Scroll down to read the answers to the following questions:
With which book should I begin?
My child is in sixth grade and will only be doing one of your books before moving on to General Science. Which book should we do?
My child has not had a lot of science. Should we do the elementary course in seventh and move on to General Science in eighth?
Will I need to do Zoology 1 before Zoology 2?
Will I need to do Zoology 1 and 2 before Zoology 3?
What other books do you plan to write for this series?
What is the ideal age for this series?
Do you have a schedule? How many times a week should I do science and for how long?
Do the books take a year to comlete?
Frequently Asked Questions
With which book should I begin?
The books do not need to be done in any certain order. I recommend you begin with which ever book you and your children believe to be the most interstesting right now. Follow your interests.
If you choose to do Zoology II before Zoology I, your child will not get a detailed look into animal classification or endangered species. These two topics are discussed in the first lesson of Zoology I. However, this first lesson of Zoology I is the sample lesson available for download from Apologia and this website. You are free to print it up and discuss these topics with your children if you desire for them to learn about them before you begin Zoology II.
My child is in sixth grade and will only be doing one of your books before moving on to General Science. Which book should we do?
Even though your child will only be doing one book, I still recommend you choose the book that most interests your child. Your child will learn and retain a lot more if he or she is interested in the subject. If you only do one book in the series, your child will still be grounded in good, strong, in-depth science and fully prepared to move into the General Science course in seventh grade.
If your child has no prefrence, I would choose botany, as the biological concepts found in this book are important throughout high school and college science.
My child has not had a lot of science. Should we do the elementary course in seventh and move on to General Science in eighth?
Although I think your child would enjoy and learn a lot from the elementary courses, I don't recommend that you wait to do General Science. Begin General Science in seventh grade even if you have not done a great deal of science in the past.
Will I need to do Zoology 1 before Zoology 2?
There are some concepts explained throughout the Zoology I course which will not be explained again in Zoology II. These concepts cover topics such as, endangered species, parasites, animal classification and other important zoological areas of interest.
However, this does not mean that you cannot do Zoology II before Zoology I. It only means that you may have to explain the meaning of certain terminology if you choose to do the Zoology series out of order.
Will I need to do Zoology 1 and 2 before Zoology 3?
The answer to this question is a bit different than the above. Zoology 3 covers the land animals created on the sixth day. There are so many animals to cover and so many concepts as well. Thus, there isn't space to review the foundational information found in Zoology 1 and Zoology 2, such as arthropods, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, animal classification and more. Information about the phylum should be known and understood while the student is learning of the animal class, order or family. All these foundational concepts are covered in both Zoology 1 and Zoology 2. It is recommended that you complete both Zoology 1 and Zoology 2 before moving on to Zoology 3.
What other books do you plan to write for this series?
At present, we have a Chemistry/Physics combination book planned, as well as the third book in the Zoology series that will cover the land dwelling animals such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, worms and more. We also may include an Anatomy book in 2009.
What is the ideal age for this series?
Because children vary greatly in their ability to focus, listen, understand and even care about science concepts, this is a difficult question to answer. I generally recommend children ages six through twelve do this series. The six year old will not be able to grasp as much information as the twelve year old, nor remember it as long as the mature mind of a child heading into the middle school years. However, your younger students will be given an opportunity that is usually not offered a child of that age: the opportunity to learn scientific concepts usually reserved for much older students.
Some children at the age of six are fascinated with scientific information, while their older sibling may be not quite as eager to learn. The series is written at the fifth grade level, but it was written with entire families in mind. Complicated concepts, suitable for older elementary students, are explained so that a young elementary student can grasp them without much effort.
Do you have a schedule? How many times a week should I do science and for how long?
The books are designed to take a year with the typical family doing science a couple of days per week. However, every family is different and that is why I don't publish a schedule. Some families can listen to longer reading sessions while others aren't able to listen to reading for more than fifteen minutes at a time. Some families do science every day. Some only do science once a week. Every family is unique. You will need to determine what is best for your family.
The reading sessions in these books have many natural breaks. When you feel your family has read enough, simply place a book mark in the book and set it down for the time being. When ready to resume your science studies, pick up the book and begin where you left off. It's as simple as that.
You can end each reading session with the creation of a notebook page if you wish. At the end of every lesson are notebook page projects, activities, and ideas for you to complete.
I'm aware that many homeschoolers prefer to work from a schedule that ensures they will finish within a given time frame. On the Elementary Apologia Email Loop (join from my home page), there are many ladies that have published schedules. You are welcome to join the loop and look through the files section to find these schedules if you prefer to work from one.
Do the books take a year to complete?
The answer to this question is determined by each and every family. Some choose to immerse themselves in the topic, adding in field trips and other projects to make the subject a year long pursuit. Others prefer to complete the book in less time. The books are designed to allow flexibility for your unique family to do whatever is best for you. Spending a year on the book will allow maximum retention, while spending half year will allow you to complete more books in this series before you begin upper level science.
Some people believe their children will get bored with the subject over a year. Yet, each lesson provides brand new material, with new information and interesting creation arguments, as well as completely new hands-on projects and experiments. Most children do not get bored with subjects in school unless mom is bored by those subjects. We define life and reactions for our children. Our excitement for a subject is contagious. Our children will love the subjects we love. If your eyes light up, so will theirs. If you smile and show excitement and interest in the subjects you teach them, they will adopt the same attitude. Think back to your childhood; do you remember a class that you enjoyed in high school? What was the teacher like? Most likely, he or she loved the subject matter they were teaching, and you learned to love the subject matter because you "caught" the teacher's excitement for it. Our children will retain excitement as long as we do.
However, if you are anxious to learn about more science topics and wish to do two books in a year, there are many who have chosen to do the same. They will either switch back and forth every other month or so, or complete one book and begin the other.
