Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Apologia

    I am not a text book momma! I have to say the thought of using "textbooks" frighten me!  Over the years I have heard wonderful things about Apologia. However, they looked like big scary textbooks, I wasn't sure that it would be a good fit for me or our family.


   So when I heard that we were going to be able to review Apologia with the Homeschool Crew, I was thrilled!!!  I was going to finally see for myself, will Apologia fit with our families needs... stay tuned and find out.....


  We were sent;


Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. This is elementary science, $35. Here is what they have to say about Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day; "In this book,  your children will begin exploring the dynamics of flight and animal classification, understanding why the design we see in these incredible creatures points us to our Creator God. When your children complete this study of zoology, they will never view in nature in the same way again. Their eyes will open to the different species that live in their midst, enjoying and understanding nature to the fullest."


Here is what I have to say...  I love that the books are written directly to the children. Not the typical dry boring textbooks. A book that your child can pick up and read on their own. Plus, when it comes to the science experiments, they use common household items. My son was able to read the directions, gather the materials and do the experiment, all on his own. Granted, I was "around", however, this was great for independent learning. He then turned around and explained to the rest of us what he had learned.


While all the items needed are common, I was pleased to see right in front of the book, the supply list divided by lesson. That way, if there was something you needed to get, you would know ahead of time. I also, loved how they use notebooking in their studies. Again, all the instructions were written to the child.  I have really enjoyed the independence it has fostered in my son.


Exploring Creation with General Science. Recommended for 7th grade. $85 for a set, which includes textbook and solutions and tests packet.  Here is what they have to say about it .. "This course is designed to be a student's first systematic introduction to the sciences. The course covers topics like the history of science, scientific method, designing experiments, simple machines, archaeology, geology, palentology, biology, and human anatomy and physiology.  Therefore, it's scope is quite wide. There are mant hands-on experiments to do and they all use household items."


Exploring Creation with Biology. Recommended for 9th grade. $85 for a set, which includes textbook and solutions and tests packet.  Here is what they have to say... "This course is designed to be the student's first high school science course. Typically, we recommend that the student take this course during the same year that he or she is taking Alegebra 1. Exploring Creation with Biology is a college-prep biology course that provides a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general biology, it provides the student with a strong background in the scientific method, the five-kingdom classification scheme, microscopy, biochemistry, cellular, biology, molecular and Mendelian genetics, evolution, dissection, and ecosystems. It also provides a complete survey of the five kingdoms in creation."


We did not get as far in these two texts as I would have liked to, prior to writing this review, however, I really do like what I see. They use the same format they used in the elementary science books, they write directly to the child. It seems more like a story, someone talking to you about a subject, rather than just plain cold hard facts.


I also made sure to go through the module on Evolution. Being that this is a Christian Science book, I was interested in how they were going to handle this topic.  I must tell you, I was very pleased with how they handled it.


I learned quite a bit about Darwin himself, which helps in the understanding of how his theory was developed. I would highly recommend this book, actually, all 3 of these books to any homeschooling family.


I recently received a catalog from Apologia, on the front page it says "Learn, Live & Defend the Faith". I can really get behind that statement!


Apologia carries not only textbooks, they carry supplies for experiments, CD's to go along with some of their books, and many items (books and CD's) that are of general support for the homeschooling family.


Please visit Apologia today!!










1 comment:

  1. I have one of the Science textbooks and was pleasently surprised!

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