Schoolhouse Review: Apologia

Hello, friends! I am so excited to bring you my first Review Crew post for 2013! There are so many great resources out there but homeschooling families are simply unaware of them. Over this next year, I will be using some of these great resources and then sharing them with you so that you will be made aware of a few options available!

Today, I will be sharing one of my faves: Apologia Educational Ministries. I had the pleasure of reviewing the Exploring Creation with Zoology II textbook and Exploring Creation with Zoology II notebooking journal. This book focuses on Day 5 of Creation: The Swimming Creatures and let me say that my girls were ecstatic when we received the new resources. Sea creatures, whales, dolphins... you name it filled the pages and my girls were eager to jump right in!

Description:

Apologia Science is a faith-based curriculum that focuses on Science through a Biblical worldview. Zoology II begins with a week's worth of reading and activities about the ocean itself before jumping into the different animals found in the ocean. A sample schedule is given to assist homeschool teachers in easily integrating Science into their schedules. However, the beauty of this program is the ability to adapt the books to your particular educational method. For instance, we wanted a steady routine of Science each day. So instead of following the sample schedule of completing Science twice a week, we did it four days a week. This enabled us to complete a lesson a week. Should you want to take a slower pace, you could easily stretch this lesson into 2-3 weeks depending on the level of your student.

Ocean Minibook

Each of the Zoology books flow seamlessly from one to another; however, each book is stand alone and can be completed independently from one another. The textbook is filled with hands-on projects that reinforce the lessons being taught and the journals include not only opportunities to write but to also complete mini-books, matchbooks, or other neat comprehension tools.

Routine:

As I mentioned before, we chose to use the curriculum in such a way that each lesson could be completed in a week. This schedule was labor intensive as there was much reading required in one sitting. However, we used it in a group setting so we had a great time reading it together! One advantage of this program is the ability to teach both my 3rd grader and 6th grader with the same curriculum. This will change next year as I will have a new track for my middle schooler; however, this year's science has become a great time of read-alouds, discussions, projects, and journaling activities. 

Here is how we used Apologia Zoology II:

Apologia Notebook Journal

Monday- Read half-way though the reading assignment for the lesson. As we came upon experiments or questions, we would complete them. 

Tuesday- Complete the reading by reading aloud as a group. (Again, we would complete any projects or experiments from the textbook as we came to them.)

Wednesday- Begin work in the journaling notebook. I chose to have them do the writing activities and projects in one journal... together. I was so pleased with this decision as they were much more eager to work through each page with a Science "buddy" so to speak. Much of this first journal day was answering comprehension questions and filling out journal prompts about their reading.

Thursday- My girls would complete their journals by creating a mini-book of some sort, completing a vocabulary crossword puzzle, as well as working on their handwriting with copywork. (Loved that feature by the way!)

 Good to Know:

1.) The textbook is reading intensive and the reading is at a higher elementary level. If you have a child that doesn't enjoy reading or is unable to read well, you will need to adapt the curriculum to your child. For instance, use the Science book as a read-aloud and break it into smaller pieces. You can also have your child working on their journal WHILE you are reading the textbook aloud. When they hear or see something interesting, allow them to draw and write about it in their journal! If they don't like to draw, allow them to print pictures off of the computer and paste them into their journal like a scrapbook!

Learning about Echolocation

2.) Some materials will be required for the projects and experiments; however, much of it you will already have around your home! I haven't bought anything so far and the experiments have been so much fun for my girls. I would highly recommend taking the time to complete the projects for each chapter. A convenient listing of materials is included in the book so that you can prepare for each week's lesson. It really does improve their learning retention which is always our goal!

3.)  There are two journaling options available. We chose to use the older option as I wanted to use it with both my 3rd grader and 6th grader. But there is a Notebook Jr. option for early learners.The Jr. Journal has coloring options and cut/paste activities that would be enjoyable for early learners.

4.) The textbook is $39 and the journal is $24. Again, I used one textbook and journal for both of my girls so that is an option if you are looking to save a penny.

5.)  This particular series is designed for Kindergarten through Sixth grade. Titles are also available for Middle and High School which I will be looking into for next year. Would you like to look at sample pages of Zoology II? Just click the pictures below:

My Thoughts:

I have searched far and wide for a Science curriculum that taught from a Biblical perspective that relieves the worry of evolutionary theories creeping in to our lessons. I also wanted a curriculum that focused on ONE topic for a year rather than jumped from one to another all year. I found both desires in Apologia resources. I enjoy the activities they include to make learning fun and the in-depth study of the topics. My girls have been learning with excitement and that alone makes it an A+ for this teacher.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Blog Series: Curriculum Walk-through Part 1

Don't Forget!! Today is the last day to enter the $20 Amazon give-away! Click here to enter! I will be announcing the winner in tomorrow's post!

As a homeschool parent, I love researching curriculum and reading about what other homeschool parents have chosen to use. I also like to glimpse into the rationals of WHY they chose what they did. So, I decided to begin a Blog Series that would explain the rationale of WHY I chose my curriculum for my kiddos. I hope it is a help to you as you create your own journey.

First UP: Science!

Okay all! I am going to be honest today: Science is not one of my favorite subjects to teach. I know, I know!!! Why wouldn't I like it with all of the cool experiments and projects?! It has just never been a subject I was excited about, even in school. I would learn what I needed long enough to ace the test and then move on. I think it was the fact that growing up, Science could be very boring... packed with information in HUGE textbooks. Even for a child that loves to read, Science just didn't excite me. This was a problem that I had last year with my girls. There was sooooo much information packed into their books and they had to travel through it so fast, they couldn't retain all of it! So, this year I have decided to change curriculum.

Before I began a search, I sat down to consider what I wanted it to look like. I knew that I wanted to find a curriculum that focuses on one area for an extended period of time. This would help enforce and promote retention. It would also create an opportunity to "dig" into the topic. I also knew that I wanted something that would be hands-on as well as textbook oriented. I like a combination. Lastly, I wanted there to be some writing involved to reinforce their language art skills. I plan to pull words from their Science to help create their spelling lists.

After figuring out what I wanted, I started to look for what was available. I am one that loves structure in the classroom. Chalk this up to the schoolroom teacher in me but I don't want my child's education to be hit and miss. I researched Christian curriculum and secular curriculum.

The curriculum that I chose is written by Apologia Educational Ministries.  (Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for any of this. I am just writing about personal experience.) They offer great resources for other subjects as well but I am starting with their Science curriculum this year. I am so excited! For the elementary age, there are six topics: Astronomy, Anatomy, Botany,  Flying Creatures, Land Creatures, and Swimming Creatures. I decided to let my children choose what they wanted to learn about first and they chose Astronomy! They will have a textbook and Journal dedicated to Astronomy. I love that we can do this together and my girls will each have their own journal for projects. I have heard many wonderful reviews about it and look forward to using it this year!

I have also decided to split the school year into two "semesters" kind of like what you would see in College. For the Fall Semester, or from August till December, my kiddos will work through Science. For the Spring Semester, January through May, my girls will work through their History curriculum. This is a new approach and I will let you know how it goes!

So let me ask... Have you ever used Apologia? What did you think?

I have linked up with an Apologia Blogroll at My Joy-Filled Life! I am excited to meet others using this curriculum!