Friendly Biology - Christian Worldview
Friendly Biology makes high school science clear, doable, and yes—actually enjoyable. With vivid visuals, kitchen-table labs, and 28 well-paced lessons, it turns reluctant learners into confident biology students.
$99.95
Quantity:
Consumable
In a Curriculum Kit
Multiple Grades
Spiral Learning
Please note: The video license is designed to accompany the course text, and is not a stand-alone curriculum. The audio and video portions of this course are non-refundable.
2026 Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit
Friendly Biology Set
Biology doesn't have to feel overwhelming. Friendly Biology was designed by a homeschooling husband-and-wife team to make complex concepts easier to understand through clear explanations, full-color illustrations, engaging examples, and hands-on activities.
Presented from a Christian worldview, the course covers the major topics typically found in a high school biology curriculum, including cell structure, mitosis and meiosis, genetics, taxonomy, ecology, human body systems, protein synthesis, and human reproduction. Across 28 structured lessons, your teen builds a solid understanding of biological science without getting lost in unnecessary complexity.
Visual learners will appreciate the abundance of diagrams, photographs, and illustrations throughout the course. Even challenging topics are broken into manageable pieces, helping teens connect new information to concepts they already understand.
The labs are designed with homeschool families in mind. Most activities use common household materials, and some experiments are even edible. While easy to implement, the laboratory component provides meaningful reinforcement of the concepts covered in the text and aligns well with standard high school biology expectations.
The set includes a full-color textbook, a consumable student workbook with two worksheets per lesson, and a Tests and Answer Key booklet with multiple-choice assessments. Printable PDF versions of the tests are also available for added convenience.
Friendly Biology is commonly counted as one high school biology credit and offers a thorough introduction to life science for teens who benefit from clear instruction, steady pacing, and practical application.
Want to make the course even more independent? The optional Friendly Biology Video License allows author Joey Hajda to teach the material directly while your teen follows along in the text. The publisher describes the videos as the "teacher" and the textbook as the "classroom book," making the video license a valuable support for families balancing multiple students or teens who learn best through direct instruction. Please note that the video license is not a stand-alone curriculum and requires the Friendly Biology text.
See some sample pages from this series and browse all that it has to offer.
How to Use Friendly Biology
- Plan on completing one lesson each week. With 28 lessons total, you'll finish with time to spare for review, makeup work, or the inevitable interruptions that come with a school year.
- Begin each lesson by reading the corresponding section in the textbook. The clear explanations, full-color illustrations, and diagrams provide the foundation for everything that follows.
- Next, complete the workbook activities. Each lesson includes two worksheet sets designed to reinforce vocabulary, review important concepts, and strengthen comprehension.
- Finish the lesson with the corresponding multiple-choice test from the Test and Answer Key booklet. Printable PDF versions of the tests are also available if you prefer a separate testing format.
- Set aside time for the lab activities as they appear. Most experiments use common household materials, making them easy to implement while still providing meaningful hands-on reinforcement of the concepts being studied.
- No microscope is required, yet your teen will still explore topics such as cell structure, genetics, taxonomy, ecology, human body systems, and human reproduction through a combination of reading, activities, and labs.
- If you're teaching more than one teen, consider adding an extra workbook since the textbook and test booklet are reusable.
Follow the course as written, complete the labs, and maintain a steady pace throughout the year. By the end, your teen will have earned a full high school biology credit and developed a solid foundation in life science.
In the 2026 kits this course earns high school credit:
1 credit of Biology
Science · 9th grade · Classic kits
- Growing a Pet Potato Plant
- In Quest of Carbon: Marshmallow Incineration
- Testing for the Presence of Amylose (starch)
- Behavior of Lipids (fats)
- Making Butter
- Actions of Enzymes on Proteins
- Testing pH using Red Cabbage or Blueberry Juice
- Making Homemade Yogurt
- Making Cheese
- Osmosis using Chicken Eggs
- Osmosis using Fresh Veggies
- Creating a (functional) Cell Model
- Using Homemade Playdough to create a Mitosis Model
- Building a DNA “Ladder"
- Growing Edible Mushrooms on Toilet Paper (supplies purchased separately)
- Flower Dissection
- Dissections of Fresh Specimens are presented by video (available separately).
Publisher: Friendly Chemistry & Create Space
Author: Dr. Joey Hajda & Lisa B. Hajda
Age Recommendation: 14+
Grade Recommendation: 9th+
Faith-Based: Yes
Copyright: 2019
Made in: USA
Christian Worldview Version Student Text
Consumable: No
Lessons: 28
ISBN: 9781544223681
Format: Softcover
Christian Worldview Version Student Workbook
Consumable: Yes
ISBN: 9781544623078
Format: Softcover
Christian Worldview Version Lesson Tests and Answer Keys
Consumable: Yes
ISBN: 9781539670797
Format: Softcover
Video License:
Access: Unlimited viewing via online portal with no expiration date. An internet connection must be available for viewing.
License Covers: Current student and immediate family members. Co-op licenses are available from the publisher.
Audiobook License:
Access: Text read verbatim by author, Joey Hajda, accessed via online listening portal.
Lesson 14 Notes
Lesson 14 in Friendly Biology introduces how living things have been divided into various groups and subgroups (which is known as taxonomy). When Friendly Biology was written in 2012, Lesson 14 utilized The Catalogue of Life website to illustrate many of the concepts found in the lesson. Since that time, The Catalogue of Life website has been changed, and it no longer corresponds to the images used in Friendly Biology. We suggest that you utilize Lesson 14 as written and not expect to find similar screens on The Catalogue of Life website. Instead, following completion of the lesson, we encourage you visit The Catalogue of Life website to learn more about taxonomy and how the database can be useful for further study.
Click here to see a sample of Lesson 1: Characteristics of Living Things (PDF)
Click here to see a sample of Lesson 2: A Little Bit of Chemistry (PDF)
Click here to see a sample of Lesson 3: Carbohydrates (PDF)
Click here to see a sample of Lesson 4: Lipids (PDF)
View a video sample from Friendly Biology
View a video sample from Lesson 10: Chromosome Duplication
View a video sample from Lesson 22 (Part 2): Heart Dissection Video
View a video sample from Lesson 21 (Part 1): Body Systems of Movement
Click here for a Lab Supply List PDF
Click here for a Biology Lab Report Template PDF
review by Family, Faith, and Fridays
”I am confident Friendly Biology will prepare my son for higher level sciences while allowing me to maintain my sanity! It's a win- win for all!”
Read the Review
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this product below:
Yes! You can record this as a lab science course on your student's high school transcript if they complete the labs.
Yes! The family license does not expire.
Yes, the Friendly courses will be adequate. However, if your student will be going into a science-intensive major and career, they may benefit from (and enjoy) a more intensive science course.
No, you need the text to accompany the video course. The publisher likes to consider the video to be like the "teacher" and the textbook to be like your required classroom book.
Friendly Biology (Christian Worldview) acknowledges God as the creator of all living things. Friendly Biology (Nonreligious Worldview) does not mention God.
Both versions discuss currently accepted observations of living creatures in today's world. The theory of evolution is not mentioned at all in either version.
- September 17, 2026
Bea
We switched to this Biology from Apologia's as we didn't want to go too in depth with certain reproductive aspects of the course with our kiddos who are a few grades ahead of where they would be in public school. This version still covers the required human biology and reproductive lessons, but in a friendlier way. The text is great in that it doesn't go overly technical, but is still technical enough for Biology. Admittedly, we did skim quite a few of the Animal Kingdom chapters as they were rather dry and my kids were getting bored. There were a couple mistakes in the testing book we received, but the kids were able to easily answer the questions and pass the tests.
- May 19, 2026
Steph H.
Friendly Biology has been a great addition to our school year. My 9th grade son has been able to take the lead on this subject which is great for the momma who went from homeschooling no kids to 5 kids. The book is easy to follow and the material presented in a clear and consise way that he can work through it mostly on his own. We have not done all of the included experiments because of time constraints or missing "ingredients", but most of the experiments are great because they don't require a lot of items that you don't already have at home. Sometimes we "cheated" and watched someone else do the experiment on YouTube. All in all, pleased with the inclusion of Friendly Biology in the ninth grade kit!
- April 17, 2026
A P.
This curriculum was kind of a dry textbook. It has some pretty pictures. We started using it as intended but decided it was too dry for us. I will say it was simple to read and easy to understand.
- June 26, 2024
Easy to read
Heather J.
This book was very clear and easy for my child to understand. She enjoyed it.
- February 25, 2024
LOVE TimberDoodle themselves! BUT...
SherriAnn J.
So far we love working with the curriculum kits from Timberdoodle! The only complaint we have so far is that the answer guides are not revised very well or closely. We have found NUMEROUS errors! Some of the answers are just cut off and not complete. Others are typos that are partially correct and such. Other then that, we love the kits! I would download a picture to show, but haveing some technical issues at the moment with my phone. But the very first lesson has some major typos and errors if you look at it and compare it with the students workbook lesson questions. One other complaint we have was that we thought that maybe it's better to just put ALL of the the lessons AS WELL AS TESTS into the students workbook and then JUST THE ANSWERS in the teachers books or answer books. Saves on us having to tear out and it gets all sloppy and messed up from not ripping out right or having to copy and waste the ink from our printers. Just a thought for the book companies. Timberdoodle is great otherwise and just can't say enough about them finding and picking out the books for us parents that homeschool fulltime! Thanks again!
- August 15, 2022
Highly Recommend
Rejetta S.
I bought the secular Friendly Biology. I love that Timberdoodle is incorporating more secular curriculum. This book is well written, great pictures, and lots of great biology facts presented in an easy to learn format. With that being said, it is a high level, grade appropriate text book. I learned a lot of great things about biology that hadn't been as clear for me in high school! Really fun to learn alongside my children.
- October 15, 2020
Friendly Biology
Marjorie O.
I like the clear, understandable explanations. We understand electrons better than we did from another program! I wish the test were a little more challenging.
- September 28, 2020
Simple to use
Jennifer S.
The only problem I've found so far is in a cross word puzzle there was 1 to many blocks but no biggie . So far so good and love that it includes direction for lab experiments .
- May 31, 2018
Friendly Biology
R.B.
I used this Biology curriculum this past year for the first time. I have always used Apologia, but wanted something that might be a better fit for my daughter. This is definitely a "friendly" approach with how material is presented in a way to help students understand difficult concepts. That being said, this first edition had several typos and mistakes in both the text book and work book. I am hopeful that this will be corrected in future additions. I would recommend that if you are going to use this, to see if the publisher has a list of updates so that you can go through and make the corrections. (Teaching Textbooks offered this.) Some of the mistakes were the kind that could confuse a student, and because of these issues I could only give a 3 star review.
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