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Apologia Astronomy Troubles
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Hi Ladies, I’m back from time off the computer for advice. I have a dd 8 and ds 6. We have tried elementary Apologia astronomy in the past and had to drop it. We have tried to pick it back up recently. It is over our head!!! Are we behind in our comprehension and understanding because I hear other parents rave about this curriculum. Sometimes I paraphrase what the book says, but they are just not getting it. As a home learning teacher, I find it very detailed for k-5. We only do this 1-2 a week, but it is glazed eyes each time we do. Anyone else experience this with Apologia Astronomy?
We started Astronomy yr 2011 and finally finished it in school yr 2012! My ds who was 9 at the time loved it! However, it was hard for ds7 or almost 7 when we started! We also did the notebook journal! That was fun! It really help to cement the info! DS7 was really in another world most of the time! He did absorb some things though. Then this school year we started Flying Creatures, and I saw that glazed look again in ds who is 8 now! So, I gave it to my ds10 and told him to dig in by himself. At first he was sad to not be reading as a family, but then he got excited to do this on his own. I just HAD to save my ds8 from being so lost! LOL! And just have been giving him living books on the subject to read on his own!
I love Apologia, really I do! But, I believe it really depends on the child if they are understanding it. It is a lot of info to digest! And I tend to agree w/ you, that it is a lot for elementary ages! With that said, my ds10 loves them! And loved the Astronomy one when we started it at 9! And probably would have loved it loved it when he was 8! He is just that way, a natural thinker!
Now, I am weaving back and forth on what to do next yr. I am hoping my ds8 will grow with “comprehension” as he gets closer to 9! He does understand well, it is just TMI I think! 🙂
I would suggest to set it aside for now until they are older. Grab some living books on astronomy. A lot of astronomy books are info type books. I just don’t see how you can tell so many stories about space, LOL! Magic School Bus is a great one! There is also a chapter book too! Then maybe watch the dvd?? And use the internet to watch short videos about space such as
HTH! And don’t totally give up on Apologia!! 🙂
I’d recommend staring with H.A.Rey’s Finding the Constellations first:
and
MoonFinder:
Get to a Planetarium
Living books like: Among the Night People
IMO, I would wait till between 7 and 9 for the Apologia books (it’s worth it when they are ready to absorb the info). Up till then, I’d focus more on developing a love of the natural world, the Creation, at all levels; without that sense of fascination and awe, their experiences throughout their learning years (which is till death) with be dampened.
Reading all the Arabella Buckley books and the Among the…series, and the Burgess books (actually, all of the age-appropriate science books at Yesterday’s Classics-now’s a good time for Seed Babies and Bee People being springtime); in addition to starting creation notebooks and having nightime gazing at different times of the year, when they get to go to bed late!
I also recommend for video watching the Moody series and Newton’s Workshop.
Get out there and have them dig in teh dirt, watch a butterfly come from it’s cocoon (you can order the cocoon kits so that they can grow, be watched then be released), feed the birds and try to identify them; etc.
My dd never could handle Apologia, even now at 12; so she uses Lyrical Science and the Wonders of Creation books and will go into the Tiner books after those. However, my son completely absorbs Apologia. They both read living science books ferociously when younger.
HTH
I’ve found if you want to use Apologia young it works well to read shorter sections more frequently with the narration principles Sonya explained so well in a January blog series: http://simplycharlottemason.com/series/5-steps-to-successful-narration/ Especially the third post, Finding Your Bearings.
My goal is always to enjoy the process, so slowing it down doesn’t matter. Will you finish the book in one ‘school year’? It depends on you. Do you want to devote 15 minutes each day to doing a small science section? Then you might. But even if it takes 2 years it is worth the slower pace to see their understanding.
We used this last year and loved it. Have you found the Jr. Notebooking Journals? They were a big help for us to keep all that info straight. As Tristan said, you may have to change your goals a bit and slow down. It might help to do science daily for a short 10-minute span rather than twice a week for longer. My kids were 6 and 8 when we did this. The 8yo got a lot more out of it than my 6yo, but she still learned the order of the planets, learned that the earth is 93 million miles from the sun, knows what a constellation is, and can tell you about the terrain/atmosphere of each planet. She may not remember the specific constellations, the names of the moons, or man-made satellites, but then again, neither do I. 😉
We really loved the Apologia Astronomy, and then fell away from a couple others and used something else. If your girls are having a hard time just do the living books and nature study with them. They are young enough that you are doing sufficient learning that way. If they like hands on items, then add in some activities that tie into what you’re reading and keep a notebook. You don’t want your girls to get turned off of science or astronomy because of the curriculum – remember, each family is different.
Another thought, if you really want a structured science is to pick something that they are interested in learning in the science field. If they have a strong love of animals, try looking at a curriculum that studies animals and their habitats, visit the zoo, make a classification notebook, etc.
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