High School Health and Nutrition Course From a Biblical Worldview
My middle daughter has her eye set on nursing as a profession. It's a perfect fit for her because she loves caring for people, blood doesn't make her squeamish, and she likes to stay busy. I think nursing is a great job because of its flexibility and practicality. With that in mind, I've been trying to think of a way to incorporate her interest in healthcare to her studies. When I saw that Apologia had just come out with a new Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition course, I thought it would be a perfect supplement to her Freshman year.
I received a free copy of Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition for review. I was also compensated for my time. All of my opinions are my own. See my full disclosure policy for more details.
Apologia Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition Will:
1. Focus on Stewardship
After a quick skim through this curriculum, I caught the general theme of the book very clearly: Health is about stewardship, or managing what you have to the best of your ability. I love how balanced the approach to health and fitness is throughout the text.
2. Approach Health & Nutrition From a Biblical Perspective
This has been a difficult subject for me to find a trustworthy source to guide my daughter through the ins and outs of health. I have loved resources from Apologia in the past because of their commitment to presenting the Truth as it aligns with what the Bible teaches. While there are some controversial issues brought up here, the author does a great job of presenting the scientific terms along with the Christian viewpoints, and then lets the reader make a decision based on the evidence.
3. Presents Health from a Holistic Perspective
Students walk through 15 modules covering physical, nutritional, emotional, and spiritual aspects of growing into a healthy adult. Not only will they learn about exercise, nutrition and hydration, but students will also dig into concepts concerning building their immune system, mental and emotional health, and the gift of reproduction. Since humans are comprised of body, mind, and soul, it's fitting that the health of the whole person is addressed.
4. Earn Your Student 1 Health Credit
This is most definitely a high school text. Since it does not include labs, you can't count it as a lab science. However, this year my daughter is working through Exploring Creation with Physical Science and this book can easily be completed along side it. They recommend this course to go along with a Biology study, but I think it will work well with either.
The student notebook is required to complete the course and it includes projects as well as the full "On Your Own" questions and tests. The projects are fun and engaging, and my daughter dove in with pure excitement. Some projects include:
- food journal
- sleep journal
- personal health goals
- strength/temperament assessments
5. Inspire Your Student in Health Care Professions
At the end of each module, the text presents options for health professions pertaining to that line of study. Over 80 options for health care jobs are introduced in the text relating to a variety of different fields. I'm excited for my daughter to see how many different options there are, and for her to be inspired to think outside the box of nursing to all of the different ways she could express her passion to care for people.
What Parents Need to Know
When you start to discuss the physical body, you're going to have controversial issues that arise. The goal of this book is not to expose your child to all of the issues full blast, but to open the door for exploration of Truth and opening lines of discussion with their parents. As with any text book, the teacher (parent) should use it as a tool to teach their student what they would like them to learn. If you'd like to omit sections, do so at your discretion.
Hot topics covered include:
- drug abuse
- gender identity
- pornography
- act of marriage
I was really impressed with how each of these topics was presented respectfully. The illustrations present the ideas from a scientific prospective and in a way that honors both the student learning and the parent walking through the study with them. I feel like it's a great resource for me to start exposing my daughter to some of these big ideas.
Opening the Conversation on Health and Nutrition
Our family has really been working on living a healthier lifestyle with the kinds of foods we choose to eat. Apologia has a FREE resource on Whole Health that you can download and explore with your family.
My daughter devoured the first module, and she can't wait to work through this text this year. If you have a student like mine that could benefit from Apologia's Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition, then enter to win the two book set below!
Betsy Strauss is an unexpected homeschooler, mother of three, who is in a relationship with a sweet man for life. She loves reading books, drinking coffee, and learning anything with her kids.