Created by homeschool mom Stephanie Redmond and born out of her love for classical education and God's truth, it is written for multiple ages and grades, requires little advance preparation, and can be molded to fit every family, large or small.
The schedule of 35 weekly lessons in 8 units calls for teaching twice weekly, allowing a family time for projects, exploration of resource books, field trips, and more. Here you can view a Table of Contents.
Each unit starts with a list of vocabulary words (which are also noted in bold in each lesson), materials needed, and an optional coloring page. Depending on the age of the child, the lesson can be read either aloud by the parent or independently by the child. It is also suggested that they keep a science notebook.
After reading the lesson, there are several options as to what the child can do next. They can list and define vocabulary words, review facts or scripture verses, or read outside resources that go along with the lesson. Here you can see a sample taken from Lesson 12.
There is also "Hands-On Time" included in each lesson. This is where children will usually be creating a project or doing an experiment. The first unit includes projects like drawing, making play dough, paper-mache, gelatin, and making flash cards. Most of the materials are things you would already have on hand. There are really way more activities and resources than a child can complete, so the parent can pick and choose what fits their schedule and family best.
Each unit ends with a review {or quiz} and an optional writing assignment.
Another neat thing about this book is that there is a HUGE Appendix in the back. It has 8 sections that include reproducible forms and maps, memorization and reference lists, scripture memory, instructions and art for an animal ABC book, coloring pages, recipes and supplemental activities, an answer key, and suggested further reading. Again, none of these are required, just additional resources. Here is a sample of Suggested Further Reading.
The Christina Kids Explore series is sold by Bright Ideas Press, an online store that sells Christian-oriented curriculum.
My Thoughts: I liked this book so much that I may use it for our science next year!! I like the layout and that there are a variety of assignments for the student to choose from. I think the book is perfect for the 3-6 grade level. It's also great for large families with children in multiple grades.
I also love that they author's main goal is to glorify God in all that she does. There are scripture verses to memorize throughout and reminders and questions about our Creator in the lessons.
The only thing I wish the author did differently was to reference the page numbers in the Appendix for assignments. An activity may call for instructions or a reproducible form in the Appendix, and many times I found myself flipping through several pages to find it.
Find Out More: You can find out more online about Christian Kids Explore Biology. It comes as a softcover book and sells for $34.95. Bright Ideas Press also sells the Student Activity Book download so you don't have to make photocopies or skip activities because you don’t have the pages ready for your students to work on. It sells for $7.95. Here you can view all books in the Christian Kids Explore Science series.
My Crewmates are also reviewing Christian Kids Explore Biology as well as others in the series, so you can check out what they think HERE.
Disclaimer: This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.
1 comments:
Very interesting book. Every kid should read it!
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