Exploring a Biblical Worldview with Apologia

Apologia worldview curriculum is a great choice to teach your children the foundations of the faith and why we believe what we believe as Christians.

Apologia Educational Ministries has been a well-loved name in our personal homeschool journey since 2008. We have used their elementary science books as well as their What We Believe Biblical worldview series. We are glad to have had the opportunity to review book 4 in that series, What on Earth Can I Do?, along with the companion resources of Notebooking Journal, Junior Notebooking Journal, and Coloring Book.

What on Earth Can I Do? is a hardcover textbook with full-color illustrations and photos. This book focuses on being a good and faithful steward of God’s creation and His gifts to us — our talents, our home, our finances, our time, and our bodies. It is written at an age-appropriate level for children grades 1-6 using scriptural references and real-life application examples.

The textbook is divided into 8 lessons (units or chapters), each including a focus topic, overview of the “Big Idea,” action steps to apply to life, prayer, Bible memorization, and stories that provide a real-life example of the lesson. The book begins with an introduction that explains how to use the book and how to incorporate the Charlotte Mason-style concept of notebooking into your learning.

There is a sample schedule included which outlines a three weeks per lesson, two days per week pace. This is highly adaptable to your own needs, though.

The Notebooking Journal is the spiral-bound companion resource with activities such as lapbooking components, writing prompts, fill-in-the-blank questions, crossword puzzles, and more. It is also available as a Junior Notebooking Journal for ages 6-9 with more limited writing skills. The coloring book is for the youngest in the family to follow along and color pictures related to the text book in order to reinforce the lessons on stewardship.

How We Used the Apologia Worldview Curriculum

We used the textbook and companion resources together during our Circle Time about three times per week. One of the great things about the What We Believe series is that we can use it together as a family because I can adjust it for each of my girls (ages 12, 6, & 4). 

On the first day of the lesson, we did the reading together. Either Big Sis or I read it out loud. Then we discussed the questions together.

On Day Two, we worked on memory verses and used the Notebooking Journals and Coloring Book. Lil Sis used the Junior version and Baby Girl used the Coloring Book. Big Sis used the Notebooking Journal and helped Lil Sis with the Junior when she needed it.

On Day Three, we read some more of the text and worked on the memory verses again. We tried to repeat these in fun ways, helping each other and setting it to music whenever possible. We even used a balloon to toss between each other as we each said part of the verse, like a game of Hot Potato.

In Week Two, we followed that same pattern and completed three lessons in the review period. The girls would sometimes work on their journal/coloring book separately when they wanted to do an activity.

I did want to note that the coloring book is a very nice quality with pages that don’t bleed through or tear easily. The pictures go along with the lessons and Baby Girl would often color them while we were reading. I think it’s a great way to include the youngest family members because they can concentrate better and absorb more of the lesson if their little hands are productively busy while listening.

Note: We have used all four books in the Apologia What We Believe series and I still recommend them. We’re going through them for the second time now that my youngest daughters are 10 and 12.