Good morning, if your looking for Homeschool Resources: for Science I would like to invite you to check out Fascinating Education, Sixty Symbols, Compuscholar, Make Me Genius.
If you have used any of these resources with your students leave me a comment and let me know what you liked or disliked with the site and why. Or if you haven’t used the resources but would like to why?
Is your student baffled or bored by your Science textbook? If so, check out Fascinating Education’s Chemistry, Biology, and/or Physics online curriculum.
This program focuses on the essentials with graphics and audio narration to engage the learner. For Grades 6 and up.
Grades 1-12, with parental supervision
This fantastic website offers free videos about physics and astronomy featuring experts from The University of Nottingham, who explain the strange letters and squiggles (many more than 60 of them) used by scientists.
As explained on the website, “Sixty Symbols is a collection of videos by experts from The University of Nottingham. It’s worth noting many symbols have multiple uses across scientific disciplines and we sometimes tackle them from an unexpected viewpoint.”
Here’s some of what you’ll see:
- Click on “E” for energy and see an Einstein doll on a swing as a demonstration of potential and kinetic energy.
- Click on the symbol for the planet Venus (looks like a hand mirror) and learn all about it. You’ll also learn the history of the symbol and its use as the universal symbol for women.
- What has a symbol of a cat got to do with physics? Visit the site, click on the cat and find out!
When you get to the site you’ll see the table of Sixty Symbols (and then some). Click on one and a new page opens where a video launches that explains it. They are wonderfully engaging and educating
If your student is interested in programming, introduce her or him to the online version of award-winning computer programming courses from CompuScholar (formerly known as Homeschool Programming, Inc.).
Grades K-7, with parental supervision
This ad-supported website based in India was developed by a group of high school students in collaboration with teachers to offer free animated videos that explain Science concepts in a way that is engaging and fun for students. When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of Science videos separated by grade range from K-7 that cover a variety of science topics including:
- Solar System
- Hibernation and Migration
- 3 States of Matter
- Weather vs. Climate
- Sink or Float
- Ecosystem
- The Nervous System
- Newton’s Laws of Motion
When you’re through watching the videos, take a quiz to test your knowledge of what you’ve learned. (See Science Test & Quiz link on left sidebar.) And just for fun, check out the Jokes for Kids that you and your children can enjoy and share.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
