Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and Christian Kids Explore Physics

by Robert W. Ridlon, Jr. and Elizabeth J. Ridlon

Bright Ideas Press

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry

Suggested for children in grade four through eight, this is more than a simple introduction to chemistry. In 384 pages, the authors cover the basics of chemistry, including some topics often reserved for a high school course. But they do so in a way that really is understandable for younger students. They use a conversational style and lots of familiar examples to which children can relate. While you might occasionally find topics like “covalent bonds” that are beyond your fourth or fifth grader, most of the presentation is so clear and so concrete in the way its taught that most students will understand AND enjoy the lessons. You might even use this if you’ve got a high schooler who struggles with chemistry.

The book begins with lessons on matter, measurement, elements, mixtures, compounds, atoms, molecules, the periodic table, mass and atomic number. Then it advances into chemical bonds, formulas, names of compounds, acids, bases, and chemical reactions. The next section deals with states of matter, and the final section gets into organic chemistry.

Lesson presentation will depend upon the age and abilities of your child(ren). While older students might read the lessons directly from the book on their own, you will want to at least read the lessons to younger students, perhaps paraphrasing or skipping difficult sections as needed.

Following the lesson information is a “Review It” with fill-in-the blanks questions that depend only upon listening and comprehension at this point. You should photocopy these pages as well as those for unit reviews, worksheets, and coloring pages.

Some sort of hands-on activity is used to reinforce or help teach each lesson. These are frequently experiments but sometimes they are things like building models of molecules, creating cards for elements of the periodic table, completing observation forms, doing word searches, or coloring the coloring pages.

“Think About It” questions that come next in the lesson might be used for either written work or discussion. These challenge students to understand and apply some creative thought to the lessons. Each of the five units concludes with a “Unit Wrap-Up” test. Answers are at the back of the book.

To make things easier for parents/teachers, at the beginning of each unit you will find a list of objectives, vocabulary words, and materials needed for all activities for the unit. Materials are mostly common household items, with the exception of things like styrofoam balls, Alka Seltzer, and safety glasses.

Appendices include the periodic table, a list of elements and their symbols, extensive resource lists, recommended biographies, and a list of notable chemists to research. There’s also an index.

The book contains a total of thirty lessons. Each lesson should probably be covered over two days (lessons twice a week). Plan to spend from one to one and a half hours per day. Doing so, you will complete the book in one school year.

While parents/teachers will need to do some lesson preparation, it really is minimal. Lessons are laid out so clearly that this course should be very easy to use.

Although the book is intended for a Christian audience with occasional Scripture verses in the sidebars, the only references I found within the text itself were about God as Creator in the introduction for four of the five units and at the beginning to of the first lesson, plus in regard to a few items in the resource section. The references are so generic they would be fine for any family who shares the belief in God as Creator. It would be very easy for parents or teachers with other beliefs to use this book with very minimal adaptation.

Christian Kids Explore Physics

Very similar to the Chemistry book, Christian Kids Explore Physics expands to 405 pages. The approach is the same, also targeting grades 4 through 8.

The book is divided into six units:

- The Foundation of Physics (what physics is all about, physicists, measuring)
- Matter (composition of matter, atomic particles and models,molecules and mass, solids and liquids, gases, changing states of matter)
- Mechanics (force, gravity, work, friction, and energy)
- Matter in Motion (motion in a straight line and in a circle, Newton's laws, projectile motion, and momentum)
- Energy in Motion (electromagnetic waves, radio, light and color, tv, x-rays, heat, sound, music)
- Electricity and Magnetism (electricity, current, magneticsm, Earth's magnetic field)

The relatively simple activities/experiments should be appealing, although some of the math (used in only a few activities) will be challenging for younger students. Only require them to perform computations that they already understand. Examples of these activities include: creating atomic models, determining volume of a solid, observing balloon expansion and contraction in various temperature settings, plotting trajectories for a tennis ball rolling off a table, calculating bicycle wheel speed, and creating a compass. Simple household items are used for most of these.

Again, as in Christian Kids Explore Chemistry, there is minimal Christian content aside from Scripture verses in sidebars and two brief mentions of God on pages 1 and 5.