Apologia Botany Elementary
Young Explorer Series Exploring Creation with Botany by Jeannie Fulbright For Used Apologia Science - Elementary and High School

Young Explorer Series

Exploring Creation with Botany by Jeannie Fulbright

This is an in-depth study of the plant kingdom  for students from about first through sixth grade. The text is written in an captivating Charlotte Mason style like the Apologia  Astronomy book for elementary children. There are explanations and descriptions that are written for a child to comprehend easily and at that appropriate reading level. No need to  stop and define words. since everything is explained simply and thoroughly, perfect for the ages it was written for.  Since the book is written for a wide range of ages (6-12), it is easy to use with all of your children together or at least those that are younger than seventh grade.

This book begins with a lesson on the nature of botany and the process of classifying plants. It then discusses the development of plants from seeds, the reproduction processes in plants, the way plants make their food, and how plants get their water and nutrients and distribute them throughout the body of the plant. As students study these topics, they also learn about many different kinds of plants in creation and where they belong in the plant classification system.

The activities and projects use easy-to-find household items and truly make the lessons come alive!  This is the part of the study that my four boys would have loved if this book had been around when they were in elementary grades. The projects include these and more:

• making a “light hut” in which to grow plants
• dissection of a bean seed
• growing seeds in plastic bags to watch the germination process
• observing how plants grow towards light
• measuring transpiration, forcing bulbs to grow out of season
• making a leaf skeleton
• forcing pine cones to open and close

The publisher and author recommend that you spend the whole school year to complete this book, using two sessions each week to the work through the course. Some of the activities and projects in the book are long-term and results of these can take several days to observe. For projects like these, you will need to have a flexible schedule.

The author of the Young Explorer Series of Apologia is Jeannie Fulbright. On her website, she writes this about homeschooling her children:

"I so very much love homeschooling, though non-homeschoolers can’t comprehend that sentiment – especially if I were to relate what it is really like. I used to pray for it to be easier. But I’ve learned that the only way it will be easier is if I change my attitude about it. My present desire is that my heart will change, that I would no longer wish for homeschooling to be quiet and peaceful and smooth sailing, but that I would have a willing heart to embrace and enjoy it the way it is today. For this is the way that the Lord has ordained it, and these little rambunctious boys and girls are my gifts to treasure, train and love. If the day is chaotic, I desire that my heart would be submitted to that with joy. If school takes all day, I want to remember that God is in control and He sets my schedule, not I. I want to homeschool as unto the Lord, not unto myself. For if I get irritated and upset because things didn’t go as planned, or as easily as I wished, then I’m saying my plan for my day was better than God’s. And because God’s plan happened, which was out of my control, then I want to be thankful and joyful anyway.

So, these are my high hopes for myself. And I pray that this year, the Lord will accomplish in me all that I hope He will." You can read more from Jeannie at JeannieFulbright.com

So now there are two high acclaimed  science curricula for homeschooling elementary children:  Considering God's Creation which we reviewed recently and Apologia's Young Explorer Series-Exploring Creation by Jeannie Fulbright.

Homeschooled Engineers

Nathan (at  left: Mechanical Engineering-2008) & Lane (at right: Electrical Engineering-2009)

After over 12 years of homeschooling, then community college, then the university, our two oldest sons each received a B.S. in engineering at Mississippi State University.

Homeschool gave Lane and Nathan the freedom to pursue their own interests. Their creative ideas were encouraged and enabled. We often gave them time away from some of their traditional school assignments to get really involved in a project. I count these delight directed studies as some of the best learning opportunities in homeschool. Children are like sponges for learning the things that interest them.

If you have a budding engineer, provide him/her time, space, and materials to work on projects. There are so many great building sets available. The time your child spends building is not wasted time. They may be building important things one day soon and making a living for their families with their building expertise.

Also, help your children see the relationship between math and every kind of problem solving. Students often bewail the lack of practical use of algebra and other math disciplines.  It is important to demonstrate and teach your children the day to day application of math, but also, they need to realize that the problem solving that is involved in math work is applicable to problem solving in all areas of life (especially engineering!)

Lane Builds with Fishertechnique Set

One note to other parents of children who have a strong interest in engineering with a relatively weak preparation during high school. Both of our sons, because of jobs (and other interests) during high school/homeschool, didn't go beyond Algebra 2. They both went to community college, starting with College Algebra, then Trig, then Cal I, II, III, IV and so on.

When they went to college, they succeeded because they were serious students with determination to do whatever was required,  not because of excellent high school prep. When they got to the university, occasionally, they would drop a course that they got a bad start in, and begin again the next semester with a head start.   This is expensive, but is worth it if necessary. They also took advantage of limited "Grade Forgiveness" to retake a course.

At MSU, engineering is one of the few (or only?) majors that doesn't require foreign language in high school or college.

Used Homeschool Curriculum Searches for Textbooks and Workbooks

homeschool curriculum engineering are some of the homeschool curriculum and other resources that homeschool families need. What homeschool books are you looking for? Go to our MASTER MENU or use the SEARCH box in the sidebar.

Science is central ,but your children will also be practicing phonics, handwriting, and math in this unit study that keeps little hands busy.

I have included a picture of a sample from this science folder set:
The butterfly is covered with little balls of colorful tissue paper making it vibrantly bright!

Another folder activity shows a jar of lightening bugs to count, a Bible verse about letting your light shine before men,  includes letter practice (the letter "i" and "I"), an insect jar where children can glue different types of insects (after they learn about them), and also a matching game where your child can thread yearn through the holds to connect the two insects that are alike.

Remember, Curr Click has one or more free product downloads every week. Get this set free this week or visit Curr Click to see what is available for free download if you visit this post another week when this particularly product is no longer available for free.

Homeschool Science for Young Children