Apologia Zoology 1 Book

This wonderful book uses the classical and Charlotte Mason methodology to give elementary school students an introduction to a fascinating study of the creatures created on the Fifth day of the Creation Week. Narration and notebooking are used to encourage critical thinking, logical ordering, retention, and record keeping. Each lesson in the book is organized with a narrative, some notebook work, an activity, and a experiment. Although designed to be read by the parent to elementary students of various grade levels, it is possible for students with a 4th-grade reading level to read this book on their own. The book begins with a lesson on the nature of zoology and their classification signified by their Latin names. It then discusses those animals we think of first when we speak of flying creatures - the birds. For roughly the first 1/3 of the book, students learn about the dynamics of flights, nesting habits, bird songs, migration and other interesting topics concerning birds. After a satisfying look at birds, the student will investigate the life of a flying mammal of the night - the bat! Reptiles also could fly as evidenced by the fossilized remains of Pterosaurs students look back into the past at this interesting flying creature. Finally, the last section of the book turns our eyes toward the part of God's creation that is flying very close by - the multitude of tiny flyers we call insects. As you might expect from a book that uses the Charlotte Mason approach, the student notebook is emphasized in every lesson. Students are told to make illustrations for each lesson and are given notebook assignments to reinforce what they have learned. Notebook assignments include recording birds, bats and insects of your locality. The activities and projects truly make the lessons come alive! They include making several birdfeeders, bird baths, and a bird house. They also create a fossil pterosaur replica, an ant farm and an insect collection. But the star activity, in my opinion is the resurrection of a dead fly. Most importantly, of course, a creationist world view is stressed throughout. Time and time again, God is glorified as the Master Creator of all that the students are studying. In addition, sections entitled "Creation Confirmation" provide evidence for young-earth creationism in the context of the topic that the students are studying. We recommend that you spend the entire year covering this book, devoting approximately two sessions per week to the course. The sessions will be something like 30 minutes to an hour, depending on exactly what you are doing on that day. Of course, if you want to cover the book in less than a year, you will simply have to devote more time to it. Please note that many of the activities and projects in this book are long-term projects whose results can take several days to observe. Thus, you will have to be flexible in how you schedule your time.