Review: Go Science DVDs

I’ve mentioned before that I feel our homeschool curriculum is a little weak in the area of science, and I always appreciate the opportunity to try new science programs with my children.  Over the past month, my boys and I have enjoyed watching the Go Science DVDs (Series 2) from Library and Educational Services. 


These videos, which are designed to point children to their Creator God,  are recommended for ages 4 – 12.   Ben Roy, the teacher in these video segments, is an energetic man who really captured the attention of my 4 and 6 year old sons.  The videos are filmed with a large group of children, with Ben Roy involving the children through questions and participation in the experiments.


We received Volumes 4 and 5, as pictured below.  Volume 4 covers motion, friction, electricity, and light.  Volume 5 covers states of matter and water.   The videos are available for $8.97 each from Library and Educational Services.

 

You and your children can learn everything you need to know simply by watching the videos, but we also enjoyed trying many of the experiments at home.  For example, we really enjoyed trying the cornstarch and water lesson (Volume Five) that taught about non-Newtonian fluids and also shared the story of Peter walking on the water to Jesus. We tried it out at home, and the boys had a BLAST getting all gooey!

We also had fun watching as they made and sampled butter.  (Did you know butter is mentioned in the Bible?)  We’ve done this in the past, so we didn’t do it now, but it’s very fun to make and sample homemade butter!

I heard, “I wanna try this, Mama!” and “Mama, can we do that?” quite a few times as we watched the Go Science DVDs.  We have quite a few experiments to try over the coming weeks!  My kids are particularly excited to watch water ‘tightrope’ down a string!  (They would LOVE to try the video of the cornstarch oobleck in a stereo speaker, but Mama had to draw the line at that one!)

Each video runs approximately 1 hour, with over ten experiments per video.  Each experiment segment lasts from 3 – 10 minutes.  They are worded in a way that children can easily understand, and the children in the video help to keep my own children attentive to the videos.  (In fact, my children will even sit on the couch and answer Mr. Roy’s questions for the children in the audience!)

I love that Ben Roy is full of energy, and my children truly enjoyed watching these videos.  The videos do a great job of covering the topics, teaching children the basics, and sharing a brief message about God.  Mr. Roy explains just enough of the scientific principles to teach young children, but not so much that a young child is overwhelmed.

I really, REALLY wish that the videos came with a small booklet listing the experiments, materials needed, and general instructions for each project.  It would make it much easier to know what I should have ready to go when my children watch these videos.

Overall, though, I have no complaints with these fun videos.  My children are willing to watch the videos more than once, and they have a list of experiments that they’d like to try at home.  These are a great science resource to add to any homeschool curriculum!  What I most appreciated was that they are very well done science videos that INCLUDE GOD!

Library and Educational Services offers sample videos on their website, if you’d like to watch a segment.  Simply click on THIS LINK and scroll down to watch two video clips.  

(Pssst…if you’ve never heard of Library and Educational Services, you may want to check it out!  They offer their wholesale prices to homeschool families, as well a libraries, schools, and more.  The prices are very reasonable, and they have a great selection!)

To read what other reviews thought about the Go Science DVDs, click on the link below.

Photo Dump

I think I shared this picture in a school update post, but I just love it, so here it is again…
Alex is reading stories to Jensyn.  He is SOOO sweet with her, and it MELTS my heart!

After a dinner at our church, there were LOTS of pretzel sticks left over.  The lady who purchased them sent us home with a full container of pretzel sticks, and it made Alex so happy!  He didn’t want them to break on the way home, so he buckled them into the car.

We later used these pretzel sticks to make chocolate & sprinkle covered pretzels.  Yum!

Quite often, Keith heads up to church early for Praise Team practice, so I am getting all three kids ready and out the door on my own.  I asked the kids to get their shoes on and get in the car while I finished getting myself ready.  Alex buckled Jensyn’s carseat for me, and I never looked at her feet.  When we got out of the car at church, I realized that Jensyn had put RAIN BOOTS on her feet with her pretty dress.  Whoops!

Playing in the sandbox & on the new tree swing at Grandma & Papa’s house…

FILTHY, dirty, grass-clipping-covered feet
after running through the sprinklers with the neighbor kids

Jensyn’s first Uno game – she won!
(We play open hand games, and all three kids can play now!)

Max started swimming lessons, and he LOVES it!  Miss Nancy had to insist that he get out of the pool after his first two lessons, as Max wanted to keep going!  (Alex is continuing with Level 3, and Max is doing Level 1.)

We had a fun playdate at the park with a family from our homeschool co-op. 
We spent about 2.5 hours enjoying the beautiful day with friends!

Our local fire station had its annual open house.
Jensyn was excited that they had PINK fire hats this year!

We came a little later this year, so we were there when things were wrapping up for the day.
Sadly, that meant that the hotdogs were almost gone and they were out of buns. 
So we had lukewarm, bun-less hotdogs for lunch.

We got to see the Life Flight helicopter taking off…and hear and feel it, too.
We all got faces full of dirt.  It was quite the multi-sensory experience, ha!

Jensyn didn’t care for the noise.  First, she covered her ears. 
When the wind picked up, she hid behind me.


After flying away, the helicopter returned for a quick fly-by.
(I blurred out the name of the first station.)

The kids had fun checking out all of the fire trucks and the ambulance.

The kids also received Bicycle Safety bags filled with pens, notepads, coloring pages, and lights and colored spoke covers to help make their bikes more visible to drivers.  The boys were excited to decorate their bikes when we got home.

The boys’ t-ball pictures…Alex on the left & Max on the right

Alex’s artwork

In May, we had my sweet great nephew spend the night with us.  What a joy it was to have a baby in the house again!  The kids had fun playing with baby Lance & feeding him his lunch.  I enjoyed a middle-of-the-night snuggle while he had his bottle…it was so wonderful to just enjoy cuddling him in the quiet of the house!

Jensyn said, “Mama, I’m FOODING him!”

The boys each had to give it a try, too.

Jensyn “read” stories to baby Lance.

Jensyn’s belated birthday gift from Aunt Diane – a Disney doll with several princess dresses, tiaras, and shoes.  This belonged to my niece Kathryn, who has since outgrown it.  Jensyn LOVES this pretty doll!

I think we’re caught up on a whole lot of random pictures now!

Indiana Beach Homeschool Day

We had the opportunity to purchase hugely discounted tickets to Indiana Beach through a local homeschool group.  They were valid only on a specific day, which is always a little risky when you don’t know what the weather will be.  For the price, though, we just couldn’t pass up on this deal!

Our $12 tickets also included a wristband for unlimited drinks the whole day, and we found out that it also included free admission to the haunted house.  That’s really a bargain, considering the cost of drinks and the $3/person haunted house tickets…on top of the regular price of over $20/person for admission!

Much of our day was spent on our own, but we did run into friends throughout the day.  Alex enjoyed a few rides with co-op friends.  (Max, Alex, and Jensyn and I rode the Frog Hopper, too.  The boys love it…Jensyn needed Mama with her and still didn’t love it.)

Max & Jensyn both LOVED all the kiddy rides.  Alex…well…he liked a few, but he was bored with most.  Our big boy is growing up too quickly.  The kiddy rides are losing their excitement, and he needs a little more thrill now!

Alex did enjoy ringing the bell on this little boat ride.
Jensyn loved this one, as well.

As we were getting ready to leave home in the morning, Alex asked, “What’s the one ride?  Do you remember it?  I think it’s called the ‘Scrambled Egg’?”  He was referring to this ride: The Scrambler…and he loved it!

We’d packed a picnic, and we enjoyed our lunch in the (very breezy) picnic shelter. 
It’s always good to get a break in the middle of the craziness!

Both boys wanted to go in the haunted house.  The lady in the ticket booth told the boys to take a look down the first hallway before deciding if they wanted to go.  Alex still said YES, but Max changed his mind.  Max, Jensyn, and I waited on a bench so we could see Daddy & Alex come out of the balcony once they reached the third floor.  Here they are waving down to us…  (Jensyn calls the robotic guy on the 2nd floor balcony, “The Bad Man”.  She doesn’t like him!)

After that, we took turns on one of our favorite rides – the Den of Lost Thieves (a ride-through shooting gallery).  We’d already been on it earlier in the day, but that one is worth repeating!  I don’t have any pictures of it, though!  (Oh, and I got the top score of the day on my last time through the ride.  Woohoo!)

On to the bumper cars…Alex & Daddy rode while Max, Jensyn, and I watched.  Then Max & Daddy rode while Alex, Jensyn and I watched.  Maybe next year, Alex will be brave enough to drive alone, and then Keith and I can each take a smaller kiddo and we can all ride!

We didn’t do any big roller coasters – the one we wanted to try with the boys was shut down for the day, and their new ‘kiddy coaster’ wasn’t up and running yet.  (We were there in very early June, and none of their new kid rides were operational yet, sadly.)

We did the tilt-a-whirl with the whole family.  Poor Jensyn – I had to hold on to her so tightly!  She wasn’t scared, but she WAS sliding all over the place!  The boys and Daddy rode Falling Star.  Jensyn was a little afraid of that one, so I sat with her.

There were other rides throughout the day, but too much time has passed & I’m not remembering all the details.  What I do remember is that we had a very fun day, ending with a trip to Pizza Hut on the way home.  We’re definitely enjoying our summer!