I love when I get to review a
product that makes my job as a homeschool parent much easier! Even better is
when that product is something my son enjoys using.
Science has always been a fun
subject for Josiah. He is naturally curious and likes to explore the “how and
why” of things. We were excited to explore Visual Learning Systems. We received Digital
Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5) and the Secondary
Edition (Grades 6-12).
Visual Learning Systems is a online Science curriculum in the form of a digital subscription. It is divided into four components. They are:
Videos
Animations
Images
Teacher Guides
The Elementary Edition also includes
a separate Primary category.
The Elementary and Primary
include these science topics: Physical, Earth, Life, and Health.
The Middle and High School Edition covers
Physical, Earth, Life, Integrated, Health, and Biology.
I want to share with you a
typical lesson and how we used the curriculum.
Josiah is in 7th grade
and the lessons he went through were for his particular age range. I loved that
we were able to start and wander where we wanted to. We are very much a “Delight
Directed” homeschool and it was fun to explore Josiah’s passions at this time
in his life. Just a little backstory on the picture above. The day I took it there was snow everywhere! Josiah was just as content as he could be. A few football guys, in his favorite jammie pants and science on the computer!
We are also a documentary
watching family. You can imagine that we
were extremely excited to check the videos out. The middle/high school videos are
approximately 20 minutes long. The nice that is that they are also divided into
chapters. Josiah could go back and watch a particular chapter if he needed more
clarification or just wanted to watch again.
The videos are narrated by a gal
with a clear and lovely voice. The videos are also very well done.
The most recent subject Josiah has been working through is the Earth, Sun, and Moon.
You can see how accessible all the videos are. Josiah has the option to play all of the videos or one at a time. I love this feature!
There is also a video quiz at the end of each lesson. This might be one of Josiah's favorite parts. He is dyslexic and is often overwhelmed with large amounts of text. He can hear the questions and verbalize his answers.
The animations are simply computer generated clips that help to demonstrate a concept clearly. The one below is on all the phases of a moon. It is wonderful for all of us visual learners out there.
I can't be the only homeschool mom on the planet who has ever tried to find the perfect image for some sort of scientific happening and failed. Here are plenty of images right at our finger tips!
The Teachers Guides are really fine. I don't like to center our homeschool around worksheets per say, but the guides also contain reading selections, tests and hands-on projects. In fact, one of the activities in this particular unit is tracking the phases of the moon. This is currently a project at our house!
This curriculum does contain some evolutionary content. In our house it just presents an opportunity for more discussion even though we personally believe in creation.
Personally, I am really thrilled with the quality of the videos and the ease of program itself. I love it when Josiah comes in and tells me something he is learning. We are going to continue our journey with Visual Learning Systems. Josiah has decided he needs to explore the entire Earth unit.
I'm game!
If you are interested in exploring Visual Learning Systems there are plenty of opportunities on the website for you to check it out. You can also click on the banner below to read more reviews. You can also connect with Visual Learning Systems via the following social media outlets.
No comments:
Post a Comment