My Little Man loves science. His enjoyment of listening to lloooonnnnggg non-fiction science books as a preschooler was part of the reason we decided to homeschool. Even now, he asks me to buy extra science textbooks, because he enjoys reading them in his spare time – and can often be found sitting in a corner somewhere, head propped in hand, reading from a science book.
That’s why we initially became interested in the
e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum from
Supercharged Science. Billed as a complete science curriculum that kids can manage themselves, we were excited to check this out.
We don’t work through things in a traditional order; since we tend to be unit study or project-based homeschoolers, we mash subjects and topics together in an order that works for us. My Little Man is currently interested in magnetism as an offshoot of his fishing hobby, and so he chose to start with that unit.
We started out well. My Little Man needed a bit of help navigating the website (more about that later), but after I got him settled, he watched his videos and did the readings without any trouble. I asked questions about what he was learning, and he was able to answer them.
The curriculum comes with many, many experiments, most of which are supposed to use everyday, household materials. I didn’t look at the supply list in advance, then, as we were having one of those weeks and I thought we had what we needed.
I was surprised, then, when the first few experiments required things that we didn’t have – and I didn’t even know what they were. Specific types of magnets – that My Little Man was able to tell me all about but which I remain clueless – and then other things, like ball bearings, that we don’t have but I suppose could be found at a hardware store.
We moved on to experiments for which we had all the materials. The first one we did required a compass, a magnet, and a string. My Little Man really enjoyed seeing the effect that the magnet had on the compass, and, lest that seem childish, part of the lesson was about how what we thought we were seeing was really the reverse poles. That part was really neat.
Another experiment that we tried was one in which the magnets were supposed to hover in the air because of opposite polarity. They were even supposed to wiggle, kind of, and then transfer their energy to another magnet and keep it going, back and forth like that.
It sounded so cool, but we couldn’t get it to work. Maybe our magnets were too small? We used the only ones we had. The final product, shown in the video, looked so neat, though, that My Big Helper couldn’t resist coming to help and giving it a try. They never did quite pull it off, but not for lack of trying. We really liked that one!
Overall, I really like the variety and depth available in this curriculum. With 24 units, spread across grades K-12, there’s a lot to choose from – even some topics that are completely new to me. The videos are easy to understand, and My Little Man has enjoyed watching them. Some are pretty long – an hour! – so you might want to check them out in advance so that you can schedule accordingly if that’s important to you. He understood his readings, too, and enjoyed doing the work that this product entailed.
This isn’t a lightweight curriculum, either. The designer is an engineer, and her expertise shines through clearly. I’m glad that I don’t have to understand every piece that’s happening here, but My Little Man did, and he loved it. That’s one of the great benefits of this type of course to me: science isn’t my favorite thing to teach, but with a quality program like this, that is fairly self-guided, My Little Man can science out to his heart’s content, and I can concentrate on the subjects I enjoy planning and teaching.
When first setting up the program, we found that the website was a bit difficult to navigate; it didn’t seem hard at first, but the more that we tried to find things, the more trouble we had. It just isn’t super visual-friendly; however, great news! I received an email from the company with an advance preview of the brand-new website they’re creating right now, and it looks GREAT! It is well organized, with clear fonts, colors, and sufficient white space to make things easy to read. I think the new site will eliminate all of the concerns that we had about locating online materials when we needed them.
Some other things to know about
e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum:
- The company offers a one-month money-back guarantee if you find the program isn’t for you. Where else can you find that?
- This curriculum is chock-full of experiments at all levels. For a digital curriculum, it’s very hands-on. The videos make it easy to learn independently, but the experiments make it seem like you’re really in your own science class.
- There are 1,000 videos pre-recorded and ready for your science learner. The curriculum also comes with the promise to answer science questions you may have along the way.
- It is written from a creation-neutral perspective.
- This program can be used in a variety of ways: you can work through by grade level, as you might in a traditional school setting, or by topic, as My Little Man chose to do. Both options are available on the website to make navigation easier.
- High school level material is noted as ‘advanced’ within the program.
If you’re looking for a science program that is hands-on but your student can do independently, I’d look hard at
e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum by
Supercharged Science. It’s definitely worth the time to check it out and see if it would be a good fit for your student.
Don’t take my word for it, though. Click on the graphic below to read other reviews about this product by the Homeschool Review Crew.
