My children are absolutely fascinated by rocks. They are constantly playing with the rocks in our yard and searching to see if they can find fossils. We were recently working on the rock unit in our kindergarten curriculum, and I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to review Geology for Kids from Northwest Treasures. I felt this would be the perfect way to include all four children in the rock unit. I love when we can all work together on a subject. Geology for Kids is designed for children in grades 3-6, so I felt it would be perfect for my older girls who are eight and nine years old. 

We received the complete Geology for Kids Kit. This includes not only the Geology for Kids book plus the Geology Journal, but the rock/mineral/fossil samples as well, all contained in a convenient and sturdy cardboard carrying case. 

Both of the books are soft-covered books. The 144 page lesson book contains six sections plus a materials list, "How to Use this Study" section, appendix A and B, and several pages of picture credits. The 32 page consumable journal, which is not reproducible, contains room for the student to answer questions, write lists, draw pictures, and record observations. Both of these books can be purchased separately; however, as the rock/mineral/fossil specimens are needed to "fully illustrate the concepts taught in the book," the complete kit is very helpful to have. 

Contained in the kit you will find 79 samples to help facilitate the geology lessons. You will find samples of Rock-Forming Minerals, Plutonic Rocks, Volcanic Rocks, Sedimentary Rocks, Metamorphic Rocks and Fossils. They are individually bagged in small resealable plastic bags which are then separated by type into larger resealable plastic bags. Each specimen is labeled with a small piece of paper in the bag. The specimen name is typed in color-coded font to match the label in the larger bag. 

In addition to the materials found in the kit, you will need some other supplies to complete the activities. Most of these are simple objects easily found around the house, such as a Bible, lab notebook (we just use a regular spiral notebook for this), Vaseline, different food such as bread and sugar, among other items. The only supplies we didn't have at home were the modeling clay and Plaster of Paris. 

Geology for Kids is a "biblical approach to earth science and earth history" and is taught from a young-earth point of view with a literal interpretation of Biblical events in the book of Genesis, which naturally extends to a literal interpretation of the flood in Noah's time. This was very important to me in deciding to review this product. I want to make sure the children understand that God's word is not just a fairy tale, but is truth which can be shown to be scientifically sound. So, it should come as no surprise that the first two sections are devoted to learning the Biblical foundation. 

Here is a list of the sections and the topics being learned:

Section I - Introduction to Biblical Geology 

• Part 1: The Creation of Earth
• Part 2: Where Did All the Rocks Come From? 
• Part 3: What Do the Rocks Look Like?

Section II - The Two Contrasting Views of Earth History

• Part 1: Telling a Different Story
• Part 2: Two Approaches to Earth History

Section III - The Rocks and Minerals of the Earth

• Part 1: Atoms and Elements - The Stuff of Rocks and Minerals
• Part 2: Minerals - the Stuff of Rocks
• Part 3: The Plutonic Rocks
• Part 4: The Volcanic Lava Rocks
• Part 5: The Pyroclastic Volcanic Rocks
• Part 6: The Metamorphic Rocks
• Part 7: The Sedimentary Rocks

Section IV - Fossils and Noah's Flood

• Part 1: What is a Fossil?
• Part 2: Types of Fossils
• Part 3: Famous Fossils
• Part 4: What do Fossils Really Tell Us?
• Part 5: Where do We Find Fossils?

Section V - Dinosaurs and Noah's Flood

• What are Dinosaurs?
• Kinds of Dinosaurs
• Were Dinosaurs on the Ark of Noah?

Section VI - The Oceans

• Part 1: Ocean Features, Marine Fossils and Corals
• Part 2: Ocean Rocks and Sand

Each "Part" listed under the section is considered one lesson which is meant to be taught in one sitting. The recommended pace is two lessons (or parts) per week. At this pace you should be able to finish the book in three months. When I first started the book, I wanted to include the younger children in with this study, as they were the ones who were learning about rocks. So, I didn't finish the lessons in one sitting as suggested. While the first two sections are very important for setting the foundation, they went right over the younger children's heads. Because the first section is almost completely reading from the book and working on memory verses, I only read a small section at a time. Even for the older girls, I think it was a bit too much to go through in one sitting, especially because they were supposed to memorize five Bible verses in one sitting. 

Now, as I mentioned, these first sections really are important for understanding the foundation of Biblical Geology. I would just recommend taking it slower for younger children, including 3rd and 4th graders. We learned the importance of understanding that the rocks show evidence of God's awesome power, and that he was the one who was there and has shared the story in the Bible. We also learn about the four different rock types, and why the author uses four instead of the three types common in secular teaching. In addition to creation, the author also discusses the importance of Noah's flood. Biblical geology is then compared to secular geology. 

When we got to Section III of the book, I decided to just work with the older girls, though I still broke the lesson up and moved through it slower than recommended. This section of the study was better suited for having the girls take notes. I started writing important details on the board and having them copy them in their notebooks. My oldest daughter then used the Geology Journal for review. This is also the section where the lessons get more hands on, where we are really using the samples that are included in the kit. 

The section starts by asking what a rock is. We learn that rocks are made of minerals, which are made of elements, which are made of atoms. After a short section on atoms, we move back up to looking at elements. The children are memorizing the eight most abundant elements in the earth's crust. They even came up with their own mnemonic: "Oh, Say An Interesting Cat Stole My Peppers."

We then move into learning about rock-forming minerals, which was even more exciting because we got to get our samples out and examine them. This section continues by looking at each of the types of rocks, one lesson at a time. The children get to take out the rocks and learn what they are made of, and record what they see. We took the lessons a bit further by looking up samples on the internet, so they could compare them, and see the variations. The children seemed to get a kick out of the fact that the author named the different types of rocks according to the make-up of it, such as 'Sandy' Sandstone and 'Blacky' Basalt. 

As we are moving slowly through the study, we have not yet reached the sections on fossils. However, these are organized in the same way. The author discusses the lesson and then the children get to look at the samples. We will learn about real and fake fossils, along with living fossils. 

One thing I really love about this book, is that the author admits that geologists do not really know everything that is taught as fact, such as what the interior of the earth looks like, or how plutonic rocks are formed. What he does emphasize, is that we can trust God, who created everything and holds everything together. 

I will say that the study could probably be done without the samples as there are pictures of each of the rocks. This is helpful if money is tight, seeing as the kit costs $162 ($124 of which is the specimens). However, having the samples really does make this more hands-on, making it multisensory. The children just love being able to handle the rocks and feel the differences in texture. 

We have found this study quite fascinating.  It is fun discovering what the different rocks are made up of, to get that flash of insight when looking at the rock. We are really enjoying the hands-on aspect of the third section of the book. I just wish there was a way to make the first two sections more hands-on, because I know that foundational information is very important. 

I did want to mention one other concern we had. With one of our samples, I wasn't sure, at first, if we had received the wrong mineral because it didn't match the picture in the textbook. However, when we were searching online, it appeared that our amphibole was similar to the pictures we searched for. I discovered that it is just a photographic glitch in the textbook image itself.  Though it is not noted in the book, I have learned from the author that the picture will be retaken for future editions.

We are very much enjoying this hands-on geology curriculum. I appreciate that it is written at a level that children can understand. It doesn’t get into all the technical nitty-gritty, but gives enough information to allow children to start a study of geology. This is definitely a curriculum I can recommend.

- Product review by Karen Waide, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March, 2017