Apologia Elementary Science Review

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We have been using Apologia Science curriculum for the past eight years. A few times I’ve tried other products but I always find myself going back to Apologia because simply put, I think they are the best.

This year we are going through Land Animals of the Sixth Day: Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 with my seven, nine, and eleven year old. The four year old sits in on lessons as well, but is not required to do any of the work.

Pros:

• Biblical view of science
• Great color photos
• Easy to read aloud
• Summaries at the end of each section to help kids remember what they learned
• Notebook journal can be purchased separately
• Detailed directions for experiments
• Can be used for all elementary children
• Inexpensive
• Can be reused

Cons:

• Biblical view of science
• One topic for the whole year
• Experiments need a lot of supplies
• Might be a little too involved for kindergarten and too easy for 5th graders

This is our third Apologia elementary science book we’ve used over the past several years. When we started the notebooking journal and lab kit were not available, or at least I didn’t know they were available. The addition of these two products makes this science program significantly better.

One of my biggest complaints about this program years ago was that the experiments required random items that I never had in my house and I was always scrambling to find what we needed. With the lab kits they ship everything to you in a box and you are always ready for the experiment. The notebooking journal is great for kids would not be able to do all the writing on their own.

I love that this curriculum is written from a creation science perspective, with “creation confirmation” sections throughout the book. Scientific terms have pronunciations next to them when they are introduced which is very helpful for all of us who have government degrees.

There are map, experiments, and notebooking activities with each lesson. This is great for kids who need a little more action with their assignments. I’ve supplemented almost every lesson with coloring pages I found on the internet as well as youtube videos which my kids have enjoyed.

One downside I’ve found with this curriculum is that it can be overwhelming to young children who have trouble sitting still. I’ve solved this problem with coloring pages, but some of the sections are fairly long if you have a fidgety kid.

I’ve also heard people unsure about spending a whole year on one “type” of science. I thought this was a valid concern until we spent a year going through a basic science program that covered many different topics. I felt that my kids didn’t have a solid grasp of many of the concepts that year because we spent so little time on each section.

If you are a mom who doesn’t have a ton of time to prep I highly recommend the Zoology 3 Notebooking Journal and Apologia Zoology 3 Lab Kit. They make kits and journals for every book in the series and they make teacher prep significantly easier. It is worth the extra money in my opinion. The year we didn’t have the lab kit we only completed about half of the experiments. We’ve done almost every experiment this year with the kit.

The hardbound book is less than $30 making it a very inexpensive science curriculum that can be used for all your elementary kids and reused later on. I’ve loaned out these books and borrowed them from friends over the years to save money on curriculum.

If you are looking for a solid creation science program Apologia is my favorite curriculum. I’ve tried a few others, but I always go back to Apologia.