Elementary

Easy As 1, 2, 3: A Catholic Overview of Science For the Primary Grades

Book cover: 'Easy As 1, 2, 3: A Catholic Overview of Science For the Primary Grades'
Author(s): 
Nancy Nicholson
This program provides families who like to use living books with a Catholic framework from which to study science. It is not a textbook but rather is 40 pages, of which approximately half are outlines, that are three hole punched and ready to go into your notebook. The parent that uses this will find the eleven units of science outlined very handy for creating their own program and clearly laid out so that they can tuck personal notes and activities into their notebook using the 40 pages as their point of organizing.

For the Beauty of the Earth

Author(s): 
James Leek et al.
Like many Catholic Home schooling families, providing a Catholic education was number one on the list of reasons my husband and I wanted to home school. In addition, we wanted a rigorous education, and one that emphasized the beauties of truth and love. Translating these goals into a curriculum is an on-going challenge. Sometimes the books that do a good job presenting a particular subject do it without the light of the Faith. Other times, books that are "solidly Catholic" are also unattractive and uninspiring. We have had to compromise in a lot of areas.

Handbook of Nature Study

Book cover: 'Handbook of Nature Study'
Author(s): 
Anna Botsford Comstock
This is a very informative handbook on a large portion of nature, originally written for elementary school teachers. It covers wildlife, insects, farm animals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, weeds, vegetables, rocks, minerals, soil, climate, weather, magnets, the sun, moon, planets of our solar system and much more. According to the 1986 foreword, most of the living things described are common in the northeastern states of the U.S. but it covers a lot of material that would be helpful in other parts of the country as well.

The Way Things Work Kit

Book cover: 'The Way Things Work Kit'
This kit provides dozens of special cardboard pieces, wooden dowels string, wheels, etc. for making simple machines (inclined planes, scales, etc.) that can be used for understanding basic concepts of mechanics - how things work. Based upon the bestselling "The Way Things Work" by David Macaulay, the kit continues the theme of Wooly Mammoths as props and characters for use in these experiments.

What Makes a Magnet?

Book cover: 'What Makes a Magnet?'
Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
What Makes a Magnet? constitutes a fairly substantial introduction to magnets for children approximately ages 5 to 9. They are invited to do a little discovery for themselves by doing some "fishing" with a magnet in a box of miscellaneous objects and see what things the magnet will pick up. The book goes on to explain that magnets pick up, not everything made of metal, but objects which contain iron in particular.

Switch On! Switch Off!

Book cover: 'Switch On! Switch Off!'
Author(s): 
Melvin Berger
A very simple children's book designed to explain how electricity works and how it is harnessed to be used in everyday life. The thing my husband (the electrical engineer) liked about this book was that it, quite simply, doesn't have any flaws. It is simple, but substantive.

Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll

Book cover: 'Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll'
Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
Illustrator(s): 
True Kelley
This simple, nicely illustrated (cartoon-like pictures) children's book explains important concepts of science in a very easy-to-understand fashion. The reader is introduced to the way thunderclouds form and where thunder and lightning come from. The scientific content is substantial and very accessible. The story line is rounded out with tips for staying safe during a storm. My children have been fascinated by the details about the inside of a thundercloud, how fast sound and light travel, how you can measure the distance thunder travels and more.

What Makes Day and Night?

Book cover: 'What Makes Day and Night?'
Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
The clearly written text is combined with simple, colorful pictures to make the concepts of day and night and the rotation of the earth in relation to the sun very understandable for both young children and their parents. : ) Included is a very simple hands-on "experiment" requiring only your child and a desk lamp. Some information about the moon is also covered. Like other books in this series, this book is a great solution for satisfying some of those "why" questions that young children constantly ask.

Stories in Stone

Book cover: 'Stories in Stone: The World of Animal Fossils'
Author(s): 
Jo Kittinger
Although this is a meaty book for its age level and rather lengthy, my children were completely absorbed when I read this aloud to them.

' Stories in Stone presents the "World of Animal Fossils" and the story of the dinosaurs from the point of view of generally accepted scientific theories of today. Chapter 1 (A Rock Sandwich) covers introduces the idea of fossils, how they were formed, types of fossils, the scientific classification of animal species ("Why Dinosaur Names are Hard to Spell") and how scientists determine the age of fossils.

Sunshine Makes the Seasons

Author(s): 
Franklyn M. Branley
"Sunshine warms the earth. If the sun stopped shining, the earth would get colder and colder..." It is important for children to consider the importance of the sun in our lives. In Sunshine Makes the Seasons, children are introduced to the sun's role and in particular how the seasons change because of the earth's rotation around the sun and the tilt of the earth.

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