When looking for a science curriculum, finding one that I can use with both of my boys is a priority. While the thought of teaching them different topics sounds amazing, in reality I know this simply isn’t possible. We have attempted this in the past and honestly, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
With that being said, for the past few months we have been using Bright Ideas Press:Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space. This is a wonderful curriculum that I can easily adapt for both boys.
What is Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space
The Christian Kids Explore series is designed so that it can be used for multiple ages and students. The Earth and Space curriculum that we have been using is recommended for grades 1-6, which means that both of my boys can enjoy using the same curriculum over the course of 30 weeks. Each unit includes coloring pages, timeline prompts, vocabulary words, hands-on activities and so much more. 
This book also helps to explain concepts in a way that my boys seem to really understand, and also includes a CD-ROM in the back of the book that makes the entire program extremely user-friendly.
Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space is broken down into six units. The units are:
Unit 1: Getting Started: In this unit the student will learn about earth and it’s structures.
Unit 2: The Lithosphere: Plate tectonics, caves, volcanoes and more are covered
Unit 3: The Hydrosphere: Here your student will learn about water sources (oceans, groundwater, glaciers and more)
Unit 4: The Atmosphere: This unit covers atmospheric pressure, humidity, & air composition
Unit 5: Earth’s Weather: This unit focuses on weather & seasons, cloud formations, precipitation,thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes
Unit 6: Beyond the Earth: This unit covers makeup of the universe, the sun, earth’s moon, & the eight other planets
How we use it:
As I mentioned earlier, I have been using this program with both of my boys and it has worked out great. With each unit starting with vocabulary words, I have created flash cards for us to use. We pull out or flash cards often to go over the definitions, and I’m surprised at how much they are retaining by this simple task. Sometimes the boys take turns at telling me the definition, and sometimes we make it into a speed game to where the first one that can give me the right definition gets to keep the card. In the end, the one with the most cards win. With two competitive boys in our homeschool, this works out wonderfully.
I also created a timeline and taped it together and added to our science notebook. This has come in so handy. As we work through our lessons, we attach the events into our timeline. It takes up minimal space and since we have our notebook out every lesson, it just makes it easier all around.
We also love the added suggested reading. Some of the recommended reads we have read in the past and being they were favorites then, we have enjoyed re-reading them.
One of our many activities
Overall thoughts:
All in all we are really loving this science curriculum. I really appreciate the ease of use that CD-ROM has added to the entire program. If I had to give one con it would be that the curriculum doesn’t have any color images, but honestly with all the additional activities and reproducibles we really didn’t miss it. We look forward to continue using the Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space this year, and are already deciding what the next year curriculum will be.
To learn more about Bright Ideas Press Christian Kids Explore, visit them online, and check out their social networks.
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