Saturday

The Old Schoolhouse Review: The Curiosity Files


I had the opportunity to review one of the Curiosity Files™ that The Old Schoolhouse Magazine publishes. The one I reviewed was the unit study about a very fascinating animal, the Platypus.

If you're not familiar with the The Curiosity Files™ they are e-books that involve science investigations with Professor Ana Lyze—Expert in Outlandish Oddities. This was my first time using The Curiosity Files™ but was pleased to find this particular study interesting and attractive in it's appearance.

This fun unit study retails for $6.95 and is geared towards children ages 8-13. That being said, it was a little bit advanced for my children, but we were still able to learn some really unusual facts about one of God's very interesting creatures, the platypus.

Within this unit, various subjects are covered including grammar, science, history, writing, math, vocabulary, spelling and more. Each subject is uniquely intertwined with facts about the platypus to extend your child's learning about this unique animal.

In this e-book, your child will discover why when scientists first saw a platypus they thought it was a joke (my kids and I were shocked to learn what they did to that poor platypus!), what electroreception is and how a platypus uses it, what a platypus eats and many more facts that reflect the creativity of God in His creation!

Although some of the information and activities in this particular e-book were too advanced for my children (ages 5 1/2 and 3 1/2) there was definitely a lot that they did learn from this e-book. I just printed what would be applicable for my children (to save on ink!) and when they are older I will print the rest.

My kids enjoyed the pictures and the coloring page that was provided. We snuggled on the couch and I discussed as many facts with them as I could considering their ages and attention span.

Personally, I think this unit study could probably last 1-2 weeks depending on how much you choose to use. If your child is in the 8-13 age bracket, this would be a great addition to your curriculum! :) I think it's definitely worth it's price (and I might add there are some that are currently clearanced for only $1--wow!) I only found one science fact that I decided to leave out based on the ages of my children, but it wasn't anything major. :) I'm glad we got a chance to check this unit study out!

Within this e-book are beautiful pictures of platypi (plural for platypus in case your're wondering--learned that from the e-book!), links to download crafts, coloring pages and more. If you're interested in checking out a sample of this e-book, click here. If you already know you want to add this e-book to your curriculum you can get it here or call 1.888.718.HOME.

Carlee coloring her platypus picture

There are several other Curiosity Files™ available as well. I've already been able to share a link for at least one of them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did this one!

If you're interested in seeing some other curriculum reviews, please go to The Homeschool Curriculum Review Roundup.

*I was not paid to write this post. I was given an e-copy for the purpose of review. All opinions are truthfully expressed in my post.

2 comments:

Heidi said...

Great review! Well-written and I love how you shared how you were able to adapt the study for the ages of your children. Cute picture too!

becky@purposefulhomemaking.com said...

Thanks so much Heidi! :)

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