Do you have a favorite science resource? Now that I have students in high school and junior high, science has received its just due and we use Apologia science pretty faithfully. My oldest two are studying Apologia Chemistry. My 6th grader is studying Human Anatomy and Physiology. My 4th grader and I are working through Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. We love them all.
But this post isn’t about Apologia Educational Ministries and the awesome science materials they have for older kids. It’s about what works for my little kids, those younger than nine. The ones who don’t want to sit and listen while I read a chapter section. The ones who need exposure to science but don’t really need to memorize the planets yet, unless they want to. These science hacks are genius for the younger crowd!
Science Hacks: Watch Science Videos
By far the most consistent exposure my younger children have had to science has come from great science dvds. My absolute favorite science videos are Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution (I,II, and III). We also enjoy the complete Planet Earth Collection and Blue Planet: Seas of Life Collection from the BBC’s David Attenborough.
Plus we have the 20 Moody Science dvds, and all the Magic Schoolbus dvds, and a collection of Awesome Science videos and Amazing Science. All of these videos have been watched until they are nearly memorized. Biology 101 has also been a big hit.
The BBC videos are fantastic except for the occasional references to evolution or global warming. We don’t agree with either of these theories. So, we talk about those sections and have spent quite a bit of time reading picture books that are from a young-earth creation perspective.
The Magic Schoolbus videos are flashy and exciting, and the content is pretty good too. Again, the evolutionary content is frustrating but not overwhelming. The rest of the videos mentioned in this post are from a young-earth creation perspective.
If you know of any science DVDs that come from a young-earth creation perspective, please let me know — I’m giving you permission to cost me money… please list them in the comments.
Just one other quick thing — if you have a Schoolhouse Teacher’s Membership, they recently acquired Right Now Media. And that means access to 10,000 family friendly, Christian videos is now at your fingertips and included in a membership you already have. We are loving it! If you don’t have a Schoolhouse Teacher’s Membership – you should get one. For real.
Science Hacks: Read Science Picture Books
Picture books are generally colorful, feature short amounts of text with large illustrations, and can convey a lot of information in an engaging way. Here are a few examples of picture books with science themes.
We love the Read and Find Out About Science books. They are colorful, informative, and often have activities you can try.
The Boy Who Drew Birds (John James Audubon) – beautiful and well-done.
For the Birds: The Life of Roger Troy Peterson – also beautiful and well-written!
Gregor Mendell: The Friar Who Grew Peas – sweet!
Usborne Books has a pretty amazing science selection if you can filter out evolution. We do.
Master Books has an incredible selection of young-earth creation books for kids. Here are our favorites:
Dragons: The Legends and Lore of Dinosaurs. It’s incredible.
Marvels of Creation series by Buddy Davis – beautifully illustrated!
Science Hacks: Read and Look At Science Non-Fiction in Small Chunks
World of Animals by Masterbooks is a fabulous big-picture young-earth creation encyclopedia-style book. Think Usborne without the evolution. They also publish World of Science. Excellent. We like to read a couple sentences from each page to start out, and as our children get older we read more.
Exploring the World of (Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, etc.) by John Hudson Tiner are an excellent transition to more meaty science.
Science Hacks: Read or Listen to Living Books (chapter books) featuring Science
This audio version of Rascal by Sterling North and read by Jim Weiss is a great example of a fictional chapter book with a heavy emphasis on natural science in a way that is engaging and fun – never stuffy. In the entire book, we heard only one vague reference to evolution. You can of course read the book yourself. However, Jim Weiss is an amazing reader, and for this particular book I recommend listening to him.
Dolphin Adventure: A True Story is another great example of a book that is really a great read but includes lots of science.
Are you sure? LOL…
One that doesn’t have to cost you money, though, is a Crew product coming up soon.
Yes, Yes, do share more ideas! I am excited about the Crew product if it is the one you posted a link to already :).
I’m feeling very blessed right now my friend.
Amy
We were just given the Planet Earth DVD’s. I can’t wait to watch some of them with my kids!
Making a note to check back– I’m always interested in good resources for science. Reading picture books, as you have done, is something that worked well for younger ages, for our kids. Middle schoolers have used Real Science 4 Kids, by Gravitas Publications (so glad we found this company– it has “rescued” this non-sciency mom, and helped us to really enjoy learning some science basics). With all the videos your kids have watched I’m sure they are very knowledgeable already (!)