I've used the elementary series, but not the middle/high school stuff. I love it though. Well written, Christian based, not dry, easy to follow. Honestly, other than the fact it isn't free there is nothing I don't like about it.
Love it! It's a rigorous program, so if you're just wanting to check science off your list, it's too hard. If you're wanting to actually teach science, it's great.
We did Biology , Chemistry and Physics with sd. She really liked the way they were set up and found them easy to understand. She liked the multi-media cds too. I know that they have out the notebooks now for general science. I wish they had those for the high school ones when sd took the classes. It would have helped her a lot. One thing with the Apologia labs that is very nice, all the supplies should be easily found in the home or can be ordered for a reasonable amount.
I agree! I teach this course at our co-op. I love Apologia, but it is not easy! Also, for your 9th grader, general science is not accepted as a high school credit if you are going to do a trascript for college admission. (At least according to our state public school curriculum standards) You would need the 9th grader to start with physical science for high school credit.
For me, it's the fact that, in general, they are not unduly ideological. Science books should be about science, not rants about the perceived worldview of others. Science is neutral in the debate, not one of the sides in an argument. Jay Wile does a good balancing job - even though I would prefer even less in the way of 'Christian commentary' in a science book. Contrast this with AiG or ICR, for example. where 90% of what's written tries to tear down opposing viewpoints instead of actually explaining the science. Apologia's approach is much more sensible.
That's funny. I almost wrote in my previous post that one of the negatives is that the author sometimes doesn't go into enough detail. There is a related weakness, though, and that's the lack of exercises and examples. This is why I spent the time to put together quizzes for each chapter of the Physical Science book - with 200 questions, with fully worked examples, in each quiz. Children need practice for science topics in other to really gain a full understanding.
I haven't used Apologia science and I chose to not consider Apologia after I read some of their elementary series. I don't wish for worldview to be part of our science studies. As a Christian I believe the best preparation I can give my science-loving son is to expose him to scientific ideas/facts as expressed in secular textbooks/books while still under my wing. We do study faith as it relates to science as well, but those resources are in addition to reading secular books.
Oldest is taking a class from a PhD right now - using the Apologia General Science. She's teaching it like an honors/AP type class. My daughter is excelling. It's A LOT of work for her, but she's doing really well. I'm very proud of her. I like the curricula. I also like how the teacher teaches it. She DOES discuss other views in the class and they are very open about it. She accepts work that is intelligent and communicative that might come from another viewpoint. She does not grade based on the worldview, but on the thoughtfulness and information presented in the work of the child. There are a couple kids in her class where the parents don't ascribe to the young earth creationists worldview, and she openly allows the discussion. She feels it's very important to present all the sides and allow the child to decide for themselves where they feel the truth is. She says there IS an absolute truth, but it will not be 100% known until we are face to face with the creator.
My oldest didn't care for the younger Apologia books but she is enjoying the older Apologia books. She is using General Science andA is going onto Physical in the fall. My younger two will use Apologia Elementary this summer starting with Astronomy with their Papa. Okay forgot the add the like/dislike. What I get for reading while doing other stuff. My oldest didn't like how long the books took. A whole year of one thing. I tried to keep her interest with even getting journals and that didn't work. Forwhatever reason she wanted to try the General Science which is what Sonlight showed as the option and she likes it. I asked why now she likes it and she just said it's different. Whatever, she is happy with reading, answering questions and working on the experiments with little to no help from me. I like the storybook feel of the books and how they do go into some depth and not a little here and there. It's nice that the yahoo group has tests and quizzes if you want those. I really don't think testing in science or even history is needed with the younger grades. My younger two will are now 8 and 9 and have never really used it as their science but will this summer. I am hoping to complete the book by Christmas and start Botany after New Years. I am also ordering the regular Journals to go along with the books. Also I am kicking myself in the butt for selling my Apologia books but hubby wanted me to sell what I wasn't using. Now I am buying them again, used this time. I will forver keep them as references on my bookshelf along with other curricula books we are not using but want to keep them in my library.
We havent used Apologia for the upper levels yet, but I have loved it for our first year homeschooling and I plan to continue using it. One of the things I like for the younger grades is that it is easy to use for multiple grade levels. You just adjust your expectation according to the child's ability. Im not sure how that would work in the upper grades, but I still think it would be worth it.
My kids also weren't fans of the elementary series. They grimaced every time I pulled out the astronomy book! LOL. However, DD is working through the physical science book this year in preparation for a 2-day lab intensive in the fall. She likes it, and plans to continue with the upper level books in the future. I like that it is self-directed. DD works primarily on her own, although DS will usually join in on the experiments.
We are week 4 into the elementary Zoo 2 book with our 4th and 2nd graders. They find the text rather dry, but have truly enjoyed the content when I have pre-read and simply teach it to them in a conversational way. We do some every day and are working at a steady pace of about a chapter each week, doing writing every day, as well as some other odds and ends from their notebooking journals. I am actually enjoying the material, too, which is saying something!
