Do you ever get the feeling that some of the information you’re teaching your kids is a waste of time? Have your kids ever asked you why they have to learn about so many things that they’ll never use later in life?
If so, then you’ll be happy to hear about Apologia’s new Health and Nutrition high school level science course.
Chock full of relevant information that WILL benefit your teen to learn, this Health and Nutrition course is definitely worth checking out! I was given the opportunity to try this class for free and I was compensated for my time but I promise that I’m sharing my honest opinion with you.
Apologia products have long been the standard when it comes to preparing kids for college-level science, AP or CLEP tests, and/or pursuing scientific careers. They do a fantastic job of teaching science from a Christian worldview while making sure kids are aware of the secular scientific views as well.
I’ve always appreciated how they explain how the Christian worldview is more scientifically sound while being honest about the areas where Christians may struggle to come up with explanations.
What’s So Special About this High School Health Class?
Sometimes it’s hard to get teens to understand why they need to learn so much about science if they aren’t planning to pursue a scientific career. But this Health and Fitness course is beneficial to everyone no matter what type of career they are working toward.
Most health courses cover the nervous system, the senses, the reproductive system, and the immune system. However, this course teaches about these subjects and so much more!
Here are a few of things it delves into that really impressed me:
- The inestimable value of another human being
- Communication skills
- Courtesy for building good relationships
- Temperament
- Fresh, frozen, canned, and dry foods
- Food preservatives
- Color and flavor additives
- Choosing joy in Spiritual Life
- Preserving Contentment
These topics are VITAL for our teens to understand in order to lead healthy, balanced lives. And it’s obvious that the author of this course values the mind, body, and spirit of the student.
I love the fact that the textbook starts right out by telling students they are designed by God:
What You Get With This Course
- Student Textbook – Includes most of the reading, On Your Own Questions, and sets up the projects your teen should complete throughout the course
- Student Notebook – Areas to take notes while reading the textbook, On Your Own Questions with space provided for answers, more details about projects, study guides, tests, a chart for recording grades, and a suggested daily schedule.
- Online Supplemental Info – As always, Apologia provides an online supplemental area which contains test solutions, study guide solutions, and all sorts of extra reading suggestions for each module. This is a great resource for whenever your teen is excited about a specific topic and he or she would like to learn even more.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This course is intended for teens and it does cover issues that may not be suitable for younger students. So be ready to discuss some of these topics with your student.
Using Apologia’s Health & Nutrition Course
One of my sons is extremely interested in nutrition and fitness right now and he was eager to dive into this course. He did request starting with Module 6 so that he could immediately learn about one of the topics that are of the most interest to him.
Going through this course has already sparked a passion in him to learn even more about nutrition and sports medicine.
My other son is also going through the program and he is starting at the beginning and working his way through to the end.
I love that students complete projects during this course which are geared toward letting them learn more about themselves and about the world around them. They aren’t just learning about esoteric things which have no meaning for their own life.
The concepts and specific action steps they can take during this course will help them make the best choices concerning their bodies, their minds, and their spirits.
I also appreciated how they focused on various health professions throughout the book to give students an idea of what types of careers they may want to pursue someday.
And they tackle difficult topics such as vaccinations, pornography, and gender identity from a godly perspective.
Here’s why Apologia’s Health and Nutrition course is a winner in my book:
- It’s interesting and very readable.
- It’s thorough but still accessible to teens.
- It’s a course that students can complete without needing a lot of parental involvement.
To find out more about this program or to purchase your own copy, visit Apologia’s website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, or Google+.
Thank you for sharing this in depth review. I would have never looked into it for our last 3 sons to finish homeschooling. I am definitely planning on using this now! Great looking program!! Pam
You’re welcome. Yes, we are thoroughly enjoying it! And even though my boys are going through the course independently, I keep grabbing the book and reading through it myself. 🙂 Good stuff!
Thanks Michelle for this review. We use a lot of Apologia and I have been considering this course for use in a couple of years when my boys are a little bit older.
Glad it’s working out for your sons and I know that you would have considered content carefully so I appreciate your honesty.
You’re welcome, Fiona. Some of Apologia’s high school level science classes are filled with math and pretty complicated scientific concepts. But this one is more accessible to all students – and their parents. I’m enjoying it, too! 🙂
Have your sons done any of Apologia’s high school science such as, biology, chemistry etc?
We have gone through a lot of the Explorers series and now my two oldest are doing General Science. We are spreading it out over 1 1/2 years as there is a lot of work. We are wondering if we need to do Physical Science after that or straight into a single course such as chemistry etc.
What are your thoughts?
One of my oldest sons would like to pursue more computer and animation/art courses, do you think it necessary to do Science in higher high school levels if it’s not needed for a career?
It seems to be in high schools here now that if students don’t need Science for jobs they’re not studying it.
Some thoughts on your experience would be appreciated.
Thanks Michelle
Blessings, Fiona
My older son did Apologia’s General Science, Physical Science, and the first half of Biology. He isn’t interested in science for a career, though, and they started to incorporate so much higher-level math that it was really bogging him down. So, we didn’t finish Biology. And I didn’t have my younger son take those courses. I knew that he wouldn’t benefit from them as much as my older son had so we did more specific courses from Master Books, Answers in Genesis, and others for Astronomy, studying various scientists, etc. We did enjoy Apologia’s General Science but after that, they were a bit above us.
I’m not the expert in how to handle it but I would recommend that you use your own judgment. It seems to me that your son would benefit more from pursuing the computer, animation, and art courses that he will be more likely to use later in his career than to the higher-level science courses. If your son plans to go to college, you may want to look at the admission requirements of a few possibilities to see what they expect from incoming freshmen. But even if they expect students to have taken science classes, they don’t need to be the beefiest ones.
This health class would be a perfect example of a course which is more accessible to all students not just those who are pursuing science or medicine as a career. You can find courses that will interest your son more than the ones most students take if they are required. Make sense?
Wonderful, thank you. Your response and advice is most helpful Michelle.
I have another question, sorry!
With the Astronomy, what did you use for high school? My youngest has done Apologia’s Astronomy and absolutely loves it and he is reading through it again. Recently I have been thinking of what he could do to study it at a higher level if he chooses to. I have had a look at different curriculum but not sure what is good or not.
Thank you!
No problem. We cobbled a bunch of stuff together. We used resources from Answers in Genesis and Master Books. We also watched a bunch of stuff on YouTube about the Space Race and we spent lots of time outside observing with a telescope. I hope that helps you to get started. If you do some searching, there are all sorts of free online classes you can use as well and maybe there would be some on astronomy. I’d definitely give that a try as well!
Thank you so much Michelle, that’s really helpful. I will write that down for the future.
Many blessings.
For the high school transcript where would you put this course under…science or health or either? This looks awesome. Thanks
You could put it under either.