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Delve into the fascinating study of our planet in this engaging and age appropriate Earth Science class! Students will begin by learning the scientific method and will apply this systematic pursuit of knowledge throughout the course. Main topics covered include the observable universe, spheres of the Earth, landforms, rocks, soil, cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen), climate, and weather. Students will gain knowledge through interactive discussions, simple hands-on experiments and demonstrations using common household items, guided activities, and reading. We will use the textbook Apologia: Exploring Creation Through Earth Science as a guide, along with additional teacher provided texts and parent provided common household items for demonstrations, labs, and projects.
Please view prerequisites and required supplies below.
Apologia: Exploring Creation Through Earth Science, ISBN: 9781946506726
Lab materials will consist of parent provided common household items and printable activity sheets. The teacher will provide a list in the summer.
Diane Stum loves learning and considers herself a life-long student. As a homeschool mom, she is surprised by how much she learns as she teaches her own children. One of her favorite parts of teaching is seeing the moment when something clicks for a student who has been struggling through a problem. Diane's background is in elementary education as she holds a B.S in elementary education, grades K-6, from Penn State University. She has experience teaching children from preschool to middle school in traditional classrooms as well as homeschool group classes and private tutoring. As an elementary educator, she is trained in all content areas.
Heather B. –
Ms. Stum was fantastic. My student learned so much. She was so patient with the kids and so much fun! 🤩
Dana –
This has been our first school year using Excelsior classes. I couldn’t be more pleased with the program, generally, and Mrs. Stum, specifically. It is clear that she is passionate about the subject matter. She is covering such a breadth of information but with her slides and activities, my son is learning, engaged, and the concepts are locking into his long-term memory. He looks forward to her class every week and is so excited to complete each assignment. She has made the assignments accessible so that my son is able to take responsibility for his own work; he isn’t asking for assistance from me trying to figure out what Mrs. Stum meant. She’s so clear in her communication and her expectations. She gives her students the tools and encouragement they need to be successful but she has also shown compassion and grace when my son was getting a handle on assignments’ due dates at the beginning of the year. Mrs. Stum is the best!
Mina –
This class is fantastic and so comprehensive. I will admit that initially, I was uncertain if this class was a good fit for my child because I did not know if my daughter was ready. Ironically, briefly looking over the book, I was also uncertain as to how the book would be comprehensive and interesting enough for a year-long science class of this type. But, Ms. Stum accomplished all of that and so much more! Ms. Stum is an AMAZING teacher. She meets the kids where they are and helps them find their joy in science. She adds to the book material with slides, information, and pictures. I am so appreciative of all of the work Ms. Stum does and can tell that she really enjoys teaching and her students. The way the class is formatted made the class so much more engaging for my daughter. In class, the students have interesting discussions, and the homework is a mix of hands-on activities, reading, and other types of work. While traveling, my daughter could not wait to share some of the earth science principles that she observed. Ms. Stum was so kind and welcoming of my daughter\\’s sharing. She was also so responsive to questions that I had and very available to both my daughter and I when my child needed to take a little more time to finish an assignment. I would highly recommend this science class and Ms. Stum. I personally hope that she will be teaching other science classes that my child can take in the near future. When I asked my daughter about her feelings related to this class, she said that it is a lot of fun, that she has learned so much, and that she loves her.
S. –
My daughter raves about Mrs. Stum. Math and Science are some of her favorite subjects, due in large part to Mrs. Stum. She makes the subjects interesting.
Aubrey –
This is my son’s favorite class! Mrs. Stum does a wonderful job with easy hands on projects that make the material exciting and fun!
Jennifer –
This was a wonderful course that my daughter absolutely loved. She learned so much and looked forward to class every week. The material is interesting and they covered a lot of topics with fun activities to apply the concepts. Mrs. Stum is fantastic and really enhanced my daughter’s love for science and made the learning fun. Hoping to have more classes with Mrs. Stum next year!
Duffyls –
My son took this class his first year with Excelsior classes. He enjoyed the teacher and class very much and he learned a lot. The teacher was very encouraging and motivated my child to learn because she was passionate about science. She always took time to give him personalized feedback as well. My daughter is looking forward to taking this class with Ms. Stum next year.
Thankful –
This was a fantastic course with a wonderful teacher and my daughter learned so much! Throughout the year I enjoyed seeing the variety of assignments and topics covered. After the class had ended we vacationed in a national park. My daughter shared all sorts of interesting facts with us about what we were seeing around us- thanks to Mrs. Stum! I was so glad to see that the things she learned stuck with her beyond the school year. I plan to enroll my younger child in this class in future.