Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
I have two teens in high school right now – one who needs science credits and is wants to be done with them, and another who loves science and, as someone who wants to go into a science-related field, will need a lot of them. Except … science is not my favorite subject to teach.
That’s why we were excited for the opportunity to review the Earth and Space Science Class from Greg Landry’s Homeschool Science. As My Little Man is just beginning high school and My Big Helper is registered for classes at the local community college this semester, I gave My Little Man the option of choosing the class – and it didn’t surprise me when he chose this one. He loves the earth, rocks, and space, and since it’s not likely that he’ll take a standard class about these topics in the coming years, this is the perfect choice for him.
I’ve known people who have taken Greg Landry classes over the years. They’ve always sounded tough and rigorous but perfect for being able to hand off science to another teacher. I’ve gotten the impression that they are wonderful for students who love science and are interested in that field – or for college-bound students who want solid science credits on their transcripts.
Our experience is the same. The Earth and Space Science Class is a one-semester class intended for students in Grades 7-12. The classes are held on Canvas, a learning management system that I’ve used before. It’s quite easy to set up an account and use, and navigation is simple.
Earth and Space Science is a video-based class consisting of an introductory video followed by seven classes. The lessons are roughly 30 – 40 minutes in length. The first class is actually a lesson about how to take notes in a format created by Landry himself. It’s a combination of traditional notetaking and the newer Sketchnotes, and I like the concept – so much that I’m requiring My Big Helper to watch it, as well, for additional information before beginning her college classes next month.
A PDF of downloadable handouts comes with the class and is found in Canvas. These handouts are used in the lessons themselves and are available in vibrant, full-color and black-and-white versions. As a teacher, I love the excitement of the color versions. I love how appealing they are to the eye and I know that if I were taking the class, those colors would help me remember the information. As a parent, I appreciate the black-and-white versions and the ability to print them at home or less expensively at our local print shop. The simplicity of the layout would lend itself well to coloring, highlighting, or marking, as well, making it possible to add some color excitement to even the monochromatic version.
I especially love the simplicity of the class – even more because that’s not at all what I expected. The handouts each have simple follow-up assignments that My Little Man was able to complete in minutes. They require him to understand the information given and show it in a basic way. It’s a no-frills, clear way to be sure that he’s comprehending and able to use the information. I have little patience for assignments that are lengthy, massive, and time-consuming when a simple one will do – and those don’t work well for My Little Man, either.
Landry does recommend a simple, verbal summary or question-and-answer session for each lesson in lieu of a chapter test or final. This, again, keeps things short and sweet – perfect for us.
Each lesson begins with prayer and covers basic information related to the topic. Landry makes the material easy to understand and the class is very doable. I’m excited to find how workable this structure is for the way that My Little Man learns – it’s a great fit for him. As he can do it completely independently, it’s a great fit for me, too: no more high school science for me!
I don’t know how different from his full-length classes this shorter structure might be, but based on how much we like this one, I’d be willing to check it out. If you’re in need of science credits for your middle- or high-school students and you don’t want to teach them yourself, I’d definitely recommend giving Greg Landry’s classes a try.
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What science classes are your kids taking this year?
What are your thoughts?