Monday, April 23, 2012

Amazing Science DVD

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"Oh, cool, Mom!  Can we do the colored milk one first?  Do we have all the stuff here?"
"Wait, wait!  Let's do the lemon battery one, too."
"Oh, wow!  That's neat!  It's like a volcano."
"Egg in a Bottle?  YES!  We get to use matches!"

That's the conversation I've been hearing at my house the last few weeks as we jumped into the Amazing Science videos by ScienceandMath.com.  Fun to watch and even more fun to try, these videos have been an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G addition to our science lessons each day.

For review purposes, I decided that I'd have the Princess and the Boy Scout watch a few of 23 experiments on the 2-disc set of Amazing Science, Volume 1 and tell me what they thought about them.  I was hoping that they would enjoy the experiments but I had no idea how MUCH they would enjoy watching them.  Watching the Science experiment videos has quickly become their favorite part of the school day.  And not only do they WATCH the videos, but they DO them as well.

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From the very first experiment, they've been intrigued -- and actively putting their hands-on science.  Jason Gibson (the scientist demonstrating all of the experiments) has a passion for teaching math and science and that shines through each video segment.  As he walks through the first experiment "Color Changing Milk," he explains to the students what is happening.  Obviously its an interaction between the soap & the milk.  What do we use soap for?  To clean dirt and fat from our hands.    The chemical reaction and the disruption of surface tension is easily seen here.  This was fascinating stuff.  So interesting that the Princess called me into the kitchen late one night to show me what she'd been doing.  She had poured a dish of milk and had the cotton swabs ready to go.  The cotton swabs were prepped with a little bit of dish soap on the ends.  Jason had done the experiment by squeezing food coloring into the milk but the Princess couldn't find any so she improvised.  She used acrylic paint -- and it worked!

As she touched the prepared cotton swabs to the colored milk, the paint went wild.  It was the "chemical reaction and the disruption of surface tension" that Jason had taught her about earlier.  {I am super-impressed because I just called her over and asked her to explain that experiment to me again.  She did this WEEKS ago -- and still remembers all of it!  Science has come to life and I like that!}




The back of the DVD case says that students will learn fundamental principles of science through Amazing Science Experiments and that every concept is explained step-by-step.  How true!  What they forgot to say is that your kids will LIKE learning the fundamental principles.  That's really what it is all about in my book.

My kiddos are so excited about Amazing Science that they came up with a great idea.  Each summer I do a Day Camp for children in 1st-5th grades called Camp ShadyRest.  Typically we do the messiest art projects you can find but THIS year may be different.   "Mom, you can do this at Camp ShadyRest!  A whole day of cool science projects like this would make this year the best year yet!"


If that's not the very best endorsement you can give, I don't know what is.  You can purchase your very own copy of these great experiments for only $19.95 (or you can purchase and download to your computer for only $17.99) right HERE.  For the most part all of the supplies you will need to get started can be found right in your home.  For a detailed Supply List, visit my friend Ami over at Walking by the Way.  She made a beautiful list to help you get your hands-on science today.


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~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use and review Amazing Science, Volume 1 as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received the curriculum in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  Amazing Science by Science and Math.com  HERE.~~


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