So we finished up my sons 6th grade science and I am LOST now that I have to find something for 7th grade! I have searched the internet for recommendations and it looks like the top ones are Apologia and SOS. Both are out of my price range. So here I am needing suggestions from all of you! I would prefer it to be secular but I am not opposed to christian based. I need something that is not to teacher intensive that he can pretty much do on his own. Of course experiments or labs can be a bit more teacher intensive. So, what do you recommend??
I assume you are not interested in Apologia? Then I'm not sure what is out there that is secular. I do have a Scott Foresman book you could have for the cost of shipping, but I think it's sixth grade.
If you are open to secular, we really liked Prentice Hall Science Explorer when Garrett was home. We read, did the expriments in the books when we could, and he answered the questions at the end of each section... I didn't have an answer key but it wasn't hard to read the section and decide if the answers were right or seemed right.
Mardel sells Apologia at a discount frequently. It's not expensive at all and is great- we love it! That said, if you aren't interested in Apologia you could try something like Easy Peasy- it's free. I haven't used it though. I've only used them for LA.
I'm not opposed to Apologia I just can't afford it new and honestly it looks like there are several books and CD's (or were they DVD's). Do I need everything? Also I read in a few places that it teaches young earth science which we do not believe. I have a homeschool store local but they don't seem to always be able to answer my questions. So, if I were to get Apologia's general science what all do I need?
Apologia is ABSOLUTEL creation, which is why I didn't suggest it. What you need for general science is the text book and the test/answer book. We bought the CD, thinking it would be a nice addition, and the kids never used it at all. Or you can get the text on CD if you have a kid that listens better.
We are doing general science Apologia right now and we have the textbook, the answer/solution manual and I splurged on the notebook journal (totally not necessary). It is young Earth though. We have the CD (because I bought it used and it came with the CD) and we have looked at it but never used it.
I did go into the local bookstore and look Apologia over. It is a no go. I don't like the young earth theories that are in it. So I have been thinking....why the heck is there no secular science for home schoolers that is as well laid out as Apologia?? I was hoping to find a curriculum that is somewhat of a one-stop-shop for books and lab kits and everything. I guess now I am going to look into the science books that the PS uses and see what we can use. *sigh* I hate to do that because I don't think they are very well laid out and they are "easy" and "dumbed down".
Is it possible to make Switched on Schoolhouse 8th grade work for your son? I have it brand new. It is the 2010 edition. If you think you could make it work, pm me.
Shilman- I have looked into Real Science-4-Kids and it seems a bit lacking to me. Maybe I am not seeing everything though. Plus I want something that he can continue through high school and right now they currently don't go all the way through 12th grade.
Hmmm. Sorry, that's all I've got! We are any Apologia family. I am teaching General science and biology this year at our co-op. I have never tried to use public school textbooks. Wouldn't it be hard to get tests and answer keys? I hope you are able to find what you are looking for.
I didn't care for Apologia either, so we switched to Holt's Physical Science. It's a textbook and it comes with 2 CD Roms: a teacher's guide and a chapter guide. It's an easy read with short chapters. There are activities and experiments and ds likes science again. I paid $130 for everything. Otherwise (if I didn't want to spend that kind of money) I would just use the library. I would go every week or 2 and grab a few books on each new topic. I would probably use the worldbook course of study as a topic guideline. I still may do that if we don't like Holt anymore.
For 7th grade science we used Apologia General Science and I agree the new books are expensive. But General Science is now in its 2nd edition, so I suggest you get a copy of 1st edition which sells for around $10-$20 and you will have yourself a really good textbook.
