Apologia provides fun and challenging K-12 creation-based science curriculum specifically designed for the home school. Written by a former university professor and homeschool parent, the courses provide college-preparatory science in a way that is both clear and challenging. The texts are readable, easy to understand, and full of engaging experiments that can be performed at home. This is a science course designed for the student to self-teach. Publisher materials indicate that this curriculum is that is truly God honoring, user friendly, and scientifically sound. The elementary science course covers zoology, botany and astronomy. The high school course is designed for two different tracks, Not Science-Oriented, and Science-Oriented. Courses that require a Math Prerequisite are identified. They even provide a FREE help line to answer any questions or problems you may encounter and a money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied.
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Cons: none!
Grades Used: 9
After using the God’s Design science curriculum with multiple ages together in our homeschool, I needed a high school level course for my 9th grader last year. We used the Apologia Biology course and it was terrific! It is definitely a college prep level course, but the student notebook is what made this course amazing. It encouraged independence from my student, and he rose to the challenge. The tests were difficult, but he clearly understood what had been taught. We have found our new favorite high school science curriculum!
Grades Used: 6th
We are using the General Science text and student notebook. While there is a great deal of reading- it is highly interesting and well presented! The labs are fun for my 6th grader, and the lab write-ups help to train middle school students for the lab report expectations in high school (and beyond). Will definitely continue to use this series!!
Cons: A LOT of reading. Can get boring or tedious.
Grades Used: Grade 8,9,10,11,12
While I think that the Apologia books are great, they can get tedious. My sons tolerated them and my daughters trudged through them.( It IS quite a lot to cover in one school year.) My youngest has BEGGED me to get something else, besides Apologia, for Biology.
Cons: biased, condescending tone
Grades Used: 5 - 8
This is our second year using this text with a co-op. The texts are extremely thorough which I like a lot for middle school but think could be a little much for the elementary ages.
Buyers should know up front this is not a wholly neutral science text. I dislike the author’s tone when presenting topics he disagrees with (environment, old earth, evolution topics). He may present an opposing view but often writes about them in a condescending, insulting tone.
If we were using this without a co-op I think it would get dry as there is a lot of reading and answering study questions. I supplement a lot with hands-on activities both from the book and what I find on my own to teach the co-op class. However, I really do appreciate how thorough the texts are for older students.
Cons: Not sure yet (But don't try the program without the Journal)!
Grades Used: First (Astronomy), Second (Botany)
We started with this science, based on many reviews, and have yet to look back! My son BEGS to do his science daily, and I am so very impressed with how much he is learning and retaining! The Notebooking Journal really makes the program. The coloring pages are great. The copywork is a good resource. There are a good number of activities and resources, both in textbook and in journal! The information is quite in-depth. At first, I was worried that it may be a bit much, but I am learning that young ones really are like little sponges, and really do soak it up!
We do just a bit every day, instead of trying to read whole (or even half) lessons all at once. This helps to break up the large amount of reading into more manageable chunks, and also allows us more discussion on the smaller topics.
This will give him an amazing foundation for later grades, when it will be much more review and refreshing than all-new information, and he will have a great base to build his studies on! He’s already started asking about next year’s (Zoology I), and can’t wait to start that one! =)
Cons: Don't have the notebook for every level
Grades Used: 8,9,10
Apologia is an intense high school program, but is in my opinion, by far, the best science curriculum. It progresses in a logical fashion and has an amazing way to speak with the child instead of at them. Dr. Wile is fabulous and would highly recommend anything by him.
The only con is that not all the subjects (to my knowledge) offer the giant notebook. It is wonderful! it really helped my daughter in the Physical Science course. IT has a schedule and all the work in one visually appealing place. My son wishes he could have it for his courses.
Well Done Apologia and Dr. Wile! Thank you!
Cons: none
Grades Used: 7th, 8th
My daughter has always liked science, but she really likes Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science and Exploring Creation with Physical Science. Lots of experiments which she loves. The experiments use easy to find items. She enjoys the conversational tone that the author uses and how he explains things.
Cons: None
Grades Used: 6th - 8th
I have used the Astronomy, Botany and Swimming Creatures books in the past. I really enjoyed teaching my children with all of these books. Last year we used General Science and this year Physical Science.
When my kids want more, more, more reading then I know I have found the right book! They really enjoy Apologia Science books.
I am extremely impressed with the coverage here. My 14 year old has responded enthusiastically to it which is saying alot!
I used the Apologia Science book for my 5th grader last year. It was great. We learned alot about sea creatures, and it had alot of hands on activities as well. It was the best material for science that I ever used.
Cons: Overwhelming
Grades Used: 5,7
Sorry to do this, but I bought Apologia twice because it looked so good, and the reviews were great, but both times it was a waste of time and money for us. We found it hard to schedule & organize, and unless you only did questions & answers you are doing a crazy amount of experiments, which I simply didn’t have time to supervise. Maybe if I only had one or two children it would have worked out, but it was too much for us & required too much parental input. We have switched to a costlier option, still Bible-based, that allows for more independent work & has about 1 experiment per week.
Grades Used: 2-7
We have used the Elementary Apologia Science for some time now and my children love it. (And so do I) The lessons are well-laid out and understandable with lots of experiments and pictures. Many times the book encourages the child to get outside and see God’s creation firsthand. The experiments use items easily obtainable,and there are sites where you can purchase almost everything you need for the experiments in a kit. The books are Biblically based so no fear of any evolution stuff.
I would highly recommend this series.
Cons: None
Grades Used: 3rd and 5th
We are more than half way through our ASTRONOMY book. We love it! As some of the other posts mention, there is quite a bit of reading. We break this up a bit by reading in ’round robin’ fashion, with mom taking a large portion. It has been great to study our solar system and learn there are valid arguments found in astronomy that support evidence for a Creator. We bought the notebook(s) that are recommended for this book and we are so glad we did! It could be done without buying them, but they were not costly and it really adds to their studies. We have our younger son using a notebook jr. and our 5th grade son uses the notebook. They complement each other and the text so well. We plan to use Anatomy/Physiology next year!
Cons: humanizes animals a bit- "mean animal, poor creature"
Grades Used: 2-6th grade
My 9 yr old daughter LOVES this curriculum. We have used Volumes 1-3 of the biology series and she has loved them all. The lapbooks available to go with these just add to the excitement and the ease of use. My older kids often join into lessons. Great curriculum! Our favorite was the swimming creatures.
Grades Used: 5TH AND 8TH
WE REALLY LIKE TO USE THE APOLOGIA SCIENCE MATERIAL. THIS YEAR WE ARE DOING THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. I LIKE BEING ABLE TO TEACH BOTH MY GIRLS THE SAME MATERIAL. EASY TO USE AND FOLLOW THE BOOK AND LESSONS.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
Cons: Alot of reading
Grades Used: 6th
Great curiculum if you like to read…. Alot! Other than that Great value
Cons: Lengthy text,
Grades Used: 4th, 5th
We are using flying creatures of the 5th day. My kids like this when there is a project involved. It is a lot of reading, and since I am doing it for both I end up doing it as it moves a bit quicker. I ask ??? and reward for retention, which helps. I also included a lapbook for them to make for the different flying creatures chapters. Found it online. Helped break up the text a bit.
Cons: not for secular/evolution-teaching HS'ers, but even some secular HS'ers still use it and just edit out parts - it's that good
Grades Used: high school
My son has completed Apologia Biology and is now doing Apologia Chemistry. He cannot wait to do his course each week (he’s in a virtual co-op). I like how Apologia has ways to learn for different learning styles. You can use the text on its own, listen on Mp3 files, use the Windows Explorer-driven CD-rom text, get supplemental videos, and of course the labs have hands-on learning.
The labs are easily done at home with some material sets you can purchase from Apologia or elsewhere. They are top-notch high school labs which teach the proper ways to do lab reports.
Apologia’s content is both broad and deep. If you want to teach from a creation perspective, these of course are geared for that. But the texts also explain the evolutionary side of things, so that when your child takes standardized tests, they will know and understand the evolutionary science questions…even without believing they are the truth.
Cons: Parent reads to the child (time consuming)
Grades Used: K-4th (so far)
We just found this program last year and are loving it. We used Astronomy and this year are currently using Botany. At first my kids resisted having to sit down and read from the book. The first 2 chapters in Astronomy were tough for them, but once they realized how interesting they were they didn’t mind. Now they are excited to sit and read a section with me. I love that there is so much information in the books and that the experiments are relevant to what we are learning and EASY! The experiments are for the most part easy and require things that I already have around the house.
I love that today at lunch my kids sat down to tell their dad what their favorite carnivorous plant family was and which was their least favorite. And they could tell him why. I am so glad we found Apologia!
Grades Used: Zoology I (4th grade) & General Science (7th grade)
We’ve just started using Apologia this fall and love it! We wanted a creation-based, fairly intensive science curriculum with extra resources. I was told when I bought it that I would not need to purchase the notebooking journing for Zoology I, that we could just make our own. But I’m finding that, at least for my son, we will need to add the journal. I am a working homeschool Mom and unfortunately I don’t have the time to pull together all the resources to make our own. My 7th grader is eating up the General Science and is looking forward to next years study already. She enjoys the CD that accompanies this study too, packed with many extra resources. I love the scientific terminology that’s present in these books, it’s really educating them well and adding to their vocabulary as well. Overall I’m very pleased and plan to continue using the Apologia Science curriculum.
Grades Used: Variety
First, I like that I can reuse these books for younger children as the need them.
Second, I like that it is easily broken up into manageable bites for the students.
Third, I like that we are all enjoying the books no matter what level we are using. My 7th grader is doing General Science and my 1st & 2nd grader are doing Astronomy.
Fourth, I like that different takes on science are introduced which helps me take that and talk about what our family believes and why. I can “see” the wheels turning as they take this information to think about.
Cons: time consuming
Grades Used: 4-10
Apologia Science is the best science out there, in my opinion. I am a Biology/Chemistry graduate and I can tell you that I have learned a lot while teaching my children from Apologia. We have used most of the Jeannie Fulbright books and they are amazing. Our children loved them. Our son usually used one per semester and did the corresponding lapbooks. Both children are now in the high school books and they really enjoy them. While the time spent on the subjects is intense, the knowledge gained makes it all worth while. They both truly enjoy doing science and I think it is because of Apologia!
Grades Used: 4th
Decided to switch science curriculum and so glad we did! The experiments are fun, the comprehension questions are not complicated, includes crossword puzzles, fold-ups and other fun methods to reinforce facts in the accompanying journal.
Cons: My daughter is not the best reader and requires me to read this to her. Since it is so in depth, it uses many scientific names, but has phonetic spelling with them.
Grades Used: We used the Swimming Creatures for 4th grade and are using the flying creatures for 5th. I plan to use the human anatomy next year.
I would also love to read the botony and astronomy books. These books are so well-written, even I learn a lot!!
My son decided he wanted more on Chemistry, and we choose apologia and by himself decided to do the Physics course too. He just loved it. And that prepared him very well for college. I think it was a real good choice.
My second son is just finishing the chemistry one and told me how much he has loved it. So that is very encouraging.
Cons: hardback is a little cumberosme
Grades Used: K-6th
My kids have loved these books! They are so student friendly and lend well to independent study with a little help from mom. The books are full of colorful pictures and experiments/projects/notebooking pages to solidify the concepts learned. These are great books to study several times through or just once through to get them ready for Junior High Sciences.
Cons: It is reading intensive, so it takes some time to either read it or listen to the audio tapes.
Grades Used: We're currently using Astonomy and The Human Body, and have used Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
I’ve found the high school science courses to be even more thorough than my own high school classes (30 years ago). I think the curriculum does an excellent job of showing the wonder of God in all of creation, from the organization of the tiniest bits to the expanse of the heavens.
Cons: be prepared to spend a bit of time on each section
Grades Used: 1rst
My daughter is currently using this book and loves it. She is in 1rst grade so some of the information as a bit technical for her. However, I can see how this program could be good for multiple grade levels. There is information that will challenge any grade level.
I would not suggest getting the notebook that goes along with this book for such a young age. I end up doing much of the writing for her. However, as a tool for older children it would be a fun resource!
Cons: You might not want to use it year after year.
Grades Used: 2nd
I used this book with my daughter for second grade. She loved it. This is a book you could continue to use as your child grows so they can fully understand everything.
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