Little Homeschool on the Prairie: Supercharged Science Review

Are you looking for some fun hands- on science in your homeschool? Supercharged Science is a fun way to learn science. My family received a full year to e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum for all grades from K-12.

e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum is great for secular and religious worldview as it doesn’t focus on either point of view which makes it very neutral to teach whatever your views are. This is an amazing hands-on science curriculum.

Before you get started I would recommend that you take advantage of the New Members Get Started video. Once you click on this section there are five videos. This will give you an overview of the how the website works. It will be a tremendous help so you don’t get overwhelmed with all the content that is on this website. Once you have watched the videos navigation will be a breeze. You can also download a PDF User guide to help you navigate the website.

There are a few different ways to use Supercharged Science one way is by topic and the other is by grade level.

There are several units available, a unit on Mathemagic, Award Winning Science Fair Projects, and Teaching Resources. Each of the units includes videos on the topic with step by step instructions on the experiments, and printable worksheets. The worksheets are a mixture of recording your information and extra information on the topic you are working on. Whether you choose to go by topic or grade level you will cover the units in some form as some of them overlap each other in content. There are 1,000+ videos and not to mention a plethora of experiments. The supplies vary needed for the experiments. The majority of them are simple items you can find around your house. For the more advanced grades you will want to get some appropriate supplies to complete the experiments.

You have one log in for your family and you will have access to the site.

An overview of the topics you can choose from

If you decide to use this by topic the hardest part is deciding where to start. Once you decide you click on the image. You will see a basic overview about that topic that you can read. On the right side of the page are the videos. You can also print out a downloadable list for the material you will need for your topic. You could focus on Electricity or Chemistry. I even did a search for entomology which is the study of insects. I have a daughter who is obsessed with insects and I found several videos to keep her happy.

An overview of the grade levels

If you choose to go by grade level you have levels K through 8^th level already laid out. If you have high school you just choose the Advanced Topics. You will see a summary of what is covered in each grade level. The beauty of it is that if you decide you want to go by topics you aren’t locked into a grade level.

Some of the concepts you will see in multiple places in grades and topics if they relate to one another. Also another common thread throughout grades and levels is that each area will give you an overview of the subject. There is a downloadable shopping list for materials needed to complete the experiments. Each and every lesson has a video. I haven’t seen one that doesn’t have a video with what I have looked at.

There is even an area about putting together a Science Journal and a Science Report. It covers tips on how to record your data, references, and so many other helpful tips and tricks. This section has step by step instructions along with videos.

How did I use Supercharged Science?

The first thing I did was get logged in and get myself familiar with the site. Which nothing has changes since I used this several years ago. However I got a sneak peek at the new website that is coming soon. The new website got a cleaner facelift and is laid out with easier navigation in mind but all the content is the same.

After I click on 7th grade I come to this page

I did the majority of this with my 7^th grade son. We decided to go by grade. For the 7^th grade you can do Life Science, Energy, and Physics of Light and Lasers. This last year my son’s science main focus was life science. We used this as a review to enhance the concepts he learned.

Overview of scientific concepts taught in 7th grade Life Science

When I go to 7^th grade science it gives me an overview of scientific concepts are taught. We read over this section together. We discussed what we already knew. Some areas that he didn't remember from our curriculum last year.

This is what your student should take away knowledge wise in 7th grade Life Science

It will also tell me what they should learn in the labs. We read this section together. There is also an 11 page evaluation package. You can see the link to hit to download it along with getting a list of the material I need to complete all the experiments. I opened this up and noted the materials I may need.

Underneath the video are your printable worksheets and exercises

In each video you can download the Student Worksheets and Exercises. The worksheets are usually found underneath the videos.

The 7th grade Life Science starts out with several videos on the microscope from parts to making slides and so on. My son didn't do all the microscope lessons as he knows about the microscope and the parts of it. He did however view a few of the lessons on the microscope.

He eventually ended up jumping around in other areas outside of the Life Science like the the energy and physics of light and lasers. He ventured out some by topics if something caught his attention.

He did a lot of experiments overall. Some of the videos he just watched. He learned a lot from the videos.

Here are a few experiments we did do.

We pulled out our microscope and went over the parts of a microscope

My son went over osmosis in a hands on way using a potato.

We first watched the video and then gathered up our supplies for the experiment.

My 16 year old daughter with special needs joined us for many of the experiments. My son sliced up the potatoes and they are both the same size. He put salt and water in one cup and the other cup is just water. We let the potato set for awhile. You can see the steps we did in the photos.

The potato in the water would crack but, the one in salt water swelled up and was like rubber and you could bend it without it cracking.

He created his own microscope using two magnifying glasses.

Using the two magnifying glasses he viewed money moving the magnifying glasses apart and at different angles. He even added light from a near by lamp to see if it enhanced the view.

He made his sister an insect aspirator so she can use it with her upcoming state entomology event coming up next month. It has already been put to use and it works.

After watching the video he cut out a hand using cardboard. He glued bendable straws onto the hand.

This project took him two days. He cut rubber bands and yarn. He then tied them together and laced them through the straws. This is to represent the ligaments and tendons in your hand.

When you pull on the strings at the bottom of the hand the hand should bend like your own hand does. My son was thrilled that it worked. The only thing he would do different with this experiment is the put a bit of glue in the knot to keep the rubber band and yarn from slipping. This was his favorite experiment that he did.

My daughter found this experiment as she remembered it from the first time we used Supercharged Science. We put Ivory soap in the microwave. She thought it smelled really bad.

After it cooled down she could pick it up and had fun exploring the mass of soap!

This was a last minute experiment since we had celery in our house. The cat ate the first experiment and we had to lock her up while the celery sat in the cups. She was ready to eat the second experiment too!

My son's thoughts, "This is a fun program to use with science." "The hardest part is choosing what to do." "The robot hand was amazing and I kept the parts to try and improve it later."

The creator Aurora Lipper is fun and engaging throughout the lessons. You can tell that she is really passionate about science. Her science background shines through with each lesson.