NatureGlo's eScience ~ A Review

Over the past weeks my daughter has been working through Math Connections with the Real World through NatureGlo's eScience . Math Connections is part of the MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle . Imagine combining science with art, history, and math and that is what you get with NatureGlo's eScience. I was quite intrigued the first time I perused the website due to the unique methodology used at teaching science. NatureGlo offers both live and self-paced online courses. The curriculum is geared for ages 12 and older, middle/high school age students. With that said, Gloria Brooks, creator of NatureGlo's eScience encourages interested learners of any age to check it out. 

The lessons in Math Connections with the Real World 6 week course include:

1. Introduction & History of the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci Numbers
2. The Golden Number & Fibonacci in Art, Architecture & Nature
3. The Fibonacci Numbers in Nature
4. The History & the Golden Ratio of the Great Pyramid
5. Phi & Quasicrystals
6. The Mathematics of Music

When my daughter first started the Math Connections with the Real World right away the first words out of her mouth were, "Mom, what exactly is The Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers?" My daughter is in the 6th grade and so going into this I knew that she was on the younger side and that this was going to take a bit of team work! Before starting we sat down together and researched on the internet elementary explanations before diving in. She was fascinated. I will also state that very early on that I realized that it was going to take a lot longer than the six weeks to complete this course for my daughter. 

Lessons consist of slideshows and/or videos, activities, and quizzes. Gloria utilities sites outside of NatureGlo's eScience for activity resources, games, puzzles, etc. Students get to do hands-on activities such as cutting apples to see Fibonacci's pentagon pattern in an apple or make Fibonacci Sugar Cookies. 

As the student progresses through the course the students progress is traced on the sidebar. The course progress is given in regards to the percentage of the class completed. Also, as lessons are completed lines are drawn through the lessons to show completion. 

My daughter loved the story of the Forty Fortunes in Lesson 5 that was an introduction to quasicrystals. I really enjoyed the story as well. It really got both of us psyched up for Lesson 5. Again, my daughter had absolutely no idea what a quasicrystal was until she looked it up. Do you know what a quasicrystal is? Well, "A quasiperiodic crystal, or quasicrystal, is a structure that is ordered but not periodic. A quasicrystalline pattern can continuously fill all available space, but it lacks translational symmetry."

One of the fun activities that the students can do are to create their own quasicrystal designs!

Students are actually guided through a step-by-step process into making an intricate pattern. My daughter opted not to take up this challenge. I could have so seen myself doing this if I had, had more time on my hands. This is definitely a project that I want to do over the summer with my daughter. Time consuming but fun. 

The quizzes are lighthearted and fun. Nothing to stress about. This particular quiz was a matching quiz where you had to match the definition with the term. It did time you. You do take the quizlet over to score better. 

Explanations were given in terms that were easy to understand. 

In Lesson 4 my daughter got to make her own Lapbook about the Great Pyramids. She learned about geography, history, maps, a 3D look inside of a pyramid, stones used, Pi, Pythagerean Theorem, and the Kepler Triangle. My daughter has always loved lapbooks! 

I did find that my daughter was a bit too young to digest all of the material and some of it went over her head. I found that we had to kind of sift through the material and tailor it to fit her level a bit more. With that said, I was still surprised at how much she learned. I think that the overall concept of NatureGlo's eScience is a wonderful option for many homeschoolers looking for an out of the box curriculum. For us the self-paced probably isn't the best fit. NatureGlo's eScience does offer live classes too!! I think I would learn more towards the live classes. Why do I say that? Well, the videos are simply recordings of her live classes. Simply listening to the self-paced option, I feel like the student misses out on a huge part of what makes this curriculum so unique. That is just simply my opinion. I think that my daughter may have had a better understanding and focus if she would have been able to have been a part of a live class with interaction where she could have asked questions. 

During the review period we were given the opportunity to use the whole Class Bundle. While we focused on one course we did skip around through the other courses to check them out. There was so much interesting and fascinating material to learn and soak up. 

Included in the MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle are:

1. Math Connections with the Real World
2. MathArt in Ancient Cultures
3. Mathematics in the Arts & Sciences
4. MathArt - Patterns in Nature

During the review period we came across a very fascinating article about Fibonacci's Numbers and The Golden Ratio and my daughter was so excited to make the connection between what she had learned in this course and what she was reading in the article she was reading on Facebook! She could not wait to share it. 

This curriculum is very unique and fits the Charlotte Mason style of teaching. I would highly suggest checking it out. It may be a great fit for your family. 

To read more reviews click here.

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