AiG God's Design for Science

I own it and almost used it with ds10 this year. I have opted to wait til next year and include dd6. It has short lessons which are very cm in nature and I greatly prefer it to Apologia’s elementary series. Apologia is good stuff, but for some reason I loathed reading it aloud.

We use it and really like it.  My son is also 12.  I like that the lessons are short, which leaves plenty of time to add in videos, experiments/observations, and extra books as interest dictates.  Also, since we are somewhat new to narration, the shorter readings make it easier for my son to practice using narration in science, which I hope will make using narration in more advanced level science easier.  We are in the God’s Design for Life series and the lessons with add-ins are short enough that we are doing about 4 lessons a week easily.  

My son also likes that the lessons/readings are short.  He would much rather spend time doing experiments and watching documentaries.  My son came out of public school last year and so was in a general hate relationship with science.  This has provided a good framework and allowed us to have time to add in topically as I thought necessary or, more often, as his interest has led. 

We’re using AiG’s God’s Design for the Physical World, the Inventions & Technology book.

I thought (when we first started using it) that we’d cover all three books in the series in one year.  WRONG!  We’re doing about 1 lesson per week.  Some of that is because I like to add in library books, a notebooking page or two, and whatnot.

I also thought my girls wouldn’t like it – because of it being about 3 pages of read-aloud (my girls are 9, 7, 6, and 3 years old).  And I thought the “experiments” or activities seemd a little hokie.  BUT, the girls like it!  The 9yo can actually answer the questions (orally) at the end (in her age group, not the ones for older kids) and they all enjoy the experiments.  Not every lesson has an activity or experiment, which disappoints them.

They have biographies scattered throughout.  Since we’re using this along side Module 6, it’s actually quite a bit of dove-tailing that’s going on (which tickles me! I LOVE when things coordinate without me planning it).  Now, that could be because we “got behind” in science for a little bit….and then “got behind” in history. 

I’m not sure if I’ll stick with AiG for next year – I’d like to circle back and do Life science again.  (I follow the WTM/classical four-year cycle of Ancients & Life Science  then  Ren&Ref & Astronomy,Earth Science   then   Module 5 & Chemistry  then Module 6 & Physics.

I was really considering Apologia  – because i think I’d enjoy it (and having the notebook already organized, all the frills that are all ready for me).  But I really appreciate the down-to-earth-ness of AiG. So, I’m reading and looking for your opinions, too!

As for price, I got it on sale at CBD.  And one thing I appreciate (but wonder at) is that when you order a book, it comes with a CD that has the worksheets for the whole kit&kaboodle.  So, I ordered the three books in the God’s Design for the Physical World….and I got the three teacher guides and three discs.  All three discs were exactly the same!  And include the worksheets for God’s Design for Life, G’sD for Heaven & Earth, G’sD for Chemistry & Ecology, G’sD for Life.

Now, you “need” the teacher’s guide for the answers (if you’re like me and read aloud without always paying attention! sometimes my mind wanders while reading aloud).  But the CDs indlude the worksheets.  The teacher’s guides are just answers to the questions at the end of each lesson and the answers to the quizzes and tests.

So, I like it.  I wonder if I’d like Apologia better.  But I like it and might use it next year.  Can you tell that I’m on the fence?!?!!?

Hope that helps.

I used this with all three of my kids, all the way through.  We ended it up for them in7th or 8th grade and then went straight to Apologia high school science.  IMO there are no AiG products that adequately prepare for college science.  

I plan on using Apologia in high school.  

I am still in the planning/research phase for 8th grade so I am not completely sure what we are doing.  My intention was to do an 18-week Human A&P course, loosely based on the Guest Hollow plan, and then Chemistry/Physics for the remaining 18-weeks.  My son has requested an in-depth study on Navigation/Mapping that I am trying to figure out so we may add-in some weather, geology, technology and engineering with that (somehow!).