High School Science

When my oldest was starting high school, I started my research again.  High School science.  I had great ideas about what I wanted for him.  I wanted hands-on, research-based learning.  I didn't want him reading a textbook and regurgetating the facts he had just read on a test.  I also don't want my kids to suffer with lab sciences and lack of materials because we home school.  I want to see microscope work, dissection, and true experiments that use the scientific method.

Most everyone uses Apologia, so I looked at it.  But, as you know by now, I am massively stubborn and can't just use what other people are using.  Apologia seemed thorough and well-organized to me.  It included labs and activities.  It just felt too textbooky to me.  I didn't want to just hand him the information.  I wanted him to have to work for it. 

I searched and I searched and I just could not find what I was seeking.  I read review after review of all the typical curriculum choices, until I stumbled on a review for the Science for High School series.  This was what I was looking for all this time.  This series is research based.  Each week, your student will be given a series of questions which they need to research answers.  I bought my son a few standard textbooks he could use to do his research, but this research could be done on the internet or at a library, or a combination.  Each week, the text included a relevant lab, as well as a quiz. 

Our approach was basically background reading on Monday.  Research on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Discussion and lab on Thursday.  Quiz on Friday.  I also had him watch any relevant Khan videos, and write lab reports each week.  For background reading, he read from Biology:  A Self-Teaching Guide, as recommended in WTM. 

We loved the approach to learning Biology.  Active learning kept his interest and made him work for his knowledge and understanding.  It was a good, basic first biology course and the labs were interesting and relevant.  They included dissection and microscope work.  You will definitely need a good microscope if you choose this curriculum.  I had no difficulties finding the specimen and equipment we needed (Home Science Tools), and the author was easy to contact when I had questions.  I did find a few errors in the teacher's book, and had to be careful grading because the numbering was different on a couple of quizzes, but overall, we were very pleased and plan to use the curriculum for chemistry next year.  At this point, she has written physical science, biology, and chemistry.  Physics is due out soon.  Yes--that makes me very excited.

Our high school plan is Biology 1 in 9th, Chemistry in 10th, Advanced Biology with the intent of seeking AP credit and AP testing in 11th, and Physics in 12th.  That plan might alter depending on the child and their interest/future plans, but that is the rough plan at this point.