I’ve heard wonderful things about the Exploring Creation series through Apologia for many years now.  But, we’ve always been a really tight budget and by the time math, language arts, foreign language, etc. were purchased, there was never enough money to purchase anything else.  But, having had a chance to fully review Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, I can see that we needed to find the little bit of extra money for this curriculum. 

For a general overview, let me explain how the curriculum works and then we’ll dive into what it covers.  First, this entire book covers flying creatures – from the basics of zoology all the way through birds, insects and flying reptiles.  Each lesson begins with basic instruction of a particular topic, like “What Makes a Bird a Bird?” and then it breaks that subject down into manageable pieces for the student to read and understand.  There’s a project or two, a scientific experiment (nothing dangerous) and then the completion of a Scientific Speculation Sheet which is basically a review (including the hypothesis and conclusion) of the experiment.  All in all, it takes a couple of weeks per chapter to fully cover the material – from creating notebooks (which is really awesome to show your child’s work at the end of the year) to completing the experiments and data recording.

As for what this curriculum covers, Apologia’s website states that in this book:

“…your children will begin exploring the dynamics of flight and animal classification, understanding why the design we see in these incredible creatures points us to our Creator God. Then, get ready for the exciting adventure of learning about birds. Your children will learn how to attract various bird species to your yard and identify them by looking at their special physical characteristics, diverse nests, and interesting domestic practices. They will also learn the anatomy and the glorious design that enables birds to do remarkable things. After becoming amateur ornithologists, your children will explore the world of chiropterology, which is the study of bats.”

With that being said, we have had the opportunity to review this book and really love it!  My son asks to do this every day.  He really enjoys science in general, but this book is put into such a great format that it’s easy for him to read through and understand.  He really enjoys the science experiments and getting out and exploring what we’ve learned.  This book is not designed to be read and then answer questions at the end of the chapter – BORING!!!  It’s designed for the student to immerse himself, reading the material, applying what he’s learned in simple experiments or projects and then using the scientific method to complete his work.  It’s a really awesome format and both of my children are really retaining what they’re learning.

I definitely plan on purchasing additional material from Apologia for next year and will continue to use them as our science curriculum from now on.

In summary:

Ø     Price:  $35.00

Ø     Title:  Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 – Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Ø     For Elementary Grades

Ø     No worksheets or boring assignments, hands-on science experiments and projects

Ø     Overall: 

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