3rd Edition
Published by Apologia
If you are looking for a rigorous high school biology curriculum, Exploring Creation with Biology by Apologia may be a suitable option for your student.
Let us look more in depth into this curriculum.
Who is Exploring Creation with Biology for?
Exploring Creation with Biology is a Christian based curriculum designed for:
- An honors self-paced independent homeschool studies [Please see our notes and recommendations below.]
- High school level student [It is usually taken in the 9th grade but we scheduled it for 10th grade and considered it a wise choice.]
- A student with academic future plans [Because this is very rigorous college-preparatory course, it is recommended for students who are aiming at future college studies.]
How Is Exploring Creation with Biology Structured?
- There are 16 modules divided into subchapters. Each module consists of about 35-50 pages.
- Each subchapter ends with “On Your Own,” a list of questions to test the student’s understanding.
- Each module ends with a study guide in preparation for a test.
- The text includes many pictures, graphs, and infographics, and adds instructions to labs.
- The end of the textbook offers a complete list of lab supplies for individual modules, glossary, and index.
What Materials Do You Need for This Curriculum?
Unless you are teaching this curriculum with other families where you can share resources, you will need the following:
- Exploring Creation with Biology Textbook
- Exploring Creation with Biology Test Pages
- Exploring Creation with Biology Solutions and Test Manual
- Lab supplies for each module
Optional resources:
- Exploring Creation with Biology Student Notebook: This notebook is a welcome addition but not absolutely necessary as there is very limited reference to it in the textbook.
- Exploring Creation with Biology MP3 Audio CD: This audio is a suitable resource for auditory learners as it reads the textbook to the student. However, it is strongly recommended to follow the text while listening to the audio in order not to miss the visuals in the text.
- Exploring Creation with Biology Video Instructions: These video instructions include various animations and clips and are suitable for all types of learners.
What Did We Like About Exploring Creation with Biology?
There are three main “likes” that I would like to point out:
- We chose to use this curriculum in 10th grade rather than 9th grade as recommended. We considered it to be a very wise choice due to the text-facts heavy textbook with many biology details and infographics.
- As my son was ready to venture out and join a local academics-focused co-op class, biology seemed like a good subject for this purpose. It was the best choice we could have made. His teacher was a professional biologist with many years of experience in the field. She was also an excellent teacher and not only provided her students with biology studies but also taught them how to process information and study at the college level.
- My son was able to take a Biology CLEP exam (College Level Examination Program) after taking the course and pass it successfully. [For more information about this exam, please visit How to Take Biology CLEP Exam in High School.]
What Did We NOT Like About Exploring Creation with Biology?
- The curriculum resembles more of a college text rather than a high school curriculum. Even though I fully encourage hard studies in high school when appropriate, I much more prefer using high school curricula as a foundation for life’s knowledge. When too much text and detail is involved, the student has less chance to absorb the information and retain the important facts in a long run.
- Soft cover textbook: This textbook covers 716 pages and is meant to be used for at least one hour each school day. These facts suggest that a hard cover would be more appropriate.
- Unless you, as a homeschool teacher, are very scientifically minded, this curriculum will be rather difficult (but not impossible) to cover.
Would We Recommend Exploring Creation with Biology?
It is difficult for me to recommend Exploring Creation with Biology without knowing your student and your family dynamics. However, let us look at several scenarios that may make you determine whether this curriculum is for you:
- Does your student enjoy biology and/or is college-bound? – YES
- Are you, as a homeschool teacher, scientifically minded and require hard work from your student? – YES
- Do you have an access to an academic co-op? – YES [For a list of different types of co-ops, please read 8 Benefits of Joining a Homeschool Co-Op.]
- Is your student not thinking about pursuing college studies? – NO
- Are you looking for a biology curriculum to build a lasting knowledge foundation? – NO
In Summary
Exploring Creation with Biology by Apologia worked well for us in our homeschool environment. However, it was only because of the exceptional teacher in a co-op setting that I entrusted my son to learn from. If we were to use this curriculum at home, I believe we would have had hard time covering all the materials. Nevertheless, if you ask my good friend, who possesses a chemistry teaching degree and whose husband is a biologist, she would tell you plainly: “Don’t bother with a co-op class, this is an excellent curriculum and involves fun labs that you can do at home.”
