4.0 out of 5 stars
Main Text and Student Journal, September 30, 2010
This review is from: Forces and Motion: From High-speed Jets to Wind-up Toys-Student Journal (Investigate the Possibilities: Elementary Physics) (Paperback)
*For the rest of my review, check out the Teacher's Guide review for this program.*
There are quite a few Christian-based science curriculums available for children to choose from in the realm of the life sciences. Resources for physical sciences however, are much more limited. This is what makes the Elementary Physical Science programs from Master Books so exciting!
Designed for students from grades 3 - 8 (simple graphing, division, and other age appropriate math skills are required), Forces and Motion is a hands-on; activity based learning approach that teaches first through observation, and then through the application of scientific principles and concepts after they have already been observed. I love that - learning through life and the real application of science rather than just through book learning!
There are three books required for Forces and Motion, a student journal (consumable, but affordable with a suggested retail of $4.99), a teacher's guide ($4.99), and the text itself ($12.99). The supplies needed are a combination of common household supplies and some you'll need to purchase from a science supplier. I recommend you go through the program and make a shopping list before you begin. The 20 investigations are recommended as an 18-week (or one semester) course of study with approximately 5 hours of work estimated per week.
The text is full-color, and looks much like a traditional textbook with many short segments included for each investigation (lesson.) It includes the instructions for each hands-on segment, the explanation of the scientific principles, information on major scientists behind discoveries, discussion prompts, and more.
The student journal is black and white, with room for observations (graphing activities, diagrams, and tables), short answer questions, math activities, true/false questions, fill in the blanks etc.) - these vary from lesson to lesson (not all of these are presented for each activity.) A separate notebook will also be required for recording answers to the longer questions in the "What Did You Learn?" section for each activity. Some of the questions are presented fully in the journal, others will need to be looked up in the text, such as the "Dig Deeper" research components.
Personally, the three-volume approach isn't as intuitive for me to use as a parent. I love resources that are "all-in-one" grab and go volumes, so this format is a bit trickier for me to figure out. If you are used to more of an Apologia approach for elementary science it might take a while to get the three volumes to flow together easily.
I wasn't sure how Christian elements could be interwoven with physical science, but I was pleased to see an emphasis on the faith of scientists such as Newton, scripture references, creation apologetics, and praise for the Creator of our universe. If you haven't been sure how to tie together concepts such as friction, and God's design of the world, this will be an incredibly helpful guide to get some conversations started.
I really like the emphasis on hands-on followed by scientific discussions and concepts, allowing children to have a real-life anchor to peg scientific concepts into. While the format isn't my favorite, I'm still pleased to see a multi-age resource provided for families that incorporates the nitty-gritties of physical science (the precursor of physics) in a real-life setting with math included as an integral, real-life-application part of the study.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Hands On Science Made Easy, January 12, 2010
This review is from: Forces and Motion: From High-speed Jets to Wind-up Toys-Student Journal (Investigate the Possibilities: Elementary Physics) (Paperback)
The teacher's guide gives you teaching tips, additional material, and answers to the questions in the book. The student book is basically a lab book for the student to record everything from the experiments and questions in the book. It covers The Activity: Procedure and Observations, Thinking About, Dig Deeper (extra activities for further learning), What Did You Learn, and Stumper's Corner (student writes 2 questions about the topic that are meant to "stump" someone).
My daughter likes the short lessons with the experiments. The student book (journal) helped her stay focused on the task at hand. She also appreciated the glossary at the back of the book.
I like that everything is laid out for the teacher. If you have the supplies needed, you can quickly look over the lesson the night before and easily teach the lesson the next day. Or, if you have an older child, they can do the lesson completely on their own. We did have some issues of not having the needed supplies on hand (walking toy, wagon, spring scale), but, for the most part, the items used in the experiments are household items.
We will be using this set as part of our current science curriculum. It's a great way to reinforce concept that my daughter is learning. You could use this as a science core by adding more in depth study into the concepts covered. While this set is geared towards grades 3-6, you could easily beef it up for higher grades.
Note: This is a creation science based resource. I received a copy of this book set in order to do a review on my blog. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Forces & Motion From High Speed Jets to Wind Up Toys, December 5, 2009
This review is from: Forces and Motion: From High-speed Jets to Wind-up Toys-Student Journal (Investigate the Possibilities: Elementary Physics) (Paperback)
Are you afraid of teaching science? Do you wish you could make your homeschool science program more interesting? Would you just like to have some fun with your kids designing cool science experiments?
Forces and Motion is a fun program designed for grades three through six. The program includes an easy to use teachers guide, a colorful student book, and a student journal with review questions and spaces to record progress.
The materials used in the science experiments are low cost and most can be found around the home without having to make a purchase.
Forces and Motions contains items to explain the concepts in simple and humorous stories, such as the flying creme pie, which demonstrates Newton's First Law of Motion.
As a person who disliked science in elementary school, I would have enjoyed this program which makes science easy, understandable, and fun.
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