All of our kids love science. But they get pretty bored with the reading from textbook approach that we sometimes get in the rut of doing. So I was excited to get the opportunity to try out the Digital Science Online Elementary Program and the Digital Science Online Secondary Edition from Visual Learning Systems.
Visual Learning Systems created an online program that features a visual approach to many areas of science including life, earth, physical and basic science. The Digital Science Online Program has been created for grade levels Kindergarten through 12th grade.
This visual approach intrigued me. After all, every one of our kids could sit and watch cartoon science videos over and over again. The older ones enjoy watching the Science channel on TV too. They really do thrive with videos. So I was wondering if these science videos would be interesting to our kids and keep their attention, or if they would complain about watching them.
The girls have now been using the Digital Science Online Elementary Program for their entire Science curriculum the last few weeks. Planning is super easy each week for me. I login and plan what lessons we will be going through each week. Each video lesson last approximately 10 - 15 minutes. That time includes a short video quick, reviewing what was covered. Each lesson also includes printable worksheets and quizzes. This helped make my planning simpler. I was able to print what we needed for the week, and had everything ready.
We started out in the Life science category for the Primary and Elementary levels. This is an example of one of the worksheets. The girls learned about food chains/webs. They were able to create posters of food chains and a food web.
Lydia worked on the Plants and Plant parts this past week. I printed the worksheets and a simple absorption experiment was even included.
How have the girls enjoyed Digital Science Online Elementary Program? They are enjoying the more relaxed approach. They can watch a video lesson, instead of reading the lesson. The work level is not harder for me if I need to adjust to different lessons for them. This week, I had one doing space and another still working on plants.
One reason we are enjoying Digital Science Online Elementary Program so much is the videos are especially made for specific age ranges and their length is perfect. I know Caty prefers cartoons, but a 10-12 minute video about a scientific topic is able to keep her attention. She likes feeling "smart" at the end when she answers the review questions.
The boys have also been watching videos as a supplement to their other science curriculum. Again, even though we love the Science channel, the short duration of the videos really helps the kids and their attention spans. They are learning so much using Digital Science Online Elementary Program, It is proving to be a useful full curriculum for some of our children, as well as a wonderful supplemental program for the others.
When we started using the Digital Science Online Elementary Program, we were traveling on the road for 8 weeks. The program is helping me in another way as we prepare for our next 4 - 6 week road trip, I will have much less materials that I need to carry this trip. With our science program mainly being online, there's not a bunch of items to pack.
I also like how we can work together as a family on some topics, but others they can work separately depending on their interests without a bunch of extra work thrown at me for planning.
We are going to continue using Digital Science Online Elementary Program from Visual Learning Systems. I am truly enjoying the ease of use for both myself and the kids. It will definitely be a continued investment for our family.
They offer a special homeschool price for parents:
You can contact Visual Learning Systems with questions. You can call 1-800-453-8481 or e-mail: info@visuallearningsys.com. If you do not want to purchase an online subscription, they also have DVD and VHS versions you can purchase.
Several members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to use the Digital Science Online program from Visual Learning Systems. Your can visit their reviews by visiting the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog by clicking below.
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