We love all things science in our house, so the kids are always excited to review products that are based around it. We're every-day-learners, and even though we slow down on the schoolwork during the summer months, we always make sure to incorporate some educational activities. This Learning About Science Collection, Level 3 (Cursive) from WriteBonnieRose is the perfect summer inclusion to our day.
WriteBonnieRose is produced by Bonnie Rose Hudson. She is an accomplished author, a homeschool advocate, and a contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (the parent company of The Homeschool Review Crew) and SchoolhouseTeachers .com. Her desire for "every child to feel the love of God and know how special they are to Him" is shown through many of her resources. She offers everything from coloring books to games to history to literature to science and more. She has a heart for missions and is often updating her freebies list. I think her Exploring with Jake series would be a fun addition to anyone who wants to learn about countries all around the globe and understand how to pray for the people who live there.
The Learning About Science Collections are geared toward elementary students. Level 3 covers life science, earth science, and physical science in the following books:
- Kinds of Animals and How They Live
- What's Going on Inside Plants?
- Life in the Ocean's Hidden Zones
- Forecasting and Understanding the Weather
- Discovering Rocks, Minerals, & Crystals
- Exploring the Earth's Landforms
- Energy and Its Many Forms
This 18-page ebook is dedicated to learning about the main animal classifications: vertebrates, invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods, and mollusks. There is an explanation for each group along with a handful of animals belonging to it. Each animal has a brief description, a simple picture that can be colored, and the name of it in dashed lines to be traced. We chose the cursive version of the collection, so our animal names and classes are in cursive (while the text is in print).
There are all sorts of interesting facts included. You'll learn what makes iguanas different from most lizards, what a strawberry poison frog eats, how many eyes scorpions have, how much a lion weighs, and more. If you have a fanatic who is often found sitting with animal fact books (and telling anyone who will listen what he has read), he might not learn any new information. However, most kids, like my other son, will be in awe with the information.
My 8-year-old enjoyed chiming in with additional facts. To make the size references a little more relatable, we extended a tape measure across the house. To know that a salt water crocodile can be 23 feet long is one thing, but seeing that it can span the area from our front door through our kitchen is another. Even my animal boy was amazed to have that perspective.
I know my boys are going to be excited with the Life in the Ocean's Hidden Zones book. We've studied oceanography a little, as my resident zoologist naturally has an interest in the animals in the water, too. This book is a similar format to the other. It divides the ocean into zones, lists a few animals that live there (except the first zone which lists 21 animals!), gives a short characterization of it, and includes a picture and traceable word. In this book, you'll learn about the sunlight zone, twilight zone, midnight zone, abyssal zone, and the trenches zone.
Fun facts included in this book include the purpose of the narwhal's tusk, where cuttlefish hide their tentacles, which animal has 10-inch eyes, why the blobfish's stomach is coated in dark tissue, why the tripod fish got its name, and more.
Another book I think they're going to really enjoy is Discovering Rocks, Minerals, & Crystals. My kids each have a rock collection, and our next two vacations have plans for specific rock finding. This book will teach them so much more than recognizing the pretty colors. It explains about igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It also has a general description of minerals and elements. The format of the book is the same as the others. I can already vision their excitement at getting to look up pictures of these rocks so they can color theirs to look realistic.
Some of the interesting information that's listed is which crystal is so heat-resistant that it can be used to line ovens, which rock produces asbestos, which rock is made from marine animal skeletons, which rock is dark lava, and more.
These mini science books are a wonderful introduction to the world around us. They are designed to point to God's design from the tiniest cell to the vast universe. Each book ends with a review section that asks multiple choice questions with pictures. There is also a downloadable introduction to the series that includes dozens of links for further learning on each of the topics. You could easily take these books as a starting point for deeper study.
The Learning About Science Collection, Level 3 (Cursive) is packed full of information, but done so in a way that is perfect for elementary students. The simple pages and snippets of facts keep the little ones engaged and interested without feeling overwhelmed. I can't wait to complete the series with my kids.
Currently, Bonnie is offering a 50% discount on all 3 levels of Learning About Science Collections! (You can choose from Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 print, and Level 3 cursive. Buy one or buy them all!) Use coupon code REVIEWCREW50 to get each bundled learning set for only $6 a piece. For less than a dollar per book, you child can learn all about science in a simple, but fun way.
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You can read more reviews about the other levels in this collection on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.
