Sing Science! Primary Science Songs, Collection #1 for K, 1st, and 2nd Grade and the Sing Science! Intermediate Science Songs, Collection #1 for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade are each audio CDs, with the Intermediate CD being enhanced with an included PDF file of the lyrics for use in the classroom. The Sing Science! website provides cross reference listings for National and State SCIENCE standards broken down by grade and specific song for each audio CD. The Primary CD includes 23 songs covering leadership, skills of observation and description, sound, plant life cycles-both the physical and vocabulary tools of a scientist, health, earth material, exercise, and more. The Primary CD also includes all of the lyrics for the songs in the fold out CD case cover booklet, keeping the lyrics ready to be easily viewed immediately. Tips for extension activities are included after the written lyrics at the end of some of the songs in the booklet. The Intermediate CD includes 35 songs with the titles listed on the back of the CD case cover booklet, but the lyrics are not included in this easily retrieved format. Songs are divided into seven sections that include Science Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Science and Technology, History of Science, and the Nature of Science. Within the seven sections the songs cover The Scientific Method, magnets, sound, electricity, color, Cells, Ecosystem, Food Chain, Astronomy, Natural Disasters, Plate Tectonics, Technology, Scientists in history, weather and the career of a Meteorologist, Rocks and the career of a Geologist, and much more. The lyrics are included on the CD as the Intermediate program is an enhanced CD with printable PDF included so that the lyrics may be printed on demand and used in the classroom. The interior of the case cover of the Intermediate program offers extension ideas for use of the audio CD, including ideas for reading skills, charts and graphs, and ideas for a Science journal. Both audio CDs are performed by the same lead vocalist, Holly Kraus, while the Primary CD utilizes Jenna Delisle as the pianist, and the Intermediate CD uses the Music Orchestration of Glenn Christianson. Both CDs are intended to improve memorization and understanding of the many concepts involved in Science, offering references for parent/teachers to clarify that the material covers what is suggested by the National and State SCIENCE standards for elementary school years. The audio CDs should be used alongside a science curriculum as a supplement and aid for memorization and better understanding of the concepts of science. It is appropriate for any school environment and will particularly help auditory learners grasp concepts often difficult to understand. Since the program is inline with state and national standards it will provide guidance for families using textbooks and formal curriculum as it coincides well with existing curriculum, while it also supplements eclectic and more relaxed home schooling programs with the use of auditory learning and memorization.

Our family enjoys music, and music that teaches has become a sought after gem in our home school. With a broad range of grade levels and developmental abilities in our home, auditory learning blends ages and abilities beautifully. Sing Science! offers enjoyable music, upbeat lyrics, familiar tunes, and educational value by providing songs to solidify science concepts. The Primary audio CD includes a great deal of information in the simplest of terms, by singing through the tools used and tying them into the tasks at hand: hand lenses to look at seeds, timers to measure speed, notebooks to write down and read, students sing right through much of the scientific process in an easily memorized song format that helps to lock in what are otherwise, often, difficult concepts. I particularly enjoyed the magnify song as it sings through the use of the magnifying glass, a telescope, and a microscope, all in understandable terms that even my preschoolers could understand, while my older children were grasping the greater details in the song pertaining to each tool seamlessly. Familiar tunes include "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and others, making the songs easily understood from the very first listen. God is not approached in any of the songs and there is no recognition given to the creator, but we were thankful there were also no evolution references. The songs focus on scientific fact, not theory, which was a welcome find for our family. Although we always prefer inclusion of God in science, theSing Science! programs are still welcome in our home as a tool to learn basic concepts. The creation and young earth concepts are still easily tied into the songs in this program. The "What's a Cycle?" song was cleverly written as it compares the daily cycle of a school day, the seasons, plant growth, and day and night as it provides examples a child easily understands when explaining how a cycle repeats. Even the songs on good health and recess present important concepts in a format children can understand, from putting heads down to rest to using quiet voices in the halls, simple singing really can support basic concepts in children. The PDF with the Intermediate CD is excellent with each song on an individual page to be printed and used by the class, but we missed the lyrics in the CD case booklet. The excellent songs continue in the Intermediate CD and the PDF includes more extension activities and experiment ideas. The playfulness in many of the songs add a welcome lightheartedness to the facts, as "Christmas Tree Circuits" is bound to cause a grin when picturing the protection of rubber shoes from shocking news. The Sing Science! Audios are intended to support science in the classroom, not replace it, but even a small chromatography experiment is included in the PDF activities of the Intermediate audio, providing much additional benefit.

Some families may miss it, but the "Our Solar System" song is written without Pluto, listing eight planets as is the latest consensus. And the acting opportunities, artist renditions, and possible dioramas that may be created from singing the song "Natural Disasters" with its wonderful list of houses and losses in a fun and upbeat manner, keenly focuses on the power of climactic weather. Although it doesn't personalize the tragedies inherent in natural disasters, it does provide an understandable and lighthearted look at the power of our weather. The forty page PDF on the Intermediate CD is wonderful, but I preferred the lyrics in the Primary extended booklet cover of the CD case where it was easily found and immediately available. In reality, I would have most appreciated both items being available with both audio CDs. The lack of any reference to God is a huge negative for our family, but the creator of Sing Science has succeeded in writing songs without creation or evolution reference and still was able to include scientific facts, vocabulary, and processes. And as much as we miss seeing God or any biblical reference in a science curriculum or supplement, the lacking of any evolutionary content is much appreciated. The songs are straightforward and factual overall, are very enjoyable and upbeat, and provide a wonderful way to memorize information and offer repetition for students who find it necessary to repeat information in order to solidly grasp a concept.

Our family enjoyed the Sing Science! Audio programs and will continue to utilize them for years to come with our younger children. The concepts are well presented with good lyrics and rhyme, often with tunes our children already know so that the retention was even more immediate. A very broad range of concepts are covered in each CD with a comfortable level of depth for each age range, the Primary CD was basic and easily understood, while the Intermediate CD moved into more difficult concepts and definitions easily. The inclusion of various scientists, inventions, and careers allows for additional expansion in many subject areas, with further research and knowledge gained after an idea is set from the songs. The titles also provide information immediately, allowing parents to pick and choose songs that will most lend themselves to a particular area of study, saving time and preparation. We appreciated the extra effort in providing additional experiments and extension activities, as it compounds the value in an otherwise limited supplemental program. These are not audio CDs your family will enjoy for song value alone, Sing Science! will help instill the scientific concepts your home school teaches your children. Evolution and Creation are both missing from the material, as it focuses on the concrete facts of science and encourages children toward the scientific method for another generation of scientists rather than vague theories of the past. These tools will easily be used alongside a creationist, young earth science curriculum and can support teachings of a God created world. Singing into solid knowledge of difficult concepts is a wonderful way to learn, for auditory students and many young children regardless of learning method, the Sing Science! Primary and Intermediate audio CDs will be an enjoyable way to learn about science. Extend your science teaching with Sing Science! and you will soon find your children singing their science facts and increasing an overall interest in the realm of science.

Product Review by Donna Campos, Senior Product Reviewer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December, 2008