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Last year I had a kindergartener, middle schooler and high schooler. Whoever said deciding to wait 4-5 years in between kids clearly wasn’t thinking about homeschooling them all at the same time. At this point, I’m wishing I would’ve had 3 kids in 3 years, just so I could teach them the same things. 😉 But, for whatever the reason, when planning my kids’ births, homeschooling wasn’t in the forefront of my mind.
Anywho, last year was a rough one. Teaching one to read while trying to figure out transcipts for another was a bit overwhelming. Unfortunately, that left my middle schooler fending for herself a lot more than I’d planned. Normally, that wouldn’t be such a big deal, but we had chosen a homeschool science for middle school that wasn’t exactly user-friendly and left her feeling behind and unconfident.
This year, I decided to ensure my midde schooler gets what she needs, despite the lack of participation I may have. I knew I wanted something to bridge the gap from elementary school to high school. And I think I found just what I was looking for.
I recieved this product for free and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
Finding the Perfect Homeschool Science for Middle School
Last year, we really struggled with getting history and science done. I knew that if I wasn’t prepared, I could easily see a repeat of last year. I certainly didn’t want that. So my top priority was finding a homeschool science for middle school that didn’t bore my girl to death.
My requirements included:
- Must be engaging
- Gets to the point, without a lot of extra “fluff”
- Bright and vibrant pictures to keep her attention
- Can be done mostly without my help
- Included hands-on activities
- Affordable and able to reuse with my younger kids
So when I found Apologia’s Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition, I knew I had hit the treasure! The curriculum offered all I wanted and was from one of my favorite companies. I’ve trusted Apologia for years with providing a strong foundation in science, reading, writing, health and nutrition. I was happy to see that they could now help me transition my girl from elementary science to the later years of schooling.
Apologia’s Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition
There are a lot of things I love about all of Apologia’s curriculum but when looking for a homeschool science for middle school, what sold me was the activities. See, if I do happen to get stuck helping my high schooler and little guy more, I want to make sure my middle schooler is still thriving. She learns best by doing hands-on activities, so that’s often a struggle for me. Apologia has compiled a beautiful curriculum that has plenty of hands-on learning opportunities that she can do all by herself!
The book is filled with opportunities for hands-on learning, including these fun sections:
- Creation Connections
- Experiments
- What to Do
- On Your Own Questions
- Timeline
- Explore More
- Think About This
The bright and interesting pictures draw her in, making her want to learn more! The easy-to navigate text, paired with the Student Notebook make her lessons a breeze. It’s all laid out for her! If she needs help, I can quickly flip through the solutions and test booklet to find the answers. It’s a busy homeschool mom’s dream!
Exploring Creation with General Science, 3rd Edition is perfect for you if:
- You need help! It’s okay, mama, we all do at some point!
- Your child in 6th, 7th or 8th grade needs a daily schedule to keep them on task.
- You prefer a rubric to take the guesswork out of grading.
- You’re on a budget.
- Your kiddo gets bored easily. Science is fun, so let them enjoy one of the nearly 30 experiments!
- You want to cover general science in one year.
- You like to measure progress through testing.
- Your kiddo loves hands-on learning but you can’t dedicate all of your time teaching that way.
