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Christian Character Matters (our review site of home school, Bible, and fun products for the whole family) |
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Homeschool
| Science | History | Math | Reading | Languages | Unit Studies |
| Considering God's Creation | God's Design Series | Apologia Elementary Science | Master Books (Highly Recommended!) | Great Science Adventures |
| Insect Lore | Lyrical Science | Bright Ideas Press | Teaching Tank |
All of the science materials listed are fantastic! I have only done reviews for science materials that are free of evolution. Science will quickly become one of your child's favorite subjects as they learn all about God's incredible creation!
Exploring Creation with Astronomy
by Jeannie K. Fulbright
$35.00
Thought you could not teach science - well think again! Snuggle up on the couch and open up this fantastic book. Your children will learn so much and so will you! Our children love for us to read them a story, and the formats of Mrs. Fulbright's books allow learning and story time to go hand in hand. The content is not at all watered down, the photos are incredible, and the activities ideas included will make science one of your child's favorite subjects.
This are high quality hardcover books with many color drawings and photos throughout. New words and in bold print and pronunciations are also included for challenging words. These books use the Charlotte Mason method which includes each student creating a notebook. An immersion approach is taken here where the student will study the same subject of science for a whole year. This will help develop a love for the subject and a love for learning in general. Older elementary students could read the text independently. Students will give narrations of what they read which will help build confidence and speaking skills.
All materials needed are listed in the front of the text and a kit is available. Latin terms are defined throughout. Extra information can be obtained from the website using a password found in the front of the book.
From the apologia website:
"The book begins with a lesson on the nature of astronomy, and then it covers the major structures of our solar system. Starting with the sun and working towards Pluto, the student will learn details about all nine planets (or is it eight? - your student will have to decide) in the solar system. Along the way, the student will also learn about earth’s moon, the asteroid belt, and the Kuiper belt. After that, the student will move outside our solar system and learn about the stars and galaxies that make up God’s incredible universe. Finally, the student will learn about space travel and what it takes to be an astronaut!
The activities and projects use easy-to-find household items and truly make the lessons come alive! They include making a solar eclipse, making craters like those found on Mercury, simulating the use of radar to determine hidden landscape, keeping track of the phases of the moon, making a telescope, making fog, and making an astrometer to measure the brightness of a star.
Most importantly, of course, a creationist world view is stressed throughout. Time and time again, God is glorified as the Master Creator of all that the students are studying. In addition, sections entitled "Creation Confirmation" provide evidence for young-earth creationism in the context of the topic that the students are studying. "
Exploring Creation with Botony
$35.00
Same terrific format as the astronomy book!
Some of the great projects included in this book are making a light box for growing plants including herbs. The herbs will then be used to make soap. These books are solid in the science they cover!
"We recommend that you spend the entire year covering this book, devoting approximately two sessions per week to the course. The sessions will be something like 30 minutes to an hour, depending on exactly what you are doing on that day. Of course, if you want to cover the book in less than a year, you will simply have to devote more time to it. Please note that many of the activities and projects in this book are long-term projects whose results can take several days to observe. Thus, you will have to be flexible in how you schedule your time. "
Format: Single book, hardbound. Color photos & illustrations.
Recommended ages: 2nd-6th grade.
$29.95 for the set
A creative Biblical approach to natural science. The set includes a teacher's manual with CD (you will need this!) and a student book for each student (purchase one for each student as they are very affordable). The teacher's manual is scripted and the music CD is very enjoyable (my girls enjoy listening to it as they go to bed - and they are learning too! The student books are awesome. So many fun activities and learning projects. You're child will end up with a beautiful book when it is all complete! Chapters include: creation, the universe, the earth, non-living things, weather, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, animal anatomy and physiology, man, and misc. (scientists, reviews, answers, etc). The student and teacher books are black and white, but sturdy pages. I showed all science material we received to a friend of mine and this was her favorite. The reason being that her children could complete this more independently than the God's Design series. For children in kindergarten and 1st grade, I would suggest the God's Design for Life series. But if you have children in second grade and above, this would be excellent. This could be used over one or two years or to supplement another science program. It is used with Galloping the Globe. They work very nicely together!
Recommended ages: K-6th grade
$18.00 each
God's Design for Life (Animal Kingdom, Human Body, and Plants books available)
God's Design for Heaven and Earth (Our Planet Earth, Our Universe, and Our Weather and Water books are available)
God's Design for Chemistry
These are the best books to use for K-6th grade (I would do Considering God's Creation for at least 1 year too). A scripted section to read is included for the student to learn about the subject. Activities follow (these are really fun! We made a cell model out of jello). Review questions and questions for further investigation are included. I recommend letting your children choose which book to do first. Our 6 year old chose the Animal Kingdom book first since she loves animals. Our 4 year old has also been able to participate in the science lessons. They are great because you can include the whole family and there are no student books to purchase.
Science is not learned as well without these activity based investigation tools. Science can be the most exciting and fun subject! It is the study of all God has created and how everything He has created works! There are no color photos in these, so I would highly suggest going to your library and checking out books with photos on each subject for your child to look at while working through each book. A great resource list is included in each book and a list of all materials needed for the activities. This is great since all materials (many found around the house) can be gathered before you begin each book. These are very reasonably priced. If you do science only once a week, a book could last for about an average school year. Our girls love science and we expect to complete 2-3 books per year. These are so easy to use, just gather the materials needed before beginning each book(these are listed in the back of each book -they have really thought of everything to make using these books simple). The lessons are scripted, so you will just read what is written, then do the activity or game to reinforce what was read.
The History of Medicine
13.99
What's So Hot About the Sun?
$5.99
Recommended ages: 8-12 (but younger children would enjoy it too)
This is a great little soft cover book full of answers to questions about the sun and other things in outer space. Excellent photos will captivate your child. It is so hard to find quality books with great pictures that do not contain information that is not true. All of the books from Master Books are top quality, evolution free, and accurate!
The Ocean Book
$15.99
Special Wonders Series
of the Sea World
$12.99
This beautiful, gift quality, hardbound book is one in a series of three books. Inside you will find magnificent photographs of ocean animals (a book on mammals and birds is also available). You will also find all kinds on information on each animal featured. Included are facts of how God made each animal special. An awesome book!
of Feathered Friends
$12.99
The World of Plants
By Dinah Zike and Susan Simpson
www.greatscienceadventures.com
Recommended grades K-8
This paperback book consists of 24 lessons, each of which takes approx. 1-3 days. This is a multilevel approach much like the other science books I have reviews for. The thing that makes this different is that you will be making many mini books (reproducible pages are included in the back of the book to make a mini-book library). The format of this program is a concept is introduced along with vocabulary words. Then you or the student will read from one of the mini library books that you made. Activities follow through which your students will learn to set up, record data, and make conclusions. A graphic organizer is then made. (Different ideas for the organizer are listed for 3 different levels of difficulty.) You will need to have a nature guide while using this book as there are no color photos. Many other activities are listed relating to science, geography, history, literature, math and research. Most lab materials you will need can be found around most homes.
The Live Butterfly Pavilion
$29.95
Includes 10 painted lady butterfly larvae. You can have the larvae shipped with your item or you can have them send you a voucher for the larvae. The Pavillion is a very well made, extra large cylinder shaped net house. There is a sturdy zipper opening on the side of the house so you can insert your chrysalises and feed the butterflies.
This is a great kit! Made to last for multiple uses! A great supplement for any science curriculum. Great detailed directions. The larvae come in their own container with food already inside. There is no need for you to do anything to the larvae, just sit back and watch them grow and develop over about a week, then transport them into the butterfly pavilion. We hung ours up from a hook on the ceiling. What fun watching the amazing life cycle of the butterfly!
The Lady Bug Lantern
Watch and feed your lady bugs in this fun lantern. 75-100 ladybugs are included. We also hung ours from the ceiling for about a week as we watched them crawl about and eat aphids we collected and raisins. We then released them and were able to see them crawling about the garden. Some ladybug larvae were also in our batch which was great to be able to show the children two stages of development.
$11.95
The Live Butterfly Activity Book
$9.95
Recommended grades: PreK-8th grade
Earth science and life science. A wonderful music CD accompanies each volume. We all know that children remember songs. We always set our scripture memory verses to familiar tunes and our children sing them while playing. What a great idea to make words, set to familiar tunes, for science too! Set to melodies like Oh Susanna (Oh Bacteria) and Anchors Away (Igneous Rock). The CD's are top quality! They are humorous, engaging, and a delight! Illustrated texts include sheet music with guitar chords. Workbooks are reproducible, but at such a low price of $5.95 per additional workbook, I would suggest purchasing one for each student. A Text, CD and workbook will run around $29.50. Vol. 1 of Life science teaches about Bacteria to Birds. Vol. 2 covers Mammals, and Vol. 3, the Human Body. Lyrical Earth Science Vol. 1 covers Geology. Very cute and funny songs!
Christian Kids Explore Biology
$29.95
Recommended grades 3-6
This large softcover book is contains 35 weekly lessons, teaching twice a week + projects and field trips. Coloring pages will add to the students enjoyment and lots of hands on activities and experiments will help children love what science is all about - exploring God's incredible creation! Review sheets, lessons and lists to memorize are also included.
Over Our Heads In Wonder
$9.95
This small workbook is full of activities about everything in the sky. Rainbows, clouds, rain, snow, air, it is all in here.
Budding Scientist kit
$24.95
A smaller tank with 8 fun and simple science lessons. Your children will be drawn to this neat "tank". Learn about the germination of a seed, properties of water, and much more. If you're children are really into science, I would suggest getting the larger tank, I have not personally seen it, but I think you would be able to do many other experiments using a large tank, such as view worms, ant, etc. There is another similar product on the market, but this one seems to be the most versatile. There are several books that include more neat projects that can be purchased separately. It is nice to have a "place" to do neat science experiments without using your kitchen containers, plus the teaching tanks give your child a much better view of what is actually taking place. I love the fact that they can see so much and that is compact and stands upright.
"The Budding Scientist Kit is a great way to try out the Teaching Tank. It includes the smaller 8" x 8" tank and the Discovery Book Sampler with eight lessons that will get you excited and on your way to enjoying science and learning new things about the world we live in!"
| State History From a Christian Perspective | Geography Matters | Alpha Omega | Master Books | Bright Ideas Press |
State History From a Christian Perspective
The best products for learning about State History!
My State History Fun Book
Recommended ages: 3-7
A delightful book, perfect for any young child learning about State History. Available for every state. Wonderfully laid out. If you enjoy "notebooking" style, but not all of the planning - this is the perfect solution. We picked up some free travel magazines for our state which gave us beautiful pictures to glue in the Fun Book. We purchased one of these for each of our girls and they look forward to doing their "Florida book" every morning. When you are finished you will have a beautiful book that your child put together. Our girls enjoy looking through their finished pages and are proud of their work.
My State Notebook, Individual State History Student Books,
Similar to the above book, but more in depth for older students. Available for all states.
Recommended grades: 3-8
$8.50-12
This program will really help your student gain a love for history. The My State Notebook is a colorful book for the student to fill in with facts, drawings, and photos. The 83 pages will become a treasured keepsake.
Independent study books ($6.50) and answer key ($1.50)
Recommended grades: 7-12
50 States Under God
Recommended grades 4-12
$25.00
This nice, spiral bound book contains over 180 pages. There are three pages devoted to each state. Test pages and blackline maps are also included. States are presented in order of statehood. Decoding puzzles are featured throughout with a key in the back of the book. Many interesting fact pages are also featured such as US presidents, signers of the Declaration of Independence, state natural resources, weather data, state symbols and mottos, population, etc. Colorful cut and paste pictures of state birds, flowers, trees, and flags are included for the student to paste on to the first page for each state.
Lesson planning pages and scheduling ideas make this a very easy to use book. Other than a section to write in an extra fact about each state, this book contains all of the information the student will need. This is just one of the reasons that this book is excellent for independent study. The best reason though, is that it is written for a Christian perspective and there is no need to pre-read this before giving it to your child. (Although I really enjoyed reading it also).
This book is meant to be an appetizer to help the student gain a love for history and a desire to learn.
Sticker USA Activity Book
$14.99
With over 300 stickers, this book is packed full of fun pages to color, write, and place stickers in for each state. Your child will learn the state names and capitals, state flags, birds, and flowers. It also contains 50 reproducible state flash cards which have a picture of each state on the front and the state name, capital, flag, bird, flower, and a fun fact on the back. A colorful fold out map is also included. This book is a real bargain! You won't be disappointed. I think this book would make an excellent companion book to the 50 States Under God book (above).
Sticker USA
$9.99
Over 300 stickers of each State's flag, flower, bird, name, capital, and postal abbreviation. Made to be used with the Sticker USA Activity Book, but would also be useful for other fun homeschool projects or for use with Cantering the Country, or the 50 States Under God. An excellent product!
discounts available for large group orders.
Uncle Josh's Outline Map Book
by George Wiggers and Hannah Wiggers
$19.95
This great 112 page paperback book is also available on CD-Rom. Maps of regions, countries, continents, and all 50 states are included. 100 reproducible outline maps are great for unit studies and history lessons. Rivers and Lakes are included. Use to draw explorers routes or use with science for recording weather, geological regions, volcanoes, etc.
Trail Guide to US Geography
by Cindy Wiggers
$18.95
Galloping the Globe
by Loee Pettit and Dari Mullins
$24.95
Recommended grades: K-4th
This book is great! A geography unit study for young learners grades K-4. We started doing 5 in a Row, and my girls loved placing a story disk on our large wall map indicating where the stories took place, but that was where their interest stopped. With Galloping the Globe, the focus is more on the geography. This approach will captivate your children and create a love for geography!. Subjects included in this unit study are Geography, Bible, history, science, literature, and vocabulary. Maps and flags, reproducibles, puzzles, games, and craft ideas are also included! I highly recommend this!!!! The additional books needed include: Considering God's Creation, My Father's World (Rod and Staff), Special Wonders of the Wild Kingdom (by Master Books), and some others. A great way to incorporate a number of great resources in your studies while teaching children of multiple ages. Many of the literature books suggested, if not all, listed can be found at your local library. Great recipe ideas, crafts, outline maps, flags to color, and much more are included!
$39.95
If your children liked Galloping the Globe, they will love to Canter the Country! Each state is presented in alphabetical order, though a listing of when they became part of the union is included if you prefer to study the states in that order. All subjects except for math and reading are covered and are presented in such a way that makes it simple to teach children of multiple ages very easily! The back has a listing of all of the state addresses and websites for you to request a "visitors information packet". A CD is included to make obtaining games, coloring pages, and more very simple (rather than having to copy them from the book). A companion cookbook is also available and highly recommended! Click on the Cantering the Country link for a very detailed description of the book.
Eat Your Way Through the USA
$14.99
Timeline Figures CD-Rom (Bible figures version also available)
$24.95
Timeline of History
$9.95
Alpha Omega Publications Lifepac Curriculum
This curriculum includes a teachers manual and 10 small workbooks called Lifepacs. The workbooks are very colorful and inviting and simple enough for the child to read and complete on their own. Without the teacher's book and instruction, this would just be busy work. The workbooks should be used to help the child retain what was taught. These books do not contain any offensive material. The first grade teachers manuals include LOTS of reproducible worksheets, while subsequent manuals are much smaller.
For Those Who Dare
13.99
This is a great hard cover book. It has information on 101 great Christians and how they changed the world. 275 pages that make a great resource for every Christian family. Keep it as a reference book, or read one a night as a family.
The Geology Book
Master Books has the most increadible books for learning about God's creation. The photographs are magnificent, the content is superb and the strong binding helps these books last.
The Mystery of History Vol I
$44.95
Recommended grades 4-8
This chronological book goes from creation to Jesus' resurrection. Find out who walked the earth when, where Bible figures fit into secular history; like what was happening in China when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. All the research has been done for you which makes this perfect for the parent that does not have a lot of knowledge on the subject. Week by week lessons, historical photos, quizzes, tests, projects and activities, timelines and mapping assignments, reproducible student pages, and outline maps are all included!
Hands on Geography
Easy and Fun Activities for Exploring God's World
$14.95
By Maggie Hogan
This great resource includes suggestions for entering the geography bee, games to make, and homemade books. Also included are reproducible pages for the My Country Book. You can track Joseph's journey with the maps and suggestions provided. Learn about nature and geography, map activities, and much more! This is an incredible book that you will use year after year! Fun recipes included for making candles and taffy!
Baker Books
Recommended ages 5-8
The Light and the Glory
Children's Activity Book .Full of pictures to color and lots of fun activities.
From Sea to Shining Sea
Children's Activity Book.Full of pictures to color and lots of fun activities.
Sounding Forth the Trumpet
Children's activity book for ages 5-8. Covers 1837-1860. Includes a pull-out map and game.Full of pictures to color and lots of fun activities.
Truth Quest History
Googol
Our girls requested these CDs over and over. They are filled with great learning songs that are enjoyable, not the same beat repeated over and over.
Games By Bea
recommended ages PreK- High school
$7.95 for home set without calling cards (8.45 per pack of calling cards)
Children love playing games, and playing math games is a great way to help your child think in terms of math. Games by Bea has a great bingo like math game called VALUE. I love that this product, unlike many other flash cards, helps a child to understand about math, rather than just memorize a bunch of facts. Many of the card sets have the child find the missing add-ins which really helps them think about how math works.
I would suggest getting a few sets of the cards (very reasonably priced at 8.45 for each pack) some that you feel will be easy for your child and some that will be a little more of a challenge. If you start out with the challenging problems, your child may not want to continue. We sat down with our 4 and 6 year old children and played the set "numbers before, between, and after". They loved it! I added in a couple of cards from the Add and subtract with missing addend, and they enjoyed having a few challenging problems mixed in.
The calling cards and the playing cards come in sturdy plastic envelopes to make them last a long time. They are made of sturdy card stock, displaying various math problems in 5 vibrant colors. Sets include: Dots to show a set, Numbers, Number Names (English), Number Names (Spanish), Numbers before, between and after, Add and Subtract 11-19, Add and Subtract 0-10 Horizontal, Add and Subtract 0-10 Vertical, Add and Subtract with Missing Addend 0-10 vertical, Multiplication 2s and 5s, Multiplication 3s and 4s, Division 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s, Division 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s, Multiplication 6s and 7s, Multiplication 8s, 9s, and 10s, and Fractions.
Master Books
Champions of Mathematics
$5.99
by John Hudson Tiner
This 71 page soft cover book contains short biographies of the world's most gifted thinkers to inspire the leaders of tomorrow. Pictures
Noah's Ark Numbers
$3.50
This is one in a set of six small workbooks. Perfect for those toddlers that are eager to participate during "school" time. Coloring book style with activities. Recommended for pre-k children.
Switched on Schoolhouse
Barker Creek
Magnetic Kidread Activity Set
Greek ' n' Stuff
These books teach Greek and Latin slowly so the student will not suddenly encounter a page that is too difficult. Taught with the goal of gaining knowledge of the language for future help in understanding God's word. Each set includes pronunciation CD, flash cards on a ring, quizzes and exams, answer key, and workbook.
Hey Andrew, Teach me Some Greek: learn to recognize and write the 24 greek letters. Contains puzzles and activities.
Latin's not so Tough: Learn the Latin alphabet, diphthongs, and consonant sounds. This study helps make sense of the exceptions to phonics rules! Activities are included.
Signing Time
If you have a young baby that is always grunting or crying for what they want, or if you would like to teach your children some sign language, thses are the perfect tool! A wonderful series of DVDs professionally done to engage your child. Great to watch and learn as a family!
Heart of Dakota Publishing
Little Hearts for His Glory
Recommended ages: 5-7
$34.99
This chronological Bible based unit study contains 34 units with complete daily plans. Each unit has 5 days of instruction. Learning through history, learning the basics (language arts, math), rhymes in motion (gross motor skills), Bible study, devotional activity, music, art, science, thinking games, and dramatic play are the subjects included. All learning styles will be catered to using this study along with the suggested resources (available through their website). A lot of fun activities. Great if you like the active, 5 day learning approach and enjoy having everything planned out. There is no prep work required. The items required are items you actually have around the house! Great for busy moms!
Little Hands to Heaven
Recommended ages: 2-5
$29.99
This study includes 33 units (5 days each). This is not seasonal or holiday based, which is great if you are not starting at the beginning of the typical school year or prefer to do an every other day teaching approach. Bible stories, finger play, letter activities, Bible activities, music (from the Singing Bible - available through their website), art activities, devotional activities, dramatic play, and math activities are included. This is a great study to use if you are looking for ideas and enjoy doing many activities (children certainly will enjoy this!). No prep work required. The items used are truly items that you have around the house!
Drawn Into The Heart of Reading
grades 1-8
This is a multi-level reading program. You choose your own books and the ideas for exploring those books are included. This can be used year after year. Each of nine units has 20 days of instruction. Book categories include: historical fiction, adventure, biography, fantasy, mystery, folk tales, non-fiction, humor, and realistic fiction. Story elements emphasized are character, setting, problem or conflict, mood, prediction and enforce, compare and contrast, cause and effect, main idea and theme, and perspective and point of view. The twenty days of instruction are broken down into an introduction, 15 days of leveled lessons for assigned reading of the literature you choose to match the genre, five days to work on one of the three project options at the culmination of the genre. Godly character traits emphasized are faith, fear of the Lord, responsibility, brotherly love, loyalty, virtue, obedience, joy, and integrity.
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