In my last post a reader, Multiple personalities, had stated that they would be “all ears” for some science books/text recommendations. So I went on a search for her to find a variety of options.
Apologia: Chances are if you have asked a number of families what curriculum they use for science the name “Apologia” will come up at least once (maybe more!). That’s because it is a favorite in the Christian homeschool circle.
We personally have used it for the Physical Science course and currently are using it for Biology.
These are definitely rigorous courses that at the high school level prepare the student for college courses.
Apologia has courses for all ages though, from Kindergarten right through 12th grade. With many resources to supplement all the levels (from the company themselves as well as from independent companies) this is indeed a thorough and complete option for science.
A Reason For Science: This is another curriculum we have used.
Less “book work” than Apologia this course is all about hands on learning. Possibly because A Reason for Science’s premise is based on that “learning science is an active process”.
What we really liked about the program is that you can purchase a kit along with the curriculum that has almost all you need to do the experiments. The extra items are (for the most part) regular household items or easily obtained.
A Reason for Science courses are available for 1st through 8th grades.
Friendly Chemistry: We dabbled briefly for a review in this curriculum meant for upper middle to high school students. For a more in depth review you can visit my blog. We plan on picking it up again where we left off when we are done our Biology course.
It is a fun and interactive way to learn chemistry basics. I would not consider it a pre-college chemistry class, but if you have middle schoolers who love science or a student that has no intention of needing a really strong science base in college it is sufficient for those purposes.
Answers In Genesis: We have used books from AIG.org, specifically one entitled Evolution: The Grand Experiment, to supplement our studies. AIG.org offers a variety of books and curricula for science with a creation perspective throughout.
Other books and curricula I found, but have no personal experience with are Mudpies to Magnets, R.E.A.L. Science, Rainbow Science, Real Science 4 Kids and Singapore Science.
So weigh in for Multiple personalities, fellow readers. Tell us what you use for science books and texts and how you like them (or not!).
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Apologia! We're doing the elementary level Zoology 3 this year. What I love is you can read it aloud to all the kids, do the experiments together, let the olders do the notebooking assignments, and the littles can simply draw a picture to go along.
Creation Sensation DOES sell kits for the Apologia science books!
We have gone the secular route for science. We are using Prentice Hall's Science explorer series. We purchased the Earth Science as a single text but you can also buy it as separate "units" so you can do it at your own pace. I wanted something that several of my children could do together despite the fact they are different ages. This is aimed at the junior high level but can be adapted for younger kids. The PH series comes with a workbook written to junior high level and one written to 4th grade level. So we can cover the same material for everyone.
We enjoy doing science together and this course benefits from the material being taught as opposed to apologia which is more independent learning. There are no "kits" but most of the materials are easy to come by and the rest can be purchased through home training tools website. This curriculum does discuss old world dating.
This past year we used Catholic Heritage Curricula for our science. This coming year, we plan to use one of the programs from Winter Promise.
As a former science specialist for grades 4-6, I write my own… Science Logic.
Alpha Omega is my first choice.
I thought I would leave a comment about the science we use. We went with the R.E.A.L. Science from Pandia Press and love it. My daughter, who is not the science type, like the fact that there are many different activities to do. My husband and I like because it has a variety of things to do. Some days it is just work pages and some times it is experiments. Also we like that all experiments can be done with stuff that you would keep around the house, expect for the live animal ones, which can be left out without a problem. The only thing I would recommend is that if you live in an area, like we do, where the ground is frozen for 6 months of the year is that you skip to the animal section first. You need to dig in the dirt.
for the younger babes, My Father's World K curriculum has awesome science blended in to the entire program. For the letter S, make a sun dial, sun dried grapes (raisins), sun dried tomatoes, shadows and more…that is just the "S" letter. I really love the science and thought that went into this program…just a thought…:)