Christian Kids Explore Physics Curriculum Review

As part of my TOS Crew curriculum review responsibilities, I recently reviewed Christian Kids Explore Physics which is part of the Christian Kids Explore Science series published by Bright Ideas Press.  I was very pleased to be able to do this review as I am already familiar with several curriculum resources published by Bright Ideas Press.  I have personally used in our homeschool Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and Mystery of History Volume 1. 

As well, I have had the pleasure of hearing Maggie Hogan speak several times at the MidWest Homeschool Conference.  She is an intelligent, witty, organized woman with a heart for God and her family.  Several of her most popular seminars are available for purchase at the Bright Ideas website.

The Christian Kids Explore Science series is designed for children in grades 4-8, though I think the materials could be adapted for children slightly younger or older.  The Christian Kids Explore Science Series is great for multi-level teaching as the curriculum can be used with multiple grades together.

For the purposes of this review, I was given a copy of Christian Kids Explore Physics.  All four books in the Christian Kids Explore Science series are arranged in the same way so once one is familiar with teaching from one book, it is a very easy transition to use the next book in the series. 

Christian Kids Explore Physics has a total of 30 lessons divided into 6 units:

• The Foundations of Physics
• Matter
• Mechanics
• Matter in Motion
• Energy in Motion
• Electricity and Magnetism

A detailed list of the individual lesson topics within each unit can be viewed here.  Each lesson should take about a week to complete.  As suggested in Christian Kids Explore Physics, each lesson can be completed during a 60-90 minute time block twice a week. 

The basic lesson plan is the same for each of the 30 lessons:

• Read the lesson.  Older students can complete the reading on their own, while younger students or less proficient readers can listen to the reading during a read-aloud time.
• The child completes the Review It questions at the end of the lesson.  These questions focus on the key concepts of the lesson.  As well, a very handy set of all of the printables in the text is available from Bright Ideas Press for $12.95.
• Each lesson ends with Hands-On Time.  The hands-on activities reinforce the concepts that were learned during the lesson.  A full list of all of the materials needed for Hands-On Time is included at the beginning of each unit.  All of the needed materials are basic household items or are easily purchased at a craft store or large department store like Wal-Mart or Target.
• A Unit Wrap-Up quiz is included at the end of each unit that could be used simply for review or evaluation purposes.
• A lovely coloring page is included for each unit.  I think they would make lovely cover pages for each unit is a student notebook.

Two sample lessons are available on the Bright Ideas Press website.  A lesson focused on Projectile Motion and Momentum are both provided.  Given the materials that are available on the Bright Ideas website, one could actually complete two lessons in Christian Kids Explore Physics to better evaluate if this curriculum would be a good fit for one's family.     

One of the aspects of the Christian Kids Explore Science series that I particularly like is that each year of the series focuses on a different discipline in science.  Over a four year span of time using this series, a child would receive excellent knowledge in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Space and Earth Science in order to prepare the child for high school level science courses.  I have a daughter who is taking Biology this year in 8th grade.  While we engaged in a WIDE variety of science activities in her first through seventh grade years, I realize now that most of our science studies were focused on life science and nature study.  Therefore, the chapters in her Biology text that focus on chemistry concepts have been particularly difficult for her as the information is completely new to her.  If I could go back and re-do her science education, I would make sure that the science topics were a bit more balanced.  Using the Christian Kids Explore Science series would be a great way to make sure that all areas of science are covered in the elementary years. 

I also really appreciate that unit objectives, vocabulary words, and needed materials are clearly listed at the beginning of each unit.  Additionally, the homeschool parent will find many additional teaching helps in the appendix of Christian Kids Explore Physics.  There is a glossary, copies of the coloring pages for each unit, answers to all of the Review-It and Unit Wrap-Up questions, and an index.

Also included is an incredibly helpful Book and Resource List that can be used to extend and enhance the material covered in each unit.  Resources such as additional books, videos, and science activity kits are suggested to coordinate with each lesson or unit.

Christian Kids Explore Physics is available at the Bright Ideas website for $34.95.  If you are looking for a thoroughly Christian, multi-level approach to science that focuses on one scientific discipline per year, the Christian Kids Explore Science series is definitely worthy of careful consideration.

I was provided with a copy of Christian Kids Explore Physics in exchange for my review of the curriculum.  No other compensation, monetary or otherwise, was given in exchange for this review.