Review: Science4Us.com

Several weeks ago, we were given a 6 month Science4Us.com Online Subscription to review.  This program is priced at $7.95/month, and is designed for children in grades K-2 (or as review for students in grades 3-5).

I decided to use Science4Us.com for Nicholas's second grade science curriculum, and as a review fourth grade science curriculum for Micah.  For some reason, even though I love science, it gets pushed to the back burner.  I'm always on the lookout for science that can be done independently.  Science4Us.com caught my attention for this reason.

There are four books of science in Science4Us.com:  

• Inquiry:  covers science skills topics
• Physical:  covers matter, energy, and force and motion
• Life:  covers living things and balance in nature
• Earth/Space:  covers earth and space topics

In each of the four science books, there are many different lessons and activities.  For example, in the Inquiry book, your child will watch an animated video of brothers making observations using their senses.  Then your child will be asked to draw two different kinds of food: one that is red, squishy, and hot, and one that is long, smooth, and yellow for their digital notebook.  Other types of activities include manipulating a 3-D model of the solar system in Earth/Space, vocabulary is taught/reinforced with word scrambles, and in the Life book, they're asked to sort animals into a Venn diagram based on whether they eat plants or animals.  Over the course of the program, students will keep a digital notebook, which contains many of the activities that your child completes and saves. 

Individual logins and dashboards create a personalized experience for each student enrolled.

Activities are fun and engaging.

The graphics are bright and colorful.

The teacher/parent also has an individual login.  There are several components built in to help the parent utilize the program to its fullest.  There are teacher support materials that explain what the lessons are about.  There is a lesson plan option that allows the parent to easily discover what each lesson is about, as well as download extension activities to go along with the program.  Activities can be previewed, so you can see exactly what your child will be doing.  Lessons can easily be assigned to students.  

My favorite feature, though, are the student reports.  You can see how many times your child has logged on, as well as the amount of time spent in the program.  You can see what activities they've completed from each module.  You can also view your child's online science notebook.  You can see all the work they've saved, and how they're progressing in the program.  I enjoyed looking at these digital notebooks as much as I've enjoyed looking a work my boys have done with paper and pencil.

Since my boys are on the older end of the age range, I let them choose which activities to work on, and they were able to work independently as I'd hoped.  My only requirement was that they worked 30 minutes a day.  I checked their student notebooks and the time they spent on the program, and we talked about what they were learning.

Since beginning, Science4Us.com has been a success in our homeschool.  Both Micah and Nicholas asked to work on the program outside of school hours, as well as at the end of their school day.  It kept them engaged and learning, even though it wasn't overly challenging, and reinforced things they've previously learned.  I think they might have learned a more brand new things if they were younger instead of on the older end of the age range.  However, it's hard to argue with a program that your children ask to work on.  If you have a child in early elementary, I would definitely check out Science4Us.com.

 

Check out Science4Us.com on these various platforms:

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Science4UsSays
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/science4us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Science4Us
G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112259351657747584252/

Review: Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics

Apologia Educational Ministries is a wonderful publisher of many different homeschool resources.  They might be best known for their homeschool science programs.  Their science programs can take you from elementary through high school.  I recently received their newest elementary books to review:

• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics ($39)
• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal ($24)
• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Junior Notebooking Journal ($24)

Like Apologia's other titles in the Young Explorer Series, the Chemistry and Physics book is aimed at students in grades K-6 and is written by Jeannie Fulbright.  Jeannie is the homeschooling mother of four children, and when she realized the need for creation based science materials for homeschooling families, she set out to write them.

The Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics text is a lovely hardback book.  It's a full color 280 page book, broken down into 14 lessons.  These lessons are meant to be completed at your own pace.  The text is complete, requiring no supplementation, so you can go through the book without adding anything.  However, if your student loves the subject matter, you can add in additional books from the library and fun field trips.

Topics covered in this textbook include:

• Matter
• Atoms
• Compounds
• Mixtures
• Motion
• Energy
• Sound
• Light
• Thermal Energy
• Electricity
• Magnetism
• Simple Machines

Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics is written in a conversational style.  When you read the book to your child, or when they read it to themselves, it's like the author is sitting down with you and you child and is explaining all of these concepts.  Interspersed in the text are "Try This!" boxes; these are small experiments for the student to complete to demonstrate what they are learning in the text.  There are also additional experiments and projects at the end of each lesson.  These are a bigger and take a bit more time than the experiments in the "Try This!" boxes.

All of the experiments use easy to obtain items.  There is a handy supply list in the back of the book to help assist you in gathering the needed supplies.  If you don't have the supplies around the house, they are easily purchased at your local grocery or big box store.

Notebooking is recommended as a way to record what your children are learning, and to help make this easier, Jeannie Fulbright has written journals for your child to fill out.  There are two levels.  The Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal is for children in about 4th through 6th grades.   The Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Junior Notebooking Journal is for children in about kindergarten through 3rd grade.  They are similar, but the Junior version contain primary lined pages, less writing in general, fewer crossword puzzles, and some pages that require writing have been replaced with coloring pages.  They contain the same minibooks and activities, and can be used at the same time with students at different levels.  

This program is so easy to use, especially with the schedule in the front of the Notebooking Journals.  If you use the journals, you'll simply read the text, do any experiments, and then do the notebooking activities.  The schedule is a 28 week schedule, and is broken down so you'll do science twice a week.  If you're not using the journals, you'll read the text, do the activities, and you should have your child narrate to you and do the notebooking activities in the text.

I've got 3 boys in the suggested age range.  Jacob (6th), Micah (4th), and Nicholas (2nd).  The Notebooking Journal was perfect for Jacob, while the Junior Notebooking Journal was perfect for Nicholas.  Micah was kind of my wild card.  The activities in the Notebooking Journal were fine for him, but he hates writing and would've preferred the Junior Notebooking Journal.  We enjoyed this program, and followed the schedule in the front of the journals.  The experiments are fun and don't take a lot of work, and the notebooking journals make the program super easy on Mom.  The quality of the textbook and notebooking journals is fabulous, and is what I've come to expect from Apologia Educational Ministries.  The Young Explorer's Series is already a popular homeschool science resource, and they've got another hit on their hands with Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics.

For more reviews of Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics, visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

 

Unlikely Science

Nick's hair is long (it's wavy/curly, so it appears a bit longer than shoulder length, but when you stretch the curls out it's not quite mid-back length).  We've been fighting a lot of tangles lately, and I asked for advice from some friends and one recommended the Wet Brush and a spray bottle of water with some conditioner added.

We tried it, and it worked great. The tangles are removed easily and there is no pulling or tugging to get them out.

But I didn't know it would turn into a science experiment.

Nick:  "Mom.  It took me 4 minutes 21 seconds to brush my hair this morning."
Me:  "You timed it?"
Nick:  "Yes, I did.  And tomorrow I'm going to use the blue comb and water and time it to see how much faster this way is."

I'm resisting the urge to have him make a graph.

Review: Moving Beyond the Page

Moving Beyond the Page is a literature based curriculum that encourages critical & creative thinking.  There are units for Science, Social Studies, and Literature, for ages 5-13.  For this review, I received the literature unit Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, along with the coordinating science unit  Work, Tools, and Simple Machines.  Both of these units are geared towards 8-10 year olds, and I used them with Jacob, my 10 year old.

The guides are available in either hardcopy or online version.  I received a hardcopy guide for Work, Tools, and Simple Machines (along with the Science in a Nutshell: Work: Plane and Simple kit)  , while the guide for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was the online version (and I received a hardcopy of the book).  You can see a sample of the online guide for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH here.  After the purchase of an online guide, you can activate it whenever you'd like (they don't ever expire).  Once you activate it, you have 3 months to use it, though you may contact Moving Beyond the Page if you need to extend the use.  Prices vary from unit to unit, but for reference the cost for the Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH package is $19.92, while the Work, Tools, and Simple Machines package is $61.99.  You also have the option of purchasing complete packages instead of individual units.  While the units I received are meant to complement each other, you can mix and match the different units to suit the interests of your child.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH  is made up of 13 lessons, plus a final project.  Each lesson is expected to take a day, though the final project is at least a two day project.

The online guide is very simple to use.  It contains all of the activity and question pages that are needed, and they are easy to access and print out.  Each lessons follows a general pattern.  The lesson begins with a "Getting Started" section which provides the general point of the lesson to the teacher through "Questions to Explore", "Facts and Definitions", "Skills", and "Needed Materials".  Then an introductory question or thought is provided to help get your child thinking about the book in a critical way.  Following this question are comprehension and critical thinking questions based on that day's reading.  These can either be answered orally, you can type the answers into the online guide and print, or the worksheets can be printed and your child can write the answers down.  It's actually suggested that you do a combination of oral and written answers; we chose to answer all the questions orally.  

There are activities following the questions.  The student keeps a plot flowchart for each chapter of the book, and I found this to be a very useful activity for picking out the important parts of each chapter.  Some of the additional activities are worksheets that reinforce language arts skills (such as homonyms and  irregular plurals), while other worksheets require creative and/or critical thinking (such as designing a maze or coming up with acronyms for sets of letters).  Still other activities are hands on.  One such example involves running a skien of yarn throughout your house, and then blindfolding the child and have them find their way by holding on to the yarn; another involves giving your child a specific set of items and having them invent something. There are usually 2-3 activities per lesson, and some activities present an easier and harder option, allowing you some flexibility depending on your child's skill level.

After the activities, the lesson wraps up with discussion based on the story, as well as the skills practiced that day.  The final two day project presents two options:  writing a final chapter for the book or designing a book float, so two very different options are presented.

The hardcopy guide for Work, Tools, and Simple Machines is also easy to use.  Instead of printable worksheets, there are non-reproducible worksheets in the guide.  There are 7 lessons and a final project in this unit, though all but one of the lessons require 2 days to complete.  The lessons are:

• Work
• The Six Simple Machines
• The Inclined Plane
• The Screw and the Wedge
• Lever, Pulley, and Wheel and Axle
• Tools and Machines Make Work Easier
• Tools and Machines Over Time

The lessons are laid out in a similar fashion to those in the literature unit.  Lessons are introduced to the teacher with "Big Ideas", "Facts and Definitions", "Skills", "Materials", and an "Introduction" to present the ideas of the lesson to your child.

Following the introduction are the activities.  There are worksheets (often there are 2 options for differing skill levels), along with a lot of hands on activities.  The worksheet activities has the student drawing machines, identifying simple machines in the home, and cutting out and sorting many different things into what kind of simple machine they are.  Many of the needed supplies for the hands on activities are included in the Science in a Nutshell kit, but some need to be gathered (magazines, tape, cardboard, clay, beans, and  more).  There is a materials list provided at the beginning of the guide, and I would suggest gathering the supplies before you start.  The final project is a presentation that will have your student tie all that they've learned together through the creation of a poster and demonstration of the various types of simple machines, including how they work and how they've changed over time.

Jacob really enjoyed reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and the activities and questions did cause him to think more critically about the book.  He also really enjoyed learning all about the simple machines.  It was fun to approach the book and science topic together, and I liked the way they complimented each other. The literature unit took us 30-45 minutes a day, while the science unit usually took longer, about 45-75 minutes.  There is a lot of discussion involved, so it was pretty teacher intensive.  Both types of guides were easy to use, though I probably slightly preferred the hardcopy version (I tend to get distracted on the computer).  However, I liked being able to print out the activity sheets from the online guide to give them to Jacob, instead of having him work on the sheets in the guide I was using.  Really, you can't go wrong with either option.

If you're looking for a challenging and fun option for your homeschool, check out Moving Beyond the Page.  In addition to being a great full year program, the individual units are also a great option to keep your child learning and engaged throughout the summer months.

For more reviews of Moving Beyond the Page, visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Review: Supercharged Science

Supercharged Science is my latest review for The Schoolhouse Review Crew.  I was given an e-science subscription to review.  This program is the brainchild of Aurora and Al Lipper.  About 10 years ago, they decided to try and make science fun for kids to learn and easy for parents to teach.  The result is e-science.  Did I mention that Aurora is a Real Life Rocket Scientist who has worked for NASA and has a graduate degree in mechanical engineering?  She's now a stay at home mom of 4, and she obviously loves science.

E-science is a hands on, K-12 science program that covers life science, physical science, chemistry, and biology.  It's very easy for parents, because Aurora teaches most of the content in online videos, and the lessons are self-guided, so the parent doesn't have to be very involved.  There are downloadable lesson plans for each unit and downloadable readings for each lessons  There are many experiments for each lesson (many have a video component) along with a materials list so you can plan ahead, and each lesson ends with exercises/questions to see how much your child has learned from the lesson.  You can access a free sample of the program here.

There are currently 19 Study Units, with more coming soon.  The way the program works, when you sign up  (at $37/month for K-8 or $57/month for K-12), you receive access to the first seven units:

• Mechanics
• Motion
• Matter
• Energy 1
• Energy 2
• Sound
• Astrophysics 

You'll also gain access to some extras like "The Scientific Method". Every month after, you receive access to 2 additional units in order.  However, if there is a unit that you're dying to do (like Chemistry, Thermodynamics, or Magnetism), you can email them directly and they will unlock it for you.  If you are already working on another science program, there are conversion charts available to help you line up many popular programs with e-science.

We love Supercharged Science.  We started with the Life Science unit.  The first thing I did was print off the lesson plans and checked the materials list for the unit.  We watched the introductory video and we watched the video on how to create a Scientific Journal.  From there, we were prepared to jump into the content.  We read the provided readings on the topics, watched any videos on the topics, and then worked our way through experiments.

I appreciated the fact I could use this program with all five of the boys (ages 7-13).  Experiments ranged from easily understood by my younger sons (classifying things as living or non-living) to more involved (finding out if a person's thumb or wrist size affected who would win thumb wars).  I was thrilled that my boys were encouraged to keep track of their experiments in a Scientific Journal.  I know we've often "done science", but haven't taken the time to record what we've done or the outcome.

Most of all I loved the fact my boys kept asking to do e-science. It's easy to use, thorough, and engaging.  I think Aurora and Al Lipper achieved their goal of making science fun for kids and easy for parents, and I look forward to continuing to work through e-science.

For more reviews of Supercharged Science, visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Activity Bags

Over the years, I have heard of activity bags being used to help keep preschoolers entertained while Mom is schooling older siblings.  I'm out of the preschool stage, but was intrigued when I found out that Activity Bags has eBooks available for older children as well.  I was pleased to have the opportunity to review 4 eBooks from Activity Bags:

• Science Experiments in a Bag eBook 1
• Science Experiments in a Bag eBook 2
• Science Experiments in a Bag eBook 3
• Travel Activities in a Binder eBook

What are activity bags?  The idea is that you take some time and assemble ziplock bags with needed supplies and instructions, so that your child can just pull out a bag and do the activity with little to no direction from you.  You can even arrange a swap with friends.  To complete a swap, each Mom is assigned an activity or two to assemble.  If there are 10 people in your swap group, the Mom would assemble 10 bags of each assigned activity.  Then you get together and trade bags, so every Mom in the swap gets a complete set of activities.  This is an efficient way to get multiple activities assembled.

Each Science Experiments in a Bag eBook contains 25 activities.  There are detailed instructions for how to assemble the bags, and while you might need to purchase some supplies for the experiments, there is nothing that couldn't be found at a local big box or grocery store.  For each experiment there is an experiment log (for the student to record their findings) and answer sheet (contains the answers and explains the why behind what occurred during the experiment). 

EBook 1 focuses on Biology, Nature, and General Science.  Some activities include:

• Balloon Skewer:  inserting a wooden skewer into a balloon without popping it
• Chirp, Chirp: determine temperature using a cricket's chirp
• Geotropism:  germinate seeds and learn what is needed for healthy plant growth

EBook 2 focuses on Chemistry, Human Body, and General Science.  Some activities include:

• Calling Long Distance:  learn about sound waves by making homemade phones
• Crayon Creations:  learn how heat changes a solid into a liquid, and then how the liquid changes back into a solid when it cools
• Rocket Reaction:  learn how unbalanced forces produce motion

EBook 3 focuses only on Chemistry.  Some activities include:

• Microbes:  learn how salting foods can prevent microbes from spoiling food
• Salt Crystals:  grow salt crystals
• Shake, Shake, Shake:  make your own butter

According to the website, the Science Activities in a Bag eBooks are for children in kindergarten through 8th grade, however in the eBook itself it states they are for children in preschool through early elementary age.  While my 7th & 8th grade sons would have fun with some of the activities, I think they are best suited for elementary aged students.  Science in the elementary grades is something that tends to get bumped in our homeschool.  I find that my boys are naturally drawn to science so it's something that they'll easily do in their free time, especially if there are experiments involved.  I had my 5th, 3rd, and 1st grade sons complete some of the activities, and they were well suited for their ages.  I like that I can assemble the bags and then let them choose a science activity when we have some extra time.  The experiment logs are great, especially for my 5th grader, though they required too much writing for my 3rd and 1st graders (we talked about the experiments instead of writing down answers). I look forward to getting several more bags made up for my boys.  All 3 of these eBooks are priced at $15, and are well worth the money.

Travel Activities in a Binder is a bit different.  Instead of placing the activities in ziplock bags, the activities are printed out and put in sheet protectors in a binder.  You'll also need a pencil pouch for the binder to hold supplies like dry erase markers, eraser, blindfold, and dice.

This is a wonderful solution for long car trips or traffic jams.  Activities include familiar activities like hangman, tic tac toe, and mazes, but in addition there are other fun activities like drawing what you see in the clouds, doing an ABC search (looking for something that begins with each letter of the alphabet and writing it down), and blindfold drawing (one person describes what they see out of the window while another blindfolded person attempts to draw it).

We take 1 or 2 really long car trips every year.  In the past, I've made individual activity books for the boys to help pass the many hours.  I've never thought about keeping a binder of dry erase activities in the car for shorter trips, though.  I think it's a brilliant idea, and I know all my boys will enjoy having something to do when they're stuck in the van around town or stuck in a waiting room without anything to do.  This eBook is also worth the $15.

For more Activity Bag reviews (including reviews of Math Games, Reading Games, and Preschool Activities) , go here.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Amazing Science! Volume 1

I love science experiments.  My boys love science experiments.  There is nothing cooler than interacting with God's creation and observing what happens.  As fun as it is, it can be very disappointing as well.  You pick an interesting experiment and gather the materials needed.  You carefully read the instructions and then reread them, just to make sure you understand exactly what you're supposed to do.  You follow the directions, and then....nothing happens.  What a let down!  I know I'm not the only homeschooling mom who has spent time explaining what should've happened during a failed experiment.

Amazing Science!,  a 2 disk DVD set from ScienceAndMath.com, helps solve this problem.  There are 23 experiments performed:

1. Color Changing Milk
2. Egg in a Bottle
3. Exploring Air Pressure
4. Build a Lemon Battery
5. Inverted Cup of Water
6. Candle Suction Power
7. Amazing Magnetic Force
8. Lift and Ice Cube with String
9. Unburnable Money
10. Matchstick Speedboat
11. Cloud in a Bottle
12. Reversing and Image with Water
13. Floating Eggs
14. Keeping Paper Dry Under Water
15. Dry Ice Bubbles
16. Balloon in a Candle Flame
17. Ocean in a Bottle
18. Build a Motor with Lights
19. Simple Lava Lamp
20. Invisible Ink
21. Density Tower
22. Soda Can Fizz
23. Build a Motor #2

The science behind each experiment is fully explained by Jason Gibson.  He holds degrees in Engineering and Physics and worked as a rocket scientist for NASA. A complete materials list is given for each experiment, and the materials needed can be found at your local hardware or grocery store, if you don't already have them around the house.  Experiments are fun and engaging.  My boys were begging to do them after watching the videos, and I'm sure your children will be just as eager.  I was already excited  about this DVD, and then I saw the price.  It's only $19.95!  If you're looking for a fun way to add experiments to your science program, or if you need something to help keep your children occupied over the hot summer months, check out this program.

For more reviews of Amazing Science!, go here.

 Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine. 

Christian Kids Explore Physics

Christian Kids Explore Physics is a science program for children in grades 4-8, published by Bright Ideas Press.  It's a 433 page book with resource CD, and I received a PDF version to review.  The cost for the printed book is $39.95.

This book is broken down into 6 units and 30 total lessons. Each lesson is meant to take a week, doing science two days a week for about 1 or 1.5 hours a day.  The unit titles are:

• The Foundations of Physics (3 lessons)
• Matter (6 lessons)
• Mechanics (5 lessons)
• Matter in Motion (5 lessons)
• Energy in Motion (7 lessons)
• Electricity and Magnetism (4 lessons)

Each unit begins with a unit introduction for the parent, a list of vocabulary words, and list of materials needed.  This page is followed by "Teaching Time", where the concepts are presented to the student. Vocabulary words are defined  in the sidebar, along with a related Bible verse.  The lesson is followed by a "Review It" page, which is a fill in the blank worksheet meant to solidify the main points from the lesson.  After the review comes "Hands-On Time", which include experiments or projects. At the end of each project is a "Think About It" section, and this section presents questions to the student that cause them to think about what they've learned.  Each unit ends with Unit Wrap Up, which is a fill in the blank quiz that reviews the entire unit's contents.  You can view a sample lesson here.  The book concludes with a glossary, 7 coloring pages, a book and resource list, an index, and an answer key for the "Review It" and "Unit Wrap-Up" worksheets. 

The resource CD includes lesson plans, a student activity book (this includes all pages the the student needs to fill out from the text, but instead of copying them from a physical book, you can just print them out), a supply list for each unit, and Family Study Guide for the book Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia.  This study guide is 11 pages long, and includes vocabulary words, discussion questions, and hands-on projects.

Christian Kids Explore Physics is an easy to implement and well-laid out science program.  The supplies needed are easy to find, which is always helpful for actually getting the hands-on portion of a science program completed.  If you're looking for a great physics program for your late elementary or middle school student, check out this program.  Bright Ideas Press also has chemistry, earth and space, and biology programs available.

For more Christian Kids Explore science reviews, go here.

 

 Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine.