Have you used either of these biology "coloring books"?

[MamaSheep]

I'm looking ahead to next year and evaluating resources to use for a 9th grade biology class. This would not be an AP level course, but rather a basic high school biology course. We may do AP bio later.

I'm wondering about using The Biology Coloring Book (http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Coloring-Book-Robert-Griffin/dp/0064603075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255573097&sr=1-1) by Griffin, or The Biology Coloring Workbook (http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Coloring-Workbook-Workbooks/dp/0679778845/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255573097&sr=1-2) by Alcamo. Have you used either? If so, which one and what did you think of it?

I gather that they are geared toward college level courses. Is the information in them accessible enough for a beginning level high school student, assuming I were to pick and choose pages that coordinated with our text? Or, is the information in them sufficient as a textbook (or spine) on its own if combined with other supplemental reading and hands-on experiments?

Also, is the information in them sufficiently up to date? I see that they are copyrighted in the 80's and 90's respectively. How much should this worry me?

Any information you could share would be much appreciated.

[Cedarmom]

We found them an amazing resource. I think they helped my son remember the systems, etc because he was able to visualixe them. Most of the information is not going to go out of date.

[elegantlion]

You might check at your local bookstore to view them in person. I looked at two different titles (can't remember specifically now) and there were some differences in formatting and detail. I can not remember which one appealed to me more.

[MamaSheep]

Thanks, both of you. I am very curious how the two compare to each other. Sadly only one of them has the Look Inside feature on Amazon. I may wind up getting that one just because I feel better having seen the innards. I wonder if my local B&N might have them...

Cedarmom, do you think they could be used as a spine, or is an actual Bio textbook a necessity?

[Julie in MN]

I have only had "anatomy" coloring books, rather than biology ones. And yes, they vary widely.

One my dd used a bit in high school was waaaay too much info for us. You might look at number of pages & compare that to an 180 day school year.


Another we are using with Hewitt's jr. hi health course & it's toned down a lot. It's by Dover & still has quite a bit to read & color but it's only around $4 and only around 50 pages.
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Anatomy-Coloring-Colouring-Books/dp/0486241386/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255580005&sr=1-2

[Imprimis]

We have the Alcamo coloring book. While I don't feel it's a "must have," I think it serves as a fun review/reinforcement of different biological processes and I'm glad I purchased it.

[elegantlion]

I have only had "anatomy" coloring books, rather than biology ones. And yes, they vary widely.

One my dd used a bit in high school was waaaay too much info for us. You might look at number of pages & compare that to an 180 day school year.


Another we are using with Hewitt's jr. hi health course & it's toned down a lot. It's by Dover & still has quite a bit to read & color but it's only around $4 and only around 50 pages.
http://www.amazon.com/Human-Anatomy-Coloring-Colouring-Books/dp/0486241386/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255580005&sr=1-2

Oh, thank you! I was looking for something smaller to use with our anatomy study later this year. That will work. :D

[MamaSheep]

Hmm....I wonder if Dover has any less overwhelming options for other bio topics. I didn't think of Dover. (Yay for the hive mind!) I think I shall go investigate.

[StephanieZ]

That Griffin one is part of a series, really well done, IMHO.

I used the Biology one myself during Bio 101/102 -- it wasn't required but I was a geek (and went on to major in biological sciences. . . and grad school, too, lol). It has lots of detailed pictures to learn from. At a intro college level. I don't know about the other one, but I loved that Griffin one and will likely incorporate it in my dc's high school biology study.

[MamaSheep]

That Griffin one is part of a series, really well done, IMHO.

I used the Biology one myself during Bio 101/102 -- it wasn't required but I was a geek (and went on to major in biological sciences. . . and grad school, too, lol). It has lots of detailed pictures to learn from. At a intro college level. I don't know about the other one, but I loved that Griffin one and will likely incorporate it in my dc's high school biology study.

Thanks for responding. I wish Amazon would give me a peek at this one. I was able to find the other at a local bookstore, but still haven't gotten to see the Griffin one. Do you remember how accessible the text is in the Griffin book? Also, do the different coloring pages sort of stand on their own (along with the accompanying text) so that I could assign an assortment without doing every page in the book, or do they refer to each oher too much to do that? In what way would you incorporate it into a high school biology study? Also, are there other resources you've used or seen that make you (as someone excited about the biological sciences) love them enough to plan to use them with your kids when they're ready? What have you used with them when they were younger?

And do you feel thoroughly interrogated now? Lol. Don't feel obligated to answer all of that, but any additional information you've got to offer, I'd love to hear.

[StephanieZ]

Thanks for responding. I wish Amazon would give me a peek at this one. I was able to find the other at a local bookstore, but still haven't gotten to see the Griffin one. Do you remember how accessible the text is in the Griffin book? Also, do the different coloring pages sort of stand on their own (along with the accompanying text) so that I could assign an assortment without doing every page in the book, or do they refer to each oher too much to do that? In what way would you incorporate it into a high school biology study? Also, are there other resources you've used or seen that make you (as someone excited about the biological sciences) love them enough to plan to use them with your kids when they're ready? What have you used with them when they were younger?

And do you feel thoroughly interrogated now? Lol. Don't feel obligated to answer all of that, but any additional information you've got to offer, I'd love to hear.


Yes, the pages "stood alone". There'd be one page on mitosis or one page on plant cellular structure, or plant fertilization, etc.

(There might have been several 2 page spreads. . . Wish I had the coloring books on my science shelf so I could get you more details but some demon child of mine stole them years ago and they are either boxed and/or "used up")

I would use them along with a highschool biology course and assign "complete p. ## on Mitosis" after reading ch 3", etc. I don't think there is any specifically unique info to be gleaned from the coloring book(s), but I enjoyed the process of coloring them and it was a great way to memorize structures, etc for me. My dds in particular will likely enjoy them as well. . .
Some of the pages are very detailed and likely more advanced than one would want for highschool, but others are more fundamental. I wouldn't expect to complete ALL the pages.

So far as other science resources. . . I am in a perennial search for the ideal program. I found Nutshell kits convenient and fun if not stand-alone-meaty-enough. Will re-cycle them with dd7 soon. I used Rs4K Level 1 and found it meaty but not sure if we retained a lot and not sure if it was $ for $ worth it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Nebel's Elementary Education science chapters (for K-6 ++) but it is NOT laid out for you so you have to do some thinking and organizing. I am really enjoying Story of Science (Aristotle -- along with the Quest Guides) this year with my 5th & 7th graders (plus 4 other kids from 2 other families that I invitied to join us). Kids have enjoyed SonLight's Science 4 but I am not interested in the subsequent Science cores due to my different religious & scientific perspectives. I LOVE LOVE LOVE TOPS kits (but like Nutshell kits, you have to find refernence materials to explain the theory/principles/etc). I'm intrigued by the NEOE program and the PLATO materials. . . I will likely explore one or both of those in the next year. . . I am still on my Quest. . . but I am encouraged to see a lot of great new science programs available recently. There are many more good choices of late!

HTH!!

[Nan in Mass]

Stephanie - You might like to check out Hewitt's Conceptual stuff. We did Physics and it was like a more grownup version of Nebel's. There is a newish integrated science meant for high school that if I were redoing, I might consider. We tried the chemistry but weren't as successful with it (probably my fault). HTH -Nan

[Karin]

Stephanie - You might like to check out Hewitt's Conceptual stuff. We did Physics and it was like a more grownup version of Nebel's. There is a newish integrated science meant for high school that if I were redoing, I might consider. We tried the chemistry but weren't as successful with it (probably my fault). HTH -Nan

Be sure to get the correct Hewitt's for what you want if you go this way. He has more than one book; he has a college level text, a high school (gr 9/10) level text and one for younger readers than that. We have the college level one for dd for next year, but we also have man easier one my younger two are going to do at some point.

In addition to the college text we have a lab manual & also a Practicing Physics book. The lab manual requires very little equipment, apparently.

[MamaSheep]

Stephanie, thanks for the additional information. I actually found the
Alcamo book at a local bookstore, but then I found the table of contents and a few sample pages of the Griffin book online over at CBD and now I'm thinking the content of that looks maybe more appropriate for high school than what's in the Alcamo book. Decisions, decisions!

[Cornflower]

mama sheep,

Here is a link where you can view the Biology Coloring Book.

I hope you find just the right resource for your kiddo. Have a great day!

Cornflower

[Linda1951]

might have it, they have a lot of homeschool stuff.

[MamaSheep]

mama sheep,

Here is a link where you can view the Biology Coloring Book.

I hope you find just the right resource for your kiddo. Have a great day!

Cornflower

I'm not seeing the link....?

might have it, they have a lot of homeschool stuff.

I checked their store locator and sadly we don't seem to have any in our state. :( Thanks anyway, though.

[Cornflower]

Hi mamasheep,

I'm so sorry, I forgot to post the link.

Here ya go

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=0109014

Take care!
Cornflower

[MamaSheep]

Thanks, Cornflower.


For others interested in this book, my dad, the retired research biologist, was at my house for a couple of days this week and picked the Alcamo book out of my stack to look at just for fun. He made grumbly noises about the book's explanation of the carbon cycle, which he felt was inadequately, if not inaccurately described, so I asked him what he thought of the rest of the book, and the book in general. He said he thought the microbiology and the biochemistry topics were handled much better than the carbon cycle part and that overall it was probably a good resource. He agreed with me, though, that it might be more of a college level resource than high school level and thought that my plan of picking and choosing the pages we use rather than trying to do it all was a good one.

He also poked through my copy of Barron's E-Z Biology and said he thought that looked like a good, solid text and that the carbon cycle explanation in that one was better.

Hope that is helpful to someone besides me.

I'm actually starting to lean toward doing earth science next year and let my son get one more year older before we start into biology, just because of the level of chemistry concepts that seem to be involved in bio classes these days. That means I'll have a whole additional year to get my bio duckies in a row. Maybe I'll pin Dad in a corner sometime next summer with a stack of bio books and let him tell me what's wrong with each one...lol.