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MathArt Natureglo’s eScience Review

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My kids are enjoying courses from NatureGlo’s eScience.  We were recently given a subscription to review their MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle courses, and we tried out some of their other products too.

NatureGlo’s eScience offers several online live classes and pre-recorded classes that you can do at your own pace.  If you purchase the live class format, you also get access to the pre-recorded course for one year.  The whole family can use the pre-recorded classes for one price.  Most classes are taught for kids ages 10 and older and some classes are geared for specific ages such as highschool age.

The classes are taught by Gloria Brooks, the founder of Nature Glo and NatureGlo’s eScience.  Gloria has extensive knowledge, and she is the creator of several curriculum products.  She teaches from a “Neutral Worldview” meaning she doesn’t focus on “Creationism” or “Evolution” in explaining the universe.  She has been teaching and working in education with all grades in the public, private, and homeschool education settings since 1997 and has been offering online courses since 2011.

Some of the online courses NatureGlo’s eScience has to offer include:

  • Marine Biology,
  • Herpatology,
  • Botany,
  • Rocks and Minerals,
  • MathArt.

You can subscribe to courses in several different ways.  Some of the options available include:

  • 5 – 6 week Class Bundles
  • 4 – 6 week Class Bundles
  • 3 -1-3 week 12 Class Bundle
  • Single classes too.

Be sure to check out the Course Catalog for a list with descriptions of all her classes.

Math Art Online 4-Class Bundle

The MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle is made up of 4 courses that last 6 weeks each.

  • Math Connections With The Real World
  • MathArt Patterns In Nature
  • MathArt in Ancient Cultures
  • MathArt in the Arts & Sciences

 

MathArt: Math Connections With The Real World:

For the purpose of this review, we will focus on one of the classes in the MathArt 4-Class Bundle called MathArt: Math Connections With The Real World.

Math Connections With The Real World

There are 6 Lessons in this course that are meant to be completed about 1 lesson per week.  However you can go as fast or as slow as your student needs to go.   This course is designed for students age 12 and older.

Each lesson in this course contains videos, power points, study guides, downloads, suggested activities, suggested research projects to further the learning, theme connections with various subjects (Math, Art, Geography, Archaeology, Music, History, etc) and quizzes.

Lesson 1: Introduction & History of the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci Numbers

  • Main Lesson Downloads & Lesson Videos with NatureGlo
  • Lesson Activity – Math is Fun: The Golden Ratio
  • Quizlet – Introduction to the Golden Ratio & the Fibonacci Numbers

Lesson #2 – The Golden Number & Fibonacci in Art, Architecture & Nature

  • Main Lesson Downloads & Videos with NatureGlo
  • Activity – Math is Fun: Nature, The Golden Ratio,and Fibonacci too!
  • Project: Golden Ratio Do It Yourself
  • Going Beyond – Web Resources, Projects & Activities & Videos
  • Quizlet

Lesson #3 – The Fibonacci Numbers in Nature

  • Main Lesson Downloads & Videos with NatureGlo
  • Fibonacci Cookies Activity
  • Video (6:24) – The Magic of Fibonacci
  • Going Beyond – Web Resources, Projects, Activities & Videos
  • Quizlet

Lesson #4 – The History & the Golden Ratio of the Great Pyramid

  • Pre-lesson Activity – The Great Pyramid of Egypt
  • Main Lesson Downloads & Videos with NatureGlo
  • History Connection – TEDed Video (4:27) – History vs. Cleopatra
  • Exploration – Discover & Explore and Ancient Egyptian Tomb (Interactive)
  • Literature Connection – The Prince and the Sphinx
  • Art Connection – Video (8:00) – Egyptian Art History
  • Music Connection – Video (3:21) – Tomb Raiders
  • Going Beyond – Web resources, Videos & Projects
  • Quizlet

Lesson #5 – Phi & Quasicrystals

  • Pre-lesson Activity – Explaining What Quasicrystals Are
  • Main Lesson Downloads & Videos with NatureGlo – Phi & Quasicrystals
  • Video (10:18) – Professor Dan Schectman, Discoverer of Quasicrystals
  • Art Connection – Creating Middle Eastern Quasicrystal Designs
  • Literature Connection – Forty Fortunes
  • Quasicrystals Quizlet

Lesson #6 – The Mathematics of Music

  • Pre-lesson Activity – Musical Instruments (& their Relationship with Mathematics)
  • Main Lesson Dowloads & Videos with NatureGlo
  • Video – Fibonacci Melody (8:34)
  • Going Beyond – Web Resources, Projects & Videos
  • Quizlet – The Mathematics of Music

Student Certificate of Completion

When your students complete the course, you can print out a nice certificate of completion to keep in their portfolio.

Check out this Video from Lesson 1 in MathArt: Math Connections With The Real World.

Check out this Video about “Why” Gloria created the MathArt courses.

Our Experience:

We received a subscription to NatureGlo’s eScience MathArt 4-Class Bundle.  We chose to focus on MathArt: Math Connections With The Real World for the purpose of this review.   My 17 year old son and 14 year old son were the primary participants in this course, though all of my kids participated in some of the other courses.

After enrolling in the courses at NatureGlo’s eScience, students can access their dashboard. The dashboard has tabs for each of their enrolled courses, achievements, notifications from the teacher, etc.

Here is an example of the “My Courses” tab with an overview of everything on our personal dashboard.  My kids have enrolled in both the MathArt courses, and also several of the free courses offered including course samples in Marine Biology, Herptology, etc.  My kids can easily click on the course they want to work on and then click on the specific lesson.  

We have access to each course pictured in the “My Courses” tab for 1 year from the time we enrolled in them.  For a quick overview of progress, you can see how far along the student is by observing a small pink bar under each of the courses in the picture above.  Then once you click on the specific course, another pink bar appears above the list of lessons on the right side of the dashboard.

This pink bar indicates the level of completion of the courses we are working on.   At the time I took this photo, you can see at a glance on the dashboard that we were over half way through with the Math Connections With The Real World course.  We had also completely finished with The Introduction to Sea Turtles of the World course.

Under the “My Acheivements” tab on the dashboard, all of achievements are listed for all of the classes your students are working on.  This is a nice way to see them at a glance.

Here is an example of the “Notifications” tab:

Screenshot examples of my sons doing lessons on the computer:

Here is a screen shot of the downloadable study guide.  Each lesson in the course has additional study guide pages and worksheets you can save to your computer and print when needed.

Here are a few more examples of lessons in this course.

Pictures of some of the hands on projects:

 

Introduction to the Sea Turtles of the World

In addition to the MathArt courses, we also signed up for several of the free course offers and free downloadable unit studies.  So far we have completed Introduction to the Sea Turtles of the World course.

Introduction to the Sea Turtles of the World

  • The 7 Sea Turtle Species Poster & How to ID
  • Learn to ID or Identify the 7 Sea Turtles
  • Literature Connection – Video (8:06) – Believe in Yourself, Story of a Sea Turtle
  • Art Connections: Various Sea Turtle Art Projects
  • Historical/Literary Connection: Traditional Japanese Folk Story: Urashima Taro
  • Geography Connection: The World’s 12 Healthiest Sea Turtle Populations
  • Creative Writing – Writing Prompts about Sea Turtles

This course was suitable for all ages of my kids from the youngest to the oldest so we hooked our computer up to the TV in the living room so that all of the children could take the class at the same time.  This class covered the biology of sea turtles, geography, fiction story about a young turtle, as well as how different cultures view turtles such as the Japanese view, and also focused on different art projects relating to sea turtles.

The kids studied 7 different kinds of sea turtles and learned how to identify the different body and head types of each kind.

They also learned about life cycles of turtles from laying eggs on the shore to the eggs hatching and the baby turtles emerging from the nest to make it back to the water.

The course has several lessons and suggested videos.  There is an audio video animated story about the eggs hatching and the new life of the baby turtle.  After watching the suggested video, the kids dug deeper by researching their own videos of sea turtles hatching.

One of the videos they found was taken at Oak Island, NC where we have visited a couple of times and my kids have swam on that same beach that the turtles hatched from.  The kids were very excited to make this connection.

One of the lessons in the course is learning to identify and draw a sea turtle.

Another art lesson in this course involves creating a unique 3D painting of a turtle and fish in the ocean.

Once you have completed this course, the student is sent an achievement award.

Here is a short video on the Introduction to Sea Turtles of the World course.

Final Thoughts about courses from NatureGlo’s eScience:

17 year old son’s opinion of the MathArt: Math Connections In The Real World:

“It has been fun to take this course.  It has been amazing to see the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci numbers in everything in every day life from pine cones, to flowers, to architecture, and music.  It is almost hard to grasp how much this in everyday life.  It is amazing to see Father God’s hands in everything. I have learned a lot and I have been inspired to do a lot more research.”

My kids are enjoying all of these courses from NatureGlo’s eScience and having Gloria as the teacher.  The younger kids are getting ready to start the Introduction To Whales & Dolphins.  The older kids are about finished with the Math Connections In The Real World and will soon be starting the MathArt In Ancient Cultures.  They are looking forward doing all of the classes in the MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle.

These classes are informative and there is a variety of things to do from reading, watching videos, videos of recorded classes, completing worksheets in the study guides, and additional suggested videos to expand the learning as well as a lot of suggested hands on learning activities, including fun art projects too.  She covers such a wide variety of subjects from Science, Math, Art, History, Archaeology, Cultural History, etc and there is something that interests each of my kids even thought they are all different.

We really like the pre-recorded classes, because you feel as if you are in class with Gloria and the other kids, but you have the benefit of going at your own pace, and you can rewind and hear it again if you need too.  With either option, pre-recorded classes or live classes, Gloria has made herself accessible if you have questions.  She also asks if kids do the suggested projects, to send in pictures or links that she can share with others.

On a personal note, I wish these courses were taught from a Christian worldview.  I intentionally seek out educational programs with this worldview.  Thankfully my kids are strong in their faith, and they are able to add what Gloria is teaching them in NatureGlo’s eScience courses into what they already know to be true about the “Creator of the creation”, the one who created everything we are studying around us.

FREE OFFERS

You can “try before you buy” by checking out the free courses and unit studies offered through NatureGlo’s eScience.

  • Fibranoci Unit Study (MathArt Course)
  • Introduction to Sea Turtles of the World (Marine Biology Course)
  • Transparent Living Jewels: The Glass Frogs (Herpatology Course)
  • Introduction to Whales & Dolphins Unit Study (Marine Biology Course)

Social Media

Be sure to check out NatureGlo’s eScience on their social media links for all the latest news and product updates.

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
YouTube

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what other families on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using courses from NatureGlo’s eScience in their homes.

Please share.

Apologia: Marine Biology Review

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We love visiting the ocean.  We have been blessed a few times to experience this amazing place that Father God has created.  There is nothing quite like standing on the edge of land and the edge of the vast ocean.  You can’t walk any further and the water lifts you up and down, and with the pounding waves, you can only swim for so long.  It doesn’t take long to realize your body was meant for land. It is like standing between two worlds. There is a very distinct boundary where these two worlds meet and life in one is completely different than life on the other. Yet the two are intimately intertwined by a great Intelligent Designer, our Creator, Father God.  WOW!

We were very excited to learn about a Marine Biology science course that we can use this school year that focuses on life in the oceans so we can understand this amazing water world. We are currently reviewing Exploring Creation With Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set and the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD by Apologia Educational Ministries.  This course is the perfect addition to our homeschool learning journey.

EXPLORING CREATION WITH MARINE BIOLOGY — ADVANTAGE SET

Textbook 2nd Edition

Hard Back Book

557 pages

Illustrated

16 Modules

Lessons, Questions, Answers,

Lab Experiments

Student Notebook

Spiral Bound Book

505 pages

Illustrated

Notes, Questions, Study Guide, Module Summary,

Lab Experiments.

Test Book

Soft Back Book

50 pages

Module Tests and Quarterly Tests

Solutions and Tests Manual

Soft Back Book

211 pages

Answers for Text Modules & Tests:

Study Guides, Summaries,

Module Tests, Quarterly Tests, and all Solutions.

Highschool Science

College Prep

Prerequisite: Biology

This is an award winning college prep science course for highschool students who have taken biology.  The Advantage Set includes a Textbook 2nd Edition, Solutions and Tests Manual, Tests Book, and a Student Notebook.

Additional supportive materials for this Marine Biology course are also available at the Apologia website, including an MP3 Audio CD of the text, an Instructional DVD that contains the entire course and demonstrations of the lab experiments, as well as Super Science Kit and Science Supplies like the Dissection Kit. If you prefer to buy just the Textbook or other items as a single item instead of as a “set”, they are also available for individual purchase too.

The Exploring Creation With Marine Biology Advantage Set is intended to be used for 34 weeks (that is 2 semesters, an entire school year of science!). It contains 16 Modules for approximately 230 +/- lessons, study guides, questions, vocabulary, and module summaries that dig deep into the ecology of the oceans on earth.  The Lesson Plan schedule is designed for 45 minutes per day for 5 days a week.  At this pace, students complete 1 Module, including the related lab experiments and tests, every two weeks.

  • Module 1: The Oceans Of Our Planet
  • Module 2: Life In The Sea
  • Module 3: The First Four Kingdoms
  • Module 4: Marine Invertabrates 1
  • Module 5: Marine Invertabrates 2
  • Module 6: Marine Vertabrates 1
  • Module 7: Marine Vertabrates 2
  • Module 8: Marine Ecology
  • Module 9: The Intertidal Zone
  • Module 10: Estuary Communities
  • Module 11: Coral Reefs
  • Module 12: Continental Shelf Communities
  • Module 13: The Epipelagic Zone
  • Module 14: The Deep Ocean
  • Module 15: Ocean Resources
  • Module 16: Effects Of Humans On The Sea

This course has a biblical world view of marine science.  Through out this course, students learn about the oceans and the relationship between ocean habitat and the animals and plants that live there and it points to Father God as the Creator of all life.  This course is filled with fascinating information about the oceans, creatures that live in the water including some bizarre creatures.  All of the creatures in this course have amazing abilities created by our amazing Father God to bring him glory.

Even though learning about Marine Biology and Ecology can be a challenging subject to learn, this course through Apologia is written in conversational style and contains many helpful resources to help students understand and master the materials.  There is an additional online learning aid called “Book Extras” available to help students master the course.  Information about the Book Extras Website and the access code is available in the textbook.

Sherri Seligson

Author Sherri Seligson, scientist and homeschool mom, has created a user-friendly course homeschoolers will love. She is the author of several science courses.  She is experienced and excited to share her knowledge about life in God’s oceans and helps students get excited about learning.   Check out this video with Sherri Seligson and her Marine Biology Course.

Our Experience

We received the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Advantage Set that includes the Textbook, a Student Notebook, the Tests Book, and Solutions and Tests Manual written by Sherri Sheligson.  We also received the Marine Biology 2nd Edition Audio CD of the text read by Marissa Leinart for the purpose of this review.

This course is very well designed and is intended to last for an entire school year.  It contains tons of information in the 16 modules with nearly 230 +/- lessons, reviews, workbook assignments, labs, and tests, etc.  I was very pleased to learn this course will count for a full highschool science credit, and it also counts as an advanced college prep course at the same time.

Audio CD:

The textbook has been put on audio!  This is great news for audio learners! The text is recorded on an MP3 Audio CD for optional support for student.

We found this Audio CD to be a very helpful resource and helps keep the course moving at a good pace.

My son used the CD on our computer and listened to the text being read out loud while wearing his earbuds and reading along in his textbook. When we placed the CD into the computer, it showed up on the screen as a small phone-like looking graphic, and when we clicked on it, it had each module and lesson from the text listed as well as a time counter so you don’t loose your place.

The Audio CD can be “synced” with any compatible MP3 device, however we just used it on the computer.  He could stop it at anytime he needed and repeat something if he needed to hear it again. We really liked using the CD because my son was able to avoid getting bogged down with complicated words by reading right along with the text as it is being read out loud.

Textbook:

I like the textbook.  It is a huge heavy duty extra large hardback book. It has bright pictures and easy to read pages and uses various colors of ink to emphasize different things for the student to pay attention to.

The pages have a variety of information, vocabulary, pictures, graphs, things to think about further, scriptures, etc.  The pages are laid out in a way that is not overwhelming to the student.

Lab Experiments:

Each module contains several lab experiments.  There is a list of supplies needed with each experiment and a master list of all the supplies needed for the course in the appendix at the back of the Textbook.  You can buy supplies wherever it is convenient for you (online, local stores, etc), and some items you will likely already have around your house.

There are three categories of lab experiments in this science course:

Household Lab Experiments require items found around most homes.

Microscope Lab Experiments require prepared slides and a microscope. Check the website for resources.

Dissection Lab Experiments require marine animals, plants, etc. and related tools for dissection. Check the website for resources.

Lab Experiment Example:

One of the experiments my son did was learning about salinity and evaporation of ocean waters.

We had some sea salt crystals in the cupboard.

He ground the salt crystals into a fine powder.

Then he made salty sea water by mixing the ground sea salt into hot water that he heated on the stove and stirred it until it dissolved completely.

After the sea salt had completely dissolved in the hot water, he poured the salt water in to a glass bowl and let the water evaporate completely over the course of a few days.

He was left with dried out sea salt that coated the sides and base of the bowl and all of the water was gone.

There are so many great lab experiments in this course kids will have a blast learning about life in the ocean.  This course and the lab experiments are very interesting and so far my son is enjoying all of them.

Student Notebook:

I love the student notebook in this course! My son loves it too.  I plan to order two more notebooks for my other two older sons so they can all use this course together for highschool science credits.  They will be able to share the same Textbook, Solutions Mannual, and CD, they just each need their own Student Notebook and Test Book.

The student notebook provides an organized, complete lesson plan for the entire year.  Each day is listed with what my son needs to read and what activities to complete.  He can check off his progress as he works his way through the course.

The student notebook has plenty of space for notes at the front of each corresponding module so he can add as notes or ideas as he reads the textbook.

The student notebook also contains a full section at the back called a Lab Notebook for all of the lab experiments listed in the Textbook.

The Lab Experiments are the same information in the Textbook modules including materials lists, instructions, pictures, charts, etc. but it also includes questions and spaces to record their scientific observations and conclusions too.

At the very back of the Student Notebook, there is a section called Presenting Research.  Included are instructions and examples for making a professional presentation of your scientific research, including making posters, graphs, citing references and the supporting research, and a checklist.  This is very handy if your student plans to present their experiments at a science fair, county fair, coop, or other presentation.

Tests and Solutions Manual:

The softcover Solutions and Tests Manual and Student Tests Book contains tests, test solutions, and answers to the module study guides.

Videos:

Video about Apologia Advantage Science Set and Super Science Set

Video Experiment 13 Salinity, Temperature and Density

Module 6 Rays and Skates

FREE SAMPLES

Check out this page for free course samples.  To access the samples, after going to the page link below, click on “download” next to the “more info” and it will give several options for free downloads of text lessons and experiments, MP3, student notebook, and more:

FREE MARINE BIOLOGY SAMPLES

Faq: 3 pages

Table of Contents: 8 pages

Module 1 Text Sample : 40 pages

Student Notebook: 9 pages

MP3 Audio Sample

Final Thoughts

Overall, we are very pleased with this science course from Apologia.  They have done a great job creating this course and all the support materials to help students master Marine Biology.

We love visiting the ocean.  Now with the knowledge of Marine Biology, we will be able to understand more about the wonderful and amazing life and systems in the oceans.

We are so grateful for the wonderful products Apologia offers for homeschool families.  Their products have truly enriched our lives, encouraged our faith, and we love that through out the learning adventure, they point people back to Father God.  Both my son and I highly recommend the Marine Biology course!  Be blessed!

Social Media

Be sure to check out Apologia Educational Ministries on their social media links for all the latest news and product updates.  They have a lot to offer!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/apologiaworld

Instagram: www.instagram.com/apologiaworld

Twitter: www.twitter.com/apologiaworld

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/apologia/

You Tube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/apologiaworld/videos

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using Marine Biology with their families.

Please share.