Homeschooling: high school geometry and biology?

Question

i will be homeschooling my sophomore sister in these two subjects next semester. i want a good college prep (or maybe even AP/ college-level biology) curriculum. also, she struggles with geometry, but she needs to be prepared for alg 2. i was thinking about using my college bio textbook and buying the remedial geometry textbook from the community college.

i have a BS in geology and environmental science. i was in a teaching program, so i know all about making lesson plans and lesson delivery, my main concern is the actual material.

any ideas? please no intelligent design suggestions.

Answer 1

Math-U-See, and lots and lots of home made manipulatives when they can be applied.

Answer 2

Yep, send your sister to a regular school.

Answer 3

Look into Teaching Textbooks for Geometry:

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/Geometr...

As for Biology, there are many online high schools that have AP courses.

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op (free to join) also has a great deal on CyberEd, which has an AP Bio class.  I just checked, and the current group buy has expired, but they are opening up another one soon.

https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org

http://www.cybered.net/commerce.asp?CatI...

Answer 4

Have a look at Saxon (they have Algebra and Geometry texts), Apologia for the Biology, as well as the http://www.sonlight.com catalogue. Compare what's there with what you've found. I think Sonlight carries some materials suitable for AP level.

Answer 5

I personally would NOT use Apologia for science, I would look for a high school or college level textbook and use that. I am sure you can find some great resources on-line.  Check out Carolina Biological supply as well, they have great homeschool resources for science.  You are also going to need a good quality microscope, so set aside some money for that.  

For math I would go with the gold standard of homeschool math programs - Saxon.  You might want to check out their website and give your student a placement test. She may need more work on the basics before you move to Geometry!

Good luck, and have fun. You will be very surprised at how different classroom teaching is to homeschooling!

Answer 6

We use Saxon, and it works well for us, those who have needed additional instruction in Geometry, or needed a different instruction method have liked, and done very well with

Jacobs.

http://www.lamppostpublishing.com/mathha...

for Biology I would recommend two; the first one being Apologia, http://www.highschoolscience.com/  and the second one is called A Search For Order in Complexity.

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/

Click on science.

Don't knock them before you research them, or at least preview the books.

You may be surprised that both sides can be given equal coverage, and have both points  discussed in an intelligent manner to further a students understanding so they can draw their own conclusion.

Both are theories, and therefore should be included in a liberal/well rounded education, wouldn't you agree?

Answer 7

For a good College prep course for Bio, I would suggest Apologia Science by Dr. Jay Wile http://www.highschoolscience.com/

As for Algebra, if she is having a hard time with it, use the VideoText Interactive Algebra series. As the name implies, it uses a Video to teach the course and is very easy to follow.

http://www.videotexthomeschool.com/

Hope I could help.