Mood:  caffeinated

Now, I'm pretty sure that I've never revealed this secret before so this one will be totally new to all of you. Here goes:

I was never much good in science!

Math I was pretty good at - I guess math is considered a science - but I wasn't overly good in things like Earth Science, Biology, Physical Science, Chemistry, etc. Oh, I liked them all right, I guess. I had an excellent Biology teacher. Dr. Tubbs was awesome and I liked dissecting, so I guess that was probably my best year. I got okay grades because I volunteered for extra credit experiments a lot but I really didn't understand what I was doing a lot of the time.

It's really not been until my adult life that I have gotten more interested in science. That has it's pros and cons when it comes to homeschooling. I know that it is important and want my kids to succeed, but since I wasn't really interested when I was younger, I don't know what to look for in a good science curriculum. I found something that worked great with John Allen, but wasn't a good fit for Joshua. So I've stumbled around pulling things from here and there and using this or that unit study/lapbook. So, when I was chosen to review Science Weekly, I was excited to try something and see if it was a good fit for him. I wasn't disappointed.

The people from Science Weekly generously sent us a whole set of all of the levels of mail-outs for one issue including the teachers addition that covers all levels. That's one thing that I like about this every other week newspaper. Every level talks about the same thing but the older the grade the more advanced the subject matter is. So, if you want to order multiple subscriptions for your different aged kids in grades K-6 then they will all be studying the same thing. But, that's only one thing I like about this great newspaper.

Another thing I love is the very easy to understand way that the authors explain things. The other day I had read over the level that I wanted to use with Joshua but I hadn't shown it to him yet. It talked about fractions. While we were riding in the car I decided to begin to explain to him about fractions using the same language that was used in Science Weekly. Joshua had never studied fractions until now, but understood the concept almost immediately just by what I was explaining to him. Later on when I showed him the Science Weekly newspaper it reinforced what we had been talking about even more. I was amazed.

Each issue of Science Weekly, no matter what level, has the front page, main explanation section, and also has a math section, vocabulary section, weekly lab section (using simple things found around the house) and a "Writing in Science" section. Each section, although titled the same, is geared to the different level learner. There are also two or three sections that are exclusive to that different age group. For example, Joshua's level had a "Challenge" section and a "Bring it Home" section that was geared toward his grade.

The Teaching Notes section is separate from the regular newspaper and has all of the teaching notes, instructions, and answer keys to all of the levels. Everything is well laid out and easy to follow.

A couple of small caveats. Science Weekly is mainly used in classrooms, so the language is classroom language, especially in the Teacher Helps. It will say things like, "We suggest you do this after recess" or something like that. It sometimes can get a little humorous when your child reads that his teacher will provide him with supplies for this experiment and to share with his classmates. Homeschooler's, however, are used to that. Another thing - although I didn't see much talk of evolution in anything that I read online or in any of the materials that were sent to me, Science Weekly does not tout itself as a Christian company, so I can't promise that it would never show up. However, when and if it does, it would be a great opportunity to discuss what you believe with your children.

Okay, you may be thinking that it's called Science Weekly, but only comes about every other week. Well, that is true, but the Science Weekly website has a lot of really neat things that will keep your child busy during the off weeks as well. There are six free science coloring books that you can print out and use, and there are also five interactive Science Weekly issues where you can complete the activities directly on the computer, or print out to use if you would like. There's even a free trial issue that you can print to see what this fantastic four page newspaper is all about.

So, what are you waiting for? Get on the site by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above and begin boning up on your science  - I mean your kid's science - I mean have your kids get on to bone up on their science - oh you know what I mean! And while your on the site, don't forget to order your subscription(s). The cost is only $19.95 for each single subscriptions. Your kids will love you for it.

Other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew reviewed Science Weekly and you can find out what they had to say by clicking here. Happy Home Educating!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was sent free copies of every level of Science Weekly along with the Teacher Notes in order to try out and review on my blog.

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