Relaxed Learning with Lessons & Unit Studies from NatureGlo's eScience {A Homeschool Review Crew Review}

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

We have always been relaxed in our homeschool style, but lately, we've been even more so. I love being able to find different curriculum that allow us to study in a relaxed way. For the last several weeks, Tabitha and Amelia have been using the NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from NatureGlo's eScience. Gloria Brooks, who holds a BA in K-12 Education, is the creator and teacher for these courses. She is a relaxed eclectic homeschool & unschool coach & teacher who has been teaching/facilitating homeschoolers and unschoolers from around the world for the past nine years. Plus she has over 20 years of teaching and child self-directed learning experiences.

As members of the Homeschool Review Crew, we were given a full year's access to 25 different MathArt and Science courses that had been bundled together. When the children log into our account, they can click to see all the courses available to them. Here's a small glimpse of what they have available.

There are science courses in Botany, Bubbleology, Geology, Herpetology, Invertebrates, Mammals, Marine Biology, Marine Reptiles, and Marine Zoology. 

The MathArt lessons include the following lessons: Introduction to MathArt, Math Connections with the Real World, Intro to Patterns & Shapes, MathArt in Ancient Cultures (which we had reviewed a couple of years ago), MathArt in Arts & Science, MathArt in Patterns in Nature, MathArt in The Geometric Beauty of Snowflakes, plus a look at the Life and Mathematical Art of both Leonardo da Vinci and M.C. Escher.

Some of these courses are just one lesson long, while there are others that span 2-6 lessons or even 3 or 6 weeks. And the 1-lesson Unit Studies will take longer than the 1-lesson classes. 

In order to use this site, we have to have internet access. A printer could come in handy for printing out such things as the study guides; however, a student can also use a notebook to take notes and answer questions, or could type in answers in Adobe. 

The girls started out by studying independently, finding topics they were interested in. Amelia chose to go through some 1-lesson courses. She watched the videos for Exploring the Giant Redwood Trees, Intro to Rockhounding, and Introduction to MathArt. Tabitha had been working on Tide Pool Communities when Amelia joined in and they continued together.  I've allowed the girls to work together on their lessons if that is what they choose to do; however, I could make them each their own student accounts, so their individual progress could be kept.

Let's take a closer look at one of the courses the girls worked on: Tide Pool Communities. 

For these lessons there are videos to watch, plus there are downloadable PowerPoint slideshows and study guides to help guide the student in the lesson. In the video, Gloria teaches the lesson with the information found on the PowerPoint slides.

Here's a screenshot of the slide being discussed:

Another fun aspect of this course is the interactive activity. I remember Amelia really enjoyed these when we were going through the MathArt in Ancient Cultures course. From that course we know some of the interactive activities allow you to click through to more information. However, in this lesson, clicking on the pulsing dot or the name of the item would bring up a box with more information about it.

As they went through the course, they wrote notes and then answered the questions from the study guide right in their notebooks.

The girls also used the Quizlet to review the terms. There are several different options available.

These are the different Study Modes:

• Match - Student is timed matching the word/phrase to the definition
• Learn - Student answers multiple choice questions to learn the material
• Test - Student answers various types of questions and receives a grade
• Flashcards - digital flashcards showing word/phrase on one side and picture plus definition on the other
• Spell - student sees the picture with the definition, hears the word/phrase, and has to type it out correctly

This one lesson class was quite informative, even mom enjoyed learning new information about tide pools. 

I had seen how fast the girls had completed this lesson, so I was confused as to why another one lesson course was taking them longer. It was then that I realized there is a difference between the one lesson class and the one lesson unit study. 

The girls were also interested in learning about Komodo Dragons. This course is a one lesson unit study. 

This unit study contains seven different parts which include various subjects. Students will learn about Komodo Dragons and also study history, geography, art, literature, and creative writing.

The girls are currently working through the main lesson slideshow and taking notes. 

There are then some really interesting facts about komodo dragons they can read about, there are even some videos for them to watch.

The interactive activity from this course was the map activity.

Plus there is a video to watch to draw a komodo dragon. 

There are so many intriguing courses that the children can choose to take. I love the combination of Gloria teaching in the videos with the slides and the interactive aspects that make even online learning hands-on. And I have always loved unit studies, being able to incorporate multiple subjects in our lessons. The girls are also enjoying being able to delve deeper into topics that are of interest to them. 

I do think they are enjoying these science topics more than the did the MathArt course we reviewed a couple of years ago. Of course, they are also older now. When we reviewed it last time, the girls were at the low end of the recommended age range. Now they are 12 and 13 years old, and I think better able to take notes and pay focus on what is being taught. 

Whether you choose to supplement your current curriculum, or use the courses as a full curriculum, I highly recommend NatureGlo's eScience for your children to learn not only science, math, and art, but to be able to incorporate multiple subjects. 

You can find NatureGlo's eScience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Don't forget to click on the banner below to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about NatureGlo's eScience.