologia option vs. the Abeka option (using the go-alongs and doing the experiments), I'm not sure Apologia is necessarily anymore "college prep" than Abeka. Certainly there must be *something* of good enough quality about Abeka's science, since Pensacola has a nursing program and they offer scholarships to all Abeka graduates.

 

Anyway, we ended up choosing Abeka for one main reason: my dd likes how the textbook reads, and she likes the pictures, the "Brain Drain" exercises, the experiments... all of it. I think as long as she continues to do everything in the book -- and more importantly, continues to improve in her math and thinking skills -- she'll turn out just fine and be well prepared for nursing school/college. :)

 

And if I eventually need to purchase the DVD because it's too much for me to teach, that's okay, too. Even if we went with Apologia, I'd definitely get the optional CDs to use with it.