Growing a healthy home! Isn’t that the goal of just about all moms?
We want our kids to be strong and nutritionally balanced. We want their bodies to be able to fight off illness and to have lots of energy.
But, sometimes, “Because Mommy said so” isn’t the most convincing reason for why they have to eat the green beans sitting on their plate! That’s where Nutrition 101 comes in – it’s an amazing tool to help you teach your children the biological why’s and the physiological how’s of eating right.
If knowledge is power, than this science curriculum is an absolute powerhouse! From top to bottom, inside and out, it covers everything about eating right. Just take a look at the first two units in the table of contents …
- Unit 1 – The Brain and the Nervous System
- Chapter 1 – The Brain
- Chapter 2 – Brain Health and Nutrition
- Chapter 3 – The Nervous System
- Chapter 4 – Nervous System Health and Nutrition
- Unit 2 – The Digestive System
- Chapter 1 – The Digestive System
- Chapter 2 – Digestive System Health and Nutrition
- Chapter 3 – Enzymes
- Chapter 4 – Elimination
An easily-digestible (pun intended!) study of each of the 12 main body systems is covered in their relation to the foods we eat.
- Brain and Nervous Systems
- Digestive System
- Respiratory, Olfactory, Visual, Auditory Systems
- Muscular and Skeletal Systems
- Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
- Endocrine System and Emotions
I received the eBook version to review, although it does come in a printed version as well. The eBook is 448 pages long! Wow! I did not print it all out – I only printed what I needed for the lesson I chose to do.
I could not locate an exact grade level that this is developed for, but it seems to me that grades 2 and up would really get the most out of all the information presented. Unfortunately, my 5th grader will not be home until the end of October, so I gave it the best try I could with my Kindergartener and my First Grader. Let’s just say, it didn’t go so good. It was just a little too much over their heads – but not for lack of fabulous content and pictures on the part of the authors.
The authors included tons of activities broken down into Elementary and Secondary categories along with additional resources at the end of each and every chapter. Throughout each lesson, there are very colorful illustrations that pertain to the bodily system being discussed. You can take a look at some sample pages on their website. It really is a beautiful book. The more I think about it, the more I think I could still use this for my little ones in a bit of a different way. Maybe we’ll just sit down with the computer and look through the pictures – they can ask me about the things that look interesting and we can go through the additional resources at the end of the chapter.
One of the additional resources I used from the book was Kid’s Health – they have lots of different movies about the body systems and much more health related content.
Since this book is being used to teach families about better health and nutrition, I think the authors did a fabulous job of includes so many healthy recipes for you to try with your family. Things like Potato Salad with Flaxseed Oil – Hold the Mayo, Chla Pancakes, Brain Power Smoothie, and Green Apple Bean Salad are new and interesting. Children will be learning about a specific body system and how it interacts with the foods they eat and then they will be putting that new knowledge into action by preparing one of the suggested recipes. I find kids are just a little bit more willing to at least try something if they’ve helped prepare it.
Here is a video that the company has prepared to give you a little glimpse into the effect the curriculum may have on your family …
You can purchase the book on their website Healthy Homes, LLC.
- CD ROM version retails for $79.95
- Book version retails for $99.95
- The combo of CD and Book retails for $129.95
I know this seems like a hefty pricetag, but don’t look at this as just buying a science curriculum. You are buying a package that will change the eating habits of your family for the rest of their lives and just think of how much better off they will be if they can make healthy food choices over the next 60 or 70 years. (By the way, I don’t make any commissions if you make a purchase – I’m saying that from the bottom of my heart.)
At some point, I would really like to sit down and study out the lessons contained in this book for myself – it seems like it would be very beneficial to the health of my family. Once my 5th grader gets home, I plan to go through some of the lessons with him as well. So, for now, this review is “To Be Continued …”
Until then, this curriculum gets a hearty two-thumbs-up from me!
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