Apologia: Who Am I?; a TOS Crew Review

I had high expectations for "Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?" from apologia. Everything that I have seen from apologia educational ministries, inc., has been solid, from the visually beautiful layout of the materials to the quality of the information inside.

My expectations are met and exceeded with "Who Am I?".

apologia sent my family a huge package of "Who Am I?" resources to review. We were given the hardback textbook ($39.00); the notebooking journal ($24.00); the audio CD ($19.00); and the coloring book ($8.00).

The textbook is another one of apologia's sturdy hardbacks; 8 lessons (chapters) in 262 pages. Rather than describe each lesson, I will direct you to a sample lesson, here. You will be able to see for yourself the layout, the quality, the reading and comprehension level needed as you think about your homeschoolers' abilities.

The table of contents is here. apologia materials suggest that the lessons are geared for students ages 6-14, quite a large age range, in my opinion, and based on my limited experience, would consider them for mature 8 or 9 year olds or for the older end of the age range.

Who Am I? from the What We Believe series teaches children "what it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of a loving God." apologia uses a variety of Biblical translations but uses NIV more heavily than other choices. apologia recommends that families use their favorite translation for scripture memory within this study.

***The first lesson includes a story about a child with a disability.***

I think all of us will relate to the child in the story with some physical differences, and children with a disability will especially relate to this child. Well done.

The way the study is set up allows parents and teachers to go as fast or as slow as the student needs in order to learn.

My first two apologia review items were given to me prior to the availability of apologia's notebooking journals. I purchased one to go with something I received and I will probably purchase two more to go with products that did not have a journal when I was given or bought the text. You simply must have the journal to go with the text, in my opinion. The journal is inviting to look at for the child, it looks fun; of course if follows the text and supports the info in the text with q & a, word searches, fill-in-the-blank, and other pencil and paper and thinking activities. A sample from the notebooking journal is here.

The audio CD (actually an MP3-CD) contains "Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?" in audio format from beginning to end. The audio format will allow parents or children with visual impairments to experience the entire book, and allows children with auditory processing challenges combined with reading delays to play the CD and follow along in the book simultaneously, a strategy that is sometimes helpful for comprehension. Some children prefer learning by hearing over reading, and this audio CD gives that learner an option. (I remember hearing Amanda Bennett tell us at a homeschool convention that her son would listen to apologia science on CD on a portable CD player while he dribbled a basketball outside.) The voice is pleasant and female. I think she could slow her reading pace quite a bit for the learner with auditory processing challenges. Check out the sample here before you buy.

The coloring book is my favorite part of the set because it is the most friendly to my homeschooler with unique learning needs. Too many spoken words, too much text overwhelms her (we've come a long way, but she is not ready for all of the material in this text "as is"). Sample pages are available here.

Other TOS Crewmates have reviewed "Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?" here.

apologia sent me these resources to review for you. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.