This is the last blog post in the blog post series Our Favorite Curriculum (Find the other four post HERE). Apologia is a curriculum I wish we would have used sooner in our homeschooling journey. Not that I didn’t like our science choice before, but this one has been even easier to use and has allowed me to make science an independent subject for our older girls to work on, leaving me free to take care of a baby and now toddler as well.
Here are the top five reasons we will continue to use Apologia in our homeschool journey.
One: Multi-Level Family Friendly
I have been able to have our girls for the last two years use the same text book for science. They read the same material, but the work they complete is then based on their own grade level. Thumper (our current 3rd grader) is using the Jr. notebook and our Mouse (7th grader) is using the regular notebook. Because some of the activities are similar, our oldest daughter can often assist her younger sister in assignments, when she doesn’t understand how to do something.
Two: Use of MP3-CD Recording
The recording available have saved my voice a lot these last two years. I already read aloud a lot to our girls (since we use Sonlight), so this has freed up my ow voice. It also allows the girls to listen and follow along with the text, or have the choice to just listen or even just read on their own. It has truly been an invaluable resource for us.
Three: Student Notebooks
As mentioned in the reason one for using this curriculum, we have used both notebooking levels for our girls. I like that the notebooks have them recalling information they have listened to or read and then applying that knowledge as well. I do not feel that it is just busy work, but a way to apply what they are learning. They love showing them off and like to tell me about what they are writing or working on during this time.
Four: Short Lessons
Aplogia gives a suggested outline of when to complete the lessons, from the Zoology books we have used, science can easily be completed in just two days a week. (for approximately three weeks per lesson). However I like to break these two days up and spread them out doing a little something within the lesson each day, so the lessons take us approximately two weeks to complete this way.
Five: Easy to Make Independent
Due to using the MP3 and student notebooks I have been able to make this subject primarily independent work for my girls. I imagine if they were younger when we started I would have to assist a bit more. This frees me up to work more with them on other subjects that they are not as independent on, or that are not meant to be independent anyways.
We are looking forward to continuing our Apologia journey next year with using either Anotomy and Phisiology with Thumper and General Science with Mouse. I will definitely be using Zooology again when Bird and Baby L#4 get older as well.
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