Curriculum Review: God’s Design for Science
I have been using God’s Design for Science for over a year now and it has been the perfect science curriculum for my homeschool family. It is intended for grades 1 through 8, which fits well for my girls of grades 1 and 3. Even my three year old will pick up some teachings sometimes just by being in the room as we learn.
If you purchase the entire series like I did, you will have a lot to work with for years to come. It includes books on Plants, Animals, the Human Body, Matter, Atoms, Ecosystems, Heat and Energy, Machines and Motion, Inventions and Technology, Planet Earth, the Universe, and Weather and Water. Each book has plenty of color and pictures to learn from where appropriate. It gives interesting facts to go along with a lesson, which keeps my girls’ attention. As an example, today we studied a lesson on bones. An interesting fact was that humans and giraffes have the same number of bones in their necks. These kind of facts are found throughout the books. They also have special features scattered throughout the books, which give interesting information on famous people, scientists, and artists. These people will relate to the lesson in some way.
A really positive feature of this science curriculum is that it can be used for different grade levels. Each chapter actually has a beginner section that I typically read to my 1st grader only. Then I read the regular section with my 3rd grader. Sometimes my 1st grader will listen to that as well, which doesn’t hurt. Then I’ll go over the questions with both of them and they will both do the activities to reinforce the lesson. The chapters also have challenge sections for older kids. We have not gone that deep yet but when ready, we can.
The books come with CDs which have activities, quizzes, and final exams on them in PDF format. There are also teacher supplements that come with each book but I have only used them in order to verify quiz answers. But the most important reason I cherish this science curriculum is due to the fact that it strictly follows a Biblical World View, which means a 6 Day Creation and a Young Earth. It also teaches the Scientific Method.
Trust me, your children will not be bored with these lessons and they will learn a great deal about God’s Design for Science. You will also enjoy teaching from these books. It is a breeze, even for a non-science person.
Review by Bill Reed
