Masterbooks Science Curriculum

Masterbooks publishes the most complete K-12 young-earth creationist science curriculum in American homeschooling, and it is the default science spine for families who want their science materials to teach from a young-earth framework by design rather than by editorial patch.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Traditional / textbook / some Charlotte Mason elements at elementary
Worldview	Christian-evangelical (young-earth creationist, Answers in Genesis-adjacent)
Grades	K-12
Formats	Print textbooks and workbooks
Cost tier	Budget
Parent intensity	2-3
ESA-common	Yes (on most Christian-permitting marketplaces)
Accredited	No
Established	1975 as New Leaf Press; Masterbooks imprint launched later
Website	masterbooks.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	3	Elementary is solid; high school covers content but is thinner on methodology
Ease of teaching	5	Scripted open-and-go format; parent can run it with minimal prep
Content quality	4	Polished, well-illustrated, consistent across grades
Flexibility	4	Courses are self-contained and can be used a la carte
Value for money	5	Among the cheapest complete science programs in the homeschool market
Worldview scope	1	Specifically young-earth creationist; worldview integrated throughout
Visual/design	4	Strong illustration and layout, particularly at the elementary level
Support resources	3	Parent guides and answer keys included; no video teacher

Who the publisher is

Masterbooks is the homeschool imprint of New Leaf Publishing Group, a Christian publisher founded in 1975 and headquartered in Green Forest, Arkansas. New Leaf was founded as a book publisher focused on young-earth creationism and biblical worldview titles; Masterbooks emerged as its dedicated homeschool curriculum imprint and has grown into a full K-12 publisher across science, math, history, Bible, and language arts. The company is closely associated with Answers in Genesis, the Kentucky-based creationist ministry, and several Masterbooks authors are AiG researchers or affiliates.

Masterbooks's science line is the most developed part of its catalog. Elementary titles include the God's Design series (life science, physical science, earth and space) for grades 3-8, the Science Starters series for K-2, and standalone introductory courses. Middle school and early high school include courses on intro biology and earth science organized as scripted open-and-go lessons. High school includes full-credit Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses by Dr. Jay Wile (formerly of Apologia) and Berean Builders, along with titles by Dr. Gary Parker and others.

Masterbooks's market position is specific: the company publishes science curriculum that treats young-earth creationism not as a sidebar or an optional chapter but as the interpretive framework for the whole subject. This differentiates Masterbooks from Apologia (also young-earth but with more methodological grounding in mainstream science), BJU Press (young-earth with more traditional textbook register), and Abeka (young-earth and broadly Baptist). Families who want a scripted, inexpensive, open-and-go science program that teaches from young-earth creationism throughout typically land on Masterbooks.

The core pedagogy

Masterbooks science is scripted textbook-and-workbook pedagogy with open-and-go lesson plans. Each course is structured as a daily or four-day-a-week lesson sequence, with each lesson containing a reading passage, a hands-on activity or observation, vocabulary, review questions, and (at older grades) quizzes and tests. The parent opens the teacher guide, reads the day's lesson plan, and runs it; the student reads, observes, answers, and produces. Many Masterbooks science titles are explicitly described as "open-and-go", lessons require minimal prep and minimal materials beyond household supplies.

Scope and sequence at the elementary level follows the God's Design approach: life science, physical science, and earth/space are offered as parallel tracks families can rotate through over several years rather than as a single integrated sequence. A family might spend one year on life science across grades 3-5, then physical science, then earth/space, returning to each at a deeper level in middle school. The approach is loosely aligned to the Charlotte Mason idea of short, living readings followed by observation and narration, though Masterbooks is more structured than most Charlotte Mason science.

High school courses follow a more traditional textbook format. Biology for Each Day by Tom DeRosa runs as a one-year course with daily readings, weekly labs using home-accessible materials, and end-of-unit tests. Chemistry and Physics follow similar patterns. The courses are calibrated as full-credit high-school science and are frequently used by families whose students plan either no formal college science or attend Christian colleges that accept Masterbooks transcripts.

Signature mechanics: (1) Open-and-go scripting, the parent does not design lessons; the teacher guide provides the day's lesson complete. (2) Integrated worldview, young-earth creationism and biblical references are woven throughout the text rather than bracketed into sidebars; this is the curriculum's central design decision. (3) Family-style elementary, many elementary titles are designed to be taught to multiple children across a grade band simultaneously, saving time for larger families. (4) Low material cost, lab work at the high-school level uses household materials where possible; Masterbooks does not require expensive lab kits.

A day in the life

A fifth-grader using God's Design for Life: Animals typically has science scheduled three days a week, thirty to forty-five minutes per session. A Tuesday session opens with the parent reading the day's short passage aloud from the teacher guide, perhaps two pages on mammalian digestion, while the student follows along in the student book. The parent then works through the day's activity: a comparison chart to fill in, a hands-on observation of a family pet's teeth, or a short diagram to label. The student completes the workbook page with vocabulary and review questions. The lesson closes with a biblical worldview connection, a short paragraph from the teacher guide that ties the day's content to a creation reference. Total session: thirty to forty minutes.

A tenth-grader using Biology for Each Day runs differently. The student reads the day's textbook chapter (typically ten to fifteen pages) independently, completes the study guide questions, and on designated lab days runs the week's experiment with household or low-cost supplies. Weekly quizzes and unit tests pace the year. The parent's role at the high-school level is essentially checker and discussion partner; the student works the course largely independently. Total student time: roughly four to five hours per week of reading, work, and lab.

What they do exceptionally well

True open-and-go format. Masterbooks's elementary science titles are among the easiest-to-teach science programs in the homeschool market. A parent can open the teacher guide in the morning without having read ahead and run a competent science lesson. This matters enormously for families running four or five subjects a day across multiple children.

Price. Elementary science courses from Masterbooks typically run $30-$60 for a full year's materials, and full high-school credit courses run $70-$100. This is a fraction of what Apologia, Bob Jones, or Abeka charge at the same grade levels. Families who want Christian young-earth science but cannot afford the larger ecosystems routinely choose Masterbooks for cost alone.

Visual design at elementary. The God's Design books are well-illustrated, with color photography and clean layouts. Students who have bounced off drier young-earth elementary science books often engage with God's Design.

What they do poorly

Methodological thinness at the upper levels. The high-school courses cover biological, chemical, and physical content reasonably well, but they devote less attention than Apologia or a secular AP program to how scientific claims are generated, tested, and revised. Students who go on to secular college science programs or majors frequently report that the gap is less about content and more about experimental method and scientific reasoning; Masterbooks emphasizes conclusions more than process.

Worldview saturation throughout the text. This is a design feature, not an oversight. Masterbooks integrates young-earth creationism throughout every unit rather than bracketing it into sidebars. Families whose worldview aligns with this approach generally welcome the integration. Families who want young-earth-aware science that holds the worldview integration to designated chapters or sidebars (Apologia's newer editions, for instance, or BJU Press) will find Masterbooks more saturated than they want.

No video component. Masterbooks is print only. Families who want a video teacher for science, common in homeschooling today, will need to supplement with a separate resource or choose a different publisher.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Masterbooks Science if: you are theologically committed to young-earth creationism and want it integrated throughout your science curriculum; you want scripted open-and-go science that the parent can run with minimal prep; you are price-conscious; you are teaching multiple children in a grade band and want family-style elementary science; you do not need a video teacher; your students are not aiming at competitive secular college STEM programs.

• Skip Masterbooks Science if: you want science that emphasizes methodology and scientific reasoning as heavily as content; you are old-earth creationist, evolutionary creationist, or secular and do not want young-earth framing; you want a video teacher as part of the program; your student is targeting AP Biology, AP Chemistry, or competitive secular college science and needs matched content and method; you want the worldview framing confined to sidebars.

Cost honest assessment

As of April 2026, Masterbooks science courses are priced as follows per the publisher's current catalog: God's Design elementary courses run approximately $35-$55 for a full year's materials; middle-school courses run approximately $40-$70; and high-school credit courses (Biology for Each Day, Chemistry for Each Day, Physics for Each Day) run approximately $75-$110 for the full course set (textbook plus teacher guide).

Compared to Apologia Exploring Creation with Biology (roughly $150-$220 for a full set with lab equipment), BJU Press Biology (roughly $200-$300 with video teacher), and Abeka Biology (roughly $180-$260 with teacher edition), Masterbooks is the cheapest complete Christian science option at the high-school level. At the elementary level, Masterbooks is priced similarly to The Good and the Beautiful Science and meaningfully cheaper than Christian textbook-style alternatives.

An all-in annual science budget for one elementary student using Masterbooks: $40-$65. For a family of three children sharing an elementary God's Design title: $45-$70 total. For a high-school student in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics: $80-$120.

ESA eligibility notes

Masterbooks is approved on most state ESA marketplaces that permit Christian curricula, including Arizona's ClassWallet, Florida's MyScholarShop and Step Up For Students, Utah Fits All, and Arkansas's LEARNS Act marketplace. Masterbooks also sells directly through masterbooks.com with standard reimbursement workflows where states allow. Because the materials are explicitly Christian and young-earth creationist, states that restrict religious content from ESA funds (historically including some Iowa and New Hampshire program variants) may decline reimbursement; families should verify eligibility in their state before ordering.

Alternatives

• Apologia Exploring Creation, a family would pick Apologia over Masterbooks for high-school science specifically, because Apologia's high-school courses are more methodologically thorough and the lab work is more structured, at a meaningfully higher price point.
• BJU Press Science, a family would pick BJU because BJU includes video-teacher instruction, a more traditional textbook register, and sciences that engage mainstream scientific claims more directly before refuting them.
• Elemental Science, a family would pick Elemental Science for families wanting Charlotte Mason and classical-flavored young-earth science with lab logs and notebooking emphasized over textbook drill.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Masterbooks science product pages, sample chapters, and scope-and-sequence documents on masterbooks.com in April 2026, cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy Reviews and HSLDA's publisher profile. Pricing was pulled from the live masterbooks.com store in April 2026. Founding dates and imprint history were confirmed against New Leaf Publishing Group's own company history page.