Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition by Dr. Laura Chase from Apologia Review

I’m excited to share with you the newest highschool curriculum from Apologia Educational Ministries and their Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition by Dr. Laura Chase. This could not have come at a more perfect time. Our state this year has recently added having a health course for one of the graduation requirements. When I received the Health and Nutrition Basic Set it was truly an answered prayer this year. I love that it comes from a Biblical perspective. 

Apologia has been a favorite in my homeschool for many years.  I love that Apologia teaches from a Biblical Worldview and I trust their material whole heartily with my children. 

 Apologia has a free activity book you can download.

The Health and Nutrition Basic Set comes with the Student Textbook and the Student Notebook. You also have access to the downloadable PDF Solution Manuals. There is also book extras which you will need a password to access this section. The password is included in your book. The book extras also has links to several websites.

This is intended for grades 8 to 12. This also meets the requirement for a full 1 credit course for High School. This is a full year study for health and nutrition.

Please keep in mind that the Student Notebook is for one student and you will need to purchase additional copies for other students.

Health and Nutrition Textbook:

Like all of Apologia’s products it is top notch quality. It’s a hardback book. The text is full colored and illustrated appropriately for the intended ages. The binding will last through several children using it throughout the years. My son is right around the corner with using this curriculum.

The chapters are set up as “Modules” and there are 15 Modules that are broken down into several subtopics. Within each module there are several projects that are included in the Student Notebook for you to complete. 

You’re going to learn about genetics and some basic DNA Structure and the human genome and how it makes you who you are. The brain and how it works, thyroid, and health issues. Mental illness is another topic that is explained and it goes over several mental disorders.  I love that it goes over the importance of family, friends, and building interpersonal relationships and how cultures are different in that aspect. Your senses and how they work, and issues that affect them, food and healthy eating, exercise, and a lot of other important issues. Just so you know it goes over drug abuse, reproduction of both genders, and some details about it along with other related topics, and STDs. It’s all God centered and very impressive.

The modules are:

Module 1: Who Am I And Why Does it Matter?

 Module 2: Physical Influences on Thoughts and Feelings

Module 3: Mental And Emotional Stability

Module 4: Interpersonal Harmony

Module 5: Treasuring Your Senses

Module 6: Processing Nourishment And Hydration

Module 7: Food Science I-Macronutrients

Module 8: Food Science II-Micronutrients

Module 9: Let’s Look At What You Eat

Module 10: Delivering The Oxygen

Module 11: Let’s Move

Module 12: You’re Stronger Than You Look

Module 13: At War With Infection

Module 14: Peace In Difficult Times

Module 15: The Gift Of Reproduction

The Student Notebook

This is a spiral bound notebook that has learning activities for every module and plenty of room to take notes while reading your textbook. 

There is also a grading rubric and a section to record the grades.

I would recommend you read the Introduction as a parent and have your student read it. It goes over several aspects of the Student Notebook. They recommend you take notes while reading the Student Textbooks to help you do the activities throughout each module. There is plenty of space provided but, it wouldn't hurt to have paper available if needed. There are a few other basic supplies you will need listed at the front of the book.

The Student Notebook is an essential part of the program and honestly it is necessary to fully utilize the curriculum. There is also a Solutions PDF that has all the answers to the questions for checking your teens work in the notebook. Also, you will need to download the Test Solutions which is also a PDF. This can be found in the book extras online. 

There is a suggested schedule of 3 days a week which would take you throughout the school year. If you do 5 days in the week you could easily finish this in a semester. 

The author suggests keeping a food and health journal throughout your study.

How did I use Health and Nutrition in my homeschool?

My daughter is now in 10^th grade and I’m trying to deny that my little girl is growing up so fast! My daughter has a lot of special needs and is all over the board with her skill level. We had to adapt this to fit my daughter’s special needs and it was easy to adapt. Trust me not all curriculums are easy to adapt! I decided to do 5 days a week during the review period and afterwards I may do 2xs a week for her and take it into next year with her. That’s the beauty of homeschooling is that I can adapt to her needs. She actually did really good doing 5 days a week this summer. Since we started school this week I will have to see what will work best for her. I image at the most 3 days a week for her.  

We started out with me reading the textbook to her. She didn’t take any notes due to her arthritis and dysgraphia. I would look over the textbook the night before and make stopping points so we could stop and work on the Student Notebook after it spoke of a certain topic. I wanted to make sure that she retained the information before we got too much information for her. 

The first module “Who Am I And Why Does it Matter?” went over genetics and how they affect who we are. This is a topic that my daughter actually found extremely interesting and we had to take a rabbit trail to talk about her genetic disorder and how it affects her. 

Afterwards we learned about temperaments and she had to answer some questions about how she would react in situations and what she would do. Some questions she said, “I wouldn’t do anything from those multiply choice questions!” I had to adjust situations that fit into her world on a few of them. We had fun and she thought the activity was interesting. We took turns on writing as I would let her dictate to me what to write.

Towards the end of each module there is a study guide that highlights some important information that they learned and will answer the questions. 

The modules end in a test. There are three modules that don’t have test.

I’m extremely impressed with Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition. It’s packed with information that is important for our teens to know at this time in their lives. They need to be informed to make sound decisions when it comes to their health, body, and mind. I really like all the topics that are covered. I never have to worry about what Apologia is going to teach and whether it is appropriate for my beliefs. Apologia's Biblical foundation is solid. 

The only think I would like to see added is an option for an Audio Book. My daughter would be able to be a bit more independent if this was available. 

If you’re need a health curriculum that is from a Biblical Worldview I think you’ll be impressed with Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition by Dr. Laura Chase. 

Social Media:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/apologiaworld    Tag:   @apologiaworld 
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/apologiaworld      Tag:   @apologiaworld 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/apologia/            Tag:   @apologia 
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/apologiaworld            Tag:   @apologiaworld 
Google+:  https://plus.google.com/105053356034237782125 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/apologiaworld 

Twenty-four other members from the Homeschool Review Crew have been using this for the last several weeks. Stop by and see what they have to say about Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition by Dr. Laura Chase.