Nancy Larson Science 1 Homeschool Kit Review

I was given the privilege of reviewing the Nancy Larson Science 1 Homeschool Kit. We received the box in the mail and were so excited to open it up to see all the goodies inside!

This is what we found:
Pine cones, tree cookie, hand lens, x-ray set, Live Butterfly Garden with Butterfly Larvae Coupon, Ladybug Land with Ladybug Larvae Coupon, insect learning cards, plastic insects and spiders set, and the following books: What Do Scientists Do?, Peterson First Guide to Trees,Trees to Paper, Familiar Insects and Spiders, Your Insides, and The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree.

Included was an amazing teachers manual containing the lessons and answer keys. The lessons are presented in dialogue form which I really like, as it presents each lesson so clearly and simply for the little ones to truly grasp and understand it all.

It also has student booklets and assessment sheets, once again, very clear and very simple to use making the material very easy to understand for the kids.

And last but not least, a special CD loaded with photos, glossaries, word cards, science word labels, teacher's masters, and other materials to help you teach.

The curriculum covers the following:

• Developmental Biology—Describing the Life Stages of Human Beings
• Botany—Observing Trees
• Earth and Space—Exploring Sunlight, Water, and Soil
• Zoology—Investigating Animals and Their Habitats
• Anatomy—Discovering What Is Inside Our Bodies
• Entomology—Examining the Characteristics and Life Cycles of Insects

I liked that the subjects it covered are really the subjects that interest the kids. They can really relate to all of them and they are brought down to a level that the kids really get it.

We covered Developmental Biology, which the little ones really enjoyed and fully understood.

We then skipped on to Anatomy which just fascinated them. They loved the true to size X-ray cards which gave them a really clear picture of what their bones look like inside. And the lesson plans were so great and easy to teach. We have read the book "Your Insides" included in the kit, at least a dozen times. It is a fabulous book that gives great info on a very simple level. Ask my 5 year old what happens when you eat food and he will give you a full account. Its really sweet seeing the little guy using words like "esophagus" and "intestines":) And he gets it!

But I have to say, one of the highlights of the kit, of course, is the Butterfly Garden! Unfortunately, where we live, we couldn't get the butterfly Larvae shipped to us, so we opted for the next best thing... silkworms! And there is an entire section on the differences and similarities between butterflies and moths, check out the photo below of us discussing it:

Our silkworm garden:)

I just love the way the information in given over, I wish they had every subject layed out like this. Here is a link to an example of one of the lessons: http://nancylarson.com/sample_lessons/s1sample1.pdf

So all in all, I really like this Homeschool Kit. It is so user friendly, has lots of great information and hands on activities and is just easy and simple to use and understand.

Here is a direct link to their website:

http://www.nancylarson.com/science1.html

Go check it out!