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Two homeschool science programs, compared on what actually decides the fit: creation and faith content, teaching style, and how much you'll teach.
Updated September 2026 · based on parent reviews and publisher information
Still torn? Answer a few questions and see how both rank for your child, side by side.
Compare for my child| Apologia Exploring Creation Science | BJU Press Science | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | K–12th | K–12th |
| Creation/faith | Christian, young-earth creation | Christian, young-earth creation |
| Approach | Single-topic textbooks with notebooking journals and experiments | Traditional textbook with activity manual, labs and optional video lessons |
| Who teaches | The parent teaches | The parent teaches |
| Parent prep | Moderate (read aloud in elementary; gather household lab supplies) | High (teacher-led unless you add video; long supply lists) |
| Screen time | Mostly offline (books and paper) | Mostly offline (books and paper) |
| Video lessons | Available: video and self-paced online options sold for upper-level courses | Available: video lessons sold separately; print books still needed |
| Cost | $84.60: Elementary course set (textbook + notebooking journal), e.g. Zoology 1, sale price | $179.75: Science 4 Homeschool Kit, 5th ed. (texts, activity book, tests, keys); video and lab kit extra |
| Parents love |
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| Common complaints |
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Parents like the warm, conversational writing, the depth of each single-topic year, and the plentiful kitchen-table experiments, and many credit the upper-level courses with good college prep. The common complaints are that the books are text-heavy with long reading sections that can drag for wiggly or reluctant readers, and that the creation viewpoint is woven through everything, so it cannot be used as a secular course.
Parents value the polished full-color books, the emphasis on scientific thinking from first grade, the thorough teacher editions, and the option of well-produced video teachers. The main complaints are cost (especially with video), the amount of parent teaching and component juggling without video, and long lab supply lists that include specialized equipment at upper levels.
Neither is better for every child. Apologia Exploring Creation Science is the stronger fit for living books (charlotte mason); some; charlotte mason. BJU Press Science is the stronger fit for others.
Apologia Exploring Creation Science: christian, young-earth creation. BJU Press Science: christian, young-earth creation.
Apologia Exploring Creation Science: $84.60: Elementary course set (textbook + notebooking journal), e.g. Zoology 1, sale price. BJU Press Science: $179.75: Science 4 Homeschool Kit, 5th ed. (texts, activity book, tests, keys); video and lab kit extra.
Summaries are in our own words.