We have a shark lover in the family. Our littlest girl has continued a study of sharks – especially hammerhead sharks – since she was a kindergartener. She picked up an Extreme Sharks book with a birthday bookstore gift card and has been devouring books on the topic ever since. That’s when Apologia Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day came into our lives.
We received these Apologia Young Explorers Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day resources in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and we love the benefits and blessings we are continuing to see from this multi-age study. Please see our disclosure policy.
She put together a science fair project entitled Question: How are Sharks and Humans Alike? Different? (which she won a first place ribbon for – and top honors overall for the entire science fair!) We even went to the local Georgia Aquarium for her sixth birthday.
Apologia Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day
I share all that background so you will know that when it came time to choose a science course for our high schoolers, we thought, “Why not marine biology?” And why not make a family study of it? And so we did. For our elementary ages we are enjoying Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creature of the Fifth Day. We gathered resources and have been learning about marine biology with all our multiple ages – a kindergartener, 2nd grader, 6th grader, 9th grader and 10th grader.
If that sounds complicated, it’s not. Doing our studies together means less work for mom! Plus, the younger ones build the excitement for the older children and the older children help the younger ones learn as well. Apologia provides the educational materials to spur us on and make it happen!
Our Homeschool Studies Include These Apologia Resources
We are enjoying these resources for our youngest three children together. I’ll be sharing a review of the high school level resources in the near future. Today I want you to know about:
Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day
This text uses an immersion approach. “A child that has focuses on one subject throughout an entire year is being challenged mentally in ways that will develop his ability to think critically and retain complex information.”
The Young Explorers series of Apologia texts, like this Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day, have these components:
- Lessons
- Narration
- Notebooks
- Projects
- Experiments
Which also includes:
- Instructions for the teacher and a suggested schedule (e.g., a two week schedule for each lesson: reading and notebook assignments during the first week and the experiments and data recording during the second week).
- Gorgeous photographs of sea creatures with interesting facts in the captions
- Aquatic Animals
- Whales
- Seals and Sea Cows
- Aquatic Herps
- Primeval Reptiles
- Fish
- Sharks and Rays
- Crustaceans
- Mollusks
- Cephalopods
- Echinoderms
- Cindarians
- Sponges
- Prompts for the student to complete the accompanying notebook pages
- What do you remember? discussion questions
- Suggested project or experiment
Zoology 2 Notebooking Journal
- Do you know what is the very best for the teacher? All the pages are in one spot. This is a spiral bound notebooking journal.
- Take it with you in the car, pull it out at the kitchen table.
- The contents follow along the studies of the textbook.
- Bible verses on all coloring pages.
- Pre-lined notebooking pages.
- Vocabulary crossword puzzles.
- Directions for swimming creatures’ projects including lapbooks, mini books.
- scientific speculation sheets.
Jr. Zoology 2 Notebooking Journal
Lined notebooking pages for beginning writers.
- coloring pages
- puzzles!
- copywork, vocabulary stories
- minibooks, mobiles and fun projects
- pages for zoology drawings and zoology field trips
- premade, color cut outs for projects
- scientific speculation sheets.
What Age is the Young Explorer Series For?
We are using Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day with our K, 2nd and 6th graders. “The elementary series is designed for grades K-6.”
How We Use Apologia’s Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day in our Homeschool
I have found that I can be very flexible with these resources. We use them for:
Read Aloud Time – even though our eldest two are high schoolers and have their own Apologia Marine Biology text, reading the sections aloud together is a huge benefit. Someone always has something to share that we all benefit from – a thought or a fact just recently learned.
Independent Reading – my sixth grade, middle schooler can pull the textbook off the shelf and read her lesson – and even sometimes read ahead.
What We Love About Apologia Swimming Creatures Studies
- “I LOVE the copywork!! The notebook is the best! …now I get to do it in cursive!” ~6th grader
- I love everyone learning together. Discussions about zooplankton, abysmal animals, tides over afternoon ice cream – unprompted.
- “I love learning about all the creatures and making them in the ocean box!” ~ 2nd grader
Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. Psalm 69:34
You might also be interested in how we are incorporating field trips to the local aquarium and the full list of our marine biology resources for multiple ages.
Where can you find the Apologia Science Young Explorer series?
Find each of the titles at the Apologia website. There you can view experiment materials, lab list, FAQs, sample notebooking pages and more.
Be sure to check out my Apologia Marine Biology high school course review.
Homeschooling for over seventeen years now, Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos with five children. She is author of You ARE an artist art curriculum for all ages and helpful homeschool habits at Hodgepodge. She and her husband, Steve, are owners of The Curriculum Choice.
-originally published 2013
My dd is dying to move into Zoology 2 since we already completed level 1 (I’d simply buy it if I could). That is the book I would choose 🙂
Thanks for hosting the giveaway, and for the excellent review!
I would ask my kids which book they would like to use first. My guess is that they would either choose the Flying Creatures or Anatomy. But, my children might just surprise me and pick an entirely different topic. All are terrific choices! Thank you for a great giveaway and a very helpful, detailed review.
We have used Apologia in our home and we really like it! We would probably get either Zoology 3- Land Animals or Chemistry and Physics. Those are the two we have our eye on right now.
We are doing the Zoology 1 this year and will continue through the other 2 “creatures” books. I am hoping we can do Astronomy or Botany over the summer months. 🙂
Love, love, love Apologia. We are presently on chapter 6 in botany and plan to begin Astronomy next. Would love to add sea creatures as we are getting an aquarium in Austin and will be a hot topic soon in our home. Thanks for the opportunity and review.
I have been looking at the Astronomy set for next year. I think my 2nd and kindergartener would be very interested in learning about “outer space”!
We are currently using Apologia’s Botany curriculum, and really enjoying it! I would love to try Zoology next year!
I would love to try their Who is God? series too.
What a blessing to win this!
My high schooler is doing Apologia Physics, and my 8th grader is doing Apologia Physical science. I love the layout, pictures, and interesting things in Apologia. Definitely want to use it for my younger kids next year!
And I think my choice would be the Ocean Creatures…….
We are borrowing the Swimming Creatures one right now. Would love to have one of our own.
We love Apologia science, too. We are on our second year. First year we did Zoology 1 Flying Creatures and this year we are studying Astronomy. Love how this science is Creation based. Would love to win this one!
We would choose the Anatomy study, we have recently started a science unit about the human body. This would compliment it very well and also give my daughter more info to “grow into”. She is 3 1/2 now.
We are doing an Apologia science course for the first time this year and LOVE it. I want to try their Bible curriculum next year.
We love Apologia! We are currently working on Flying Creatures. We can’t wait to start Swimming Creatures next summer.
We have more than “considered” using Apologia, we are and have been using the Young Explorer Series for the last few years. We have already completed Zoology 1 & 2 and are currently working our way through Zoology 3 (Land Animals.) We will need a new book for next year, so if we win, we will either choose the Anatomy & Physiology book or the Chemistry and Physics book. Thank you for the chance to win, and I hope you continue to enjoy Swimming Creatures!
We are using Apologia’s Swimming Creatures this year and would like to use the new Chemistry/ Physics book for next year or the Land Animals book. Science is semi delight driven and I have a girl that loves zoology!
All of them. They come highly recommended and look very fun!
Love love love Apologia’s science
Astronomy– honestly, we would love them all! Thank you for having this giveaway!
We have most of the elementary books and my kids love them! We would love to have Zoology 3 to round out our collection.
This would be a great way to kick off our school year next year since we are planning to start Apologia with both of our girls. They love marine life, so we would be glad to have these!
Love Apologia’s science
My kids took an Apologia Astronomy class at their co-op, but the swimming creatures is what I’m most drawn to for at-home use! They’re fun, thorough and fit the kids’ interests. I’m also planning to start the kids on the “What we believe” series next year – it’s important to us to build our kids a strong foundation of faith that can stand up to all the misinformation being spoken as truth.
My kids love nature study of all kinds so it would be a hard choice!! We would probably choose Astronomy because it’s the one I know the least about 🙂
Love Apologia Science! We are doing Flying Creatures right now.
We love Apologia science and biblical worldview curriculums. We actually haven’t had the chance to purchase the Swimming Creatures..we would love to study this.
We are using Zoology 3 Land Animals with our 1st grader this year and are loving it!! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
We use and love Apologia sciences in our homeschool. I’ve been considering their bible as well, the reviews I see online look great!
We not only considered, but we chose to use Botany this year! We LOVE it!
We have been using Apologia for several years & LOVE it!! We are looking forward to a few more years of their wonderful books. 🙂
We have used Apologia for a few years now. I’d love to try Anatomy next.
I was thinking about trying physics/chemistry next year.
I love all the Apologia elementary science and worldview curriculum!
We love Apologia books! We are doing this study right now!
we are using the Astronomy for k-2nd and love it!
We would love to try either Zooligy or Land Animals.
We already use the science curriculum and LOVE it! We are considering the Biblical worldview addition… I Love their real world, hands on approaches to learning.
We are considering the Astronomy curriculum.
We’ve never used Apologia for science. We’d love to try it.
They all look great, but I’d like to try the Anatomy book. What an awesome giveaway!
We’d like to start with zoology 1 & “Who Is God?” We’ve already done astronomy & loved it!
My son is dying to do the anatomy one, but we are going through others first. We are currently doing flying creatures, but also have astronomy waiting for us.
We are currently using the Astronomy Apologia book and love it. I am looking forward to use all of them.
Thank you for sharing your review. BLessings.
I have been interested in ALL of Apologia’s resources. Science and Biblical worldview is so amazing.
Definitely the Elementary Science books – we used one and loved it and hope to incorporate another soon. Great across the span of ages in my clan.
we just got the general science from apologia and we like it a lot for my daughter but we need a book for my son he would love this science book.
The Zoology series…I have two out of three kiddos that are animal crazy!
We have used many of the Apologia resources and enjoyed them all. My daughter loves health and would enjoy the anatomy title.
We would are using Apologia’s Botany this year and loving it. Would love to continue with this series in the future.
Entering your amazing giveaway for a friend who is in love with these….would love Flying Creatures!
We are doing this curriculum this year as well and the kids love it so far! If I had a choice we would get botany or anatomy 🙂
We are currently using Apologia Astronomy. Absolute love it! We will be doing Biology next unless my daughter talks me into zoology!
We have used Apologia for years and loved them all! I think about the only one we have used at this point is the Human Body and I’m looking forward to using that one.
I have used their General Science with my big kids. I want them all 😉 I think the one we would enjoy the most is the Astronomy one. We live in the country and we can see a lot of stars and Venus and sometimes other planets. My 5 yo son has always been interested in planets.
WE would like to try the Zoology Series
This is pretty exciting! This is my first year of homeschooling my 6 year old with autism spectrum disorder, and I’ve been using Time4Learning. I reasoned that the online curriculum would appeal to her sensory issues. However, she prefers the worksheets! Ha! So now I’m wishing I had invested in Apologia and other homeschool curriculums instead. Well, really it’s not too late, but I need to take the plunge(s)!
We are currently doing Apologia’s Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. We will soon need to start Swimming Creatures and I’d love to win it. We use the Apologia science with my 6th grader, 4th grader, and kindergartener. The preschooler listens in sometimes too.
We’ve used the astronomy and I would love to have the botany one 🙂
I love the look on your daughter’s face in that photo! Priceless! I love the science and I want to use them all with my son, so I’ve had my eye on them all.
Oh, I would love to try apologia!!
We would love to try Flying Creature 🙂 We have done Land Animals and Swimming Creatures and loved them! We love Apologia!
We are using the Chemistry & Physics in our co-op this year. My daughter loves it! I would be interested in any of their products.
We just bought astronomy, but I know my husband wants chemistry and physics!
I would love to win the Apologia Human Anatomy as it looks like a wonderful way to learn about the functions of the body! We have used other Apologia Science books and loved them!
We purchased new from a homeschool friend “Flying creatures of the fifth day” this year but haven’t started it yet. I think that the swimming creatures study would be right up my soon to be 9 yr. olds alley! I love the Jr. notebooking journals. I also have a soon to be 7yr. old & the Jr. journals would be just right for us to study together.
We haven’t used any Apologia Science in the past, but have heard great things about them. At this point, any of them would be wonderful to add in.
I would love to get the zoology book for my fifth grader.
We would like to study Swimming Creatures, Land Animals and the worldview curricula.
We have used Apologia in the past and have loved it! We would love to more:) Thanks for an awesome giveaway!
My daughter is dreaming of this product to study Zoology II & III…..she agreed to do chemistry with he brother, yet all of her side research is animals! What a great review!
I am considering astronomy for my kindergartner.
I would love to have the new Exploring Creation through Chemistry and Physics for my son who LOVES learning about machines!
My son loves astronomy and oceanography so I’ve looked into both of Apologia’s books in this series. I’ve also been reading about the What We Believe series and would love to work it into my plans for next year. I’m seeing how important open discussions about worldview are more and more these days.
I’ve just started looking into the Young Explorer for my son for next year!
Love Apologia! I have a budding marine biologist, so any of the sea animal courses will be great!
we are currently using creation thru astronomy by apologia. my 3rd grade homeschooler just loves it!
I’d love to have any of the books – I’ve been hoping to find a deal on the astronomy one soon.
I’ve been dying to get Apologia science for my kids. Haven’t been able to afford it yet, but I’m saving up!
My daughter is so hoping to do the anatomy apologia study next!
My fourth grade daughter is enjoying learning from her swimming creatures study! Enjoying science, that’s something that makes Mom happy too !!
I really like all of the elementary items available because the kids love it!
How exciting! We are preparing to embark on our home schooling adventure next year and Apologia is on my list for curriculum. I would LOVE to start with their Astronomy course.
We’re using Apologia’s astronomy this year. So far, we love it. I hope to use more in the future.
I am considering using Apologia’s Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day or Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day. My family would really enjoy studying either one of these topics. However, a particular little girl would most likely choose Land Animals. Thank you for the chance to win this outstanding curriculum.
I forgot to explain why I would chose the Land Animals. My daughter is obsessed with learning about animals. Several subjects that she asked me to teach her about are listed in the table of contents. I try very hard to choose topics that she is interested in so that the learning comes more natural. She seems to be more intrigued and motivated to learn about a subject she has chosen rather than one that I try to force on her.
I am especially in love with their Science books. It has a Biblical worldview, it’s in-depth and it seems like a perfect fit for my 10 yo.
We are loving the Apologia Swimming Creatures, as well. We will probably do Zoology 1: Flying Creatures next year.
I used select portions of the Botany set with my boys in the spring for a unit study before planting our garden this year. I’m definitely planning to use the high school series for both sons when they hit that age…still trying to decide between Apologia science for middle school or something else…
ANY of them since they are from a Bible perspective.
I have considered all of the elementary science books! I think I’m most interested in Botany and Astronomy.