We like Apologia Science

I’ve never done a great job of teaching science. My kids were interested in nature, and it seemed they figured out what they needed to know. They could identify most of the local plants and animals. They understood volcanoes and glaciers because we had visited some relevant national parks. Occasionally I did a science unit like “the human body” or “space.” But I never saw any textbooks that I liked.

Until now. I currently own four science texts published by Apologia: General Science (about 7^th grade), Physical Science (8th grade), Biology (9^th grade), and Physics (11th grade).

The text is okay. Concepts are explained well, but the constant repetition drives my kids crazy. (I read aloud and edit as I go.)

What we like are the labs. There are a LOT of labs in these books, and they teach significant principles. (You can only go so far with kitchen chemistry, even if it is fun.) In the interest of teaching “whole to part,” I like to start the day with a lab and then read about the principles involved.

This picture of a lab--from the physical science book--shows how liquid was sucked up into a bottle to replace the air used by the burning candle. That was from our study of air pressure. Probably our favorite lab (so far) was from the biology book. We made cultures of pond water (very stinky!) then looked at them under the microscope. Watching a paramecium suddenly swim across your drop of water is definitely an “ah ha” moment!

I have science textbooks and I have books of science experiments. But this is the best I have seen for do-able labs along with text. The companion CD’s are helpful too. I should add that our family does the labs together, then older kids participate in the reading and the oldest kids will do the study guides and tests.