Apologia High School Biology for Homeschoolers Curriculum Review
Don’t be afraid to teach high school science to your homeschooler anymore, Apologia high school science for homeschool has got you covered!
High school science can be an intimidating and difficult subject to teach and to learn, especially in a homeschool setting. We want our children to understand the concepts thoroughly and to enjoy the hands on experiments but we may feel overwhelmed or unprepared to teach them. Not to mention the financial costs associated with a reputable science curriculum. Science, especially in the older grades, requires a lot of lab tools and experiment materials. Believe it or not there are science lab kits that cost upwards of $500! I believe an ideal homeschool science curriculum will be cost effective, cover the subject thoroughly and the labs can be completed using a lot of materials most homeschoolers have on hand and the rest can be easily purchased. Apologia High School Biology is that science curriculum and they offer lab kits that are reasonably priced.
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There are quite a few good homeschool science curriculum publishers out there and I have tried a handful. For kindergarten my daughter used Exploring Nature with Children, for first grade we used Elemental Science Sassafras Series, for second grade we used The Good and the Beautiful Science Units which we are still using. For my son we used Abeka Earth and Space Science in 8th grade and Abeka Matter and Energy for 9th grade, Apologia Biology for 10th grade and Apologia Chemistry for 11th grade.
All these different publishers are superb in their own right. For high school Abeka is top-notch curriculum no matter the subject (their high school math curriculum and videos are exceptional) and my son did very well with this science curriculum for 8th and 9th grade. However, I will say that overall, Abeka is a very costly science curriculum, it is a bit cumbersome as there are a lot of components and is a teacher led curriculum. This is fine in the younger years but by high school I really want my child/student to be more self-taught, learning on their own while I am there for backup and I need it to be more budget friendly. Apologia High School Biology and Apologia High School Chemistry fit the bill.
So why did we switch from Abeka to Apologia for high school science if we liked it so much? It was simply that my son and niece were both going to be doing biology at the same time and my niece had already been using Apologia. After reviewing her Apologia General Science and Apologia Physical Science books and discussing with my sister-in-law, it was clear that Apologia is a top-notch science curriculum while also being student led and cost effective. The labs are designed for homeschoolers (key word “home”) and the study guide encourages students to take notes and prepare for test taking at a level that I would consider college prep all while still being “kid friendly”.
Apologia writes the subject matter in a very simple dialect and the layout of the books are visually friendly. If you have a high schooler or even a middle schooler you know that they like to gloss over the pages or hunt and peck for answers rather than actually reading the curriculum. As you and I know this method may give the student the answers, but they really are not absorbing the material. My son was no exception to using this method previously, however once he started with Apologia High School Biology, he soon learned that he needed to read thoroughly to understand the whole concept. The material is written in such a way that hunting and pecking doesn’t necessarily get you the correct answer. You must read the entire paragraph or page and imbedded in the detail is the actual answer.
The Apologia High School Biology Student Notebook is where I feel this curriculum really shines. There is a suggested daily schedule for the child to follow which helps them to manage their time. Each module has blank pages for the student to take notes as they are reading, a section of “On Your Own Questions” where the student answers questions from each section of the module and they can verify their answers at the end of the module. The study guide questions include definitions and more questions to answer that help prepare for the test – these do not have the answers and therefore encourage proper reading and note taking.
Most modules have at least one or more experiments for the student to complete. These experiments use common tools such as microscopes and prepared slides while also using common household or hardware store items. There is a list of supplies needed in the back of the book so that you may plan ahead to have everything you need to complete the experiments. You may also purchase some of the items such as the microscope, prepared slides, and dissection kits on their website and they are reasonably priced.
One of the things that Apologia offers that others such as Abeka does not is video instruction/experiments on a flash drive for purchase. They also offer it for streaming, but I like the flash drive because I have multiple children and I like to reuse the curriculum. I simply purchased two Student Notebooks and two Test Booklets while reusing the actual textbook and videos. On the contrary Abeka only offers renting DVD’s and streaming and as I learned the hard way – if they redo the videos, they are then not compatible with older versions of the textbook and they do not offer the videos for the older versions for purchase or rent therefore you will have to purchase the entire curriculum again – not cost effective for homeschoolers with multiple children.
Another great thing that Apologia High School Biology offers is the textbook in eBook form, on MP3 CD which can be played on a CD player or computer, Apple Books or Audible. This is perfect for slow readers, those with disabilities or to keep up while on a road trip.
Finally, Apologia offers an award-winning Self-Paced High School Biology course and a Live Online Real Time Instruction course. The Self-Paced High School Biology course gives students 1 year of access to a self-directed, online homeschool curriculum. The course includes a digital version of Exploring Creation with Biology, an audio narration of the textbook, video lessons, hands-on experiments, and automatically graded tests. The live, online classes offer real-time instruction for students in grades 7-12 through an interactive portal, access to the teacher when students have questions about a specific course topic, and class recordings so students can review instruction.
Honestly, Apologia High School Biology goes above and beyond for the homeschooling family. If you want a thorough curriculum that encourages student independence, prepares them for college and doesn’t break the bank I highly recommend Apologia Science courses.
