This is ideal for ages 8-14, though we've had plenty of adults and older teenagers that have learned a lot and been stumped by some of the challenges.  We have had plenty of younger kids join in on the discussions with older kids and parents, but we recommend waiting a year or two if your oldest isn't yet in 3rd grade.

There are 5 Chapters (each with 8-10 levels) that cover different topics:

• How the movement of the Earth affects our days, seasons, sunlight, and more
• Constellations
• Phases of the Moon
• Planets in our Solar System
• What other things are in the night sky?

Yes!  That's what makes astronomy so fun.  Everything in this kit is designed to encourage your family to spend some time outside looking at the night sky together.

BUT... I know that you can't always go outside when you want to.  It's a cloudy or rainy night.  Kids need to go to bed early.  etc.

This curriculum has indoor challenges and outdoor challenges.  Most of the learning happens in the indoor challenges, but when you get a chance to go outside you can take the outdoor challenges and work on them when you get a chance. 

This way you can enjoy the night sky, but on your own timescale and you don't need to limit your indoor learning until you make it outside.

This was kind of tricky - but we know that hands-on learning is best for kids and adults alike!  We include the following components to create as much hands-on learning and modeling as possible:

• Balls on a stick (so they can model the Earth's movement around the Sun and the Moon's movement around the Earth)
• Glow-in the Dark Stars
• Constellation Print outs
• Professional Star Chart for outdoor stargazing
• Little Red Light (used in astronomy to preserve night vision when outdoors at night)
• Play-Doh (for modeling planet sizes)
• Receipt Tape (for modeling planet distances)
• Planet Manipulatives
• Deep Sky Object Manipulatives
• Night Sky Gazing Checklist 
• And more!

• Optional: Living Books  (These are necessary to go through the course - you can get them from us, your library, or buy them elsewhere)
• Optional Green Laser (These are optional, but highly encouraged for outdoor learning!  (It's hard to see which stars people are pointing at, but the laser makes it clear and obvious and easy for a group to look at the same location in teh sky.  These can be dangerous for kids so we don't include these automatically unless the parents request it).

Hi!  We're the Jensens.  We are a homeschooling family of six that loves science, games, and learning.  Linsey (Mom) has a bachelor's in physics and a master's degree in education.  Scott (Dad) has a PhD in physics.  And all four children are great play testers of all our experiments. 

We are proud of this curriculum because of the way it uses our physics knowledge, education and parenting experience, as well the fun and excitement we've experienced in thousands of hours playing and creating games to create something truly captivating and memorable.  

These kits are hand put together in our home in Heyburn, Idaho by everyone in the family. This is truly a small, family-run business.

Yes!  Built into this curriculum, in between challenges, are "detours" with questions and ideas that you can explore on your own if you want to.  And you can always complete any of your own "detours" with anything that comes to mind. 

Some examples include: 

• Ancient Astronomical Architecture - How Chichen Itza, Stonehenge, and others were built around the movement of the sun and people still gather at these locations on the equinoxes and solstices to see these ancient marvels
• How Native Americans used the phases of the moon to monitor time
• Holidays based on the Lunar calendar
• Difference between Astronomy and Astrology
• What happened to Pluto?
• Where do meteor showers come from?

And so much more!

Did you learn to ride a bike by reading instructions? As humans, we all learn better through experience, through trial and error, and through problem solving.  Not from reading a textbook.  Each of the challenges guides kids to discover solutions through problem-solving and modeling allowing them to learn by experimenting and exploring. 

The challenges are specially curated to slowly but surely build on each other so that it pushes kids to the edge of their understanding -- everything is within their grasp.  It’s designed to be engaging while building confidence and real understanding because they are solving real problems! 

This is tough to answer - each kid and each family is different.  

On the Short End - you could go through this in six weeks.  One chapter a week, but spending 2 weeks on constellations since that chapter has both an outdoor and and indoor component.

On the Longer End - you could easily take 12 or more weeks, or even a full semester, to study the topics in this astronomy curriculum.  If you complete every challenge, go down every "detour" and complete each workbook page, there's enough content here to fill a lot of time. 

If it were me - I'd take 8-10 weeks and give us a chance to do some extra learning and take our time savoring the various ideas and challenges.

We suggest completing each challenge, but the detours and workbook pages are all optional and allow you to go deeper into various topics and ideas.  Some of the best moments in homeschool is when you can binge YouTube videos learning about something you didn't even know you wanted to know! This curriculum is built to give you the flexibility to do that without making you feel like you're "falling behind".

Great!  This is meant for beginners and veterans alike.  We start at the beginning - learning about the Earth's motion around the sun, and how that impacts what we see each day and night.  As we move through various topics, you'll find that your family is engaged and able to understand and even figure out some rather complex topics.  But you don't need to know anything before you start. 

No!  This is introduction to astronomy the way the Ancients used to do it - with your eyes!  In fact, I like to tell people this is the perfect set up to prepare you for a telescope!

This course will help your family learn to identify constellations so they can find things with their telescope in the night sky.  It will give you the basics to know where to look for planets.  You will learn about other deep-sky objects in the night sky besides planets and stars that you can look at with a telescope (and where to find them).  

So no, you don't need a telescope to go through this.  But if your family is loving their experience and wants to dive deeper, then you could buy a telescope to keep learning and discover more.