Greg Landry's Homeschool Science Review

 

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

When I started homeschooling I had no idea how I was going to manage certain subjects when my kids got into high school. I figured I’d cross that road when I needed it. Throughout the years I have learned that there are resources out there for just about every subject and grade. Science labs seem to be one of those areas that homeschool parents struggle with. I excelled in science when I was in school and couldn’t wait to teach my kids science at all levels. My kids loved science that is until my son reached high school and his passion waned in science.

I heard about Greg Landry's Homeschool Science and his in-person labs from friends that attended the labs. The lab intrigued me and I signed up to receive his emails. I was thrilled to see a virtual version with a Virtual, interactive homeschool laboratory. We are doing Chemistry (only basic math). I have 12 months of access to the course. You have an option to do Biology/Anatomy & Physiology (only basic math), or Physics (conceptual-only basic math). There are other resources available through Greg Landry's Homeschool Science to meet your family's needs. This is geared for grades 7-12th grade.

Greg Landry is a homeschool dad and a former college professor. This is taught from a Christian Worldview. I love finding solid science taught from a Biblical viewpoint.

Your student will use and learn scientific inquiry, forming a hypothesis, data collection, graphing, creating a competent lab report, critical thinking, and all necessary skills for a science lab. The virtual lab can be used for your transcript and is a complete year of labs for your subject.

For each subject, there are 10 experiments. According to the website, two semesters for science and labs should have at the most 6 lab experiments with a full lab report. This has you covered for meeting the lab requirements. All the lab equipment you need is included!

You will need to create a Canvas account. We already had one and didn’t need to set one up. Everyone in your family can access the account. You will need a notebook or a graph notebook for your lab notebook. All your recorded work will be done in the notebook that you make for your lab reports. You don’t have to worry about supplies as everything you need is included in the lab. All the equipment and experiments are done virtually.

After you log in will begin with the Introduction to the Virtual Lab, the Scientific Method, and Lab Reports. After they have done this they can choose from the 10 experiments.

Chemistry labs:

Introduction to the Virtual Lab, the Scientific Method, and Lab Reports

Lab 1: Measurement in Science

Lab 2: pH Determination

Lab 3: Elements, Moles & Molar Mass

Lab 4: Viscosity

Lab 5: Density Determination

Lab 6: Diffusion and Osmosis

Lab 7: Quantifying Surface Area

Lab 8: Colligative Properties & Freezing Point Depression

Lab 9: Determination of Molarity

Lab 10: Determination of Relative Atomic Mass & Number of Neutrons

Your first lesson will give you an overview of the lab area and how to work the different sections in the lab. He walks you through opening the drawers and putting objects into an area on the counter and then the lab area. You have a light switch that you turn off and on and a working sink. A lab coat and goggles to take off the hooks like you are putting them on. The labs are interactive so if you put a scale in your lab area you can get measurements by adding one of the objects on it. When you open a drawer you have a drop-down menu and you will drag it to your designated area.

On the left side of the screen, you will see a box that has all the experiments. Once you click on your experiment you will see step-by-step instructions. All the steps are easy to understand and broken down step-by-step. The lab and website are very easy to navigate.

You will also learn in this section how to write a good lab report and what information is vital to your lab report. There is a PDF that has an example of a lab report that you can refer to.

The video also has information on how to grade and assess the lab reports. This is by far the longest video at around 45 minutes. All the other labs are around 5 to 10 minutes long.

Each lesson starts with you watching a video lesson. Professor Landry will talk about the experiments in detail and give you any vital information needed for the experiments. He recommends that you take notes in your lab book while watching the video lesson.

After you have watched the video you will click on a link to view your virtual lab. The lab area has its log-in password. You will follow the steps for each experiment while recording any necessary information in your lab book. At the end of each experiment, you complete your lab report. My son liked working on his lab report while watching the videos and taking notes. He also recorded information after each step if needed. Then when he was done with the experiment he completed any other task that needed to be done.

My son working on a lab and a few of his lab notes for different experiments.

We have had a bit of a hectic house the last few weeks with my house being a construction zone and the house in disarray. I couldn’t imagine trying to do a physical lab around all the chaos going on in my house. We planned on one or two labs a week. My son can easily jump on the site and watch the videos and then do the labs. He has done a great job with his lab reports that he put in a spiral notebook. My son said, “I liked the ease of the labs virtually” “There is no gathering supplies and clean up” He also said, “Another great benefit is that you are guaranteed that the labs won’t fail”.  

There are several ways you can do this. One is doing them in a few weeks or spaced out throughout the year. If I was doing this with a chemistry curriculum I would schedule the experiments to coincide with his topics in chemistry. My son on the other hand would prefer to get all the labs done in a week or two and then read his science curriculum. Either way will work to complete your lab requirements. This is great for kids who don’t like to get their hands dirty. This is also a great alternative to not having to go out and buy supplies for science. The cost of lab materials can add up fast.

I personally prefer hands-on lab experiments and having failures and all the stuff that goes with labs. That isn't a negative for this program as I am impressed with the virtual labs. It has also been a perfect fit for my son. The labs are interactive and provide the required labs for high school. I know several families who have kids that don’t like labs especially the biology portion of it. This is a great way to accommodate those kids. The cost is good compared to buying all the needed lab equipment.

One thing I would like to see is a combination of biology and chemistry bundle with a bit of a cost break for purchasing both. Another option I would love is the ability to have a PDF lab workbook for those who need a more structured format that they can fiil in the blanks and need a bit more direction. My son had no issues doing his own lab reports. I could see this being an issue with my special needs daughter and can think of a few other families who would need something more to guide their kids with lab reports. Even if the PDF was an optional add-on for the labs reports I feel this would be a nice feature. My son would have probably preferred the easy way out with labs and having that option to deny him the option of a printed PDF lab report would be a nice feature. He is capable of doing a lab report as my daughter isn't without some assistance.

I was showing a friend  Virtual, interactive homeschool laboratory and she balked at the cost. I showed her the cost in a chemistry curriculum she wants to do. The cost was higher for her to purchase the equipment. The cost is actually a great value. I think it comes down to a few things. Does your student like doing hands-on experiments? Do you have a student special needs, sensory issues, queasy, or would prefer to do the labs virtually? Are you willing to pay the price for lab equipment and actually do the experiments. I know lots of people who buy the equipment but don't make the time to do the experiments. I think the value is comparable and worth it depending on your homeschool. 

Greg Landry's Homeschool Science is impressive. I plan on having him finish up a Self-Paced 1 Year Family Subscription with chemistry this year. I may have him redo the labs with chemistry topics this coming year or at least fine-tune his lab reports.

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew have been doing different classes with Greg Landry's Homeschool Science, click on the graphic below to read other reviews, and don’t forget to check out all the options on Greg Landry's Homeschool Science website.