I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL 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.
One of the things I ADORE about the Young Explorers series is that each of the books has the most amazing pictures and drawing to get your child's attention. Then they add in great experiments, so that your child understands the concepts. In order to complete them, your child can use of the series Notebook Journals (of which there are two, one for younger kids, one for older), which I'll tell you more about in a moment. PLUS, for your dyslexic kids, a HUGE bonus is the CD, with the book's author READING the book to your kids, as it is! This is such a HUGE help, especially when it comes to words your kids can't sound out!
Let's talk about the amazing Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Text first! Again, you can see the wonderful color pages- this is NOT a basic text! It is meant to grab kids attention and give them interesting info about our bodies, and how they work! What Miss Grace has really liked about the text is that it is broken up with pictures and reading, then a Try This experiment, to make sure they understand what they just read, BEFORE moving on to something else. We both like how the main ideas/words are in BOLD print, so they can be found qickly, if you have to go back and re-read a section, in order to answer any review questions, or do any of the notebook activities (I think this might have been a bigger help for MOM, so I can be looking over the answers while she's giving them to me, as we primarily have done oral quizes and tests)!
Every one of the experiments gives kids a chance to use critical thinking skills- what do they think will happen/why, what did happen/why. and what could you change for a different result? They aren't meant to JUST illustrate the point or topic, they are meant to get kids THINKING and relating what they already know about science! I've found that most of their experiments (in both books) require items we generally have around the house, and if not, are readily available. For this current year for example, there was only 2 experiments we didn't have the required items for, as I had forgotten to order them, but there were enough experiments, so that neither of us felt that not doing those 2 experiments was detrimental to her learning those chapters !
Both the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Junior Notebooking Journal and Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Notebooking Journal are meant to give kids space to right down all these experiments, and the record findings, thoughts, and drawings. These books, because they are dealing with anatomy, have some great anatomy figures to help kids learn about the different layers we have within. Both journals follow the text, but also have extras! As you can see, Miss Grace likes to use doodles and drawings for her science notes! I'm not opposed, as long as she can explain each step verally, with a thorough understanding for the person learning about the experiment Again, the notebooks are open for this- you don't have to write your results a set way, allowing for kids creativity to come into play as well (aka Mom just let some Art class sneak in there, LOL)! And because the journals are spiral bound, they are easy for kids to use. Both journals also feature thicker paper than you would expect, so they can hold the different projects, as well, when glued into them. Miss Grace's Chemistry notebook still looks great, even after a full year of use!
But what I have ADORED in these books is the PLANNER! Yup- you have a COMPLETE course planner included in the journals, for the entire course! (yes, you did just hear angels sing!). The planner utilizes a two-day per week schedule for completing the readings, notebook assignments, activities and included experiments. For this current year, that took SUCH a load off of planning- I knew week by week what she needed to work on, the experiments (and required items needed), and when to test her on the work! We year round homeschool, but we started a couple of subjects late, and actually started our Chemistry/Physics in August with her current Apologia text and finished it in February, but then Miss Grace got ahead, as she's a science geek! But I would definitely say the schedule as given in the book is quite doable, and easy for most kids!
The Junior journal is aimed at kids with limited writing skills (say under grade 3) and older students who lack writing mastery. Each chapter starts with a coloring page and short narration/answer pages. Simple vocabulary word exercises like matching and simple puzzles are also included, to help reinforce the words from each chapter. All of the mini-books, templates or lift books are included at the back of the book, and are well notated for where they go. Most require only simple cutting and pasting. There is also copywork, but it tends to only one sentence.
The older version of the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology journal is aimed at upper elementary kids, and Miss Grace has had no issues using it, even with her dyslexia. Besides the room for note taking for experiments, the book features harder vocabulary exercises like crosswords and word searches, that help to reinforce what your child has learned in each chapter. I have to admit, they weren't her favorite, but they are really great for testing knowledge! Additionally there are bible verses to copy, both in print AND script! Each chapter includes a review question sheet, that can be used for an oral or written test, plus there is a final test at the end of the book. We've done these orally, and I've found that that allows her to expand and bring in more backing theories, or information, for each question. The project pages require a little more work and supplies (like fasteners), but most kids can complete them with no adult instruction.
And a little more about the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology MP3 Audio CD. The CD is really a MP3 CD, so that means you can play it in the car (!!! we've done a lot of that this year!), or even use a DVD player, if you have to! With Miss Grace's dyslexia, it has been a argument saver! She hates having MOM read any text to her, and while she has a scan pen reader, it can sometimes hang up on scientific terms. So by having the author read along with the text, she has the proper pronounciation of words, but also has an illusion of being taught BY the author, reminding her more of a classroom setting. In fact, I've found that her concentration seems to really go up while she's listening to the CD. I'm SO thrilled that Apologia has one for ALL of their text, even the upper levels! WHEW!
AND
Apologia gives you a SECRET bonus too! In every textbook there is a special code word in the Introduction, that you can use on their website to gain access to special weblinks, that delve more into the topics being studied in each chapter, additional notebook and field trip pages, questions and answers from fellow students, and more! It's bonus material is great for days when kids might be bored, and a little video can go a LONG way in keeping their interest!
We ADORE Apologia! Miss Grace seems to get SO SO SO much more of real learning from the series, thanks to its amazing immersion teaching techniques! Once you and you kids check it out they will too! But don't take our word for it, check out what our fellow reviewers think too. Some of them have been using the Apologia books for much longer than we have! Just click the picture below to check their amazing reviews out:
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