Apologia: General Science (7th grade)

When transitioning from elementary to middle school, the jump can be steep in a few areas. To help with this transition in science I had my son choose whatever elementary Apologia book he wanted and complete it on his own in 6th grade. Previous to that, science was a subject I taught to all my children at one time, using the method of reading out loud from a text, discussion and experiments. He chose Astronomy and this proved to be a great decision as it gave him a taste of following a lesson plan independent of me.

This year he has been working independently through General Science. The elementary Apologia books run about 200 pages with 13 chapters. General Science is 420 pages with 16 modules (chapters). This is quite a leap!
According to the Apologia website, the topics covered are broad to give a glimpse into many areas of science: "the scientific method, designing experiments, simple machines, archaeology, geology, paleontology, biology, and human anatomy and physiology" are all covered.
My son, who is very science minded, has loved this book. At first he was skeptical about the last few modules which focus on biology. He's more of a chemistry man! Much to his surprise he is really enjoying the biology topics (he now realizes that there is much chemistry involved in biology!) I know he's excited because he is constantly interrupting my science lessons with the three younger kids to tell me something very interesting he just read. This can be a little annoying, but I'm just glad he's enthusiastic.
I don't give my students formal science tests in the elementary years, so this was another adjustment. When my son finishes a module, I go through the study guide (found on the last page of his module) to make sure he knows the material. The answers to these questions are in my teacher's solution book. This book also has extra copies of the test for future students if you don't wish to purchase another student test book (which is only $5).
We purchased the optional CD that has videos to reinforce the module concepts. In the book, where the student should view this CD, it has a little picture of a CD. We also, at one point, looked up a very complicated concept on Khan Academy and watched those lessons. It helped solidify his understanding and he was completely prepared for the test.
To record his answers and study for his tests, we're using a lapbook from Knowledge Box Central which includes three sections: journaling questions, lapbooking and lab reports. When compiled in a three ring binder, he has an impressive display of what he's learned this year. He'll be using the KBC lapbook with Physical Science next year, also.
I highly recommend this book. Although I've had to sit with him and explain a few concepts, he has grasped almost everything on his own. Like the elementary series, the writing is conversational and explains very complicated subjects in a simple way. In one chapter he learned about glucose, metabolism, micronutrients vs. macronutrients and other really big words, concepts that I would not have been able to teach effectively. Instead, he was teaching me! The fact that my son who is only 12 can explain the circulatory system and identify the different components of blood and catastrophism vs. uniformism is pretty impressive to me.
8th grade, here we come!