Oh I had big plans when I received the Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers book last fall. I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to our science memory work for this year. It was a good plan. *ahem*

But instead of focusing on my shortcomings, let’s instead talk about the book. Science Unit Studies by Susan Kilbride is a well-written and well-organized book covering twenty different areas of science for two age groups. From the senses to atoms and molecules there is a lot of science in this book. The first ten units are designed for ages 4-7, while the remaining ten are aimed at ages 8-13.

Each unit contains between five to eight parts, with each part being one concept to be studied for that unit. For example, the weather unit for 8-13 year olds has an introduction, temperature, clouds and rain, humidity and wind. Each part begins with a paragraph of information you are to share with your students and then is followed by anywhere from one to four activities illustrating the concept. The activities are very doable and most are completed with items you already have in your home.

The age 4-7 units in this book are very charming, and I think paired with some informative science picture books would make a fun science curriculum for kindergarten. Each unit also includes a supply list at the beginning and the units for ages 8-13 have a multiple choice test at the end. The units have clear diagrams and charts where needed, as well as the necessary templates to finish some of the activities.

Now on to my inability to use this the way I planned — yeah that one was totally on me. I simply couldn’t pull it together to work through the needed units.

Having said that, I think this book works great for the more “science secure” mom. The small bit of information at the beginning of each section was not enough to give me the confidence to teach the topic.

While there were some The Magic School Bus: The Complete Series recommendations (love those) to go along with many of the units, I feel like a list of good elementary picture books for each unit would be a boon to moms like me.

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Here is how we did use the book — and more often than you might think. The book made a great experiment reference for us. When John wanted to do an oral presentation on light (after just having watched one of the aforementioned Magic School Bus video) the unit on light provided three fun, easy experiments he was able to include and explain for his presentation.

In fact any time my science-loving boy was in search of an experiment (because we like to do them just for fun, you know) we could thumb through the book and find one that peaked our interest, knowing we would have a good explanation for the “why” behind the fun experiment — something which you can’t always find on the Internet.

Author Susan Kilbride also write historical fiction novels in addition to her science unit studies. Her newest title is coming out this week. To celebrate the publication of The Revolutionary War Adventure, on March 11th & 12th all of Sue’s paperback books will be on sale for 25% off!

Just go to the Special Orders page of her website and type in the code: HAVY4KRQ at checkout to receive the discount. Orders will be placed through CreateSpace, a division of Amazon. That’s a great deal on this handy science unit study resource. (Note: the discount of 25% is only available if you buy the paperback books through Susan’s Special Orders page.)

If you are interested in the Our America series on Kindle, those will also be on sale March 11 and 12 for 40% off.
Our America….The King Philip’s War Adventure
The Salem Adventure (Our America) (Volume 3)
The Revolutionary War Adventure (Our America) (Volume 4)

I received a free copy of Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

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