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While Apologia is a program you can use alone, I think there are five must-have resources for Apologia Land Animals that have made our year even better!
We love, love, love Apologia! This is our 4th year using it, and I am praying we can continue using it all the way through high school. Why? Because Apologia works! It’s fun for kids, and it’s not very teacher intensive. This year we are using Apologia Land Animals for my middles 4th grade Science. She says this is her favorite guide so far and is absolutely loving it. While Apologia science is a program you can use alone (learn how to use Apologia Science here), I think there are five must-have resources for Apologia Land Animals that have made our year even better!
Zoo Membership
Okay, we don’t actually live close enough to a zoo to have a membership, but if we did, I would jump at it! We visited Columbus Zoo and Aquarium a few weeks ago and she blew my mind with all the facts she has learned already this year. I shared a few on Instagram, including a fun video where she explained why mountain lions, cougars, and pumas are actually the same thing.
During the course of Apologia Land Animals you are studying many of the animals you would actually SEE in the zoo. If I had a zoo membership I would visit throughout the year. It would be great if you could visit the zoo once a month throughout the year as you study different animal groups.
Notebooking Journal
The notebooking journals offered by Apologia are optional. We have used the prior exploring creation guides and have also used the journals. While they are usually very helpful, there are two courses that I find the notebooking journals to be a CRUCIAL part of the program. One of those is Apologia Land Animals. Many of the projects we have used thus far have required printables that would have otherwise been difficult to obtain. One of those was this population experiment involving cougars. Kristen has also really enjoyed many of the notebooking sheets in the journal.
A Large World Map
One part of Apologia Land Animals that my middle has loved is the Map it activities at the end of each chapter. This project requires her to cut out numerous animals that she has just learned about from her notebooking journal (another reason to have one on hand!). She then places those animals on our large world map. They can easily be removed later if your map is laminated like ours. You can grab one like mine here. My husband placed the map onto a large piece of wood before hanging it on our wall.
Blank Notebook
While the notebooking guide is an important resource in Apologia Land Animals, another resource you may want to have on hand is a blank notebook. At the end of each chapter, the kids can draw tracks from animals they have studied. This is a great resource to have on hand if you go out for a nature walk, or visit a new area while on vacation.
Zoo Creation Guide
Zoos like Columbus zoo and aquarium are a great place to learn about animals, but they are also NOT creation based. Because of this we always take our Zoo creation guide with us before visiting any zoo or aquarium. This resource is full of colorful pictures, animal facts based on creation science, and much more. It is a great resource to have on hand while studying Apologia Land Animals.
These are just a few resources we have found to be very helpful while using Apologia Land Animals. If you are considering Apologia Land Animals let me encourage you to give it a try! It has been a great book so far, and I can’t wait to use it again in a few years with my youngest.