Since my son excels at both science and history, you may be wondering why I opted to utilize an elementary-grade-level curriculum with him. The reason is quite simple: I knew that the content would keep him engaged. If my son is engaged in the learning process, not only will he assimilate new information more quickly, but he will also retain the information and be able to recall it for further use in later lessons. Furthermore, Science in the Age of Reason by Dr. Jay L. Wile not only kept my sixteen-year-old son’s attention, but was also simple enough to modify in order to provide him with a challenge. 

Science in the Age of Reason is a textbook that combines science and history into lessons with hands-on activities that help students grasp complex scientific notions. Furthermore, it helps students learn how worldviews can influence science and ideas. The text is well written by popular science curriculum author Dr. Jay L. Wile. It covers various types of science concepts that were popular during the early 18^th Century through the turn of the 19^th Century. Students will learn about zoology, botany, astronomy, medicine, physical science, geology, and human physiology. They will learn about brilliant scientists like Edmond Halley, Benjamin Franklin, James Watt, John Dalton, Thomas Young, and numerous others. My son truly enjoyed learning how one of his favorite historical figures, Benjamin Franklin, influenced the field of science. The lessons left him in awe of the man’s brilliance.

With Science in the Age of Reason, parents who homeschool several different grade levels can easily teach them all the same lesson with hands-on tasks and questions geared to each child’s particular level of learning. At the end of each lesson, the text provides a review that is divided into three age ranges: youngest students, older students, and oldest students. Since my son is sixteen, I utilized the options for the oldest students. Then, I would ask him to research the scientist we were studying and the era of history during which the discovery was made. For the experiments, I required him to make a hypothesis and write up a scientific report on his findings. These simple additions easily made the subject matter challenging and met the requirements for high-school-level science and history. You can either utilize this as a stand-alone curriculum or use it to supplement your current science and history curriculum like I did with my son.

Berean Builders has also created Helps & Hints for Science in the Age of Reason to provide direction for teachers. This booklet provides helpful notes about the scientists and science concepts being studied. It also provides further details for experiments. Not only does it contain the answers for the Lesson Review sections of the text, but it also includes tests for each unit and the answer key. While this companion book is not required, it provides information that educators will definitely find helpful.

My son and I both enjoyed utilizing Science in the Age of Reason because it combined my son’s interests in science and history in a hands-on method that made learning fun. It explained concepts in a manner that were easy for my son to grasp yet didn’t bore him. This can be a fine balancing act for students on the Autism spectrum, and this curriculum not only met my expectations, but exceeded them when my son asked to learn even more about a scientist or scientific notion.

- Product review by Kelly Kiggins-Lund, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2017