Science Weekly – TOS review

The one thing that I remember loving as a child about school was the weekly “newspaper” that we got at school.  I think it made me feel grown up but I also loved the information in it.  

When asked to review Science Weekly as part of the Old Schoolhouse Crew, I was really excited.  After looking at the website with my kids, they were pretty excited too.

Science Weekly is an excellent way to provide interactive, hand’s on experience while using reading, math, and critical thinking skills while doing science.   There are six different reading levels to choose from  (K-6th).   When you order a year’s subscription,  you will receive 15 issues of a “newspaper” like issue.   I have to admit I was a little confused about the name.  I assumed that it was something you would get weekly, but I think it is called that because the content is easily done within a week’s time. 

The cost for a yearly rate for one student is $19.95.  This is for an individual rate.  if you would like to order more than 20 subscriptions, you can get those for $4.95 per student for the 15 issues.  

I received all 6 reading levels of the issue titled “Fractions”.  Again, I was confused because I’m not real sure what fractions have to do with science.  My kids were looking forward to doing science activities and were kind of disappointed that they were having to do math.    The appearance of Science Weekly is very good.  The pictures are cute and really kept my kids interested.  The size of the words seems to be appropriate for the reading level, getting smaller as the levels go up. 

There were vocabulary words and math in each version.  We completed level B with Bella (Grade 2) and Level E (grade 5-6) with Griffin.  The level B was more basic and included 1/2, 1/3 and 2/2 (or a whole).  Each issue also comes with a Sheet titled Teaching Notes which has instructions and additional hand’s on activities.  This came in handy with level E which had a suduko game.  I hate Suduko so I was glad to have the answer.   Bella learned about numerator’s and denominators in Level B also. 

The weekly lab portion was my kids favorite part.  Bella got to mix paint and practice measuring fractions using liquid measure.   Griffin learned about pollution by doing an experiment with vinegar and cabbage.  Fun times but oh the smell.  LOL

The levels seemed to be pretty close to the targeted age.  I think Bella could have went up a level and still did fine.  

The lessons are written to comply with national standards and Science Weekly has been in classrooms for over 20 years. They are just now branching out into the homeschool market.

There are coloring pages on the website that you can print out.  You can view those by clicking here.  There are six different categories (all of these are science related). 

They also have a new interactive online newspapers in 4 different levels that you can do with your student.   These are free and seem to have quite a bit more in them than the printed version I received.  The print version is an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper folded in half and printed as 4 pages.  (Think pages in a magazine).  The online version (there are 5 different topics including pyramids, kites and more) has 8 pages. 

You can view the order form by clicking here.  You can also request a free sample on that page. 

So, what does our family think?  I really like the idea of this.  I would have liked to see one that was science based.   This would be a good thing to have to use as a filler if you need to spend one on one time with one child.   They can be done primarily without assistance.  You may need to help with the lab but the rest,my kids could complete on their own.

I think the price is a little on the high side and probably wouldn’t spend the money for this.  Crew members received different versions of this so I recommend checking out what they have to say about the more “sciencey” issues that they received. 

Our family gives Science Weekly

Smiley guide:

1 Smiley - Product not really for our family. Probably wouldn’t buy. This really should probably be a frown face but we hate to be negative.

2 Smileys - Would maybe buy this product if on sale. Not a great fit for our family.

3 Smileys - We really liked this product and would probably recommend this to friends and fellow homeschoolers.

4 – Smileys – Definitely would buy this if the budget would allow. We suggest you check this out to see if it is a fit for your family.

5 Smileys – Would sell the family pets to get this one (just kidding). A must have for our family and we think you should get it too.

To see what my fellow crew mates have to say about this this product, click here. I highly recommend this because we were unable to use this enough to give it a fair chance. 

For giveaways,and other great stuff, please check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog by clicking below.

Please note:  I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion in this review.  No other compensation was provided.  Thank you to Science Weekly  and TOS for this opportunity.