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I like this science program. My 3rd Grade daughter likes this program. It is another one of those "written for home schoolers, by home schoolers" curricula that work so well, because the authors understand the home school lifestyle from personal experience.
Authored by two sisters, Susan Mortimer and Betty Smith, Considering God's Creation is a multilevel (teach all the kids at once from the same curriculum), semi-hands-on approach to natural science. In my estimation, the ideal age for use is 3rd or 4th grade, but using the "Digging Deeper" suggestions in each lesson for further research projects would extend its usefulness to the older grades as well.
The materials consist of a 384 page book, which includes teacher instructions and lecture material in the front, and tear-out worksheets for the student in the back. These worksheets are intended to be collected in a three ring binder, and make a very nice science notebook when complete. (My little girl loves to look through her completed pages again and again, and frequently crawls up in Daddy's lap to share her science book--all without any prompting from Mom!) If you have more than one student, additional workbooks can be purchased for approximately $14.00 each. A cassette tape of songs related to the lessons also comes as part of the package.
There are 36 lessons, which, according to the authors, provide one year of science lessons. We are finding that it will be closer to a two-year program for us. There is a lot of information to cover, and we have enjoyed spending extra time on some of our favorite topics, supplementing with additional materials from the library. (Why hurry, when you're learning and having fun to boot?) Topics include creation, the universe, the earth, geology, weather, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and anatomy and physiology of animals and man. The materials are decidedly Christian in emphasis, come from the young earth creationist viewpoint, and are full of very well researched information. I am impressed with how comprehensive the lessons are.
One thing I really liked about Considering God's Creation was the nice balance between instructional information (lecture material) and hands-on activities. No frustrating experiments that don't work, no turning the kitchen into a science laboratory. (I'd rather not have my countertop commandeered by aquariums and terrariums full of who-knows-what kinds of disgusting creatures and their by-products, thank you!) The hands-on stuff is simple enough for Mom, and interesting enough for the kids, to keep everybody smiling. And we are not left hanging with no explanation of what we have just done. Many of the worksheet pages are simple color, cut, and paste activities, or pages to record observations, rather than actual experiments.
To sum up, this is an exceptionally well done science program, easy to use, very acceptable to most Christians, with minimal lesson preparation time for Mom. Parents and their children are both going to like working with Considering God's Creation.