I have always been a fan of science and especially love hands-on science. For this review, I received a copy of Science Unit Studies For Homeschoolers and Teachers from Funtastic Unit Studies. With many, many hands-on activities that make science come to life for kids, Science Unit Studies For Homeschoolers and Teachers is designed to be used for ages 4-13.
The first 10 chapters are written with children age 4-7 in mind. Here are the chapter titles:
- Chapter 1 Our Senses
- Chapter 2 The Human Body
- Chapter 3 Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life
- Chapter 4 Animals
- Chapter 5 Insects and Their Kin
- Chapter 6 Fun with Magnets
- Chapter 7 Stars and Planets
- Chapter 8 Health
- Chapter 9 Beginning Plants
- Chapter 10 Animal Ecology
I decided to work through Chapter 1 with the younger kids, Quinton and Rebekah. The chapter is divided into 7 Parts: The Introduction, Taste, Touch, Sight, Sound, Smell and Review of the Senses. The first page of each chapter provides a list of materials needed for that chapter which makes the planning process much simpler.
One of the activities involved trying to decided the difference between sugar and salt. For this activity, the directions were to put sugar and salt each in a closed glass jar. The kids then got to use their senses to try to decide which was sugar and which was salt. The very last sense they could use was the sense of taste. It was cute because they both wanted a second taste of the sugar but neither wanted a second taste of salt.
Chapters 11-20 are geared toward children ages 8-13. The chapter titles are:
- Chapter 11 Insects
- Chapter 12 Microscopes and Invisible Creatures
- Chapter 13 Atoms and Molecules
- Chapter 14 Matter
- Chapter 15 Chemistry Fun
- Chapter 16 Weather
- Chapter 17 Force and Motion
- Chapter 18 Simple Machines
- Chapter 19 Light and Color
- Chapter 20 Plants II
The older kids; Eli, Adisyn and Brock have gone through Chapter 11: Insects. Chapter 11 is also divided into 7 Parts: Animal Classification, Definition of an Insect, Insect Life Cycles, Parts of an Insect, Insect Communication, Insect Defenses and Recommended Movies.
Chapter 11 is full of hands-on activities! For instance, one activity involved using a sandwich bag that represented a exoskeleton of an insect. A balloon is placed inside the sandwich bag and blown up until the bag ripped. This was used to illustrate how an insect sheds its exoskeleton when molting.
What Did I Think
Science Unit Studies For Homeschoolers and Teachers could easily be used as a stand alone curriculum or as a fun addition to your current science curriculum. I really appreciate all the hands-on activities that help to bring science to life.
Funtastic Unit Studies Freebies:
Here’s a link to a page that has two free pdf units from the book:
http://funtasticunitstudies.com/science-unit-studies-book/
And here’s a link that has some other, unrelated, freebies:
http://funtasticunitstudies.com/lessons-and-activities/
Historical Chapter Book
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Blessings,
Jennifer
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