by Kandy Jones
(Wichita, Kansas, U.S.)
For the first time, we have been using Teaching Textbooks for Math with my 7th grader. She is dyslexic and ADD and so we have had many frustrations in the area of math with her understanding and retaining information.
We have not had the battles this year as she can work more independently on the computer with Teaching Textbooks. I can check her quiz or daily work and see exactly what problems she missed, if she checked for the solution and if she skipped questions. If I need help, I can also listen to the lecture or view the solution. I think their explanations are very good and often with a method I have not previously learned. The lessons are also very doable, not 'over-kill' for children who struggle in this area. I would definitely recommend this curriculum.
I have also been using Apologia's General Science with my seventh grader and although it is much more in-depth than their Zoology and Astronomy book, it is very readable.
We bought the CD-Rom with the book on CD and the extra video clip CD and will do that again next year since the reading itself would have been too difficult for my dyslexic daughter.
I love how the author always tales the lesson back to what an amazing Creator we have and how these things could not have happened by chance.
The visuals are interesting and questions at the end of each chapter are good for further discussion. The experiments are, for the most part, easy to do at home with most things available in your kitchen cabinet.
My daughter has stayed pretty interested in most of the topics even though she is not science oriented. I will probably start Apologia with my second grader next year as she is definitely science-oriented and I think will love the Land Animals or Flying Creatures, etc. books.
My second grader and I are in our second year with the Christian Nature Reader by Christian Liberty Press. Both she and my older daughter enjoyed the short sections on bugs, animals, etc. and looked forward each day to the time we would read.
Last week, my seven year old and I pulled out seashells and examined them in conjunction with the section on Mr. Conch shell. I am always amazed at how engaged a child will be with the story and want to read more even though the illustrations are pen and ink and are not a major part of the reading. Even if your child is not into science and nature, they seem to love hearing about wasps, spiders, shellfish, etc.
Your child will learn about how a spider spins webs, how Mr. Conch shell grows his shell, what they prey on, how they eat or are preyed upon and whether they nurture their babies or not. You will be amazed at how much your child remembers from such simple lessons.
Because many of the animals studied are present all around us, you could easily do nature walks and use notebooks to tie into these books. Enjoy!