I have loved Bright Ideas Press ever since I first learned of them. We have been using Mystery of History for a few years now (love it!!). We reviewed Illuminations a couple of years ago (love tying it all together). Love, love, love WonderMaps. How in all of my love for their curriculum have I not checked out their science offerings? Scratching my head at that one, but glad it is not so anymore.
In the Christian Kids Explore line from Bright Ideas Press there are four books: Biology, Earth and Space, Chemistry and Physics. We were allowed to choose one of these for review so I selected Physics for our family. We have covered a lot of biology and earth sciences through our nature studies, etc. but I have always shied away from physics. Just talking about my young children learning physics sounds strange to me. Physics is “that hard science”. Nope, no preconceived ideas here. (that was sarcasm)
While we have not covered the book in depth, I really like what we have seen so far. If it wasn’t obvious from the title, let me tell you, the series is absolutely Christian. There are memory verses for each lesson and through it all, everything is pointing out that God is at the center and the basis for it all. I like how the units and lessons are laid out. I love having reproducibles easy to print and use. I have been able to easily include all of my learners in our lessons. We try to do as many of our studies together as a family as possible. I know the concepts being learned will get more difficult as we get further into the book. I’m not worried though, I can learn right along side my children if need be. One thing I have noticed, I know more physics than I thought I did.
There are six units (unevenly) divided into thirty lessons in Christian Kids Explore Physics. Each lesson has two main parts, Teaching Time and Hands-on Time. There are lesson plans included in the resources. It breaks down each lesson to be covered over two days. I appreciate the helpfulness in that this also has a list of materials needed, what needs to be printed, etc. The topic of each unit is:
- The Foundations of Physics
- Matter
- Mechanics
- Matter in Motion
- Energy in Motion
- Electricity and Magnetism
In the appendix is a thorough list of books that can be added to your studies. One not on the list, but that my children enjoyed is titled Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy. It was a lot of fun reading this when we were learning about measuring things by various means. Adding picture books like this go a long way to drawing my younger learners into the lesson. We do the review questions orally before moving to the Hands-on Time. All of my children like to color, so they all get their own copy of the coloring page (one for each unit). The curriculum is written for a 4th-8th level, but like everything else we have used from Bright Ideas Press, it is easy to adapt for your younger learners who are tagging along. That does not mean this is physics lite, there are things that will challenge your children. The Think About It discussions after the Hands-on Time are just right for my older children to ensure they are understanding what we are doing.
There is also an included literature study (taken from Illuminations 4) covering Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia by Margaret Cousins. This is a Family Study Guide, which is included throughout the Illuminations curriculum as well available for separate purchase. This is just one example of how with the right starting point (great curriculum) you can incorporate many subject areas and all of your children for a fun learning adventure.
Christian Kids Explore: Physics is available for $39.95 for the text and resource CD. Christian Kids Explore: Chemistry runs the same price (also written for grades 4-8) The other books, CKE Biology and CKE Earth & Space are $34.95. The TOS Homeschool Crew received an e-book version of these for our reviews. Although that is not an option currently to purchase, my understanding is that it probably will be in the future. While I love holding books in my hand, turning pages, etc. there are some advantages to e-books (less bookshelf space required!). Be sure to read the reviews from other Crew families by checking out the blog.
