Ladies,
I am sorry that I am just getting back to this post now. We are in the stage of wrapping up the catalog for the printer, getting the new book content together on the website, going to conventions, and still homeschooling our 4 boys (who are also working hard in the warehouse multiple hours daily), so I haven't been able to get back to posts like I would like to be doing!
For purposes of brevity, I will call School of Tomorrow's Biology, ACE Biology below. However, I'll just mention that ACE changed its name to School of Tomorrow several years ago. ACE and School of Tomorrow are the same company.
Deltagal,
I do think that ACE Biology is a good, strong course even for those who are going into a science-related field. It is very solid in its presentation and does also include human anatomy too, which we really loved.
We did look at Science Shepherd and for us the text was just too far away from a more living approach to science. The labwork also looked pretty overwhelming in its presentation and directions, which was a factor for me this year with three younger brothers still running around at our house!
MicheleW,
We are planning to schedule health in one of our guides through Total Health. The couse was wonderful this year when we did it with our oldest son who is a sophomore. Bear in mind that Total Health does include topics on STD's, abstinance, teen pregnancy, drugs, and alcohol and does go fairly deeply into those topics. So, I wouldn't want to use the text with students younger than grade 10 in order to really be able to openly discuss those areas.
But, the text is done a very Biblical, God-honoring way and was a huge blessing to me and to my son.
Liberty,
The DVD lessons for ACE Biology are watched daily. They involve real footage of animals, trees, plants, etc. while the text is narrated. The footage also include charts and diagrams. There is a lab CD that includes all labs, with up close views of the labwork being done so you can follow along. The DVD's are very well-done and add a whole new component to the study of Biology. They are not just a teacher standing in front of a class, but rather are filled with footage to get you involved in the study of Biology.
You could do the ACE Biology without DVD's if needed, because the text in the PACE's is what is read on the DVD (and the paces do include pictures and diagrams). But, if you can afford the DVD's, they are well worth the purchase in may mind. Either way, you would definitely need the Lab DVD. As far as the HOD guides go, our tentative plans at this point in time are to offer ACE Biology with the option of purchasing the DVD's or not (but either way families would need the Lab DVD, which can be purchased separately from the other set of DVD's).
Sharon,
With your daughter's area of interest in mind, I can see where you may wish to forego another year of physical science, especially if you have done Rev2Rev's science (which is very solid).
I do think BJU's Biology is one of the most rigorous biology courses out there. It has two huge textbooks and much related lab-work. I know families who have taken two years to complete it, because there is so much information in it that it can literally be too much to do well in a year.
I likely would shy away from doing both ACE Biology and BJU Biology, as the topic coverage would be too similar, but rather I would lean toward a couple of other options. First, you could do ACE Biology and then follow it up with an Advanced Biology course. Second, you could do BJU Biology, spreading it out over two years. Third, you could do BJU Biology in one year and follow it up with an Advanced Biology course. I'd lean toward doing both Biology and Advanced Biology if this is an area of interest and strength for your daughter. In this way, you can offer a full credit each for Biology and Advanced Biology.
While ACE does not seem as rigorous overall when compared to BJU Biology, I do think that the way the content is presented lends itself toward better retention and understanding. To demonstrate a bit more on why I think this, I'll share that I took two years of Advanced Biology at the college level with advanced biology labs both years. I was not a biology major, but this was the only biology course still available when I changed my major from nursing to teaching. After taking one year of advanced biology, I discovered that the university I was attending required two consecutive years of the same biology level, so I had to do a second year of advanced biology too. To say the least, the coursework was very challenging. Yet, I had always been a straight 'A' student and was a great memorizer.
So, I got through two years of Advanced Biology with good grades.
However, as soon as my classes were done I no longer retained any of what I had learned. To me, the text and classes were just endless terms to memorize and the subject of biology never really came together in my mind in an interesting way. This is what I wished to avoid with my oldest son on his first trip through regular Biology. So, I pretty much searched through everything out there until I found the fit I was seeking for him.
He has had a terrific year and has really enjoyed his Biology course. He will often share with me things he has learned through the Biology DVD's or his paces. I can tell when he explains things to his brothers about plants, animals, the body etc. that he has really retained what he learned and is able to apply that learning to real life. So, I am very pleased.
I will share that the actual paces are very much fill in the blank, vocabulary intensive workbook type exercises; but I was willing to overlook that in my quest to have a more living text and interesting DVD content (along with interesting labs). I had pondered doing the ACE Biology in a more CM-style fashion, but ultimately decided that Biology is a vocabulary-intensive course and really needs to be! On a sidenote, I also appreciated my son being able to hear the vocabulary words spoken correctly on the DVDs in the course of his daily sessions.
I realize that each family will have its own thoughts in this area and that not one size will fit all (depending on whether a student is headed for a science-related field or not). But, ACE Biology is definitely one to consider as you ponder your options.
Blessings,
Carrie