Online Science Video Courses : Review

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I was recently contacted by graham from Science Video Courses and Kitchen Sink Science to ask me to take a look at his sites. I was gifted membership to both these sites, but what follows is a true and fair review.

What are the Science Video Courses?

The two sites offer the complete KS2, KS3 and iGCSE science courses via video. Graham, who has created these sites, is an experienced teacher and has created these sites to offer a comprehensive talk through the requirements of the relevant Key Stage curriculums.

Our Approach to Science

As many will know, we are structured in our approach to home education, and I do have some regard as to the requirements of the National Curriculum. But that said, I don’t follow the curriculum per se. Science is one of those areas we have taken as the opportunity arises. Prior to the current situation, we had been meeting with a friend who was running a series of biology themed meets. These were really popular with the children and they learnt a lot. We have also dipped in and out of other subjects such as plants and seeds, electricity, magnetism and probably many more that I can’t recall right now. That said, now that D is approaching KS2 age I want to make sure we are doing things to the required depth and September will see a slight change for us. H will be joining the learning much more than he does now and D and E will see thigs step up a gear in the core areas.

Using The Science Video Courses

We have looked at some of the human body videos together but have yet to do any formal follow up on them. I like to plant ideas and then come back to them later on, and I think we will maybe look at the body again in the new year as H can get more involved. From the home page ou can choose the course you’re interested in, for me at this stage it is KS2. This then takes you to the KS2 homepage and from there you can choose the curriculum area of interest. I can see that for KS2 there are 69 videos and it is helpfully split into the different year groups, which gives you an idea of how the concepts build across the years.

There are schemes of work pages that show you how each video links to the CGP books. We don’t have these for Science but I have used them for Geography and History and really like them, so I may well purchase these for use in September onwards alongside these videos. There’s also an accompanying powerpoint for each lesson.

It is really very comprehensive and this appeals to me. Demands on my time are only going to increase so I am all for utilising what already exists!  I really don’t want to be reinventing the wheel and when things like this exist it’s well worth the investment.

The videos feature the powerpoints and Graham delivers the lesson. The videos aren’t overly long and they’re presented in a really engaging way – you can tell Graham’s teaching experience here. The videos can be paused, which is great if you want to check understanding with your children or of course you can recap anything that is new or particularly challenging.

What do we think of the Science Video Courses?

I have to say, I am really impressed with the website and the volume of content on it. Its well thought out and presented and delivered in an engaging way. I plan to make a start next week on our rough plans for 2020-2021 home education and this will feature as a weekly lesson for us. Science is an area that we touch on but haven’t yet followed in any real structured way, and I think I can leave this to run for the older two whilst I do some 1-1 work with H. I can be confident that the content is appropriate (without having to worry about them clicking into YouTube videos) and know that it will marry up with the workbooks they can work through.  The cost is £59.99 to access it and this really is remarkable value when you consider what you might spend on local home education meets. This will cover the whole of KS2 for all my children and, even if the curriculum changes a little, the science itself doesn’t. The topics that are covered are all things that the children should learn anyway, and I can cover things at a more basic level for H, such as plant lifecycle, whilst the older two move on to a more detailed understanding.

All in all really impressed with the site, and look out for more on this in September when we have the corresponding books.

You can find information on how to sign up here on the  Science Video Courses website.