DS is completely bored w/Apologia Physical Sci experiments...

[Rhondabee]

though, he loves the "chattiness" of the text itself.

 

He feels like the Lab Reports are busy work, so I've been letting him out of some of those already. Then, this week, his (5th gr) younger brother's experiment is to make an electroscope...and, we still have the electroscope my older ds made last week (in Apologia) sitting in the closet. So, my older ds feels...idk...like the Apologia labs are babyish?

 

So, my question is, are the experiments going to get better in Apologia Biology? Or, should I start looking at some other alternatives?

 

Or, even if the labs are boring, is it worth it to stay with Apologia if mom never had Biology at all? (yes, it was "required", but my math grades were good, so they let me skip it.).

 

Thanks for all your help!

[Sharon in MD]

I do love science, but have stayed with Apologia because I can vary my involvement to meet the current needs of the household. If you can't be involved as teacher, Apologia is a good route because of the self-teaching of the text. You can easily supplement Apologia's "easy" labs with materials from other companies. For Bio, you can get the basic dissection kit for Apologia and purchase a few extra goodies from Home Training Tools for example....or Nature's Workshop...like owl pellets and so on. There are loads of great bio lab things that you can buy as ad hoc additions. The same is true for chemistry and physics.

 

Unfortunately it took me a while to get this myself, but I would "do" or at least read through, the apologia labs so that you get the point of the particular relevance of the experiment to the module....but for FUN labs buy some other kit and just do them. Who cares if it winds up being over the summer instead.....For example, we are rather pressed for time right now, but in a couple weeks our schedule will open back up. I bought a great chem lab and ds is dying to get into it. He will have virtually all day on Thursdays in a couple weeks to PLAY with his stuff.

 

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I would not throw out the baby with the bath water. Apologia is good, self-teaching materials and it is easy to beef up the labs with things that are more interesting and go bang!

[Rhondabee]

Thanks, Sharon. That pretty much is what I was hoping to hear! LOL

 

I really should just *finish* this year before planning next year~

[FloridaLisa]

I'm more familiar with the biology experiments. They are . . . well, what I would expect from biology. Lots of slides and microscope work and four dissections (five if you include dissecting a flower). And not anything like the labs my dc encountered in General or Physical Science (or Apologia elementary).

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Chris in VA]

I have to say I was disappointed with Apologia's labs, and I think the lab write-ups are not high school level. This is my opinion. I do like the way the books are written, for the most part, particularly since I hadn't done bio since Freshman year at college. My son commented that he had done nearly all the labs, except extracting DNA and the dissections, in public middle school.

I agree with the PP, go ahead and beef them up.

Here's a lab write-up site that may give you some ideas of how a high school lab book should look (again, my opinion).

[Rhondabee]

Here's a lab write-up site that may give you some ideas of how a high school lab book should look (again, my opinion).

 

 

Thanks for the link! I have to admit, I don't think we even wrote up our labs in high school (nor did we have science books). Ah, the benefits of public school in Georgia - LOL!

[Sharon in MD]

I just searched around on google and found a college 101 level that I thought was about right and used it.

[FloridaLisa]

Yes, we've also modified our lab report requirements. Ds1 had a chemistry teacher that required a wing-doozy of a lab notebook for Apologia chemistry. Here is a link to Red Wagon Tutorials and the gentleman who teaches Apologia for Potter's School. He requires both formal and informal lab reports. Links to both are on the left. http://www.redwagontutorials.com/WelcomeAW.html

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Rhondabee]

Have you used the tutorials? I tried watched some of the first sample, and I can't tell. Is the "tutorial" just a recording of a previous class? (like the Abeka DVD's are supposed to be?) Or, does your child actually participate in the class?

 

Also, there is *something* inside me that questions spending money on a tutorial for a book that is supposed to be self-teaching. If you did use the tutorials (or Potter's School), did you find that it added to the text, or broadened it, in a way that using it on your own could not?

 

Thanks,

Rhonda

[FloridaLisa]

Rhonda,

 

No, I've not used Red Wagon Tutorials. A friend has used several Potter's School classes and gave me the link after a discussion about our dc's lab reports for Apologia biology this year. I agree that Apologia can be self-teaching although we've never really used it that way. Perhaps the tutorials add to the text much like the Saxon DIVE cds? Just a guess. :001_smile:

 

Lisa

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

My kids love Apologia, but really do not enjoy the experiments. I let them pick and choose a smattering of experiments throughout the books so I can call it a "lab course". I do not require they do all of them! Even Apologia says that you do not have to do all of them.

 

I know of some families that get together once a month to do Apologia labs as a group. They do not try to keep on schedule with each other, but rather each family works at their own pace and they just do the labs as they come up.

 

Next year, our umbrella school is going to offer some science labs. I hope to participate in that.

 

When I was in HS (umpteen hundred years ago :) ), I only did 5 or 6 labs in biology and 5 or 6 in chemistry. Dh on the other hand only did labs in chemistry. I think it greatly varies from classroom to classroom as to what consitutes a "lab course."