Homeschool Earth Science Curriculum Review

When putting together our unit study for geology, I assembled a variety of books, kits and projects. While we loved most of the activities and kits, the books we chose weren't as successful. We read a lot. And most books were informative but not captivating. My 5th grader probably read 40 books in total (including the ones I read aloud to him), and yet nothing seemed to stick as well as the geology lapbook we did at the conclusion of our unit study and the earth scienceProfessor Noggins game we played throughout our unit. The activities we did were fun and informative, but I don't think we learned too much more than the rock cycle and a smattering of info on volcanoes and the layers of the earth. To remedy this mediocre attempt at geology, I plan to do a follow up unit in the spring. This spring unit will only be about two weeks and will be a way to focus what learned (or should have learned) in this unit.

You can find the complete list of materials we used for this unit, including pictures, links and descriptions of each book or kit, videos, resources and more at the blog post that accompanies this video:

Share pics of your projects with me!

[mikithompson]

We start geology after the first of the year. I'm really excited. Our lapbook won't be anywhere as cool as that one but we have a lot of the same books and kits.

[tonyameadows]

Great video, Hana! I love the fact that you let us know which books you liked best, and which ones were more for simply reference. I love the lapbook, best (I think?). Wait, No. I think maybe the rock kit that has the divider with the labels. I just like it all. You get to put together the most awesome unit studies. I think there's still value in the posters and reference materials just being displayed. It will keep the kids wanting more information. Plus, it helps to set up the atmosphere and environment for the topic you're studying. I'm going to check out your unit study "how to" video, next. Thanks! p.s. My daughter loves rock collecting and all books about minerals, rocks, and gems. :)

[ourmuslimhomeschool]

I really appreciate your honesty in this video. Science reference books that double as read-alouds can be hard to find. My son

[Jennifer]

Assalam alaykium. Do you have a tutorial on how you made your display boards? I would love to have my kids make their own.

[flaviagro]

Thank u for sharing beautiful I like so so much

[TicketToLearning]

Just a heads up, the bf teacher's guide are very religious as well. I just got mine. I was happy about the Christian content, but not crazy about the guide in general. The books seem to be really good though. :)