Big Bible Science-a review

Big Bible Science: Experiment and Explore God's World by Erin Lee Green looks at science from a Christian perspective. Its target audience is children between 7 and 11. It is ideally used with a parent or other adult.

Erin Lee Green is a former science teacher who now home educates her children in Puerto Rico.

There are 21 chapters covering physics, chemistry and biology. Topics include

• gravity
• Newton's laws
• electricity
• acids and bases
• combustion
• plant requirements
• the water cycle
• the angle of the sun's rays
• classification
• the nervous system
• the digestive system

and plenty more.

The book has a fairly extensive introductory section covering how to present the lesson, the components of each chapter, safety and a chart showing which activities a child can do on their own, when someone else will be needed and activities which should not be done without an adult and a section on notebooking. Whilst some of the activities can be done without an adult, my own view is that a child will gain far more from this book if it is used with an adult. Of course, children may well want to repeat activities on their own.

The lessons are all called experiments. Each one has 

• an objective
• a clear list of materials needed. Most of these items are to be found around the house.
  
  A notable exception is a zoo trip for the second animal classification chapter. 
• a Big Idea is then introduced which is a scientific explanation of the lesson from a Biblical point of view. This includes a memory verse. This section could be read aloud but is much better used as a basis for talking to children. The author says that this should be completed before starting the activity. Some of the Big Idea sections are fairly long and might be better used in a Morning Time at a separate time to the activity. There is a note on timing, in the introduction, which suggests breaking the lesson up into sections and I have found that this works better in practice.
• Activity or activities-this is the scientific demonstration or experiment.
• Apply it-this section applies the principles to everyday life and also applies the Biblical principle.
• Go beyond is for students who want to learn more, for example, learning about Galileo or studying a quarter moon with binoculars.

Finally, the end of the book has a short section with biographies of famous scientists.

This book is ideal for Christian home educators. I found that breaking the lessons into small sections worked better than using them as a whole, indeed, this is what the author suggests but I didn't take this on board initially. It is also a book which could be used with schooled children during the summer holidays. 

Big Bible Science is available from Christian Focus Publications, Amazon or your local Christian bookseller. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Big Bible Science for review purposes. The views are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

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