Hi Jackie, If you are planning on using Apologia for junior and senior high, then I would certainly continue the Considering God Creation series. The two dovetail very well and you are already familar with the curriculum. It would be a great choice. If you are looking for change, then consider any of the Apologia Elementary series: www.apologia.com. The Apologia series pretty much lets you focus on a topic of interest and follow it through for a school year. I particularly like the Zoology books as a good lead into the General Science curriculum. There are a lot of really good books out there. You might simply ask your 6th grader what she might like to study for science. She might surprize you and say "bugs," ... and you are off to the races and the library. One other thing, Apologia GS is designed for 6th-7th grade. You might consider getting her started early, if she is reading and writing at grade level. Hope that helps. Steve
Hmm. Maybe I will put her in GS and not hurry through it, maybe take a year and a half in it, and another year and a half in Physical. Thanks!
Steve, I know that Apologia's website says that Zoo 1 is a pre-req for Zoo 2.....are you familiar enough with both to know if it's possible to skip Zoo 1? The reason I ask, I have a 4th grader who strongly dislikes science....always has. We've tried a few different things since we began HSing last March. Right now she's doing SOS 5th grade because my other daughter wanted to do science everyday and the other 2 didn't...didn't want to hold back the 7 year old because of her siblings but due to some vision issues, SOS made the most sense because it can read things to her when she's having a bad eye day. Since the oldest doesn't like any science, she's doing SOS to make it easy on Mom :lol: OK, all the kids are interested in sea animals, etc. We moved in the coast of VA last March and recently moved onto Ft. Monroe (which sits as a peninsula into the Chesapeake Bay)....so we have ocean right out the window. Plus they got the Planet Earth DVDs from their Aunt and love the water episodes. They have almost NO interest in birds however. I know that I want all of them to do Apologia for middle school/high school science. Oh yeah, my 4th grader is doing 5th grade SOS based on the scope & sequence and her previous pub sch experience and she reads and works well above grade level....even for science (although not as high as her other subjects) What do you think? I told her once she finished her unit on cells that we'd look into adding something else before she works on the next unit. Since it's 5th grade, I'm hoping to stretch it out for the rest of this year and part of next by adding in other topics.....thought Apologia Zoo 2 might be apart of that....otherwise, I'll probably just wing it from the library but I'd feel better with a "proven" book like Apologia.....I always did well in science (even Physics) but can't say that I "loved" it. Thanks, Rhonda C.
Jackie, That's what I'm pondering for my oldest too....although not for a year or so. She's technically a 4th grader by PS calculations and doesn't "love" science (although does well with it). Rhonda
The problem with skipping Zoo 1 is that there are instruction for completing the work presented in Zoo 1 that are not in Zoo 2. Zoo 2 assumes you know the information from Zoo 1. You are kind of lost without it. What I suggest you do is download the information from the Apologia site you will need from Zoo 1. You find it at https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4. Apologia provides the information free of charge and you have permission to make one copy. Reading the first Zoo 1 Module and the book intro information should give you what you need to jump into Zoo 2. Hope that helps. God Bless, Steve
I know of a lot of families that do General Science early and extend the book over two years. It works well and the students seem to prosper as long as they are good readers and writers. God Bless, Steve
I talked it over with Carl this morning. I started the year off really strong with science, but it's since REALLY petered out. So I'm thinking maybe NOW is the time to start her in General Science. She will either freak out, or she'll be the totally opposite and like the idea that I'm expecting her to be more responsible and rise to the challenge. I think I will actually sit and read through the first module with her, and talk her through the questions and labs. Then we'll go from there. (GOSH!!! One more thing to add, lol!!!)
Thanks Steve. I'll look over the link. I've pondered getting both books and using what we need from Zoo 1 to do Zoo 2. I know my science-loving daughter would gladly do both (just might do 2 first to entice the rest). Thanks again! Rhonda C.
Hi Steve--you said drop you a line here. . .so here I am! ;-) Okay. . . so here is what I need/am considering. I have two children I want to teach at the same time. A 3rd grader and a 1st grader. The 3rd grader pretty much functions a little above grade level. The 1st grader functions well above grade level, epsecially in math. They both have strong science background in certain things mostly bc we live in a place where there are just tons of opportunities. . .zoo, gardens, SONY wonder lab, etc. ;-) So. . .they did Considering God's creation. . .finished it easily. DD was 2nd grade, and ds was k. Something like that is too easy for them now. (It is, for anyone reading, an excellent curriculum.) I need a curriculum that is 'meaty'. My ideal curriculum would be something that presents concepts, labwork, etc. but also has some flexibility in terms of projects, further study, etc. Where would you suggest I start if I were going to go with Apologia? Would the elementary science curriculum fit my needs? Or would I find myself having to supplement with more challenging materials?
Hey Steve, I ordered Zoo 1 & 2 this weekend. I'm excited and so are the kids. We're still going to do Zoo 2 first (and the younger ones can do Zoo 1 when big sis moves on to Gen Science). I joined the Elem yahoo group...wow, tons of helpful info. I just looked thru my Apologia catalog...weird how it says NO PREREQ for Zoo 2 but the website does....wish I had paid closer attention to the catalog....anyway, another quick question..... The catalog says that Physical Science should be done when the student takes Pre-Alg. My oldest is forecasted to take Pre-Alg in 7th and Alg 1 in 8th. She's NOT my science kid so I'm pondering stretching out Gen Science and Phys Science for 6-8th (unless she falls in love with the Elem. books and gets more motivated where I think she could do each in a year without tears). It's not that she can't do it. Actually given her reading/math/writing abilities, she could probably do Gen Science now (but would hate me :lol. I'm assuming it would be OK , if she has already taken Pre-Alg before she gets to Phys. Science. Ok, hope my ramblings haven't lost you. Thanks again for helping all of us out with your expertise. Rhonda C.
Jackie, I'm assuming Apologia makes the recommendation just to make sure that a kid is more than ready for Physical and then Bio. Obviously Rachael is fine!!! Wow, geometry in 8th grade....you couldn't have paid me to do it then. Geometry is NOT my favorite...of course, maybe if I had had it alone rather than mixed with Saxon. I have no clue how Saxon does it now but many moons ago it was mixed in with Algebra 3 (which also had trig, etc.). Anyway, not bashing Saxon's methods...they just didn't work for me...I did well grade wise but don't remember a thing.... :roll: I'm forecasting based on her completing Horizons through 6th grade and then placing into Pre-Alg rather than some 7th grade text...based on her natural math ability and Horizons Advanced Scope and Sequence...I could be wrong though. Rhonda C.
Actually, her best friend is also taking Geometry in 8th grade this year in the school district. This isn't uncommon for the kids who are good in math. Which I find interesting, because when I was a kid, Algebra was only given to 8th graders if they had good math grade, and then Geometry in 9th. Otherwise, they encouraged you to take Algebra in 10th and Geometry in 11th. I hated Algebra, but loved Geometry! And I didn't take any math beyond Geometry in 10th!!! And as little science as possible! General in 9th, and Bio in 11th!
Yep, I was one of those good in math kids who took Alg 1 in 8th grade....straight from 7th (no pre-alg course). They used the Saxon series at the time except for Calculus my senior year....don't know if Saxon didn't have it yet or if they just preferred the other text. Didn't really like high school math but always did well. Thought Calc would kill me but we did the whole book in 3 quarters so we could review in all the last quarter to take the AP test..........studied so hard and it paid off......I got a 4 of 5 on the AP test and had to take ZERO math in college....except for Business Statistics for my accounting major. Rhonda C.
My dd is in 6th and is doing pre-Algebra. I was planning on Gen. Science next year, and Phys. Science the next. Wonder if I should go with that, or run through Gen. Science between now and the beginning of next school year, then do Phys. science next year with Algebra 1? Has anyone done the General Science? What do you think of it? I already have the Apologia Physical Science books for some reason (I can't remember when I got them! Duh!), so could go with that easily enough. Not sure I have the money to get the general science, since it aint cheap!
I like the General Science. It worked well with Rachael, though the size of the book was a little overwhelming at first.
My understanding is that Gen Science should be done before Physical science....and that they intend for Physical science to be right before Biology 1. Obviously, Steve is the one to answer best or call Apologia (the website might have the answer too). We got our Zoo books yesterday....so today we're talking about animal classification. Rhonda C.
The problem with most elementary curriculum school curriculums is they are written for the "typical" school age child. Yours are not typical; hence, your are going to have to supplement no matter what books you select. What I would do is look at the Apologia elementary book (www.apologia.com) possibilities WITH your student, let the older one decide on a curriculum he or she has an interest in, and go with that book for both. Then simply target your field trips and supplement work around the book, using the area in which you live for resources. If you need help with online zoology resources, try focused, key-word searches. Most 3rd graders are going to want to do animals, and girls tend to go horse crazy about fifth grade. (Psychology tells us that it stems from a need to master a powerful beast necessary to conquer the feeling of powerlessness young girls are feeling due to society suspression. Personally, I think they just want to ride horses.) Hope that helps. Steve
Perfectly okay. You just need to be starting pre-algebra before you start PS. You get to pre-algebra math in the later modules of the book. As long as you have stated or finished the math, you should be fine by the time you will need to use it in the science. God Bless, Steve
