Book of Astronomy Set ~ REVIEW

 
Wow....Science has been one of my Favorite Subjects since I was a little Girl.  Astronomy was something near and dear to my heart because my Dad was a Sailor and loved teaching me about the constellations.  He would share stories with me about the nights he drifted out in the water.  How when he was lonely he knew he wasn't "really" alone.  God and all of His creations were just up above him telling the same stories over and over.  This of course would make me beg him to tell me those stories.  And the night would be filled with these amazing stories he had learned about these little dots in the sky.  After losing my Dad when I was just 11 years old I have treasured these sweet memories deep in my heart.  My Dad's stories are just one of the things I have enjoyed passing along to my own Kiddos.  When Memoria Press offered us the chance to REVIEW their Book of Astronomy Set(grades 3+) I was extremely excited to have something additional to go along with what we have already learned regarding Astronomy.  I have always had a special place in my heart for Memoria Press from previous REVIEWS I've done in the passed.  Even though we are very eclectic and less structured in our school I value their Classical Curriculum they offer.  

We received the Book of Astronomy Set which came with the Student Book and Teacher Guide.  It is recommended to use along with the Greek Mythology book D’Aulaires Greek Myths.  I thought I had it and that ended up not being the case, so I need to order it.  The Astronomy curriculum would really be enhanced with the use of the additional book.....so I almost want to say it should be a Must to have, not an Option.

My Kiddos are extremely familiar with constellations and all things Astronomy, so I chose Kaden to do this Review since he is just 9 with less experience.  I decided to get started as soon as we opened it all up.  It is laid out in a very simplistic way, the Teacher's Guide is really just like the Student Book except it has the answers.  So, if you need more assistance as far as how to teach the lessons, schedule or ideas you may be a little lost.  The curriculum is divided into 4 Units.  I'll give you a quick recap of Unit 1...it starts off with an overview of what constellations are, how they are classified and random facts about the 15 brightest stars in the sky.  Kaden was really into the Star magnitudes so much he developed a similar system to some project he was working on in Minecraft.  It's top secret, so that's about all he will let me share with you about it. :)  Our first set we learned about was The Summer Triangle, which was perfect timing.  I loved how you were given a huge pattern of stars called an Asterism and then you broke it down into smaller constellation segments.  The Summer Triangle is made up of Lyra, Aquila and the Cygnus Swan.  We continued learning about Hercules and his Keystone belt and the Summer sky with it's Zodiac Signs...Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and of course Aquarius.  The remaining 3 Units are basically the same with Unit 2 focusing on the Winter sky, Unit 3 on the Spring sky and Unit 4 is insanely PACKED with solid Solar System information and all that God so lovingly tucked away throughout the night sky.  Kaden can not wait for the last Unit....he enjoys learning and reading about the planets and all things Space related.  He is a Fact absorber and there are so many throughout the whole study especially that last Unit that he is anxious to get to.

Kaden's Note Taking!

I had Kaden just plow through and he is deep into Unit 3 right now learning about the Spring Zodiac.  There wasn't really any hands on activities, which was fine because I had several things up my sleeves for us to add.  It would have been nice to have some projects sprinkled throughout, but in the Spirit of Kaden's simple style this program was perfect for him.  Though he likes projects he loves even more a nice simple no fluff program to give him the info and move on to the next.  Another thing he did well with was the repetition of learning the constellations, drawing them out and so forth.  

We loved this Set and honestly I believe that this program is something I could recommend to anyone with a Kiddo interested in the Stars.  This program would work stand alone, but even better as an add on or supplement.  This would also be a great extra to do in the Summertime or each Season like we have planned.  Kaden plans to use our telescope and map out in his Star Journal the changes with the sky.  He has started that on the 1st Saturday night of every month.  We are turning it into a Family thing, with food, star gazing and whatever else we throw into the mix. :)  I'll have to update as it goes on.  

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