FAQs, Helps, and Extras

Yes, the Marine Biology science unit is still available as a PDF and the PDF download has been updated to include the files for the new Course Book and Student Journals.

All new and updated Science courses that are released will have the new format, including a Course Book and Student Journals. Due to the new format, we do not suggest that the new Student Journals be used with the discontinued science units. The Student Journals contain activities, pages, and games that are geared toward specific grade ranges, and are highly integrated with the lessons in the newly updated units. However, if you have a discontinued science unit, the science videos will still be available on our website and families can still utilize them. 

The Reptiles, Amphibians, & Fish course is the only updated science course that could allow a parent to use the previous edition alongside the new Student Journals. However, the previous edition will NOT instruct the parent on when to reference the Student Journals or 7-8 Lesson Extensions. The format has changed for the new edition, including moving activities from the course book to the Student Journals and streamlining some of the parent-read lesson content.

Yes. When the current editions of our Science units are updated, the videos will still be available and families can still use those units.

Many families find it very easy to include younger children in the family-style learning of our Science units so you only need to teach one unit to all of your children. We encourage you to view the sample pages that will be available on our website when the units are released to see if they are a good fit for your family. There will not be a Student Journal for grades K-2.

Science for Little Hearts and Hands was created specifically with families who are teaching only children in 2nd grade or younger in mind. Science for Little Hearts and Hands could be completed for younger children in addition to completing our Science courses for older children.

Course Books are primarily non-consumable but do include a few items that are consumable such as the vocabulary cards. These components can be altered in order to be reused and each family could decide how to do so (for example, laminating and no permanent gluing to a science wall and saving any items that are cut out from the course book). Student Journals are consumable.

Our recently updated and upcoming Science units will be designed for grades 3-8. We will also have additional courses in our Science for Little Hearts and Hands series geared towards grades K-2. The Chemistry science unit, which studies a more complex subject, is designed for children in grades 5–8. Many families find that their younger children enjoy joining in with their family-style learning even if they are teaching children in grades 3-8.

PDFs of the new format of Science are available for purchase for the Course Book and Student Journals. Correlated reading books and the 7-8 extension books are not available in PDF format.

Yes. Our pricing is set with many factors taken into consideration. We are happy to provide the option of both physical and PDF format so parents can determine the best option for their family.

For those who choose to continue using the discontinued Safety science unit, we suggest replacing the Call for Help section in Lesson 1: Fire Safety with the following:

Get out. Never hide where an adult can’t find you. Get out of the house or building as quickly as possible. Follow the escape plan and head straight to the family meeting spot. If you can’t get out of the room you’re in, lie down on the floor near the window so a firefighter can easily find you. Stay out. This is very important—do not go back inside the house for any reason.

Science units do not need to be taught in any particular order. They are designed for you to choose when you want to teach each subject. However, it is very helpful to complete the Kingdoms and Classification unit before Botany and Mammals.

We anticipate the following schedule for our new and updated Science units. All dates and the order of expected release are subject to change.

Early- to Mid-2023
Birds (Updated)
Ecosystems (Updated)
Maturation (Updated—Contents will remain the same. The unit is being separated into a Course Book and Student Journal and visually redesigned.)
Science for Little Hearts and Hands—Wind and Waves

The Science units do not need to be taught in any particular order. They are designed for you to choose when you want to teach each subject. Each unit has a varying number of lessons, and each will take a different amount of time to complete. We recommend that you complete at least 2 lessons a week. Each unit includes 6–24 lessons. Many families will select 2-3 units to focus on for the year.

For the new format Science units, you only need one copy of the Course Book per family or group. You will need one Student Journal per child.

The previous version of the Science units included a copy of the PDF so parents could print additional pages for their children, as needed. Please keep this in mind if you are using a prior version of a Science unit as the new format does not include a PDF with the purchase of a physical copy and instead includes all student pages in the Student Journal. 

Each unit includes activities that will be cut out. Items that can be reused, such as the mini books are included in the Course Book while one-time-use items are generally found in the Student Journal. Just a few Course Book pages may need to be adapted by the parent if they desire to reuse them. For example, a very small number of activities in the Course Book may be written on but the parent could choose to have the children write on a separate piece of paper or a whiteboard. Sample pages are available to view these portions of the Course Book.

Our Science units are designed for children in grades 3-8. Many young children enjoy Science and may begin when they are kindergarten age. If you have only younger children, you may be interested in our Science for Little Hearts and Hands, which was created to inspire a sense of wonder in young children, to spark their curiosity in the world around them, and to introduce Science to children in preschool through 2nd grade. 

The Student Journals were designed to be used with the new Course Books; they do not correlate well with the old editions. The format is what is changing the most in the new Science units but some content has changed as well to streamline lessons, adapt activities so they are now in the Student Journal, and other changes to improve usability for families. Some lessons are changing completely in regards to content while others will be similar. As the current editions of our Science units are updated, customers who previously purchased the physical units will continue to have access to their free PDF download of the prior edition as well as access to the videos and other resources. Families can continue to use and enjoy the previous editions of the Science units.

The Reptiles, Amphibians, & Fish course is the only updated science course that could allow a parent to use the previous edition alongside the new Student Journals. However, the previous edition will NOT instruct the parent on when to reference the Student Journals or 7-8 Lesson Extensions. The format has changed for the new edition, including moving activities from the course book to the Student Journals and streamlining some of the parent-read lesson content.

The Good and the Beautiful Science units are faith-based, but focus on only very basic Bible principles, allowing all Christians to use the units and add in their specific beliefs. The units work for those who hold both Young Earth or Old Earth theories.

Health and the Physical Body is a completely new unit that includes all of the components of our newly updated units:

• Course book
• Grades 3-6 and 7-8 Student Journals
• Grades 7-8 lesson extensions
• Activity and experiment videos
• Read-aloud book pack
• Grades 7-8 extension book

The content of this unit is completely different from the previous Human Body Part 1 unit. Although it does cover body systems and does include just a few of the same activities that have been updated, it includes additional topics, additional health related information, and completely new activities, student journal pages, videos, and more.

All of our Science units are best used to teach children in grades 3-8. As written, they are not robust enough for a student in high school. We do not have any recommendations for adapting it for older students

When printing the previous edition of Science units, make sure you print any hands-on pages single-sided. This will include vocabulary words, mini books, and activity sheets. Lessons may be printed double-sided, but physical copies are all sent single-sided for the previous edition. 

Previous Science units were not bound to give parents and educators the option to organize the units as desired; however, an overwhelming number of customers requested a more user-friendly format so the Student Journals and bound Course Book were designed. PDF options are available to allow printing preferences of choice. 

Previous Science units are not spiral-bound because so many pages need to be cut, removed, or copied. Units are not three-hole punched because they contain items such as mini books and vocabulary-wall words. Many customers hole-punch their units after removing the portions they’d like to keep whole and use a 3-ring binder to keep everything organized. See ideas about how the courses work and how to organize the Science units by viewing the videos below.

How to Organize The Good and the Beautiful Science Units

How the Courses Work