For those of you who have used Apologia for science in the elementary and secondary years — is the material from the elementary books repeated in the junior high and high school level books? I have a 2nd year and a 6th year student and have been concentrating on the SCM science courses. I have tried to add in the Apologia science books several times but every single time it has seemed to bog our schedule down and we end up falling behind in other lessons. I guess I just need affirmation that if I drop the Apologia for now the boys will get the content eventually in their high school years. Thank you for any advice you can offer.
The elementary books are very good in depth dives into topics (astronomy, land animals, water animals, flying animals, botany, chemistry & physics, human anatomy and physiology). They are kept appropriate to elementary or junior high ages (some of the books are easier than others in my opinion for younger elementary). The down side is they are heavy on information (more textbook-ish than living book). This makes it really hard to preserve a CM learning style in elementary years and still make it through an entire Apologia elementary book each year. When we are using these we rarely do the entire book in a year, we slow it down and enjoy it at a different pace. I’m ok with that.
The upper level courses will have some overlap, but they are different. For example in physical science you’ll cover some of the same topics as physics, but in a much more technical/deep way appropriate to junior high and high school.
My son read Apologia on his own. He absorbed them slowly and still remembers what he learned from them. So, you could encourage them that they can be read in their free time as leisure reads.
We pulled in bits and pieces of the Apologia books when my children were younger. However, I’ve always found my children remembered much more from their living science books.
While it’s true that your children may miss out on learning things if you skip the elementary Apologia series, the opposite is also true if you choose Apologia over living books. They will then miss out on the information contained within the living books that you chose to lay down for the Apologia curriculum.
For my part, I would choose living books over textbooks any day-especially in the elementary years.
I have also had a similar experience to Rachel White, some of my kids have taken the Apologia elementary books to read on their own. One child especially so far, who is currently 11th grade and works with a veterinarian office and plans to be a vet, did that with all the books. She loved them. And my other kids have all loved when we do the books. Sometimes it’s just not the right season for me to use them though.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
The topic ‘Apologia Science Question’ is closed to new replies.