A very nice, detailed and academic-oriented coloring book for learning about wild animals. In addition to beautiful drawings of each animal, the text provides common and scientific names and details about appearance, location, habits, size, etc. The index covers common and scientific names as well. Illustrations are copyright free (within certain conditions) and may be copied for use within your family.
Subtitled a Catholic Science Hands On Program of the Human Body, this is a program best used with kids in grades 4 to 8. My Temple of the Holy Spirit is a very practical study of seven of the systems of the body from a Catholic and prolife perspective. It covers various systems of the body, but not the reproductive systems, the integumentary system, or all of the excretory system. It is thoroughly Catholic, with the Faith integrated throughout. It is user-friendly for both parent and child and very nonthreatening, even for those who are frightened of teaching science.
In it's segment on "Experiments that Teach Us About Ourselves: The Amazing Human Body" this book provides 35 experiments about the body (the other segments of the book are about plant and animal life. While certainly not a comprehensive anatomy course, the book does provide interesting and simple experiments (which can easily performed at home with fairly ordinary materials) that would provide a helpful supplement to the study of anatomy.
We've started working our way through parts of this book as a read-aloud for younger children but have enjoyed it especially for the pictures. It covers everything from the Hubble Space Telescope to the surface and atmosphere of the Sun, Moon and Planets, from Space Pioneers to star maps, from explanations of various types of telescopes to black holes and discussions of the possibility of extraterrestrial life. We've only read a small portion of the text so far, but were pleased to find that the text came out better than expected in several litmus-test areas.
Although most books in the DK Eyewitness series are at least slightly problematic in the text, our family enjoys a number of them entirely for the sake of the pictures. Eyewitness: Astronomy is one of the ones I wouldn't bother with even for the pictures. Although there are many beautiful photos, the book overall is both disappointing and even problematic in places.
As your student begins to look skyward and ask questions, take them in one hand and this book in the other! With this book, an assortment of ordinary household things, binoculars or a telescope, and lots of time you can teach a fascinating, hands-on course in beginning astronomy for an entire year. Exploring the Sky is not a textbook. It isn't a storybook. It IS a living book guide to exploring the heavens with an interesting mix of history, biography, folklore, legend, science facts and science fiction, and even some mathematics and art.
Subtitled "101 Easy Experiments that Really Work", this book is one in a series that is very popular with homeschoolers (and understandably so). The book covers seven major topics - Planets, Space Movement, The Sun, The Moon, The Stars, Space Instruments and Space/Space Travel. Each experiment uses simple experiments and explains (briefly) the purpose, the procedure, the expected result and a brief but very understandable explanation of why it happened. Black and white sketches illustrate each experiment as well.
Each packet of Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards includes 50 cards covering 12 categories: Tradition, Church, Papacy, Eucharist/Mass, Salvation, Purgatory, Baptism, Mary, Saints, Confession, Statues & Holy Objects, and Holy Orders. The purpose of the cards is to assist children, ages 8 and up, and teenagers to be able to defend their faith with clear and easy explanations against the typical questions about the Catholic faith.
When I first considered converting from a "mere Christianity" form of Protestantism to the Catholic faith, I had several issues to deal with. I believed that "Scripture alone" was the rule of faith. I thought that the Catholic Church had added several non-Biblical doctrines throughout the years -- for example, praying to Mary and the saints and the existence of Purgatory.
I have just finished planning the school year for my 5th and 8th graders using the new CHC Lesson Plan Guide for the Middle School Years, and I have never had such a productive and enjoyable time of it! Normally, I like to plan, but there never seemed to be enough time or information in one place to do it effectively or efficiently. I prefer a customized curriculum for each of my students, emphasizing their particular interests while shoring up their weaker subjects. With six students alongside little ones, planning the school year's curriculum is a very time-consuming process.