My Animal Notebook

Instilling an academically solid, God-centered understanding of all branches of science from the early elementary years through high school is the mission of this traditional curriculum. Uniquely, Abeka focuses on mastery of the sciences from a young age through two pathways. First, the science curriculum follows a spiral approach to learning, which means students review previously learned concepts each year, expanding on known concepts and learning new material. The second path, if you chose to use Abeka curriculum in other subjects, is the integration of the grade level scope and sequence, which takes the material taught in science and reinforces it in other subjects like language arts and reading comprehension. While this approach is helpful for mastery, it is not necessary to use other Abeka courses to gain a thorough understanding of the sciences. Scripture references are KJV.

Following a traditional philosophy of education, the basic components include a student text and a teacher edition and/or answer key. Student textbooks are full color and written at a level that each learner can read and understand. Teacher edition content will vary depending on the grade. At all grade levels, Abeka science is teacher led and not designed for independent student work, although at the higher levels, students may be able to do some reading and related activities independently. The K-2 teacher guides include all the information needed to teach science successfully from the scope and sequence and lesson plans with teaching notes, to the activity suggestions and answers (except kindergarten). Beginning in Grade 3 through the high school courses, teacher resources have been divided into separate categories. While this may seem overwhelming, targeted teacher resources help parents and teachers find what they need quickly. Additional supplemental resources may be available. Student and teacher books are not reproducible. See individual descriptions for more information. ~Deanne

At the kindergarten level, Abeka prioritizes the 3 Rs: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Families wishing to introduce science in kindergarten have the option to do so using the God's World course. Designed as an interactive course, children read aloud (or co-read with a parent) the lessons from the consumable softcover textbook, which also includes coloring or activity pages. At this level, early learners will focus on familiar topics to inspire their curiosity. Topics include health and the human body, weather, seasons, seeds and plants, animals, and the seashore. The teacher edition includes smaller formatted student pages, discussion questions, simple demonstrations, and hands-on activities to reinforce the lesson. Parents will also find teaching notes, a scope and sequence and brief lesson plans. It is recommended that science begins after the (also optional) social studies material at this level. There are 29 lessons, with a recommended 3 lessons per week, 20 minutes per lesson schedule. Under this plan, students would finish the curriculum in roughly 10 weeks. I appreciate the instinctive flexibility the number of lessons provides which allows parents to prioritize their child's learning needs and family schedule. Student and teacher material is not reproducible.

Beginning in first grade, science and health are separate, complementary courses. Families may choose to do one or both courses. Science in Grades 1-3 introduces children to God the Master Designer and guides them into understanding God's plan for creation. At this level, student textbooks are consumable. Building upon the foundation of God the Master Designer, the upper elementary levels, grades 4-6, teach foundational scientific principles as well as the process. Glorifying God for His magnificent creation is a central theme, as children learn more about God's orderly, law-abiding creation and refute the man-made idea of evolution. Textbooks are no longer consumable at this level, and families will want to purchase the separate activity books and/or test and quiz books. Worth mentioning, Abeka streamlined the 1st and 2nd grade curriculum lesson plans to help homeschool parents of little ones. At this level, lesson plans cover health, science and history, with single subject teacher guides sold separately. Grades 3-6 curriculum lessons plans (sold separately) combine health and science with history. Teacher guides for Grades 1-6 contain reduced-size student pages with the correct answers, margin teaching notes with reading assignments, discussion/explanatory notes, comprehension questions, activities, exercises, and more. Grade K-2 materials are sold individually. Grade 3-6 materials are sold individually or in the Student Kit and Parent Kit at a kit discount. Both the student and parent kits are necessary to teach one student.

In Exploring God's World, students build upon previously learned concepts, and study the days of creation through matter and energy, the earth's atmosphere and surface, the plant world, the solar system, animals and their habitats, and the human body from God's viewpoint. Activities include recording and graphing temperature, soil observations, growing a succulent garden, tracking breathing changes during exercise and more. In grade 3, science is a 24-week course that is followed by health for 10 weeks to complete the school year. Parents should plan on lessons taking 25-30 minutes per day. Grade 3 is the first time where quizzes and tests are introduced for evaluation or record keeping purposes.

Grade 3 components include the consumable student textbook, student text answer key, and the combined homeschool curriculum lesson plans for science and health. The colorfully illustrated textbook includes student readings, hands on activities, and comprehension/critical thinking questions. Activities use easy to find items. Homeschool curriculum lesson plans include the expanded daily lessons for science and health, with optional daily plans for story time, art, music, and library time. Also included are helpful parent teaching notes, comprehension and review questions, enrichment activities, and progress reports for six grading periods. Answers to the student text are found in the student text answer key.

Additional resources include the Quiz, Tests and Worksheet Book; the separate Quiz, Test and Worksheet Answer Key, the Homeschool Science and Health Teaching Charts and the My Animal Notebook. Consumable and not reproducible, the Quiz, Tests and Worksheet Book includes a variety of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, labeling, or matching exercises, which are scheduled in the lesson plans. Also available, the optional Exploring God’s World Teacher Guide provides parents a copy of the Student Book with answers, teaching helps, and extra activities.

There are no answers in the student book. All answers are found in the separate Quiz, Test and Worksheet Answer Key. Grade keeping is not recommended for the first six weeks of science to allow time to teach students how to study for testing.

Colorfully illustrated, the optional but highly recommended, cardstock Homeschool Science and Health Teaching Charts measure 8 ½"x 11". The scientific method, characteristics of various animals, the solar system, body systems, nutrition, place setting, and much more are part of the 36 teaching charts. It also includes numerous perforated cutouts for learning activities. Also, optional and highly recommended, the My Animal Notebook teaches animal classification. The goal is for students to personalize it with their own pictures and animal reports. Instructions for using My Animal Notebook are included in the homeschool curriculum lesson plans for science and health.

Also available are the grade 3 Science and Health Child Kit and the Science and Health Parent Kit (See Health for the description of the companion Health course). The Child Kit includes the Exploring God's World student text, Quiz/Test and Worksheet Book, My Animal Notebook and the Health, Safety and Manners 3 student book and the Health, Safety and Manners 3 Quiz, Test and Worksheet book. The Parent Kit includes the Homeschool Science and Health 3 Curriculum Lesson Plans, Exploring God's World Answer Key, Exploring God's World Quiz/Test and Worksheet Key, the Health, Safety and Manners 3 Answer Key and Health, Safety, and Manners Quiz/Test/Worksheet Key, and the Homeschool Science and Health Teaching Charts.