Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology

We have had the opportunity to review products from Apologia many times over the years, and each time we've been thoroughly impressed. From science curricula to daily planners to biblical worldview courses to grammar and writing resources to heart-convicting books, their products are always top-quality and highly sought-after. In fact, they consistently earn awards for their resources, specifically their elementary science courses.  

This Christian company believes "that every educational subject in your home school can and should be taught from a biblical worldview built on the solid foundation of God’s Word and centered on Jesus Christ." It's always best to use products that reinforce your beliefs. That is one of the many reasons I was excited to use Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology in our home.

Apologia was extremely generous and sent us the entire set of this curriculum:

• Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Text 
• Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology MP3 Audio CD
• Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Junior Notebooking Journal
• Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Notebooking Journal

There are 14 lessons that cover an intro to anatomy and physiology, the various systems of the body, health and nutrition, blood, and growth and development. Your students will learn everything from the strongest muscle in the body to which vitamin the bacteria in your colon produce to the purpose of dendrites to why you get dizzy after spinning in circles and more. The hands-on experiments get the students exploring about taste testing, learning Braille, testing fruits and vegetables for vitamin C, analyzing a chicken bone after vinegar exposure, crafting a stethoscope, creating a trivia anatomy game, completing a science fair project, and other fun ideas. 

The textbook makes it simple for the parent to teach the curriculum. The text is written directly to the student with a conversational tone. The book is engaging and gives multiple opportunities for the students to stop and retell what they've learned. The narration is written at the students' level (ages 6-13), but incorporates many more advanced terms that are relevant. More complicated words include a pronunciation guide and definition in the text. Like the other books in the Young Explorer Series, this one is full of  hands-on activities and scientific experiments. The pages are sprinkled with Try This! boxes that encourage the students to explore what they've been learning in a practical, interactive manner.

An MP3 Audio CD is included to accompany the text. The author of Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology, Jeannie Fulbright, reads the textbook.  She has a pleasant, easy-to-listen-to voice, which makes it enjoyable for the students to follow along in their books. The Audio CD replaces the need for a teacher or parent to explain the book and would be helpful while driving or other times when a parent may not be able to instruct. Jeannie references pictures, illustrations, and diagrams, so it is beneficial to be looking at the book. Because the parts of each lesson are divided into tracks, you could use a combination of parent-led portions when you have the time and CD-led lessons when life is too busy.
    

The curriculum follows a Charlotte Mason methodology. Instead of depending on typical workbooks that need to be filled in with answers, it focuses on notebooking where the students can uniquely express themselves as they learn and record the information in way that they personally will retain. Apologia offers two notebooking journals for the course. The Junior version is designed for younger students or those with limited writing skills. It has coloring pages and fewer spaces for written text, but also includes other interesting pages, like labeling parts of the body, simple crossword puzzles, vocabulary puzzles, copy work pages, extra experiment ideas, and more.

The second notebooking journal is for the older kids. It has more places to personally record notes and incorporates some short answer question pages. It includes copy work pages, labeling activities, and crossword puzzles like the Junior book, but at a slightly more difficult level. The additional experiment pages are identical to its counterpart, making it easy to do with multiple kids of all ages.

This study (which is the same format as the Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics study that we've enjoyed) has been perfect for our family! We prefer to do as much schoolwork as a family as we can. I love these times as it often leads to deeper discussions, whether about the text or a parallel topic. I read the lessons to all the kids (ages 12, 10, 8, 6), but only the middle two work through their respective notebooking journals. It's funny, because the two without the books are happy not to have to do extra work, and the two with the journals are happy because they enjoy the activities in them.

Of course, everyone's favorite part is the experiments! The book is filled with all types from simple activities like trying to complete tasks with your fingers taped together to more involved experiments like mummifying apples. There are easier small exercises throughout the lessons and then one big project at the end of each one. There is a list of all the necessary items at the beginning of the book and thorough directions that accompany each activity. 


This video shows just a portion of the activities that are included in the first 4 lessons of the book:

We're having so much fun Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology!

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You can read more reviews of this curriculum set on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner Review

Lists. Planning. Details. Those words speak to me. I am known for making lists of everything--grocery, vacation packing, daily chores, projects, party planning, school assignments. It helps me to see the tasks or items concrete in written word, and it gives me enjoyment every time I cross something off my list. Now that we have 5 children and homeschool, it is vital that I keep a calendar to track our family, church, and other responsibilities. Currently, I am using The Ultimate Homeschool Planner - Yellow Cover.

Apologia Educational Ministries is well-known in the homeschool realm for their science curricula and other biblical worldview products. This Christian company believes "that every educational subject in your home school can and should be taught from a biblical worldview built on the solid foundation of God’s Word and centered on Jesus Christ." It's always best to use products that reinforce your beliefs. We have loved everything we've gotten from Apologia in the past, so I was looking forward to this product, as well.

Not only do I want a functional planner, but a pretty one as well. I know, the way it looks doesn't change its performance, but it makes me happy to use something lovely. We are visual creatures, aren't we? The first thing I noticed about this one is how feminine it is. The color scheme consists mostly of pale yellow, avocado green, and plum in floral accents. (There is also an orange option and a blue option, if you'd prefer those.)

The first few pages are filled with tools to help you plan. There are tips for prioritizing your time, scheduling your days, how to teach your children independence, and how to maximize the use of the planner. There are pages devoted to listing both character and academic goals for each student and their resources you are implementing. All throughout the pages are Bible verses and inspiring quotes for encouragement.

There are many options for scheduling your time. The one-year planning grid lets you see the entire year at once by using a two-page spread. There is just enough room to write one main activity for each day. The monthly planning section allows you to view each month and gives you 4 small lines to write information. The weekly planner is where you have the most room for individual tasks and personalization. In this portion, each week gets a 2-page spread. The grid is 6x6. You can customize the planner to what best fits your needs by listing days of the week across the top and students down the side or students across the top and subjects down the side or whatever you choose. After each week, there are pages that accompany where you can keep track or your personal Bible plan, Battle Plan and Fighter Verse, Prayers, and Hospitality/Outreach. These pages are set aside for Sundays, the Lord's Day (that's why the weekly grid has only 6 spaces). There are also places to record the week's memorable moments and evidences of grace.

I think this is a beautiful planner with many options to personalize it to your desires. I love the quotes throughout, and even though the Bible verses are not from the version we use, I appreciate those as well. Having the sections for the memorable moments and evidences of grace are wonderful reminders to live in the moment and not to take our blessings for granted. The only thing I don't prefer about this planner is the cover. The cover is about 1/2 inch bigger on the sides than the pages. Both the front and back covers have a pocket folder slot so you can store whatever printed pages you need. However, because of that extra 1/2 inch, the cover tends to bend and catch on things.

This planner has been working well for me. I had always preferred a physical planner that I could write in and flip the pages, but I've recently switched to an online one. Comparing the two, I now favor the digital version (trust me, that shocks my husband!) If you are in the physical planner camp though, this one would be perfect for you.

 

You can connect with Apologia Educational Ministries on the following social media sites:
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If you'd like to see how other homeschool moms used this planner, please read the reviews on the schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love everything I've received from Apologia Educational Ministries. From science curriculum to Biblical worldview studies to heart-convicting books, each product has been a blessing. My latest review, Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms, is no exception.

Flourish is a book written to help homeschool moms find balance in their daily activities and to truly flourish in everything they do. Mary Jo Tate, the author of multiple books, is a seasoned homeschooler of 4 boys, single mom, international editor and book coach, host of the "Flourish at Home" radio show, and teacher of English literature for  homeschool co-op. She is one busy lady! Yet, she's found a way to balance her responsibilities with her desires. She used that knowledge and experience to write a book to help the rest of us who are struggling, exhausted, overloaded. To me the purpose of the book was beautifully summed up in an analogy about a plant:

"When we get bogged down in the difficulties and challenges of our busy lives, we start dropping like a wilted plant that hasn't been watered in a long time. But it's the flourishing plant--one that has been well-tended, with the right balance of good soil water, and light--that grows and offers beauty or nourishment.When you are flourishing, you can take better care of your family so that they too will flourish."  

Right from the beginning, my heart was convicted. The day I read that was the same day that I had noticed our poor tomato plants. They had been beautiful, thriving. Flourishing. But we had gotten a lot of rain, and come to find out, there was no drain hole in the pot. The water that filled the pot was drowning my plants. While water is very necessary for the good of the plant, too much will kill it. I knew right away that it applied to me. I tend to take on too much, try to do everything. All those responsibilities are like water. I don't stop to think about how too much "water" will wear me down. Without taking time for myself, I, too, will become wilted like my plants.

Mary Jo points out on page 17, "True balance doesn't mean spending an equal amount of time and attention on each area of your life. It means spending an appropriate amount of time and attention on each area." I'm never going to start relaxing as much as I'm doing--my go-go-go personality can't handle it and it's not even appropriate--but I do need to take time for myself at times. It's a hard lesson I'm learning, especially now with this pregnancy. I've been so sick and have had to sit and not do. I don't think that it's a coincidence that I was given this book to read during this time.    

It would take too long for me to relate every profound statemenet in this book, probably about 282 pages, ha. I'll list the chapter titles to give an idea of what it includes.

An Invitation to Flourish

Change Your Mind to Change Your Time

The FREEDOM Toolbox

Where Did My Time Go?

Aim High: Setting Goals

What Do I Do Next? Seven Essential Planning Tools

We Interrupt This Program

It’s Time for an Attitude Adjustment

Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days

Training Your Children

Making Memories

Managing Your Home

All of Life is Learning

Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom

Home Business

Moving Ahead

- See more at: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/flourish-book-review/#sthash.sIdBX6ZZ.dpuf

An Invitation to Flourish

Change Your Mind to Change Your Time

The FREEDOM Toolbox

Where Did My Time Go?

Aim High: Setting Goals

What Do I Do Next? Seven Essential Planning Tools

We Interrupt This Program

It’s Time for an Attitude Adjustment

Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days

Training Your Children

Making Memories

Managing Your Home

All of Life is Learning

Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom

Home Business

Moving Ahead

- See more at: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/flourish-book-review/#sthash.sIdBX6ZZ.dpuf

An Invitation to Flourish

Change Your Mind to Change Your Time

The FREEDOM Toolbox

Where Did My Time Go?

Aim High: Setting Goals

What Do I Do Next? Seven Essential Planning Tools

We Interrupt This Program

It’s Time for an Attitude Adjustment

Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days

Training Your Children

Making Memories

Managing Your Home

All of Life is Learning

Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom

Home Business

Moving Ahead

- See more at: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/flourish-book-review/#sthash.sIdBX6ZZ.dpuf

1.  An Invitation to Flourish

2.  Change Your Mind to Change Your Time

3.  The FREEDOM Toolbox

4.  Where Did My Time Go?

5.  Aim High: Setting Goals

6.  What Do I Do Next? Seven Essential Planning Tools

7.  We Interrupt This Program

9.  Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days

10. Training Your Children

11. Making Memories

12. Managing Your Home

13. All of Life is Learning

14. Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom

15. Home Business

16. Moving Ahead

At the end of each chapter, Mary Jo challenges you to take action by asking some tough questions and encouraging you to apply what you learned. Some of the questions were difficult. What activities do I need to stop? What can I delegate? What's currently missing in my life that I'd like to make time for? How will I teach my children to take initiative? Not only are the words throughout the chapters convicting, the end review truly makes you reflect on where your stuggling and succeeding.

One chapter that I didn't really expect to have much of an impact was chapter 14: "Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom," after all, I am very much not single. But this chapter surprised me. It's not just about how you yourself can flourish as a single mom, but how you as a married woman can help those moms flourish, as well. I realized that I should be reaching out to those moms more. It's not that I'm indifferent to their situation or just don't care, but that I get too caught up in my own family, rushing around taking care of my little ones. Mary Jo has shown me ways that I can be a blessing to other women in need, while caring for my own family.

 

I have not marked in my book at all. I'm a little silly about that. One, notes, to me, are a bit personal. If I loan the book to someone else, I don't necessarily want them reading my notes. Two, if I were to loan the book, I wouldn't want my notes of what I felt was most important to hinder other parts from speaking to the new reader. Does that make sense? That doesn't mean that I haven't taken notes though! I have a notebook where I've written down page numbers and quotes and all sorts of things that have spoken to me as I've read this book. I've already flipped back through them and reread portions of the book that were exceptionally powerful. I know that I will appreciate having this resource for many years to come.

Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms costs $15.00 and is perfect for any mom that wants to take control of her life. Even in areas that I thought I was doing ok, I realize there is always room for improvement. This book would make a lovely gift to help someone you know.
 

Would you like to see how this book blessed other homeschool moms? Head over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew to read more reviews.

Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Review

My kids love science. They thrive on experiments and hands-on projects. They long to understand how and why things work. They enjoy examining and discovering just about everything. My kids naturally are drawn to all things science. While I am pleased that they are science-minded like their daddy, I instinctively lean towards language arts and math. I am always looking to balance my passions with their interests. I was ecstatic to be chosen to review Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics from Apologia.

Apologia Educational Ministries is well-known in the homeschool realm for their science curricula and other biblical worldview products. This Christian company believes "that every educational subject in your home school can and should be taught from a biblical worldview built on the solid foundation of God’s Word and centered on Jesus Christ." It's always best to use products that reinforce your beliefs. We have loved everything we've gotten from Apologia in the past, so I was looking forward to this curriculum, as well. 

Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics ($39) is part of their Young Explorers series for K5-6th grade. This study uses the Charlotte Mason method to give students an introduction to chemistry and physics and teach how God made everything in the universe. Topics such as atoms, molecules, simple chemicals, laws and motion, electrical magnetism, and simple machines are covered. This hard cover glossy book is filled with colorful, eye-catching pictures, most of which are kids in the middle of conducting a fun experiment. Each lesson is broken into small sections that can easily be completed alone or in conjunction with another part of the lesson. The book is written directly to the student, so it's very easy for the parent to read and the child to understand. 

While my little ones (7, 5, 4) thoroughly enjoyed the how and why teaching parts of the text, their absolute favorite was all the experiments. There are dominant blue boxes marked try this! that are sprinkled throughout the book and list all the supplies and directions for completing the experiments. Directly under the box is the explanation. Most of the experiments use things that can be found around the house and can be set up and completed easily.

Along with the textbook, they offer notebooking journals ($24) to further the study and reinforce the information. These spiral-bound, consumable books are filled with fun, supplemental materials. The regular notebooking journal is for upper elementary grades and those efficient at writing. It provides a place for the student to record experiments, display artwork, and take notes. There are mini-books, crossword puzzles, and more fun activities. The junior notebooking journal is for lower elementary grades and those with limited writing skills. It has much fewer writing activities and offers big lines for the student to complete the work. This journal also includes mini-books and more experiments, but swaps the writing puzzles for coloring pages. 

This science curriculum is perfect for our family. There is so much great information given with age-appropriate language. It makes it easy for the little ones to understand and gives them a greater knowledge of God as our Master Designer. There is a sample schedule given in the front of the notebooking journal to do two lessons a week, but I found it works better for us to do shorter lessons more often. My kids rush through the rest of their studies so we can get to our science book. Jake (7) has been working with the regular journal and Alyssa (5) and Zac (4) have been using the junior edition. Each level fits perfectly where they are. Jake has always been my why? child. He truly wants to understand the hows and whys, of everything. So often, I'm not able to give him an answer without looking it up. Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics combines his love of experimenting with his longing for understanding. This will be a book that we enjoy for many years.     

      

If you'd like to research some more, please click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Who Is My Neighbor?

I have fallen in love this past year.

No, we didn't get new neighbors.

No, I'm not referring to our newest addition (though it does apply there as well.) 

I talking about Apologia. I've loved everything I've received from them. Who Is My Neighbor is no exception.

Who Is My Neighbor is part of the What We Believe Series, a biblical worldview course. The purpose of this course is stated as follows:

"Worldview studies help children understand how they (and other people) perceive the world around them. Understanding what we believe as Christians and why we believe it helps your child to form a worldview that is centered on God’s truth as presented in the Bible. Once we learn to see the world the way God sees it, we can begin to look at other worldviews and understand why others believe as they do. This understanding will help our children, as they grow, to communicate effectively with others about the hope that is in us as Christians. In addition to teaching the foundation beliefs common to most Christians, the What We Believe series takes a respectful, factual look at other worldviews and teaches children to take notice of differing worldviews coming at them from books, radios, TV, movies, the Internet, friends, etc."

Each volume in the series stands alone, so starting with volume 3 was not an issue at all. It's geared toward ages 6-14, but I've been using it with my 6, 4, and 2 year old. The textbook ($39) is a beautiful, hardcover book. It's written directly to the student, which makes it easy for me to read to my kids without having too much explaining to do. Parts of this book are above them for sure, but it works with a little adapting. The book is so thorough, so well-written, that I can easily use it again when the kids are older. I know they'd glean more truth from it.

This course is filled with short stories, interesting information, and much history. My children eat that stuff up. When they can answer every question at the end of a story, you know they enjoyed it.  

You can also purchase a notebooking journal ($24) to compliment the textbook. This spiral-bound book lays flat on the table, making it easy for the student to complete the work. It does have questions, but it also has fun pages like crossword puzzles, words searches, pictures to draw, and blank pages for notes. It's too advanced for my crew and too pretty to just let them color it, so we'll implement it when they're older.    

Those Apologia people sure are smart though. They even offer a coloring book ($8) for the young ones! My kids loved this high-quality, detailed book. The pictures accompany the lessons and reiterate the stories. My kids liked looking through the book and trying to guess what the next story would be. Sure, you could use the textbook on its own, but the journal for older kids and the coloring books for the younger ones are great resources.

I really like this course. It's thorough, high-caliber, and easily used with multiple ages. I know we'll use this book in the future (and make good use of that journal!) I've learned something this past year: if it's from Apologia, it's gotta be good.

Still not convinced? Go check out some more reviews of Who Is My Neighbor? on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

* Disclaimer: I received this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Educating the WholeHearted Child - Review

I recently had the opportunity to review the third edition of Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson. Let me say, this is not a read-it-once-over type of book. It is one that I will reference through the years as we continue our homeschooling journey. 

I was surprised when I retrieved this book from my mailbox. It looks more like an actual textbook than a "how-to" book. And in a way, I suppose it is. Educating the WholeHearted Child is a fantastic resource for any homeschool parent.  This 370+ page book is chock full of wisdom, instruction, and practical ideas. 

Will this book tell you the best curriculum to use? No.

Does it give you an exact schedule to live by? No.

Can you find a list of book reports and science projects every student should complete? No.

What is the purpose of this book then??? 

"To help you discover the fully dynamic of wholehearted learning so you can see how your home, by God's design, will actually work for you in nurturing, discipling, and educating your children. . . Wholehearted learning will radically change the way you view your home, your children, and how God meant for you the live and learn."

All throughout the margins of the book are Bible verses, quotes, various information and room for notes.  Also, there are "In Our Home" sections scattered about where the Clarkson's honestly explain things they tried, what worked (or didn't work) for them, and a little about their lives. This is not a "stuffy" informational book, but rather a heart-based method pointing you and your family to Christ.

Educating the WholeHearted Child is the second book I've had the honor to review from Apologia Educational Ministeries. With this being only our second year homeschooling, I had never heard of this company before. But let me tell ya, I am thoroughly impressed and in love with them!

They've listed the Table of Contents here for your convenience. You'll find chapters on the home, learning, and methods. Still not convinced? You can read the entire first chapter here.

For $22 you will get a treasure of a book that's worth it's weight in gold.

You can see other reviews of Educating the WholeHearted Child here.

* I received s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.