Curriculum Review: Physics with Apologia (And a SALE!)

*Affiliate links, including those from Amazon.com, may be present in any of my posts. You can read my policy in more detail at the bottom of this post.

We are close to embarking on our 12th year of homeschooling which is truly hard to believe. We've tried a lot of different curriculums over the years, in part, because sometimes it takes trial and error to find a really good one, but also because I currently have six children and not all of them learn the same way so sometimes you have to change things up a bit.

And, as I said in my recent review of Marine Biology, I certainly don't have all the answers to homeschooling high schoolers and I often find myself leaning on the Lord and asking Him for help and direction in how to best guide them. I am so thankful that He loves our children even more than we do and that He cares about every detail of their lives and that includes the interests that He has put within them and how they learn best. 

Curriculum Review: Marine Biology from Apologia (And a SALE!)

*Affiliate links, including those from Amazon.com, may be present in any of my posts. You can read my policy in more detail at the bottom of this post.

It's truly hard for me to believe that not only are we entering our 12th year of homeschooling but this year I will have two high schoolers. The years truly have flown by and I could not be more thankful to the Lord for leading our family to homeschool, especially since it was not our original intent. But God sees the big picture and He knew ahead of time not only what homeschool would keep us from (in a good way) but how it would enrich our lives in countless ways. Additionally, after living through a pandemic and seeing the ways that countless family's lives were uprooted in so many ways, but specifically in regards to their children's education, it makes me even more thankful that we were able to just keep on doing what we were doing. 

Our Review of Apologia's High School Chemistry Course

*Affiliate links, including those from Amazon.com, may be present in any of my posts. You can read my policy in more detail at the bottom of this post.

Our school year is off to a great start and I'm feeling more peaceful and organized than I ever have before. A contributing factor to that besides making some organizational choices in our curriculum and home is the the fact that my son's science course for this year is much more independent. 

Last year I had to be heavily involved with his course (from a different curriculum company) and it was A LOT for both him and me. We persevered and finished it but I knew we needed something different for his learning style and my schedule.

While I am happy to be involved, as a mom of six, I definitely do need some help carrying the weight of these upper level science courses. The options we found with Apologia were an answer to prayer, especially with the self-paced options that are now available for the middle school and high school science courses. I'll have more coming soon on that option in another post.

As part of our curriculum choices for the year, I wanted to share an in- depth look at our science curriculum for my 10th Grader who is using Chemistry from Apologia. (Currently on SALE!) I know that homeschooling high schoolers can seem daunting, but Apologia has completely taken the fear out of covering these high school courses. With the incredible array of options you truly can get a course that fits well with your child's learning style. 

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I am so relieved to know that I have resources available for my child that will help him to succeed and gain a solid science education "even though we're homeschooling." Honestly, in 2020 there are so many options available to homeschoolers. It's just a matter of finding what's the best fit for your child. I love that I can choose the same course but in a variety of learning styles based on the best way my particular child learns. 

Course Overview

We have used Apologia for years. Not only for science, but also for Bible, Government (best course, ever!) writing, and reading. I also recently wrote a review about our middle school science course, General Science. So, by this point, we are quite familiar with this curriculum company! 

Everything with Apologia is done well and is very thorough which is why we chose to use this them for our son's High School Chemistry course. We felt it would the best option to give him a well-rounded, well-prepared high school experience that would also prepare him for college.

 

Challenging science concepts in this course are presented in a conversational tone yet include thought-provoking experiments designed to help students learn, develop self-checking skills and eventually master difficult concepts before progressing.  

"Topics include significant figures, units, classification, the mole concept, stoichiometry, thermochemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, acids and bases, redox reactions, solutions, atomic structure, Lewis structures, molecular geometry, gas laws, and equilibrium. Experiments include measuring specific heat, discovering the electrical conductivity of compounds dissolved in water, measuring the width of a molecule, exploring freezing, point depression, using the ideal gas equation, recognizing the effects of catalysts, and much more." 

 

Who Is This Course For?

Apologia's Chemistry is designed to help high school students who have completed pre-algebra and are proficient in algebra. 

There are several different ways to complete the course. You can choose to use a textbook with a student notebook, the  streaming option, video instruction or the self-paced option. As I mentioned, I'll be posting more about the self-paced option in a separate post.

As a mom of many, I appreciate the various options that are available for my different children's learning styles as well as the ability to pretty much hand off their science instruction to Apologia's well-equipped teaching team and curriculum. Especially at this level! I basically see myself as a overseer at this point for my children in their science because it's not necessary for me to be directly involved in their lessons which is a huge weight off of my shoulders and answer to my prayers! 

This "award-winning 3rd edition high school chemistry course offers more in-depth discussions and explanations of concepts, a more user-friendly flow of topics, as well as biographical sketches of Christian scientists who have made a difference in the field while giving the glory to God. This course provides a rigorous foundation in chemistry in order to prepare your student for college-level studies."

 

 

How We Use This Course

At this age, my son is able to handle the course on his own for the most part.  He has the textbook, student notebook, MP3 and thumb drive. He also has the self-paced course which I will write in more detail about later. While you will not need all of these, it is certainly helpful to have several of them. You can choose what would best work for your child.

If you have a visual learner, you would probably want the textbook, notebook and Thumb Drive. 

If you have an audible learner you would probably still want the textbook so the student can follow along but also the Thumb Drive so the text can be read out loud to your child. 

If you have a child that would benefit from an audible and visual perspective then you would consider the textbook, notebook and the Thumb Drive. The student notebook is an excellent way to record answers as well as to help prepare for tests. In my opinion, it really is a necessary component. It's also a great compilation of the course especially if you need to present course work in your state. We like having the MP3 Audio Book in addition to the textbook because if we are on the go, my son can take a small DVD player and the MP3 with him rather than carrying around a heavy textbook. 

The Video Instruction Thumb Drive is an excellent resource because it provides instructional videos for each module. It gives animated diagrams of difficult concepts and includes over 20 hours of instruction covering every experiment in the textbook. 

The video features a science instructor and will most definitely enhance your child's learning experience by providing a deeper and clearer understanding of the concepts taught in this course. I love that it provides on-location footage which virtually takes my child all over the globe allowing the course material to become more relevant.

With the Thumb Drive, the instructor teaches the lesson but it is not verbatim of the textbook like the MP3 Audio Book is. It's more of a classroom style. It also includes demonstrations of each science experiment included in the course.  

To break it all down, your course options are as follows:

 

• Video Instruction Thumb Drive with Student Notebook
• MP3 Audio Book with Student Notebook (You will be lacking experiment demonstrations. However, you would have step by step instructions in the notebook.)
• Textbook with Student Notebook (you will need to follow step by step instructions for experiments in the book)

 

I know that many parents are suddenly faced with the decision to homeschool and I understand that it can feel overwhelming, especially if you have a child needing to complete higher level science courses. Truly, Apologia has made it possible to do but to also make sure that your child gets an excellent education, not a mediocre one. 

 

From Now until August 6, Apologia has a Back to Homeschool SALE. Shop now to save up to 25% off on Apologia Science products including audio CDs, audio downloads, and Video Instruction materials featuring Sherri Seligson. Apologia Math is also on sale - up to 15% off and our FAVORITE biblical worldview set, the What We Believe series, is also on sale. Click HERE to save now.

  

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This post may involve product that was received in exchange for a review or contain affiliate links for which I will earn compensation should you choose to make a purchase. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Thank you for your support of Purposeful Homemaking.

Our Review of Apologia's General Science Course

*Affiliate links, including those from Amazon.com, may be present in any of my posts. You can read my policy in more detail at the bottom of this post.

The summer is going by way too quickly in my opinion, but since we are year round homeschoolers, we've already gotten a start into our school year and we are loving it! As part of our curriculum choices for the year, I wanted to share an in depth look at our science curriculum for my 8th Grader who is using General Science from Apologia.  (Science courses are currently on sale!)

Course Overview

We have used Apologia for years. Not only for science, but also for Bible, Government (best course, ever!) writing, and reading. So, by this point, we are quite familiar with this curriculum company.

Everything with Apologia is done well and is very thorough which is why we chose to use this curriculum company for our daughter's General Science course. We felt it would best prepare her for the high school sciences that she will be coming up on.

Curriculum Review: Constitutional Literacy from Apologia

As part of our son's high school credit requirements we needed to complete a government credit. For awhile I've had my eye on Apologia's Constitutional Literacy course by Michael Farris as what we were probably going to use. This was the year I decided he was ready for us to implement this program into our homeschool curriculum and so far, several of us are benefitting from it!

This course is actually taught at the college level and is a course requirement for all students at Patrick Henry college where the author, Dr. Michael Farris, is the Founder and Chancellor. (You may also recognize his name as the Chairman of The Homeschool Legal Defense Association.)

However, although the course is very thorough and includes in-depth information, it is delivered in a format that makes it easy for the average citizen to understand. I do not have a strong government or constitutional literacy background and I found it intriguing and applicable to my life. I have no doubt that this would have been an excellent course for me to engage in during my high school or college years. When I sat down to review this material, my husband decided to watch some with me as well. After the first lesson, he continued to watch more and said that he thought the material was amazing and that he planned to watch the entire DVD series. I knew this was something he would love. :)

Readers in Residence, Volume 1 from Apologia {Review}

*Affiliate links, including those from Amazon.com, may be present in any of my posts. You can read my policy in more detail at the bottom of this post.

This past summer I had the opportunity to review Writers in Residence from Apologia for our upcoming school year. I loved it and have continued to use it with my 5th and 7th graders. It is teaching them to write with much more expression and is taking them to a level that I don't feel I could have on my own. That being said, when the opportunity came along to write a review for Readers in Residence I wasn't certain that it was something we really needed. At the same time, I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try and I'm so glad we did!

Why I Didn't Think We Needed Readers in Residence

Both of our older children are avid readers. They never struggled with reading and, in fact, my daughter basically started reading on her own at age 3 1/2 and hasn't stopped since. We have thoroughly enjoyed the Pathway Readers that we have used for several years now and I planned to continue to do that with my daughter who was entering 5th grade. For my son who was entering 7th grade I figured we'd choose a few classics to focus in on and maybe write a couple of reports here and there. I try to focus on only using curriculum that is necessary and like to keep costs to a minimum so I didn't see this as a need.

Why I'm Glad I Said Yes

Turns out, I'm so glad we have the opportunity to use RIR because, just like WIR, it's taking my children to a deeper level than I ever could have in this area. I'm in awe of what is covered and am thrilled that they can learn from Debra Bell in this way! This curriculum is not a "how to teach your child to read" style, but rather, one that teaches students to take the time to process and enjoy what they read. I believe that's a critical element to help develop well rounded critical readers and RIR does an excellent job accomplishing that. 

It also teaches students to appreciate good literature while also learning to filter what they read through the Word of God. This is very, very important to me!

I love that there are three books chosen to accompany this curriculum. These books do not come with the curriculum but you can easily request them from your library. They are: Sarah, Plain and Tall, Charlotte's Web and Because of Winn Dixie. An additional three books are also studied but the student can choose them based on the genre that is required. 

How RIR Works

RIR is designed to help children comprehend what they are reading. It comes at literature from the perspective of a detective so it really teaches children to look for clues, ask questions, think and speculate.

My children are currently working through the first book in the program, Sarah, Plain and Tall. First, they study clues on the cover to give them an idea of what the book is about. Then they read one chapter at a time and answer questions about that chapter. After that, they complete various activities such as "What I Learned From Sarah's Letter" or "What I Expected Sarah To Be Like". They also discuss various literary genres and types of texts. This reading program by Debra Bell is thorough and fantastic! I couldn't be happier with it. 

The student book is rather large but it is all your child will need to complete this curriculum. There is also an answer key in a separate book. Our family educates year round so I just have my children work in their book for about 10 minutes per day. If you were to fit this into a regular school calendar you would need to commit more time to it than that. I love that this program is flexible and you can complete it in the way you see fit. It is also written with the student in mind and is easily self-directed using the parent or teacher as a reading coach. I love that because not only does it free up some of my time to work with other children but it also gently allows our children to learn to be independent learners.

Who is Readers in Residence For?

Readers in Residence, Volume 1 is geared towards grades 4th and up. It wonderfully combines activities, lessons and opportunities to share books with others. One of the activities is to have a book club so my children organized that for us and it was so much fun! Another activity was to design your own book cover. We had fun doing this, especially since my daughter has been working on her own ebook. It was nice to put some practical thought into a real life project that she is working on. 

If you desire to teach your children to value and appreciate good literature, as well as to understand what they are reading on a deeper level than just being able to repeat a story back to you, then you might want to consider this program. 

Additional Helpful Information

"The Readers in Residence™ (RIR) series is a reading comprehension, literature, and vocabulary program. It may be used alone or in conjunction with the Writers in Residence™ series. Together the two programs provide a full year of language arts. In Readers in Residence™, while studying some of the finest books in children’s literature, students learn how to do the following:

• understand the author’s craft, choices, and intentions
• recognize the literary elements authors use to create fiction and nonfiction
• make inferences from the details in the text plus their own prior knowledge and experience
• decode the meaning of unfamiliar words from context clues
• build a rich and varied vocabulary
• identify and understand figures of speech such as personification, metaphor, and hyperbole
• notice how expert writers employ the conventions of the English language (punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage) to achieve clarity

Readers in Residence™, Volume 1 is aimed at students in 4th grade and up. It is suitable for older students who struggle with reading comprehension or who are unfamiliar with the skills taught in this program." source

I'm so grateful to have this program for our children to use and feel extremely blessed to have it. So, even if you were like me and didn't think you needed it, I'd encourage you to reconsider that idea and give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did!

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This post may involve product that was received in exchange for a review or contain affiliate links for which I will earn compensation should you choose to make a purchase. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Thank you for your support of Purposeful Homemaking.

Tick Slayer Spray

I recently partnered with Aroma Foundry to bring you a review of their essential oil product line. After looking over the essential oils to choose from, I settled on the following oils: Citronella, Cedarwood, Mandarin, Tangerine and Fir. When I chose these oils, I wasn't thinking of anything in particular that I would use them for with the exception of the Citronella. I thought that one would be great to use in a beeswax candle or in my bug spray. The rest I chose because they were all scents that I hadn't used before.

However, a few weeks after I received my oils we found out that ticks were in our area. This was something that we NEVER had to deal with before and I've lived in the same area my entire life.