I mentioned in my High School Plans for 2023-2024 article that my son would be using the all new Discovering Design with Physics Curriculum, written by Dr. Jay Wile, to study physics this year. Mister has enjoyed using the curriculum written by Dr. Jay Wile in the past, so I was excited when I received the opportunity to partner with Berean Builders to review this new homeschool high school physics curriculum.
Discovering Design with Physics Curriculum
You may remember from my Discovering Design with Chemistry Curriculum review that last year Mister used the Discovering Design with Chemistry Textbook. He enjoyed the challenge of this robust college-preparatory chemistry curriculum and he especially likes Dr. Wile’s conversational writing style. This is why we’re excited to be using another science curriculum written by Dr. Wile.
From the publisher…
This laboratory-based high school physics course is the first physics course a college-bound student should take. It gives the student an introduction to the basics, such as Newton’s Laws of Motion, Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, work, energy, and power, waves, sound, and light, electrical potential, electric fields, circuits, resistance, and current, magnetism, and magnetic fields.
The course consists of 180 hours of instruction, 35 of which involve hands-on experiments using household or easy to obtain items (no purchased kit required). The experiments include measuring the acceleration due to gravity, making a one-dimensional Newton’s Cradle, making simple circuits, and making an electromagnet.
Let your student dive into a solid introductory physics course presented by a university professor in a conversational tone offering plenty of practical applications and experiments to perform right at home. And remember, if they get stuck, we’re available to answer questions and provide feedback throughout the course.
https://bereanbuilders.com/ecomm/product/discovering-design-with-physics/
Mister will be taking a physics lab at our local homeschool learning center. In that class, he will complete most of the labs that are detailed in this curriculum. He prefers to complete labs in a group setting rather than at home on his own. He will, however, need to complete a few labs at home that time will not allow to be completed in class. Location aside, labs will be fun.
The Discovering Design with Physics Audio Book MP3 Thumb Drive, which is a companion to the textbook, is scheduled to be released this fall. Mister actually did use the Chemistry Audio Book, so we’ll likely add it to our arsenal.
A few things that I appreciate about Beream Builders
- The textbooks from Berean Builders are hardback textbooks with sturdy binding. They are made to last and if Sister ends up taking physics in a few years, it should still be in excellent shape.
- Berean Builders is committed to keeping editions in print for as long as there is demand when a new edition comes out. This could mean that older editions go to print on demand, or may end up in paperback, but they will be available. This is important for homeschool families that do science either at a co-op or learning center because teachers will often use an older edition of the curriculum that they prefer. This will keep the whole group from having to change editions just because a new one is coming out. It will also enable parents to find older editions more easily. When Mister did biology, and the teacher preferred an older edition of the textbook, it was NOT easy to find!
- Berean Builder courses come with a useful course website and the answer service for free to give support and to accommodate different learning styles.
- And while the publishers don’t exactly care for pre-printed note/workbooks, they do have them available to download for free. You just have to print it yourself or purchase from a reseller that offeres them pre printed and bound. You can find them under the product resources tab on each textbook page.
The Discovering Design series has been a great fit for my son. He appreciates Dr. Wile’s writing style and has learned quite a bit using his curricula. I was pleased to see that even as a brand new curricula, the homeschool learning center had already switched to it. You know an author is well respected within the homeschool community when their textbook is selected for all of the students before it’s even off the presses.
