Causes Great interest
My daughter – and the boys – really enjoy CrossWired Science. My daughter likes the freedom to dig deeper into whatever she learns that is exciting or interesting to her.
I love how CrossWired Science encompasses all ways of learning. Many of the topics are about animals in some way which always leads to a discussion on whether there is a Wild Kratts episode we need to watch about that animals – ha! We have a ton of fun discovering new books about the topics and reading them together to learn more and dig deeper on each topic.
Our son could totally do this independently. And not once did he ever say he was bored or uninterested. If anything, after a session he would have more questions and we would jump down different rabbit holes to learn and read more even after school was done. I noticed this way of learning sparked his desire to know more and to seek out answers.
Anna and I take great interest in birds. We have a large picture window in our living room and we frequently sit in front of it to watch the birds at the feeder. After watching the core videos on birds in flight and how they use the alula feathers, Anna went to the library and got a book on robins.
Now, granted this book did not talk about the alula feathers but it did give many facts about robins that she did not know. See how this one short core video that was under 4 minutes sparked two separate learning experiences that went beyond the video and expanded her learning?
We wanted to find a field trip that was applicable to what we were learning, which was Sound. We completed a nature exploration, keeping a log of all the sounds we heard within a day. it didn’t matter the places we were at, we jotted down sounds we heard. At ball practice, we could hear the bat hitting the ball. At the grocery store, we heard someone dropping a can. By doing this, my children became so much more aware of sounds.
A student: ”I like learning about Fluid Dynamics. I think it’s really cool when air goes into your nose that it goes into three place. It’s amazing. Oh, and it’s so cool that the alula feathers act the second they’re needed for a bird to land perfectly. The exact second! God is amazing!”
How did my son like it? He loved it. He has a science-wired brain and has been able to understand concepts that I don’t. His mind works well with a rapid pace of information and is able to connect the dots. In fact, after he completed the videos for the sound section he began watching the ones for fluid dynamics and trying to explain to me the answers my stubborn brain still had trouble with.
I love CWS because we have been really trying to get some kindling on the fire around here; this is great kindling if your fire seems to be dampening or going out.
“Light that fire with your kids. Douse it with gasoline so it never stops burning.” This is my analogy for what this program can do (has done) for your kids and your family. There are so many things to learn and see and do. We have to get out of the way and make sure that what is before our kids eyes and ears is going to make them hunger and thirst for more. Don’t let that fire go out!
CrossWired Science is not really traditional, because you don’t study one thing at a time with one assignment after another after another. Instead, you can watch different videos, do experiments, read, go on field trips…
I would like to use this for science more. I recommend it to others, because it is not boring and you can learn a lot.
What I think is really quite amazing about this curriculum is that it exposes the student to and provides opportunities to learn more about so many scientific concepts and areas of study than just the main Global topic. If my child was going through the Fluid Dynamics topic then found out he was really intrigued by bird or insect flight, there is plenty of material within the unit for him to dig deeper into that area and learn more!