Zoology

What do you do with kids who have insatiable curiosities? Give them more to learn from! I love how much I can trust anything I receive from Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group. Although I happily read all we receive, I don’t feel like I have to preview it before my girls get their hands on it. I know it will be solidly biblical and scientifically accurate in addition to beautifully illustrated and engagingly written! The most recent series I’ve had the chance to review is Marvels of Creation by Buddy and Kay Davis. Buddy Davis is known for his wonderful videos from the Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis. My girls love watching him teach them about dinosaurs!

I just barely had time to snap this picture before my girls whisked these lovely books away! They were jumping up and down behind me asking, “Are you done yet?!?!” I have used these books as resource material, but my girls just love reading them. They quiet time every afternoon after lunch and have been choosing a book from this series often. Each book has an appendix with a glossary of terms which is a nice addition. Other information is also included in the appendix which I’ll write about for each specific book.

Magnificent Mammals shows mammals from all over the world with beautiful photographs and information. Some of these mammals my girls have seen in our zoo and they love talking about that. I love how the appendix includes footprints and approximate sizes of these prints for a variety of animals. We’ve never come across animal tracks in our yard, but it will be fun to have as a resource if we ever do!

Sensational Sea Creatures is my personal favorite. I’ve always loved learning about the ocean and at one time though I’d like to be a marine biologist. Included in this appendix is information about the anatomy of fish. This is so interesting and not often covered in a book meant for children. I really like that my girls can see how a fish is built intentionally by our creator.

Breathtaking Birds has been the favorite of Rose who has become infatuated with owls in the last couple of months! This is her favorite part to read in this book. The appendix in this book contains information about the anatomy of birds as well as how and why they are able to fly. I especially love how many of the photographs used are of birds in flight. They are breathtaking!

Each page in every book has specifications about the animal’s height, weight and life-span specifications as well as special design features and lesser known facts. My girls are absorbing all of this information and can’t wait to tell me and my husband all they have learned!

One day I heard, “Come one everybody! It’s story time at the library!” I walked in to see my girl using the Marvels of Creation for their pretend storytime! It was so sweet and they were actually reading this information aloud for their little sister who is just learning to read.

These books are an excellent alternative for evolutionary based field-guides. You can see samples of the books on the New Leaf Publishing page when you click the links. I’m certain your entire family will enjoy these!

Disclaimer: I received the the Marvels of Creation series in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. I was not compensated in any other way.

I have heard such wonderful things about Apologia Educational Resources for all ages and I was thrilled when the opportunity to review one of their courses came my way! My girls love all things science: books, experiments, projects, research…for them it is pure pleasure. I have always been partial to learning about the seas. I, like so many other kids, thought being a marine biologist would be the coolest job ever when I was a kid.

What is it about the ocean that captivates us? The creatures are mysterious on many levels. They have different qualities than us land lubbers! Just the fact that they breathe underwater is enough to make most kids dream of having fins of their own!

There are two items needed for a year’s worth of science curriculum: The text book and a notebooking journal for all students participating. The text book costs $39.00 and the notebooking journals are $24.00 each. One of the beautiful parts of this curriculum is it covers a wide age range including kindergarten through 6th grade. For a high quality science curriculum which keeps God as the Creator, I feel this price is well worth it.

I was impressed with the simplicity of Apologia’s Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. The introduction contains a simple, thorough explanation of the logic behind the scope and sequence as well as a complete breakdown of the types of activities the students will work on with each unit. The Step-by-Step guide follows giving further clarification of how to teach this course. Finally you find a list of supplies followed by the table of contents. I also love how often Scripture is incorporated into each lesson.

The photographs for each section are stunning. They captivated my daughter at first glance! For each chapter students complete experiments, narration (retelling what the story is about in the students’ own words), notebook pages, and a continuing ocean box project. Some days I read aloud to Rose and other days she read to herself. She did well with comprehension both ways.

Rose’s favorite chapter so far was the one on sharks and rays. I read this particular chapter aloud to her this week and she loved coloring the pages at the beginning of the chapter. I’m not sure why, but I have found my girls all listen better when I read if their minds are engaged in drawing or doing another quiet activity at the same time. I thought it was great she only colored while I read and took several days to finish it.

One of my favorite aspects of this curriculum is picking out favorite facts and recording them in the Junior Notebooking Journal. Rose loves science and she really loved recording what she found in her journal. She has gone back to look at her facts several times! I also love the extra cursive practice she is getting! Rose would tell me the facts, I wrote them in cursive on the board, then she copied them into her journal.

I’m slowly working towards Rose doing all of her work in cursive. This was a great transition step into more cursive. I was so proud of how neat her cursive is already! After the students finish their facts they get to draw a picture of what they are studying in the box beside the facts. Rose loves this because, as I said before, she loves art. I love how this science course incorporates so many different aspects of learning.

The older students have their own notebook. This is great for families who want to combine their children for learning science. This won’t work for us for a few years, but when all of my girls are old enough I really like this option.

I have heard wonderful things about Apologia, and I was not disappointed! This is an excellent science curriculum grounded in Scripture. To see more reviews of this great curriculum click the link below!

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.

Tag: Zoology

Marvels of Creation Series: Review

Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day (Apologia) Review