Many homeschooling parents become intimidated when it comes to teaching upper level science courses. I have used several different highschool science programs and both my children and I have found Apologia, by Dr. James Wile, to be excellent.

The Apologia science line has grown over the last several years to include:

General Science (7th grade)
Physical Science (8th grade)
Biology (9th grade)
Chemistry (10th grade)
Physics (11th grade)

Advanced courses:

The Human Body (advanced biology)
Marine Biology (written by Sherri Seligson in the Apologia format)
Advanced Chemistry
Advanced Physics

My children and I have personally used Physical Science, Biology and The Human Body, advanced biology. The books are decidely Christian, very interesting and well-written in a conversational tone.

Experiments are presented throughout the book to help reinforce understanding of the concepts taught. The general and pysical science courses include experiments that are done with easy-to-find materials, though it is a good idea to check and make sure that you have all needed items ahead of time, so you won't be running to the store for a missing item.

The biology course is written so that it is easy to skip the experiments requiring a microscope if you cannot afford one, as there are plenty of experiments that don't require a microscope.

I highly recommend getting all of the suggested experiment supplies for the advanced courses, as they become a more integral part of the course. My 11th grade daughter thoroughly enjoyed going through her advanced biology course. She typed her own blood, dissected a cow heart and a fetal pig!

Last, but certainly not least, Apologia Educational Ministries offers ongoing support. They have a contact number and contact e-mail address at the front of the book. My children found the concepts in the book well-explained and never did contact Apologia, but the offered curriculum support could become important with more math-heavy science subjects, such as chemistry and physics.

In summary, Apologia's educational materials are excellent. They have withstood the test of this very picky homeschooling mom and recieved a thumbs-up from all of my children, which is really saying something!

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