Apologia General Science question

We didn’t do an outside class, just worked through the book at home.  She spent around an hour each day (5 days per week).  Occasionally it was less, it depends on how fast they grasp the readings or how long experiments take.  Also, at the end of a module it took study time to be prepared for the test.  So I would say yes, 5-8 hours per week is accurate.  And sometimes less.  It really depends on your child!

10 minutes a day?  Wow, does he do the on your own questions, etc?  Or just read and narrate?

Another thing that may affect it is how old your child is, if they plan to do the course in 9 mos or longer or shorter, and if they’ve had textbook based science before.  Makayla was 7th grade for General Science, with a goal of doing the book in a traditional school year (9 mos), and she really had not completed a textbook based science course before that.  I know some people save Gen Sci for 8th grade, or spread it over 2 years, or they are coming from a textbook based so the child is familiar with the format and learning from an information packed text (instead of a more gentle story paced information source).

To each their own!

My daughter spends about 20 minutes a day on General Science. She reads a portion of the test, we do the On Your Own problems together orally and she narrates. Since the study guides are almost identical to the test, I have her do those but they are open book. I don’t believe that the typical cram & test method is effective so they are not a requirement in our home. However, I will have her take a few tests in the traditional manner sometime this year just so that she becomes familiar with the process.

We didn’t use General Science, but dd14 is using Apologia Bio this year with a co-op class.  I’m not familiar enough to know if the time requirements are similar, but I’ll share our experience thus far – 3 weeks in.

She is required to do the study guide questions (open book is fine) and test (closed book) at home as well as read and study.  Labs are every other week’s class and lab reports are mostly done in class but may need to be finished at home. Outside of the one hour class time each week, she spends 4-6 hours.

Science is unique with its own vocabulary and we don’t find oral narration to be the best tool for us at this  level of science. Instead, dd narrate by taking notes.

Week 1 is certainly heavier than week 2 for her. We haven’t added anything yet, but she will watch the Biology 101 DVDs and read at least one biography/living science book during the year, too. These will be week 2 additions for her.

This schedule is comfortable for her and doesn’t seem like cram and test and then forget.  Here is her approximate two week schedule:

• F1 – class with lecture
• M – vocabulary and class note review (vocabulary is extremely important in higher sciences and it pays to do it first, IMO); dd likes making quizlet cards as there is a practice option that helps with spelling (her weakness)
• T – 1/2 chapter with notes (including oyo ?)
• W – 1/2 chapter with notes
• Th – Study guide questions to turn in
• F2 – lab class
• M – finish lab write up if needed; review vocab and atudy
• T – review vocab and study
• W – review vocab & study OR test
• Th – test or free day

At the high school level for a full credit class, I think 45m- an hour a day of science is reasonable for most students; IMO.  I’m sure some can move more quickly, esp if they read and orally narrate.  Now given that General science is middle school level, it may take a bit less time, I suppose.  Dd didn’t use apologia for middle school, but spent 30-45 minutes most days on her Physical science course in 8th.