Review of Science Weekly

 As part of the Homeschool Crew, I recently received all six levels of one of Science Weekly's science newsletters for children free in exchange for my review.  Science Weekly, an activity based newsletter, publishes 15 issues per year, and (according to the website) "develops and reinforces students' reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking skills, all through interactive science content."  Each issue of Science Weekly addresses a variety of topical science concepts, and is targeted at one of six different age groups ranging from K to 6th grade.  While each issue addresses the same topics, the age differentiation allows for the activities and the language to be age-appropriate.

Science Weekly is a full-color publication, and engages kids to interest them in science.  It provides experiments, along with math and reading activities which are topically related.  To families who utilize unit studies in their homeschools, Science Weekly's format should seem familiar, as it approaches the same topic from several different disciplinary angles.

Each issue even includes detailed teacher's notes, so Science Weekly really can be used in your homeschool, even if you are unfamiliar with the topics presented.

Whether or not Science Weekly is right for your family depends heavily on your approach to science. Families who follow a curriculum or use a textbook may not be able to capitalize on Science Weekly's format, but families who teach science via unit studies or delight-directed learning may find in Science Weekly an extraordinarily inexpensive curriculum.  Of course, there are some kids who are just science junkies and would love to see Science Weekly show up in their mailboxes every three weeks regardless of whether or not it complements their schooling! For these children, too, Science Weekly is quite a good value.

For $19.95 per student, per year, Science Weekly will deliver 15 issues of its award winning newsletter to your home.  You choose whether you want Level Pre-A (K), A (1st), B (2nd), C (3rd), D (4th), or E (5th-6th).  If you're not sure what you'll get, you can view samples on Science Weekly's website here.  Examples of recent topics include the following:

To find out more about Science Weekly, visit its website, or use the contact information below:

My kids thought Science Weekly was really interesting, even though it doesn't quite fit in with how we "do" science.  To find out how other Crew members used Science Weekly in their homes, visit the Crew Blog!