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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
These two are close: the differences are small, so price, grade range and what parents say below may decide it.
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 | God's Design for Science (Master Books) | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | K–12th | K–8th |
| Creation/faith | Christian, young-earth creation | Christian, young-earth creation |
| Approach | Single-topic textbooks with notebooking journals and experiments | Textbook lessons with experiments, layered for several ages |
| Who teaches | The parent teaches | The parent teaches |
| Parent prep | Moderate (read aloud in elementary; gather household lab supplies) | Low (open and go; gather household supplies or buy the kit) |
| 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: master Books Academy sells a separate video version of the course |
| Cost | $84.60: Elementary course set (textbook + notebooking journal), e.g. Zoology 1, sale price | $100.98: God's Design for Life Set, MB Edition (student book + teacher guide), list price; on sale for $80.78 when checked. Optional supply kit about $125 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.
Families like that one set covers several children at once, that prep is light, and that Scripture and a creation view run through every lesson. The complaints are that some books read as dense or information-heavy for younger kids, that worksheets and tests feel dull, and that a few experiment supplies are hard to track down.
Neither is better for every child. Apologia Exploring Creation Science is the stronger fit for video-led; living books (charlotte mason); minimal. God's Design for Science (Master Books) is the stronger fit for others.
Apologia Exploring Creation Science: christian, young-earth creation. God's Design for Science (Master Books): christian, young-earth creation.
Apologia Exploring Creation Science: $84.60: Elementary course set (textbook + notebooking journal), e.g. Zoology 1, sale price. God's Design for Science (Master Books): $100.98: God's Design for Life Set, MB Edition (student book + teacher guide), list price; on sale for $80.78 when checked. Optional supply kit about $125 extra.
Summaries are in our own words.