Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: Apologia, Apologia elementary, Apologia Elementary Chemistry/Physics, chemistry, Elementary Chemistry, Elementary Physics, physics, science, science for 6th grade

This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 7 months ago by momto2blessings.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

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August 20, 2014 at 7:19 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
My 12yo 6th grader hates Apologia Elem. Chem./Physics. He’s been wanting to study chemistry so I thought he’d like this. We’ve always done Apologia w/o complaint, but now he says he’s never like them that much(kind of boring he says). I’d like to study these topics, and it’s his last year of more ‘fun’ science before we start Apologia General next year(I do want him to do this). Any ideas for a fun science year w/good living books and experiments on these topics? I own the following Science/Science-related books:
Physics Lab in the Classroom
Jan VanCleave’s A+ Projects in Chemistry
Jan Van Cleave’s Chemistry for Every Kid(101 Easy Experiments)
The Story of Inventions
It Couldn’t Just Happen
Crime Scene Investigations
Thomas Alva Edison: Inventing the Electric Age
Marie Curie’s Search for Radium
Dr. George Washington Carver
I’m so used to ‘feeling covered’ w/Apologia. Would a combination of the above books be enough for his 6th grade year? I also have a nature study journal I hope we’ll finally get to. Which books would you pick? I actually wish I would have used more of a living books approach all along…
Thanks for any input! Blessings, Gina
August 20, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Wings2fly
Participant
I am sorry that Apologia is not working out for your son. I have planned for my son to use only living books the next 2 years for 5th and 6th grades with books on SCM and AO. So what you wrote confirms that the living books I have planned is the way for us to go. We have done Apologia some in the past, and he told me it was a little boring and too long. I wonder now if we should have spent only one term per topic and move on, coming back to each book in other years.
So for 6th, I plan to use The Sciences by Holden along with Find the Constellations by HA Rey and for the chemistry/physics part of the book, he can read Mystery of the Periodic Table, except the last few chapters which are harder, and Eyewitness Chemistry. And he can read The Weather Book along with that section of The Sciences. I am excited about this book. It reads well and has illustrations and was recommended by CM, according to AO. It is printed by Yesterday’s Classics, available at Amazon. You can see it online too.
https://home.comcast.net/~rlaurio/TheSciences00.html
https://simplycharlottemason.com/planning/curriculum-guide/math-science-language-arts/living-science-books/
http://amblesideonline.org/06bks.shtml#sci
You could certainly use any of your books on chemistry/physics and I think it would be a very interesting, rich science education for a 6th grader.
August 21, 2014 at 12:40 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks for the tips and confirmation. I think one of my biggest homeschool regrets is not trusting living books and nature study for elementary science. Now that I have a high schooler who did fine with Apologia middle school programs, I realize the textbook wasn’t necessary. I don’t think either of my kids remember as much science as they would have if I would have gone the other route:(
Well, at least I can do something about this year:) Thx!
August 21, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Wings2fly
Participant
I am finally coming to realize this too, Gina, at 5th grade. We live and learn.
I have seen your books on many booklists, so they must be good selections.
August 21, 2014 at 9:36 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks. And thanks for the links. I’m going to go over them again, but Mysterious of the Periodic Table at least is on my list to add. I just spent $50 for the Apologia book and Notebooking Journal so I’m trying to not spend much. Hopefully I can sell them soon:) I do think it’s a great curriculum and written non-textbooky, but just not working for ds. Thanks again:)
August 21, 2014 at 9:57 pm
suzukimom
Participant
Make sure you look online at the ‘Periodic Table of Videos’. They are great! (they do vary a bit on how interesting they are…)
August 21, 2014 at 11:56 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks, I’ll check those out:)
August 22, 2014 at 1:50 am
Janell
Participant
I highly recommend The Elements by Theodore Gray. Beautiful book. Also, we checked out from the library a series of books about each element or group of elements on the Periodic Table.
(And I know you don’t want to buy anything, but I recommend Ellen McHenry’s The Elements and Carbon Chemistry for older students.)
August 22, 2014 at 1:06 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks for the additional recommendations. I will look into them!
September 9, 2014 at 6:53 pm
BlessedMommy
Participant
We are using this with my almost 7 year old and she loves the experiments! Since she is so young, I’m tweaking it to make it work for us. (We can revisit it again later & add the bigger Notebooking journal if we want). I was struggling with feeling the need to follow their suggested schedule and feeling the need to do EVERYTHING in the NJ but, the more I delve into the CM methods, the more I realize that I can be as flexible with a curriculum as I want. What I’m finding to work better for is is that I read ahead & pick an experiment. We will do the experiment and I will give my own narration about what we are doing, what’s happening etc. Then she will narrate to me some facts she learned & I’ll write her wording out on the board & have her copy it in the Jr. Notebooking Journal and draw her pictures. Pretty much like our nature journal. I allow myself to skip over some things in the journal that just seem like busy work. Like the lap book type things. She can color the coloring pages if she wants but, I don’t require that. And the verse copywork is always great too. So maybe if you just take a different approach to how you present the material he will enjoy it more. Apologia is not looking over your shoulders to make sure you follow their suggested plan. That’s the beauty of homeschool right? Make the focus more on the experiments (and there are tons!). And if his interest is really peaked by a certain experiment then, add some corresponding living books to go along with it.
September 9, 2014 at 11:29 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks for the suggestions. Glad it’s working well for you!!!
September 10, 2014 at 1:36 am
coralloyd
Participant
My 12 yr. old daughter is doing HOD MTMM this year. She is really loving the science portion. The books used for the chemistry are:
Exploring the World of Chemistry
Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radium
The Elements:Ingredients of the Universe (this is a curriculum put out by Ellen McHenry. It has lots of fun activities)
Atoms in the Family: My Life with Enrico Fermi
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity
Then they use the Chemistry C500 Experiment Kit
Hope you find something he enjoys more.
September 10, 2014 at 12:55 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
Thanks for the list! If I run out of material or he doesn’t like the books I’ve chosen I’ll look into these:)
September 24, 2014 at 5:57 am
Monucram
Member
Here’s another option if you want to incorporate some non-living book stuff.
We are using Real Science 4 Kids- chemistry this term and physics another, and my daughter is 12, too. Each subject has 10 chapters/experiments. One day she reads then the next day we do the experiment. We haven’t been in it long enough to really evaluate but the short chapters are non-threatening to her. There is a student book, lab book, and teacher’s manual. The way we’ll put it all together is to do chem. first term, read living books second term, and physics third term.
September 24, 2014 at 12:42 pm
momto2blessings
Participant
That sounds like an option that would have worked well if we started it sooner! We’re on a balance schedule and started school July 31, plus just had a house fire so I just don’t think I can switch anything else right now….thx for mentioning!!! I may still google it for ideas;)