Teaching a high school biology course at home can be challenging. What if I’m not knowledgeable about biology? What if I don’t like dissecting things? What if I can’t afford a microscope and slides? What if I can’t find a course written from a Christian perspective?

Valid questions. One answer is Exploring Creation With Biology. This course can be used if you have any (or all) of the concerns mentioned. First of all, the book assumes that God is the creator of all life, not that life just happened or that one kind of animal evolved into a different kind of animal. While the creationist view is evident throughout the book, Chapter 9 is a 30+ page discussion of the theory of evolution compared to the theory of creation. Also, if you tire of hearing radical environmentalists whine about man destroying the earth, appropriate scientific facts are sprinkled throughout the book refuting many of their claims.

The book is written specifically for use in a homeschool. The authors assume no prior knowledge of the subject, and the course is written in an easy-to-understand, conversational style. Nonetheless, it is a serious biology text - one of the co-authors was formerly a university science professor. The book contains 16 chapters, or modules, discussing every topic you would expect in a high school biology course. The book contains a variety of drawings and photographs, both color and black-and-white.

Lab work can be more challenging in a homeschool environment, and the authors have made allowances for this fact in their course. Three types of lab exercises are included. First, household labs use only household equipment and should be done by all students. Second, microscope labs require the use of a 400x microscope and prepared slide set. Third, dissection labs require a dissection kit of instruments and specimens. The authors do not require the microscope and dissection labs to be done, although they believe that these are certainly beneficial. To make these labs more “do-able”, they have developed a slide set and a dissection kit to be used with this course. We offer these below.

The course comes with two components. The student text includes all student reading, experiments, “On Your Own” exercises (with answers and discussion later in the chapter), and 15 to 25 “Study Guide” questions at the end of each chapter. The second book, Solutions and Tests, as you might expect, contains 10 to 20 test questions for each chapter, answers to the test questions, and solutions to the “Study Guide” questions. This guide also includes the perforated tests listed below.

How do students feel about this course? One student wrote, “I am one of the [homeschooling students] that has the privilege of testing out your remarkably interesting and informative biology course... I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to you for taking the time to put together and write this curriculum.”

Customer Reviews

 
Elizabeth M. from RI wrote the following on 11/19/2004:
We switched to this course after attempting to use a course from a different publisher. Apologia says this is for grade 9, but if your child is not strong in science I would suggest putting it off for a year since this is a very rigorous course. We found the chapter on creation vs. evolution to be very outdated and ended up skipping it. All in all, however, this is a superior course and well worth the money.

 
Ruth S. from DC wrote the following on 07/10/2008:
Last school year (2007-2008) was the first time we used Apologia Science books. My eldest daughter in grade 10 thoroughly enjoyed the challenge that Exploring Creation with Biology gave her and the ease of its use. We will use Apologia again this year! Thanks for selling the Apologia products!

 
Jennifer B. from Mississippi wrote the following on 07/26/2008:
My son just completed this book in his ninth grade year. He worked primarily on his own. I checked his study guide questions and his tests. He did very well and found this to be interesting material. This is a rigorous course. If science is not a strong subject, perhaps do this in 10th grade. The directions for the dissections were clear, but it was helpful for us to find pictures on the internet of actual dissections. I would recommend this book.

 
Wanda J. from Shippensburg, PA wrote the following on 07/16/2009:
This course was wonderful and my 9th grader learned so much. It was easy to use and understandable. We would recommend any Apologia product. We are grateful for such a thoughtful schooling curriculum.

 
Sherry W. from Science wrote the following on 04/02/2006:
This year was the first year I've used the elementary Apologia science curriculum by Jeannie K. Fulbright. I wish I had found this curriculum earlier. I believe my son would have enjoyed his science more in previous years. After completing the course, we have a wonderful astronomy notebook with his illustrations and notes on what he learned and actually enjoyed. This one book is the only book necessary for both student and teacher. There was no prepatory work necessary to get him started for the day. Some days he worked on his science entirely on his own with no help from mom! I only had to make sure he had everything necessary for the projects in each lesson. The front of the book she lists everything needed to complete the projects. The cost for the science book was minimal compared to other science curriculum. I used the Apologia Physical Science with my 8th grader and will continue with the Apologia this year. As with the elementary curriculum, the text is very easy to use. My older son learned more from this curriculum than earlier homeschool curriculum. We will use the Biology next year and look forward to science. The conversational approach to teaching has helped him to enjoy science.

 
Jill C. from CA wrote the following on 06/13/2007:
We have been using Apologia science for 3 years now, and have been so pleased with it. Not only does it come from a creation standpoint, it is user friendly! My two older boys (ages 12 and 15) both love it! My oldest son, in 9th grade, took Chemistry this year. The book is written in such a way that it is easy for him to do by himself and the teacher's guide has a complete solution for every problem; including test problems. Algebra 1 is a prerequisite for this course; good understanding of algebra principles is necessary as there is a lot of math involved.

 
Kimberlee G. from Gaithersburg, MD wrote the following on 11/12/2008:
I am currently using this course for my ninth grade year, and I'm enjoying it thus far! It's easy to implement, and though the labs utilize mostly household items, they are challenging, and I've learned a lot through them - especially the microscope labs. One of the major things that appeals to me about Dr. Wile’s biology text is the conversational style in which it’s written. It makes me feel more like I’m actually learning something, and when he discusses difficult or complicated material, he will say something along the lines of “Now I know that all this is hard to understand, but don’t worry…” I also appreciate the amount of pictures, diagrams, and graphs used to break up the text. Because I am a highly kinesthetic and visual learner, two or more pages of small font to read can seem daunting. My mother likes the fact that she doesn’t have to know biology in order for me to take this course! We both love that the experiments, on your own questions, dissection labs, and examples are highlighted in different colors - a significant improvement over the first edition. The study guides are not too lengthy, and usually only take 30-45 minutes to complete. The module summaries, which are located in Appendix B, are extremely helpful in preparing for the test! Usually, they will take a half-hour or more to complete. All in all, I believe that this Biology program is challenging and fun; will prepare any student well for college; and is highly recommended.