Teaching middle school science can be a daunting task, so I appreciate it when I find a complete science curriculum that really provides all I need for an entire year.

Sonlight Science G is meant for grades 6-8. The 36-week curriculum covers chemistry, physics, and biology. Unlike traditional curriculums, there is no textbook. Instead, the sources for learning is a group of high quality science books that are conveniently included in the set. Here is what I received:

The Instructor’s Guide is the bones of the program. This comes in a packet and has holes so it can be placed in a three-ring binder.  The guide lists every single day of each week, giving reading assignments for all the resources, including experiments and tips. I found this so well organized - there is even a planning list that lets you know what things to have on hand the following week for experiments. Included in the guide is the consumable student activity worksheet and answer key for each week.

What’s Science All About? Is a 283-page reference book. This easy to read book is an excellent overview of biology, chemistry, and physics. There are many illustrations and the format is interesting to look at and fun to read.

Chemically Active! Is a book of simple experiments you can do at home. The book does an excellent job of giving instructions and explaining the experiments.

The Usborne Encyclopedia of Planet Earth focuses on climate, geology, land, ocean, and animals. This larger book has excellent photos and blocks of information on the pages.

Evolution: The Grand Experiment Vol. 1 was also included. This book looks extensively at the evolution-creation debate, and gives evidence of a young world creation. This book has glossy photographs, and is formatted for easy reading.

Icons of Evolution is a DVD that is included with the set. This 51-minute DVD looks specifically at Darwin’s findings, and from a science perspective, gives proof that evolution is not how our world began.

Finally, I received the Science Supplies Kit. This box supplies all of those things you need to complete the experiments that you might not have lying around the house. Iron sulfate tablets, a 6-volt battery, plastic tubing, an eyedropper and charcoal sticks are some of the many items in the box. There are a few things you need to supply, but these are things that every household owns. For example, the first few weeks I needed a red cabbage, a grater, strainer, vinegar, bleach, salt, and napkins. I really appreciated having all of the other items readily available in the Science Supplies Kit!

So how did I use this? I absolutely loved that all of the planning was already done for me. Following their schedule, you would do science five days a week. But my daughter and I found that the amount of work was between 20 and 30 minutes, so you could easily combine days, do science three days a week and still complete the curriculum in 36 weeks.

The first week we read through the assigned pages in What’s Science All About? We learned about atoms, states of matter, and the difference between mixtures, compounds, and elements. We followed the instructions and made essence of cabbage in an experiment and then made ahypothesis and observations as we added different items to the essence. Each day we also filled in portions of the activity sheet - there was a fun crossword puzzle, and two pages of questions.

Each week we explored more about science. One week we used the tubing in the Supplies Kit and, making a delivery system, extracted the gas from a bottle of soda. We also learned more about the pH scale, elements, and different types of metals and their characteristics. Looking ahead in the year I see us learning more about the human body, our planet, animals, plants, and exploring evolution vs. intelligent design.

The Instructor’s Guide is extremely invaluable. Two of the resources included are not from a Christian perspective and the guide did address this when issues came up. When the reading assignment included controversial subjects such as the age of the universe and The Big Bang, the guide gave very helpful information from a Christian point of view. Each week the guide also has notes to aid you in teaching the material. Commonly asked questions and definitions are listed, along with other simple activities to do each week.

This is the first time I have ever used Sonlight Curriculum, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Everything you need is included in the set, and it is all scheduled and laid out for you and your student. If you are doing this with more than one student, you can easily purchase another consumable worksheet set which is also a plus. Overall, I was quite pleased with this science curriculum! I am looking forward to completing it with my daughter, and learning more about the world we live in.

-Product review by Charlotte Gochnauer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2017