Friday, April 8, 2011

Science Weekly, TOS Review


I LOVE science, I can remember riding in the back of my parents station wagon and talking to them about what I want to be when I grew up. I always said that I wanted to be a scientist. I did actually choose a career path in the science field, eventually receiving my Masters Degree in Science with a Major in Community Health Education. I am a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) in my pre-mommy life and I love teaching the topic of Science to my little budding scientists.
Our home offers the perfect setting for real hands on science, which in this day and age, we Americans need to teach  a solid science foundation to our children in order to compete globally. We live at the end of a dead end on a lake in the woods so we are able to pull from nature and our surroundings just about anything we need  to teach on a science subject.
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was sent an instructional module from Science Weekly found HERE. I thought the content was fine and I thought it was great that this material will work for a large family. The topic is the same for children in pre-k through 6th grade, just the depth of understanding is different. That makes teaching everyone together much easier. Plus the material is easy enough to follow for the student, so my daughter was able to do the work with me nearby, not necessarily hovering over her.
The topic we covered was fractions, which didn't strike me as very "sci ency" since we had covered the material in math. But the information was given in clear easy to read lessons and was a good review. Each Module offers Teaching Notes with an informational background (little to no prep time is necessary). The teaching notes also offers an answer key and additional resources to round out the weekly topic.

The cost for the material is: $19.95 per student per year for 15 issues (this is if you have less than 20 people who can subscribe). If you have a co-op and can gather 20 or more students you can get a "classroom rate" of $4.95 per student for 15 issues.
I know in the homeschool scene there are many moms who feel very confident teaching writing and fine arts but almost skip science altogether, if you fall into this category, check this product out. You can visit the site and download a free sample issue and see if this might be a good fit for your family. I would also consider using it as a supplement to a unit study or for folder work if a child isn't feeling well or you are traveling but don't want to lug around teaching manuals and books.
Click HERE to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Science Weekly.


I was sent this product at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.

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