Supercharged Science (TOS Review Crew)

Supercharged Science is back with the TOS Review Crew this year (click here to see my review last year, which will give you some of the basics including how the program is set up, and what is included). In brief, Supercharged Science is an e-Science Program that teaches science concepts in a fresh and engaging manner that will draw in most learners. Last year my middle-schooler was the main "reviewer" in the family, this time my youngest was the focus. 


Aurora Lipper is a rocket scientist with an engaging style of teaching science to kids via video, getting them excited about doing experiments, and consequently excited about science. 

Supercharged Science is organized so that one may choose to learn by topic OR by grade level. This time around we used it both ways:

Since my youngest is in 1st grade, we went to the 1st topic in the 1st Grade level, which was "Physics of Sound." This is an example of how we used the Grade level units:

I would read some of the material to my son (he learned that sound is energy), and then we chose an experiment to do. This time we watched the provided video that showed how to make a "Harmonica," I downloaded the "worksheet" which included written directions and a table to write down the results of his experiment (High or low pitch, depending on how the cuffs were moved). 

Here is a video of Youngest and his harmonica(s). We didn't have the exact materials called for (tongue depressors), so we used what we had in hand~ blocks and popsicle sticks~ still worked well! :)

After that we decided to see how it worked to go by topic, and started out with Unit Zero, which we had not used last time. The basics are a good thing to start with him, and revisit with Middlest a little bit. 

We talked about Newton's Laws for a few days, and did some experiments demonstrating those laws. Here we are learning about Newton's 2nd law relating to the conservation of momentum:  



I really appreciate that there are "written materials" that can be printed out, including worksheets and pages with "lab report" information, as well as comprehension questions. For my youngest, I just asked him the questions orally, but when Middlest tagged along with us for a few experiments I printed the sheets up for his use.

One of the things that I like about this online homeschool curriculum is that every time I would queue up a video my youngest would come running~ whether the video was geared towards his age group or not, he was fascinated. 

Something that bears repeating here (from my first review): Once you are on the Supercharged Science email list (not as a paying customer, but a free subscriber), you will be receiving on average 10 emails/month. Some of them are definitely interesting and include great resources, but there are also a number of "Sales Pitch" emails. I have no problem ignoring them until something catches my eye, but I know many folks who find these sorts of emails very annoying. 

I mention this to simply say~ don't let the "soft/hard" sell emails deter you from checking out the fantastic program and resources being offered~ while the marketing is not my favorite style, the program is really, REALLY cool! :)  


One of those emails recently was a free teleclass/videoclass that Aurora was offering on a specific afternoon~ we weren't able to make it to the live class, but she left the link up for a couple of days so that we could access it and watch it later. The class had to do with lasers and light~ I won't tell you too much about it, but I will show you a photo that resulted from that class (Eldest had fun with the photography here): 

And here is a video that explains part of what went on during the class. 
 


I am also impressed by the fact that if you are going through one of the experiments, or wondering about something in the videos you can leave a comment, and Aurora usually gets back to you within a day or so. That's pretty neat! :) 

If you want to check out more of Supercharged Science, you can see some of their videos on YouTube. If you'd like to get a really good feel for the layout of the program and how it really works, Supercharged Science is offering my readers 1 month of access for $1. Please click this link 1MonthAccess$1 to find out all the details. 

And here is a link to access more sample experiments

You can find Supercharged Science in these places on the world-wide web:
Supercharged Science on Facebook
Supercharged Science on Twitter
Supercharged Science on Pinterest
Supercharged Science on GooglePlus
And Supercharged Science's Blog

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Supercharged Science
• Product: e-Science Premium Membership
• Ages: K-12
• Price: $57/month for K-12, $37/month for K-8 

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~