Schoolhouse Review: Fascinating Education's Physics #hsreviews

My Eagle Scout is fascinated by science.  As we enter the Junior year of High School, there aren't many science courses he hasn't completed -- from General Science to Robotics, he's been hard at work.  We had the pleasure of reviewing a great Chemistry class last year through Fascinating Education and were excited to review another class this year.    Fascinating Education offers Chemistry, Biology, and Physics in an online format that completely engages both middle schoolers and high schoolers.  My son is in the process of working through Fascinating Physics and so far, he is enjoying it.


Fascinating Physics is broken down into 15 Lessons -- each consisting of video, script, and test.  Each video portion of the lessons includes moving pictures and graphs with voice over instruction by the Fascinator, Dr. Sheldon Margulies (think PowePoint with flair).  Dr. Margulies is a neurologist who understands how the brain works and how we learn.  He shares that knowledge with students through his methodology of instruction as learners see the information being presented, hear the information being presented, and test on the information presented to make sure they comprehend it completely.  The video quality is excellent and the content is superb.

Topics covered in the Lessons are designed to teach the laws of nature, the necessity of forces, and the importance of mathematical formulas and their relevance to life (no more "when will I ever use this again?" questions necessary).  A year-long course, Fascinating Physics covers the following concepts:

1.  Movement
2.  Vectors
3.  Forces
4.  Energy-Work-Power
5.  Circular Motion
6.  Fluids and Gases
7.  Waves
8.  Light - (Light is covered in 3 different parts)
9.  Electrical Charges
10.  Solutions
11.  Electrical Currents
12.  The Atom and
13.  The Nucleus

Students beginning the Physics course should have a working knowledge of both Algebra and Geometry.  It will be helpful in computing formulas and understanding scientific predictions.  Upon completion of the course, your student will have gained a solid knowledge of the basics of Physics, but this is not just a basics Physics course.  There is enough material here for a high school credit.

As I've mentioned before, we've finally reached a place in our home school environment where my children are ready to take on much of the responsibility for their own education.  They are willing and able (isn't self-motivation the best skill?) to sit and learn without being prodded by mom.  I like that the online interface of Fascinating Physics is simple to use and that students move through the science lessons with built-in review.  The Eagle Scout can easily log himself in and begin right where he left off without help from me.  The online format saves his place in case he needs to take a break or step away from the computer for a moment.

It takes him between an hour and an hour and a half per lesson to watch, read, and review.  Following his review, he is able to successfully complete the lesson's test (10 - 20 multiple choice questions).  Now, I'll admit it has been a LONG time since I took high school Physics, but the clear explanations of Dr. Margulies makes comprehension easy for my son and he needs no help from mom.  IF he gets stumped on a test question, there is a "Need Help?"  button that will offer a means of review.  There are even detailed explanations provided that show you how to solve each and every problem and students can opt to re-take a test until they grasp the material completely.  This is perfect for my son as he prepares for a college major in Engineering.  Beware though -- you must PRINT the results of your tests as you take them.  You can not go back and see your scores.

One of my very favorite things about Fascinating Physics is that the Scripts included are PDF files that can be printed to make a thorough notebook of resources.  The Scripts provide the verbiage of each slide verbatim and include many of the pictures and graphs from the lessons.  This makes it easy to follow along and gives students a chance to highlight and take notes.

Once again this year, the Eagle Scout is enjoying the science courses provided by Fascinating Education.  He says that they are both interesting and easy to understand and that's a WIN to us.  I encourage you to check out the Course Outlines for all three of the Fascinating Sciences and even peruse a free sample of each one to see which best meets the needs of your family.  You'll be glad you did as education becomes simply FASCINATING to your kids.

I was given the opportunity to review Fascinating Education as a member of the Schoolhouse ReviewCrew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Schoolhouse ReviewCrew thought of this and other products as well (or just click on the banner below.)

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