Biology Stinks!

a mighty stench awaits

This year JT is doing a full high school level biology course. We were indecisive about our plan and changed curriculum at least two times before settling on Apologia's Exploring Creation with Biology. I know some people find Christian based science texts to be inferior in their scientific content, and I sometimes agree, but this book has been very thorough. In fact, I'm very impressed with the first three modules. The labs are well thought out and rigorous. And smelly.

why I never throw jars away

Module 2 is a study of kingdom Monera. The lab required JT to find a pond to obtain water samples. He needed to place the samples in four separate jars. Each one had its own type of nutrients available for the life forms; egg, hay, soil, and rice. After a few days, he had to open the jars and make slides for the microscope. The instructions warn, "When you open each jar, be prepared for a mighty stench!" They were not kidding! After doing the first slide in the house, I made him move outside to make the next three. We saw some pretty incredible things in those cultures. Let me just say, I won't be swimming in any ponds anytime soon.

This course is far more difficult than anything I remember taking in high school. For both modules two and three, JT has been required to construct his own biological keys to identify organisms. I would have a hard time with that assignment. He seemed well-equipped to do it once he had completed the work in the unit. I hope the remainder of the text continues at this level of instruction. If so, I believe he will be ready to handle college level courses with no difficulty. I will also be looking at purchasing Apologia's chemistry for his 10th grade science course.

The next module is going to cover fungi. Time to start growing some mold!