I don't like Science :(

Nina, I also wanted to mention that many of the Thornton Burgess titles, as was  as Arabella Buckley and other living Nature Books authors are available for free  as audiobooks via “Librivox”. Google “books should be free” and you’ll find the website. I downloaded a number of these to my Ipod (could use an MP3 player or your computer) and its a great way to give my children these lovely stories when I am busy. We listen while I work in the kitchen, or while folding laundry, or during read or rest time.

Gotta love passive learning options for busy homeschooling families!

Shawna

So what approach do you feel is best preparation for college-level science? I was going to just do Apologia, but it seems there are many approaches you are all using.  And I didn’t know how Apologia works out in the long-run (is it good enough) or if it is boring studying just one topic all year (like someone else mentioned) in the short-run.I know I just have little guys right now, but I’m thinking big-picture, and science is important to us. Plus I think the older ds is built more for science than say, literature (unlike his dear mom).

@botanicalbecky, Apologia’s high school level courses will prepare your child well for college. They are not easy courses. In fact, Dr. Wile says that if your student gets a C in the course, he is doing well. Don’t panic that they may be too hard! They are very doable just not easy.

As for “is it boring studying one topic all year”, keep in mind that biology, chemistry, and physics are in-depth topics. At the high school level your child will be studying these topics in some detail but will still only be “scratching the surface” of these topics. Also, if your child is heading to college it will be necessary for him to be disciplined in his studies, even if he finds them boring. No matter what he majors in at college, he will have to take courses that don’t interest him as much as others. The high school years are a perfect time to teach your child to persevere through subjects which are necessary but may not be the most interesting to him.

I didn’t use the elementary level as my kids were past that age when they came out. 

I used the elementary years to expose my kids to as many different aspects of science as I could. We studied weather, space, animals, insects, plants, human body, and many other subjects just by reading good books, doing experiments, and nature study. We covered several topics each year and usually revisited topics several times. This gave my kids a good foundation for what I knew they would encounter in the higher levels of science when they reached high school.

Good books and nature study really are enough for the elementary years. The elementary years are for laying a good foundation or “hooks to hang things on” that later years will expand on. If you need a curriculum or book to help you achieve that, that is okay. Many of the moms here use Apologia’s elementary science books or Answers in Genesis’ science books. I’ve heard good things about both. I’ve only briefly looked at them but I think that both are good curriculums from what I’ve seen. The choice is really yours. You can use Apologia, Answers in Genesis, some other curriculum, or make up your own.

Thank you so much! I just love this forum!