I have always enjoyed science and nature, so it was pretty much a given that I would major in Biology in college. However, I took a career turn after graduating and never did get to put my degree to use.
During the summer of 2010, a few friends asked if I would consider facilitating high school Biology. As I looked over the textbook to prepare for the course, I grew eager to jump back into Biology!
In putting together resources for the course, I found these incredibly helpful blogs from individuals with experience: Applie’s Place and DonnaYoung.org. There is also some great information for this course at Sahm I Am!
(I so appreciate them for taking the time to share so much useful information for the rest of us.)
Don’t forget, there are also helpful links on the Apologia website. Check Page v of the textbook for instructions on logging in and accessing this area.
Getting Started…
First things first…Thanks to DonnaYoung.org and Applie’s Place for the schedule template and draft co-op schedule. It’s was a blessing not needing to re-invent the wheel! Since our Biology Co-Op generally met every two weeks for two hours with a few field trips scheduled primarily for gathering lab specimen, all I needed to do was a little tweaking to match our timeline.
Here is the schedule we used for our first semester:
2010 – 2011 Assignments and Co-Op Schedule - 1st Semester only
The second semester, I used MS Outlook so it is in a different format. I saved it to a pdf file. It’s not that pretty, but it’s the information that counts, right?? 
2nd Semester Calendar - 2011
The First Co-Op Session…
Here’s an outline of what we covered at our Introductory Session. There are notes in this Word document about how we set up our Biology Notebooks, Lab Notebooks, etc. We also spent time reviewing the parts of a microscope. I found a good, labeled illustration of the microscope and a quiz at ScienceSpot.net.
The Course…
Just click the bar to go to the Module you’re studying. In most cases, the microscopic images in these posts can be clicked to enlarge. Please leave me a comment if you find any dead links!
I sincerely hope these posts and images are helpful as you complete this challenging course.
Disclaimer: Nothing….no free books…..no free DVD’s….no exotic vacation….no payment of any kind has been received by anyone for promoting this product, these links, or the websites that will end up on my blog. My comments and opinions are based on my personal experience only.
#1 by Marty on August 22, 2010 - 5:11 pm
Thanks for visiting my blog! Yours is another in my list of blogs to keep check on throughout the year.
I did not major in Biology. I didn’t even go to college!
Yikes!
But I’m very interested in it, and I’m glad I’m only doing Biology with family and maybe the child of one close friend.
I’m going to have to stay one step ahead! =D
I can’t wait to see what you’ll be doing this year.
Aren’t blogs so awesome!?! =)
Marty =)
#2 by appliejuice on August 22, 2010 - 8:52 pm
Great post! I like your disclaimer. Maybe I should do something like that.
I am looking forward to reading all about your year!
#3 by Loretta on September 1, 2010 - 9:26 pm
I’m also a former biology major teaching a co-op class this year (two of my sons and three of their friends), but you are much more organized than I am. Thanks for sharing; I plan to visit your site frequently throughout the year!
#4 by Barb-Harmony Art Mom on January 8, 2011 - 9:55 pm
Stumbled upon your blog today and I love all your Apologia Biology ideas and links. Thanks so much. I linked to you from my web page: http://www.squidoo.com/apologiabiology
#5 by appliejuice on January 17, 2011 - 8:39 pm
Have you started Module 10 yet? I was going to link to you, but I don’t see it.
#6 by jlsgrant on January 18, 2011 - 8:50 am
We just started Module 10 and have co-op this Friday. I’ll put the post up over the weekend, so I can add pics to it.
#7 by Jennifer on February 20, 2011 - 8:27 am
Thanks for sharing this. We are still studying General Science, but I am saving this link to return when we begin that Biology book,
#8 by Natalie on August 25, 2011 - 12:14 pm
Really liked how well laid out your assignments and co-op Schedule is for the 1st semester. Any chance of posting the 2nd semester plan? Thanks so much!
#9 by jlsgrant on August 26, 2011 - 8:53 am
Thanks for stopping by! For the 2nd semester, I just used Outlook unfortunately. I will see if I can figure out how to save it as a pdf. In the meantime, another great place to find Apologia Biology is at http://appliejuice.wordpress.com. She has her schedules online too.
#10 by jlsgrant on August 26, 2011 - 9:14 am
OK – So that was easier than I thought!
The second semester has been added to the page. It is a pdf file and the format is not that pretty, but it’s now there for information purposes!
#11 by Natalie on December 15, 2011 - 4:42 pm
Thank You!