Considering God's Creation Review: Science by Eagle's Wings

     God's Creation, the universe, stars, suns, planets, rocks & minerals, weather, plants and animals and the human body...can you imagine studying all of these subjects with your children at home - and having tons of fun doing this?

     Eagle's Wings has developed an easy-to-use science curriculum with homeschooling parents in mind!

---

. . . written with the homeschool parent in mind . . .

     Would you believe that many public elementary school classrooms don't study science during the school year?  I thought that was very curious when I was teaching in the public schools.  And as I've talked with children in my church and in other social situations, they've told me the same thing.  They rarely study science and history in their classrooms anymore.  How sad!

       The study of the world around us is a natural outlet for hands-on learning.  So why would so many elementary school teachers set their science texts aside and ignore them?  My biggest challenge in teaching science well in my public school classrooms was that I was only provided with $60 to use for the entire year for supplies for science experiments, art projects, and the like.  With around 30 students in my class each year, I only had $2 per child to spend for extra supplies beyond tempera paint, construction paper, and a few other things that were automatically ordered for us each year.  Since we didn't have computers in our classrooms back then, and I didn't have my own computer at home, nor did the Internet really exist, I had few resources to enhance our dry textbook approach to science without spending a lot of my own money.

     I've noticed that some homeschooling families set aside science studies, as well.  Why is this?  What is it about science that terrifies many trained teachers as well as parents?

     Maybe it's because in the last couple of generations, the focus in science studies in the school system has swung away from our natural world around us to encourage introductions to chemistry, physics, and other more challenging sciences.  Maybe it's because, in the past, women haven't been encouraged to enter fields of science, and many public elementary school teachers are women.

     The only real science studies I remember doing in the elementary school years was in the 1st grade.  Mrs. Arnold helped us study birds and develop a love for all winged creatures.  But other than that, I know we read through chapters of science textbooks a few times, but no experiments were ever done, no hands-on science completed in my elementary school years.  What a shame!

     When you read through the Little House on the Prairie books, and watch movies which take place in the 1800s to mid-1900s, you'll see that frequently, those one-room schoolhouse students spent quite a bit of time outdoors, studying nature and the world around them. 

    For the last 24 years, Eagle's Wings has been providing home schooling families with curricula to meet their needs.  In 1987, two home schooling families launched Eagle's Wings Educational Materials from their homes. Their goal was to provide the home schooling community with materials designed to help busy parents stimulate their children's thinking, creativity, and learning.

     We've used Considering God's Creation for our science studies, and we loved it!  We weren't able to complete the entire book, but this is a fabulous, inexpensive curriculum that works very well in the home.

Considering God's Creation:  Biblical

     As you can probably tell from its title, this is a biblically-based science curriculum.  Since I enjoy using science texts that combine God's Word with accurate science principles, I appreciate this!  Especially for younger children in the lower elementary school years, they don't need to be inundated with the theory of evolution and other theories that can wait until a child is older.

Considering God's Creation:  Hands-on

     In our studies with Considering God's Creation, not only is this a fun curriculum, but it is also very hands-on.  If you have children who enjoy activities, being outside with nature, or cutting/coloring/gluing to make a 3-D notebook, this will work well for your family!

Considering God's Creation:  Creative!

     Considering God's Creation is a creative, in-depth encounter with natural science from a biblical perspective.  The children listen to interesting lessons read by the parent, are involved in hands-on experiments and activities, and do fun "lapbooking" types of 3-D paper projects that fill up a notebook with some great material to show to grandma and grandpa later on!  We have really enjoyed using Considering God's Creation.

     The student workbook for Considering God's Creation is 190 pages of well-designed activities to demonstrate knowledge of what has been taught, or to help learn new scientific principles and ideas.

     We found that none of these pages were what I would call "busy work."  They just weren't.  What you are seeing here is a sample of the "Scientist Detective" pages which are used to help summarize the biographies of various scientists over time.

---

     Here are some photos of the human body we've been working on using Considering God's Creation materials:

     The human body systems are really fun to study and learn about by using Considering God's Creation!  What a neat project to show a friend or relative at the end of the school year! 

     Each lesson contains new vocabulary to discuss, an introduction for the parent to share with the children, a song or poem (with an audio CD to accompany it), an activity, a notebook project, a Bible reading, an "Evolution Stumper", review questions, and the "Digging Deeper" section.

Considering God's Creation:  Flexible

     While Considering God's Creation is designed for children from 2nd through 7th grades, it is easily adapted to older and younger ages.  For the younger student, it's not difficult to read aloud the lessons with slightly simpler wording to meet your child's learning level.  Younger children may need a bit of help cutting out the paper projects, but they can still learn a lot with this program.

     Each lesson also provides "Digging Deeper" suggestions to challenge those students who need more.  Suggested books to read, ideas to research and write about, crossword review pages, field trip suggestions, and websites to view are offered for students who are ready to look deeper into the topic being studied. 

Considering God's Creation:  Inexpensive

     Since Considering God's Creation can be used over a one year time frame or be stretched to as long as three years' use, it is very economical.  The activities and experiments are designed to use things you already have around the home, so it's easy to gather up the supplies you'll need for each lesson. 

  



     The teacher's manual is 128 pages in length, containing the lessons, activities, instructions for all paper projects, and answer key for written work.

---

     The student book contains all of the paper projects and activities for all lessons.  While the student book is 272 pages in length, many of these pages are one-sided so that the student can cut out the 3-D projects to add to his or her notebook or binder. 

     While Eagle's Wings gives families permission to photocopy the student workbook for each individual child in the family or the classroom, there are over 190 pages that would need to be photocopied.  Since an additional workbook is only $13.95, it is quite economical to go ahead and purchase a workbook for each student.  Where I live, the main office supply stores charge 8-9 cents per page for photocopying, and it will take a long time to photocopy that many pages.  Unless you can photocopy pages much cheaper on your own printer at home or somewhere else, and you have a lot of extra time to be making all of those copies, I'd recommend just purchasing a workbook for each child in your family.

---

     Basically, for $29.95, this small purchase will provide your family with wonderfully fun science lessons for one to three years, depending on how quickly or in-depth you move through the lessons! 

     Oh, and an audio CD is also provided with the Teacher's Guide so that each lesson's songs or poems can be listened to in your own home.

---

     We LOVED using Considering God's Creation!  The only one thing that I could suggest here to do differently with this neat science curriculum is to consider checking out a few library books that contain colorful photos or pictures, to illustrate what is being discussed, if you have visual learners.  Or, you could get onto Wikipedia or Google and find photos and graphics ahead of time that would enhance your studies.  While the student notebook contains paper projects that are to be colored in with colored pencils, the teacher's guide has no photos or pictures in it, really.  Some children may really prefer having a color diagram of different types of rocks and minerals, or the food chain, or a human embryo.

     My other suggestion is purchase some decent quality watercolor pencils for your children to use to assist them in coloring in the paper 3-D projects.  I'd avoid Crayola or RoseArt, and instead use a coupon at one of your local craft and sewing/art supply stores to purchase a higher-quality set of colored watercolor pencils for your children to use.  Their projects will turn out much better, and they will enjoy the experience of using colored pencils that don't scratch the paper or make irritating sounds and squeaks.  Of course, since those pencils aren't a dime a dozen, you'll probably want a hand sharpener to sharpen those pencils without wearing them down to stubs!

     You can visit the website for some samples from the 272-page student book, or to listen to some excerpts from the CD included in the teacher book.

     You can also view frequently asked questions about Considering God's Creation. 

     You may also find it helpful to read other TOS Crew reviews of this same product.  I think you'll find that it was a favorite with many families!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the Teacher and Student manuals plus the audio CD for the purpose of writing an unbiased, honest review.  All opinions are solely my own.  No other compensation was provided. 

---