Every family decides to homeschool for different reasons. My husband and I were most concerned with raising our kids with a solid Christian worldview. I taught in the public school system and followed the trends developing around the country. I knew that my children would be subjected to teaching that didn’t align with my worldview and conflicted with our faith. This is particularly true when it comes to science instruction and it begins at an early age.
Theories are often taught as facts and the belief that science and faith are in conflict is the norm. But nothing could be further from the truth. Studying nature and science without bias will lead you to a creator (Romans 1:20) and intelligent design. This is the foundation upon which I want to build my children’s science instruction.
Disclosure: I received this product for free and was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.
With that in mind, I was happy to discover that Kendall Hunt Religious Publishers produced an excellent faith-based science curriculum that reinforces scientific fact alongside spiritual truths. It’s called By Design Science for grades 1-8.
About By Design Science
By Design Science for grades 1-8 is a faith-based science inquiry program. Using a five-step instructional model, it promotes inquiry-based learning and stimulates a natural desire for knowledge and a better understanding of God’s creation. The five steps include engage, discover, explain, extend, and assess/reflect.
Each level of By Design Science includes units in life science, the human body, earth and space science and physical science. Each unit has an accompanying student science journal which serves as a record of your child’s progress. The science journals include the tests at each unit’s conclusion, but parents also have access to an online assessment tool which includes a question bank for customizing tests and quizzes.
You can take a more in-depth look at the curriculum here, but here are my impressions of this faith-based science program.
Why I Like This Faith-Based Science Curriculum
- This curriculum can make science instruction in your homeschool easy. The course comes with a multi-grade instructional plan easily allowing homeschool families to align their family’s science instruction around the same topic. This is a huge burden off the homeschool parent who is putting together weekly lesson plans. But what’s more is you can order pre-made inquiry kits from Kendall Hunt and save yourself the hassle of tracking down all the random supplies you’ll need to conduct experiments. Again, less time spent planning.
- It helps you reinforce Christian worldviews. The By Design Science for grades 1-8 textbooks feature callouts in each lesson that point students to God’s Word and connect the lesson to their faith. Scripture Spotlights give Bible passages for students to read while the Faith Connection lead students to consider how the current lesson applies to their faith. What I appreciate most though is the Called to Serve sections that highlight individuals (or organizations) who are living out their faith using their knowledge and experience in various scientific fields. I want my boys to know that they will have many opportunities to be salt and light in this world no matter what career they decide to pursue.
- Bonus: Both the textbook and science journals are very visually engaging. The books include lots of photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and charts. Every page has something interesting to see and important words and concepts are clearly called out. There’s nothing boring about these science books.
The Bottom Line
Kendall Hunt Religious Publishing offers a great option for parents looking to give their kiddos comprehensive and hands-on science instruction while not compromising their Christian worldview. With everything already planned out, the program is easy to jump into and stick with over the long haul.
Find out More About Kendall Hunt Religious Publishers
Kendall Hunt Religious Publishers also publishes these product lines:
- Pathways Reading Language Art grades 1-8 https://rpd.kendallhunt.com/program/pathways
- Kindergarten Stepping Stones (Read my review.) https://rpd.kendallhunt.com/program/kindergarten-stepping-stones
In addition, Kendall Hunt offers Talented and Gifted programs in mathematics (M2 and M3) as well as products developed in collaboration with the CFGE (Center for Gifted Education) College of William and Mary in subject areas such as language arts, social studies, and science.
Connect with Kendall Hunt RPD
- Visit their website.
- Join them on Facebook – Kendall Hunt Publishing Company PreK-12
- Find them on Twitter – @KendallHuntRPD
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