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Patty
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| Posted: April 20 2005 at 10:41am | IP Logged
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What do you use for biology labs? We have some good higher level living books on biology, as well as a couple text books, and I also have lots of science experiment books, but most of those are geared to junior high and younger.
Do you use Apologia? Castle Heights Press? Something else? I am looking for something to use now and over the summer, as I would like to give my daughter credit for a lab science biology course.
Thanks for any ideas!
Patty
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MacBeth
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| Posted: April 20 2005 at 11:00am | IP Logged
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Hey Patty!
I have used Castle Heights Press' books. They are not the greatest, but they are easy to use.
I also use things of my own design, find bio labs online (some virtual, some recipe), and I have bought kits from Tobin's Lab and Ward's (which sells AP labs, and is homeschool friendly).
I'm sure some folks out there use Apologia and can comment, but I have not seen the lab book.
I have also used The Amateur Biologist with some modifications.
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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Patty
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| Posted: April 20 2005 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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Hi Macbeth,
Thanks for your quick response. Why do you say Castle Heights is not the greatest although it's easy to use? Is it incomplete?
I'm not a trained scientist, so I would rather have a lab resource that has all these things in one place, rather than having to look for them myself. I'm not trying to be lazy; I just don't think I would do a thorough job of it on my own.
Thanks,
Patty
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allforjmj
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| Posted: April 22 2005 at 9:01am | IP Logged
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HI,
My 2 children in the 9th and 11th grade are doing Apologia biology. He does labs through out the book, you have to order some of the items yourself and I got mine through "Home Science Catalog". There is a list in the front of the Apologia book that tells you what you will need to order. My kids really have enjoyed it. I also order MODG syllabus to use with this. I gave them the syllabus and books and they have pretty much worked on their own together. The first thing they do is an insect collection and was that a lot of fun. They wanted to get different things from one another so it was lots of fun keeping our eyes open for "new" bugs. The younger ones helped. An FYI you can use nail polish remover to "kill" the bugs instead of ordering the stuff they suggest. We had babyfood jars on the counters with different bugs in them until they could mount them. I have them keep track of their time in a lab notebook for their labs (ex: when you begin and when it ends) So that they could get a lab credit. My 2 oldest sons who are in college came home and saw their dislays hanging on the hallway walls and were impressed, they were enrolled with Seton and did the Abeka biology and it was not as much fun!
Hope this helps!
Jackie
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MacBeth
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| Posted: April 25 2005 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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Patty wrote:
Hi Macbeth,
Thanks for your quick response. Why do you say Castle Heights is not the greatest although it's easy to use? Is it incomplete?
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Patty, sorry to take so long to answer...I was away (homeschool conference in TX!!).
Castle Heights Press is complete, and easy to do, but last time I check it was comb-bound on uncoated paper...not really great for messy lab work. 
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
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Patty
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| Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:11pm | IP Logged
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Thanks Macbeth!
I guess a person could take off the comb binding and put the pages into plastic sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. I have been known to do this.
Hope you had a great trip to the hsing conference in TX.
Patty
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Patty
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| Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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Jackie,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm still undecided, but will take your assessment of Apologia biology into consideration.
God bless,
Patty
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Victoria in AZ
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| Posted: May 02 2005 at 11:42am | IP Logged
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We are using Apologia Biology. It is our first Apologia course and I am impressed. Ds is mostly self-study and doing well. My favorite part is when he "narrates" the lesson to his father or to me without even realizing he is doing so. I appreciate his enthusiasm. We did order the dissection kit Apologia suggests, but you can get full credit without doing the dissections.
I chose to order the computer CD instead of the hard-bound textbook on instinct that the CD would be less overwhelming to ds.
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Victoria in AZ
dh Mike 24 yrs; ds Kyle 18; dd Katie 12; and one funny pug
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Liz D
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My ds is also using Apologia Biology and likes it. This is his third Apologia course and he does well with them. He use the textbook and keeps on top of his studies with
it.
God Bless,
Liz,
dh Mark 25yrs, Mindy 23,Chris almost 21, Laura almost 19, Brian 15, Kathleen 10, Patrick 7
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Liz
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Kelly
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| Posted: May 08 2005 at 8:18pm | IP Logged
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Can I show my ignorance and ask if Apologia is an accredited course? I know Seton is accredited thru that Southeastern Highschools and Colleges thing, but I'm wondering about Apologia? I really don't know much (make that ANYTHING) about Apologia, even where to order it! We're facing Biology next year, too, and need inspiration.
Kelly in FL
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MacBeth
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| Posted: May 08 2005 at 8:26pm | IP Logged
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Kelly wrote:
| Can I show my ignorance and ask if Apologia is an accredited course? I know Seton is accredited thru that Southeastern Highschools and Colleges thing, but I'm wondering about Apologia? Kelly in FL |
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Apologia is just a text book, so the program might be used by accredited homeschools (whatever that means...I find with high schools it's pretty much meaningless outside the region in which a program is accredited), but is not "accredited" by itself.
Personally, I do not care for Apologia, but I know many people who use it and like it. There are sample chapters at Apologia's website, so you can see if you like the tone and content of the books.
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
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Kelly
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| Posted: May 09 2005 at 10:56pm | IP Logged
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Ah, Enlightenment! Thanks, MacBeth. So this is not a program, but a book. Light dawns on Marblehead 
I'm just feeling my way along on homeschooling a highschooler. Not sure that all this talk about accreditation really means much unless a kiddo is planning to switch to a "regular" highschool. As far as college applications go, I suppose documenting the textbook used, materials and so on, along with their papers and tests constitutes a credit if Mom is doing the crediting, hey? Or does it? Hmmmm. I know there are books out there about documenting their highschool work and so on, guess I know what I'll be reading during my summer "vacation".
Kelly in FL
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ALmom
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| Posted: May 23 2005 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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Hi,
I find this interesting as I am a lousy science teacher. We have found some coop classes that we hope to get into for chemistry. Our daughter needs 2 lab sciences to get into college for a music major.
We have tried so many things and most of it was totally uninteresting or incomprehensible to my daughter and I. We finally settled on Apologia because at least my daughter could do it and something was better than nothing. (Seton does let you do Apologia as independent study, btw). However, I do not think I would use it for my very scientific minded boys unless it was a middle school course. It has some typical Protestant biases - not as bad as some, and sometimes seems more interested in an agenda than in science. It seems to be trying to debunk some popular ideas like global warming, etc. For our daughter, it has been a blessing.
I think our daughter would have done better with a more thourough science, presented orally by a "teacher" in a more traditional way but I couldn't provide that and Apologia is pretty easy to read and do. We are still looking if anyone has any suggestions.
Janet
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Kelly
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| Posted: May 28 2005 at 1:26am | IP Logged
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I noticed that the ISLAS program for Biology uses the Apologia book. Has anyone tackled Apologia Biology via islas??? I wonder if that would be more motivating.
Kelly in FL
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: Biology Labs?
