Planet Earth: Land, Water, Sky Review

You guys know I love Science!  I want to share with you a fun middle school Science program from Timberdoodle, Planet Earth: Land, Water, Sky.  Planet Earth is published by Centripetal Press and is recommended for kids ages 12+ or middle school.

Our compact book is 502 pages in length and contains 15 chapters on earth science including topics on our solar system, weather systems, minerals, plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, and landforms to name a few.  There are a plethora of colorful illustrations and real life photos throughout our text to keep students engaged.

This earth science text is mastery-based.  Instead of cramming or the learn and dump method, the goal is for students to study and prepare in an effort to retain the content they are learning long term.  Because this is a rigorous text, the suggest pace is a bit slower.  It is recommended that students cover ~ 2 chapters a month.

I really like the chapter on matter and minerals.

Our homeschool mineral and rock kit

The experimental investigations in this course allow students to experience hands-on learning.  In the 2nd experimental investigation, students learn about how geologists analyze and identify minerals.  It was fun to break out our mineral and rock kit and look at their various properties as we tried to identify them ourselves.

I appreciate that this course is a slower pace so that students can really study and learn the material.  I'm excited to see what E remembers after we have completed this text and see how well the concepts transferred to her.  I'll keep you posted!

If you are looking for an easy to use science text for your middle school student, we would definitely recommend Timberdoodle's Planet Earth: Land, Water, Sky so far!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Planet Earth in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

The Prince of Egypt the Musical & Amazon Giftcard Giveaway

 

I have an exciting musical to share with you today, The Prince of Egypt the Musical!  If you have grown up with this story like my kids then you are already familiar with it but now you can watch a live stage production.  This is a great musical to watch with your kids and entire family, it is sure to spark conversations about Moses & the Old Testament.

Synopsis:  This production was filmed live at the West End's Dominion Theater in London.  It features a cast and orchestra of 60 performers, making it one of the biggest musicals ever staged!  Based on the classic DreamWorks Animation film the classic story has been brought to life by Stephen Schwartz's "miraculous music" (Time Out), including Academy Award winning song 'When You Believe' and Sean Cheesman's "astonishing choreography" (The Guardian).  This epic, critically acclaimed production tells and inspiring tale of resilience and hope.  Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past.  One must rule as Pharoah, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.  Check out the trailer below.

I love this timeless classic.  The story is phenomenal and so is the music.  It can be hard nowadays to find something safe the entire family can watch.  I'm so glad this musical is now an option!  The sets, costumes, acting and singing are all incredible.  You can buy or rent this production digitally starting Dec 5th here.  

Ready for a giveaway?  One of you will win a $10 Amazon giftcard.  Just enter below and good luck!  Limited to US winners only.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Disclosure:  Many thanks to NBC Universal for providing a sample of the product for review.  Opinions are 100% my own.