I was sent the 2nd Edition Exploring Creation with Biology full set to review courtesy of Apologia Educational Ministries.

This set contains a full biology course text book, solutions and tests, for what is generally a freshman science course. The cost of what I received is approximately $85.00.

One can also purchase a multimedia cd to go along with the text, which contains pronunciations for the technical words in the course, animations used to explain some of the more difficult concepts in the course, and videos of experiments that the student would not be able to do on his or her own. The course could be used in both a co-op or home setting.

This text covers The Study of Life, Kingdom Monera, Kingdom Protista, Kingdom Fungi, The Chemistry of Life, The Cell, Cellular Reproduction and DNA, Mendelian Genetics, Evolution: Part Scientific Theory Part Unconfirmed Hypothesis, Ecology, The Invertebrates of Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Phylum Chordata, Kingdom Plantae: Anatomy and Classification, Kingdom Plantae: Physiology and Reproduction and Reptiles Birds and Mammals, all from a creation perspective. Each chapter contains up to 4 experiments and the experiments are explained very well.

The way the texts are set up, they can be used for one year of study, or for the non-science inclined student they can be stretched out for more than a year if needed.

We have been using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Physical Science in our co-op this past year, and Genius loves it. She does all the book work at home and then they do the experiments as a group at the co-op.

I highly recommend purchasing the multi-media cd if you buy the textbooks, or purchasing the full course on cd-rom (which then includes the multi-media portions within the text itself), even if you only use it for parts of the course the multi-media cd is well worth the cost. It is very informative, and especially great if you can't do the experiments on your own. (The full course on cd-rom is a little cheaper at $65.00, that is what we purchased for the Physical Science course and are not sorry that we did.) Genius loves to watch the multi-media videos just for fun, especially the ones that come with the disclaimer not to try at home!!

We had also purchased a different publisher's science curriculum for use this year (creation based as well), and I have to say the Apologia Science curriculum is much more in depth and easier to use and schedule.

Right as you open the book, there is plenty of support if you need help. Recommended resources for the experiments are listed with prices, so you can just order them from the places suggested or you can do a little bit more leg work, and get them on your own if desired.

The real treasure in Apologia curriculum is that your children will learn, and all from a creation stance. Apologia will teach your children to live and defend their faith from what they've learned in science class, and there is nothing more valuable than that.

We look forward to digging further into the Exploring Creation with Biology course next year with Genius, as we have thoroughly enjoyed our Physical Science course that we've used this past year.

I really recommend the Apologia Science curriculum for all ages of schooling. If you go to their website you can see all the different offerings they have. Also if you are interested in reading reviews from some of elementary/middle school courses they have visit the TOS Crew Blog, where other Crew Mates received different courses to review.