science reviews Archives - Pea of Sweetness

Exploring Creation with Astronomy {Apologia Review}

September 8, 2016 by Emilee Evans

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Please refer to my Disclosure Policy for more information.
We have really enjoyed the Young Explorer Series for Elementary Science from Apologia Educational Ministries. Recently we’ve been working through Exploring Creation with Astronomy, 2nd Edition. We have really been enjoying this elementary Astronomy curriculum.
For our review we received the Student Text, Notebooking Journal, Jr. Notebooking Journal and an Audio CD.

Exploring Creation with Astronomy has been walking us through a variety of topics. We have been learning more about the stars, astronomers, space, the sun, planets, and so much more. What I love (and appreciate) is that it includes God and The Bible all throughout the curriculum. Through learning about the wonders of space, we are learning the wonders of God. He created it!
When using this elementary astronomy curriculum, all the parts of the curriculum work together.

Student Text

The Student Text is a hardback book noted to be “written directly to the student in a highly readable conversational tone.” The way we, personally, use the Student Text is that I read the recommended text for the daily assignment while stopping to ask them questions. It would definitely be possible for solid readers to read the text on their own. The other option would be to use the Audio CD. I have found it’s also nice to take it on the road for listening in the car!
The Student Text is broken up into elementary astronomy lessons covering a wide variety of topics (sometimes all in one lesson)! It offers an Introduction, additional resources, activities and more. Each lesson has stopping points. In fact, the Notebooking Journals have a “Suggestive Daily Schedule,” which breaks the lesson into multiple, smaller parts. With our kids’ special needs, it is definitely ideal to follow this schedule, and it works out nicely! When there is an activity, though, sometimes we do the activity by itself on another depending on the length and requirements of the activity.
Throughout the Student Text there are also questions periodically so they can sum up what they’ve been learning. Additionally, there is a Wrap-Up called “What Do You Remember?” asking multiple questions to help reinforce what they’ve been learning. Plus, it encourages them to point out what their favorite part was. I think it’s so important because kids will often be able to recall more when they are enjoying it. Our kids that are working on this do sometimes have challenges summing things up or answering open-ended questions, but they can always talk about their favorite part!

Notebooking Journals

In the past, we have only used Junior Notebooking Journals, which is designed for younger learners. As our oldest son is still a delayed reader and writer, the Junior Notebooking Journal was still a great fit for him. Our daughter (age 8), though, needed more of a challenge, so I love that we had the opportunity to review both Notebooking Journals.
In addition to the Suggested Daily Schedule, the Notebooking Journals are spiral bound books that offer a variety of great activities. They offer plenty of writing spaces and opportunities for the kids to share what they are learning. Our daughter often just writes in her journal as we go when she feels it is something she needs to write down. For our son, I ask him if there is anything he’d like to include in his journal, and I then write it on the white board for him to copy down.
Even the lined notebooking pages aren’t limited to just basic pages. Each lesson does start with blank pages with lines as well as areas to draw. I love that the area to draw is included because our daughter, in particular, learns and remembers things through her drawings. The notebooking, though, is broken down into even smaller parts within a lesson. They will be presented in the form as a Matchbook, bookmark, minibook, etc. It really helps to break things down further and offers a neat touch to the Notebooking Journals!

There are a variety of hands-on activities which helps to further reinforce what they’re learning in the text. I have found the activities so far do require some time, but not terribly long. Plus, they are fun, so that always helps! Some activities are basic activities that are included within the Notebooking Journals while others require some material that we already had or could easily run to the store to pick up. There is also an optional Science Kit that can be purchased for more hands-on learning.
In both the Student Text and the Notebooking Journals there is a page for “Instructional Support.” It mentions and provides details about the Textbook, Notebooking Journals, Audio Book, Science Kit and even the Field Trip Journal we reviewed last year.
So What is the Difference?
The Junior Notebooking Journal and Notebooking Journal have a lot of similarities. They are similar enough that we could still do the lessons together. Yet, they do have differences as well. Some of the most prominent differences include:

The lines. The Junior Notebooking Journal includes wider writing for both journaling as well as the Copywork. Though both manuscript and cursive are offered for Copywork choices.
Activity differences. Certain activities are made a little easier for the Junior Notebooking Journal. The crossword for example has no letters already filled in for the Notebooking Journal but does have a few in the Junior Notebooking Journal.
Coloring Pages. The Junior Notebooking Journal also includes coloring pages. Since Aurora loves to color, she just borrowed Brayden’s Junior Notebooking Journal for some of the coloring!

Elementary Astronomy

Overall, I think the Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy is a great elementary astronomy curriculum. It covers a variety of topics, includes Biblical references throughout, offers a variety of great hands-on activities, and is presented in a way that is easy to follow. It has been a great fit for our family!

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A Homeschool Science Curriculum for All Ages {Science Shepherd Review}

May 25, 2016 by Emilee Evans

When considering a science curriculum for our homeschool, there are so many factors to consider. Does it offer a variety of subjects/topics? Does it support our beliefs? Are there hands-on activities? I was excited to learn more about Science Shepherd because I knew it had all of those factors!
For our Science Shepherd review we received Introductory Science Level A, which my daughter (age 8) has been using 5 days per week. It is a complete science curriculum with a video component, workbook, and optional hands-on activities. I also received an Answer Key as well.

The Science Shepherd videos are accessed through an account online. They can be accessed wherever you have internet access. There is just one account. Students do not have their own account, and it doesn’t track progress or any type of grading. Because of the way it is set up, you could easily add another student and not have to worry about whether they are on the same lesson. They can each work at their own pace. I am considering having our son use this curriculum as well, so I would simply need to purchase an additional workbook.
The workbook is a spiral-bound book that contains questions to go with the lesson as well as the optional activities. Each lesson is generally 1-2 pages with both fill in the blank questions as well as choose the correct answer questions. In addition to the hands-on activities, there are also activities like crossword puzzles and matching.
As someone who is particular about strange things like starting new things at the beginning of the week, I love that the Science Shepherd lessons are broken down by week and day. Each lesson in the video and workbook notes Week {Number} Day {Number}. I find this makes it so easy to stay on track. If it’s Wednesday, then I know she should be on Day 3. Each week has 5 lessons, though there might also be additional videos and/or pages in the workbook for optional activities.

I find kids learn a lot hands-on, so although the activities are optional, we have been doing them. Some require very little resources that you likely already have. Others require additional materials like pine cones and tin cans. Most of the activities have a corresponding video, but there are also activities that do not have an individual video like drawing a picture based on the lesson.
The Answer Key is just a basic answer key containing all the answers to the questions from the workbooks. There are no instructions, but they are not needed. Everything needed to teach this curriculum is in the videos. There is very little I have to do besides checking her work and helping her with the activities.
The recommended ages for Introductory Science are 6-11. Level A is recommended for ages 6-8 and Level B is recommended for ages 9-11. Although our daughter is 8, she is already at the 3rd Grade level. Although I don’t find Level A to be too easy, I do think she could have done Level B as well.

Science Shepherd Review

Overall, Science Shepherd Introductory Science has been a great addition to our curriculum. Whether you are great at teaching science or are particularly nervous about it, the videos teach everything. It’s great for independent work yet also great for hands-on work together for the activities. Lessons are fairly short and easy to follow.
I think what I, personally, like most about this curriculum, though, is that it starts at the very beginning – God’s Creation. I love that this is a faith-based science curriculum. Plus, it covers a variety of topics like Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, Underwater Creatures, Flying Creatures, Land Creatures, etc. It’s so nice to have a faith-based science curriculum that covers so much.

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Learning Astronomy with Memoria Press {Review}

May 20, 2016 by Emilee Evans

Lately we’ve been learning a lot about different aspects of space. Last month we went to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum and not only learned about space ships and space in general, but we also learned a little about the constellations and got to make a constellation craft. Our oldest son’s interest was piqued about the constellations, so we were excited to dive in to the Book of Astronomy Set by Memoria Press.

Memoria Press offers a variety of classical education materials. The Astronomy Set includes a Student Book and Teacher Guide for teaching astronomy. It covers the topics like the names of the stars and constellations, the motion of the earth and brightness of the stars. Additionally it includes information about the constellations of the zodiac and when we see them as well as the “Summer Triangle.” It also covers the sky as seen through all seasons.
It was developed for those generally at the 3rd Grade level, but it notes that it could be used by older students as well. I definitely feel it would be good for older students. We have been using it with our oldest son who is at a 3rd Grade level, and it has been difficult for him. I definitely need to mention he is a delayed reader and has writing challenges, and this definitely affected how we can use this curriculum.

Teaching Astronomy

Upon receiving our Astronomy Set, I immediately opened the Teacher Guide for information of getting started. The Teacher Guide only has a single page of Astronomy Teaching Guidelines. It helped give me a general idea of how I should go about teaching astronomy with this curriculum. It uses recitation and memorization, which I feel really helps to instill not only the appreciation for what he is learning, but for better understanding as well. Brayden was resistant to this at first, but with daily practice (with the exception of weekends, though I would randomly ask him to recite the stars he knows) his attitude improved.
There are also “slides” available, which are full pages of each constellation that can be used on an overhead. Unfortunately, we do not have one, so I would simply put it up on the wall and have him draw it on the white board. This is to be used regularly as reviews.
The Teacher Guide is unclear what each day’s lesson should be exactly. I am sure this allows for greater flexibility so each family can find what works for them, but I admit I kind of like when I have clear direction. Regardless, I did find what worked for us, which was learning one constellation at a time. So, one constellation each day with regular recitation of the brightest stars and constellations he has learned.

I also found the Teacher Guide to be vague overall. It’s essentially exactly like the student book but with the answers filled in. At first, there was even one spot that was blank on the Teacher Guide, and I still am not sure if it’s just not supposed to be filled in or if I’m supposed to fill in the blanks.
After the recitation and review, we begin the lesson. I follow the lesson suggestions in the Teaching Guidelines. Because he is delayed in reading, I read for him. Then he will complete his writing of the names and drawing the constellations. It notes to make sure writing is neat and accurate. Although I do check his spelling, I know it is challenging for him to write in general, but particularly when it’s on a book with pages that don’t tear out. This has caused a bit of upset, but we’ve learned to work through it, which basically means I’m not too particular about how his handwriting looks.
Overall, I have found that although it has been challenging for our son, he still has been enjoying learning about astronomy, and is definitely learning and comprehending the material. Last week we went to the local Planetarium, and he was so excited that he could actually identify the stars and constellations he has learned. Although it does relate the constellations to Greek Mythology, I didn’t find it did so in a way that made me uncomfortable. I felt it was presented in a way that was relating it to the history of the stories and not promoting those beliefs. In fact, the Teacher Guide begins with related Bible verses.

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Hands on Science with the Insect Excavation Kit

March 11, 2015 by Emilee Evans

I love including interesting hands-ons science activities in our homeschool curriculum, and our kids love it, too! They are definitely hands-on learners and enjoy projects they can touch and explore.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product to facilitate my review. Regardless, all opinions are my own and those of my family. This post contains affiliate links.
Discover with Dr. Cool offers a variety of great award winning hands-on science kits that are great for kids ages 6-12. Whether you are homeschooling or would just like to introduce hands-on science activities to enhance your child’s learning, Discover with Dr. Cool offers a variety of great learning tools for teaching science at home. We loved the Crystal Growing Kit and couldn’t wait to check out one of their Dig Kits!
For our review we received the Real Insect Excavation Kit from their Award Winning Bugs and Insects Kits.

The Real Insect Excavation Kit is such a unique kit! It includes a digging tool, brush and magnifying glass used for excavating a beetle-shaped digging block to find a real spiny spider, fortune beetle, and scorpion all preserved in acrylic. I thought it was such a unique idea to dig into a big beetle to find the bugs!
In addition, the kit also includes a 12-page information guide that contains neat science facts about insects and was written by educators as well as an Activity booklet that contains 10 great puzzles and games for some learning fun! Kids get to learn about insects while excavating like a real paleontologist! They couldn’t wait to dig in!

The kids had so much fun excavating the beetle. They would find one of the bugs and get really excited. Then they would focus and work together to get the bug out. After we got it out, we would wash it off and examine it with the magnifying glass. Because it does take quite a bit of work to get to a bug and extract it, we would only do one bug at a time. I like that it also gave us time to focus and learn about each bug.

I think the Insect Excavation Kit is a great science kit! All three of our children (ages 4, 7, and 8) really enjoyed both participating in the hands-on experiment and the learning activities. Our 4 year old liked it so much he even chose to purchase the Shark Teeth Excavation Kit when they were able to choose a “toy” in the store the other day! I love when they choose something educational!

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