R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey Review

I am loving our new science curriculum!  We are only on Unit 4, but it is going really well.  Over the past couple of years I have looked at numerous science options and hadn't found anything that we really liked.  REAL Science Odyssey is a great fit for us.

looking at an egg and labeling a diagram

Heart of Dakota (our main curriculum) contains some very light science.  I found it to be rather unorganized and random.  While we love Heart of Dakota for the most part, we're enjoying adding in this science program.  I tried to enrich HOD's science and add in more, but with it being so scattered, I found that to be challenging.

Other science programs that I have considered were either too textbookish (just reading about science doesn't seem to click with Lucy), or too open ended.  Instructions like "write about what you learned" do not work well with Lucy.  NOEO science, one that I considered, is like this.  The idea of it is great, Charlotte Mason style learning from a variety of living books, but it seemed to lack the teaching aspect that Lucy needs.  Apologia science looks good, but is too advanced for us at this point.

REAL Science Odyssey is one that I had looked at, but wasn't sure about.  I ended up finding the book used from someone and am very happy that I did!  We are using Life Science level one.  The curriculum is set up so that each week we read a page of information and complete related activities.  The information page is written to the child and explains things very well, including new vocabulary words and simple explanations.  Our routine has been to read the information page one day and do a lab, then another day we read over the information again and do the second lab activity.  It seems to be just the right amount each week and not overwhelming.  The activities have all been interesting and fun.

jello model of a plant cell and an animal cell

The teacher's manual includes a list of a few recommended books and websites for each unit.  I've checked these out from the library and enjoy having other sources to reinforce what we are learning.  Daddy reads these books to the kids before bed or Lucy looks through them at rest time.  The books are not necessary, but are fun to have on hand.  We purchased a couple of board games and a coloring book that are mentioned in the teacher's manual as well.

REAL Science Odyssey Life level one is for grades 1-4.  I like that it can be used over a range of ages, but I do not feel like I'm having to adapt things too much for Lucy.  I am not one who enjoys sifting through information and activities trying to decide which ones my child should be doing.  So far we have been fine just using the book as is.  (Lucy is six years old, doing 1st-2nd grade work.)  In the front of the manual is a list of main ideas for each unit, so I am able to tell whether or not she is catching the main point.  

The Life Science Curriculum can be purchased as a book or an e-book.  We have the physical book, and then also purchased the student pages.  The student pages are included in the book, but buying them saved me from having to make copies out of the main book for Lucy to use.  Home Science Tools carries the REAL Science books, student pages, and also a supply kit.  We did not need everything in the science kit, so I purchased the items a la carte, finding everything I needed on their website.  It helped that I had the teacher's manual in hand because I could refer to the supply list and see what we needed.  

You can preview the entire front section of the teacher's manual and the first nine units on their website!  (This gives you the supply list too.)  Definitely worth taking a look at.

The program does say it mentions evolution in the level two books, but not in level one.  We have not come across anything objectionable.  At the level two point we will probably go with Apologia or something else.  For now REAL Science Odyssey is an excellent program, right on Lucy's level, informative, and fun.  She asks every day to do science.  On one of the first days that we were using REAL Science Odyssey, Lucy said: "Mom, are you teaching me science or are you teaching me to be a scientist?"  Bingo, kid!  Both.

see more reviews at The Homeschool Curriculum Review Roundup

Vitacost

I finally decided to give Vitacost a try.  I've seen it mentioned on several blogs, and had never paid attention.  I was pleasantly surprised at the prices and selection.  For $40.81 I got all this shipped straight to my door:

Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter (x3)   $5.87
Organic Bay Leaves   $5.12
Organic Breakfast Tea   $2.82
Organic Brown Rice Pasta (x2)   $3.80
Weleda Arnica Massage Oil   $14.35 (a splurge, but very helpful for pregnancy aches and pains)
Organic Worcestershire Sauce   $3.31
minus $10 off my first order!

These prices are cheaper than I have been able to find elsewhere.  Organic peanut butter has been $7.99 at Meijer lately, so I was happy to stock up on this.  Shopping at Vitacost was like shopping my local health food store, only with better prices, free shipping, and no dragging kids out in the snow.  :)  I'll definitely be ordering again.  In fact, they emailed me a coupon for 5% off my next order.

To get $10 off of your first order at Vitacost, use this link.  (I get $10 too if you sign up, but I definitely wouldn't be promoting this if it wasn't worth it!)  I'm thankful for such great shopping options, especially at 32 weeks pregnant.  Conserving my energy and saving a bit off of my grocery bill is great.

Other things on my shopping list for next time include: Emergen-C, Redmond Real Salt Organic Garlic Salt, Earth Mama Angel Baby products, and more.  You can create and save a shopping list at Vitacost as well, which comes in handy.  If you order, let me know what deals you find!  :)

Craft Idea: Paint with Q-tips

My girls received this fun set of paints for Christmas:

The first time we used them, I spent all of my time washing paintbrushes.  These are not watercolors, so I had to go to the sink and thoroughly wash each brush and dry it when the girls wanted to change paint colors.  Today, I had a wonderful idea: paint with q-tips!

We used the paints and q-tips for our lesson on seasons (green dots for spring leaves, green and pink dots for summer leaves and flowers, red orange and yellow dots for fall leaves, and white dots for winter snow).  The girls then decided to make their own pictures:

I am much happier about letting the girls paint with these, knowing I won't have to clean out 100 brushes!

One of my favorite homeschool mom meeting topics is one where we all share random tips like this.  I'm thinking about hosting a Homeschool Help Thursday feature, kind of like Kitchen Tip Tuesday, except this would be any and all tips for homeschool moms.  Is anyone interested?  Would you have tips to share on your blog and link up?  Let me know what you think.

The After Christmas Toy Awards

After all of my obsessing and shopping for the perfect Christmas gifts, its always interesting to see what ends up getting the most use.  Here are a few of our most loved:

Lucy's Favorite: Twilight Ladybug - Julia already had the Twilight Turtle, and Lucy was thrilled to get the ladybug for Christmas.  With the girls sleeping in bunk beds now, having two twilight animals works well.  They are in use every single night without fail, definitely worth getting.

Julia's Favorite: Both girls really like their cameras.  This is the 2010 model that was on sale for $20 at Toys R Us on Black friday.  Julia isn't quite as adept at using the controls and finding the features on it, but Lucy has it figured out and shows Julia what to do.  They have both taken some adorable photos.

(As a side note, there are two simple video games on the camera, totally unrelated to picture taking.  We don't have video game systems for the girls and I was surprised that the games were on this camera.  I suppose its fairly harmless, but seems unnecessary.  Otherwise we do really enjoy the cameras.)

Esther's Favorite: She is in love with this little ladybug beanie that Lucy got her!

Mommy's Favorite: Playmobil 123 House - Esther has played for hours with this set already.  I like that the furniture kind of snaps onto the grid and doesn't slide around too much.  Its very toddler friendly and perfect for Esther, although all three girls enjoy playing with it.  Another nice feature is that the sides fold up and the furniture stores inside.

Mommy's Not So Favorite: Playmobil Animal Feeding Station  - I got this on sale for $10, but there are way too many tiny pieces in this set.  I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Best Inexpensive Gift: Melissa and Doug Sticker Books - All three girls got one of these sticker sets.  There are a ton of stickers in each pad and some very fun designs.

Best Book: Esther just got this one for her birthday.  It has a ton of animal names that the girls think are fun to read, "bush baby", etc.

What were your favorite kid Christmas gifts this year?