Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. is proud to present the second book in its Young Explorer Series. This elementary-level science curriculum uses the Charlotte Mason methodology to give elementary school students an introduction to the incredible world of plants.
The 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, how plants get their water and nutrients, and how water and nutrients are distributed throughout the different plant structures. Students are then given some in-depth information about specific types of plants such as trees, ferns, and mosses.
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 collecting plants from the categories that are being studied, labeling the parts of a flower, making a "comic book" story of the life of a flower, making bark rubbings, and identifying leaves.
The activities and projects use easy-to-find household items and truly make the lessons come alive! They include making a "light hut" in which to grow plants, dissection of a bean seed, growing seeds in plastic bags to watch the germination process, making a leaf skeleton, observing how plants grow towards light, measuring transpiration, forcing bulbs to grow out of season, and forcing pine cones to open and close.
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.
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