I was very confused with the number of science curriculum available after my sons passed their elementary level. I want our children have well-qualified spine science curriculum accepted globally. The elementary level still allows us to play around and have the fun of science but the middle school levels demand us to be more serious with all of the subjects.

Our choice for the spine science in 2015-2016 goes to the Elemental Science Biology for The Logic Stage. It is the time when kids start to think more logical and critically. They love to find out more about many things.

What Is Elemental Science?

Elemental Science is a homeschool science program compiled by Paige Hudson for her daughter to use. In her research, she could not find an option that incorporates weekly hand-ons activities and notebooking written by someone with the related degree.

With her background in Biochemistry, she decided to write her own. So she put together plans with weekly experiments, unique notebooking pages and coordinated reading assignments.

Browsing through the website, we can see some series of science based on the Classical and Charlotte Mason methods. As we are an eclectic homeschooling family with the classical tendency, we choose the classical series. We started with the suggested field of science according to The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition), Biology for the Logic Stage (5-8 grades).

What is Included in The Curriculum?

Biology for the Logic Stage contains the study of the living things learned in the elementary level science with deeper study and discussion. There are two books used as a guide for learning:

1. The Teacher’s Guide
   The Teacher Guide includes the student assignments sheets with two day and five day schedules to help you plan out the year. You will also get some tips on how to lead your student through the program, comprehension questions, answers for the student’s work, and unit tests for you to use.
2. The Student’s Guide
   The Student Guide contains all student assignment sheets, sketches, experiment sheets and blank report pages that they will need to complete the year. Each of the student assignment sheets contains the weekly topic, sketch assignment, experiment directions, report options, dates to enter, and memory work.

What We Like from The Curriculum

1. Biology for The Logic Stage allows children to use a real reference (books) instead of a compilation of information. Therefore, children in the logic stage are forced to use their information skills to look for, gather, and compose based on real resources.
2. There is a set of suggested books to complete the curriculum which are available to order in our local bookstores and Amazon. We have already had the books as those are really great books that we have purchased previously when kids were still in the elementary levels. Using the same books we can create a different result.
   
3. There are some extension activities in all of the units. The best ones are the dissection activities. We really enjoy them.
4. The Teacher’s Guide is very useful. It has some suggestions for online and hands-on materials to make the learning activities not bored. Kids are very excited to learn about science.
5. There is also some suggestions for the sequence and resources for learning materials with multiple ages of children.
6. Biology for The Logic Stage is a secular curriculum that is not against the Christianity. We still can add some religious concept within the use of the materials.
7. Biology for The Logic Stage provides a well-balanced set of science learning components. It is suitable for my children with multiple learning styles.

How To Get The Products

Biology for The Logic Stage is available in both printed and electronic forms. You can get it at The Elemental Science for an affordable price.

Recommendation

I would like to suggest the use of Biology for The Logic Stage for any homeschooling family using the classical method. For those who love the unit study, you might get a lot of ideas from the activities suggested in the Teacher’s Guide.

Adelien Tandian (13 Posts)

Adelien Tan is a mother of three awesome boys and a wife of a great husband. They are a home education family who lives in Surabaya, Indonesia, where home education is still very rare. English is her foreign language, but She tries to use it in blogging. You might visit her in Blessed Learners (http://www.blessedlearners.com) where she shares some thought, experience, and information about homeschooling, family, parenting, blogging, and personal growth.