11.11.13

Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics ~ a Review

Apologia Educational Ministries provided the following books for the purpose of this TOS Schoolhouse Crew review.




The latest book in Apologia's Young Explorer Series is Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics ($39.00) by Jeannie Fulbright. Our family has enjoyed using the previous books in this homeschool science curriculum series, so I have been looking forward to this one since Apologia first announced it. As with the other ones, this book could be completed independently. However, for this review I read through it with my children. This was our first time to try their accompanying notebooking journals. Designed for K-6, this program can be done independently by the older students. 

Chemistry and physics is the study of matter and energy, or, as the author explained, "the study of how God put the world together and made it work." Throughout the book, references are included sharing how the forces and components being studied are designed by God. 

 

Both the Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal ($24.00) and the Junior Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal ($24.00) include Bible verse copywork in print and cursive, puzzles using vocabulary words from the lessons, and pages for actual notebooking. The junior version has wider lines for beginning writers and coloring pages that complement each lesson. Both of the notebooking journals have many similarities. The back of both versions is filled with (the same exact) colorful pages to cut out and assemble as mini books, pockets, and other activities for use throughout the books. My fourth grader cut and pasted as instructed, but his favorite chapter was the one that instructed him to make paper airplanes. We all found that more instructions would be beneficial for using these student journals as not all of the activities were self explanatory. 


I did appreciate that handwriting options were offered in the Jr. notebooking journal as children in that age range have a wide range of handwriting abilities. My son is continuing to learn cursive, so he swapped between the cursive and print page options as he worked through the book. I love the Bible verses shared in the copywork which correspond to the lessons.  

I appreciate that these science books are written specifically for homeschoolers. Another thing that I like about this series is the ease of the experiments. Most of the items required are things that we already had at home. My children all enjoy science experiments. The following pictures are of two of the experiments that we did which helped to explain density.



These experiments actually do work which adds to the fun of each science lesson. My kids and I enjoyed working through them together, seeing clear results, then experimenting further by changing up the experiments using the supplies we had already gathered. We skipped the experiments that we had already completed in previous science lessons. 

Though suggested lesson plans are included, the book is so full that it is a bit overwhelming. Though I typically don't use teacher's manuals very much, with this book having one to follow could have helped our lessons go more smoothly. Instead, though, other resources were available. Despite that complaint, I do love the content of the book. As with all Apologia books, a special page of resources is offered online by the company. The author also offers a yahoo group where she has personally answered parent's questions. My children enjoyed using this and the other books in this series, and I will continue to recommend these science books to other homeschooling families. 
 
 

 See what other crew members shared in their reviews here. Samples from all three books are also available from Apologia's website.

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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 FTC regulations.
Jennifer

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