Homeschool Curriculum Review: Greg Landry Homeschool Science {Marine Science}

I was paid a wee bit to write this review, but just like with all things from The WOLFe Pack, what you will find here is an honest opinion from a seasoned homeschool mom with a Master’s Degree in Education and a decade of experience in the classroom…who also happens to be a mom with way too little sleep, too much fluff and only 18 months left on her homeschool clock.

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GREG LANDRY HOMESCHOOL SCIENCE: MARINE SCIENCE

Though I was so excited to be offered the chance to review two courses from Greg Landry Homeschool Science, I had a bit of a hard time choosing which two to review! With my teenager staring down the need to take the ACT, I knew I wanted to review the ACT Prep course. But it was hard to narrow down the science and math options… there were simply too many great options from which to choose!

But, I finally chose Marine Science and I am so glad I did! It was amazingly well-done from so many perspectives. From the quality of the covered material to the format in which it was presented to the beauty of the printable pages and the rigor of the study skills woven in, the entire class was amazing!

Read on for a full review!

And, if that is not enough, it also teaches students how to take notes and get prepped for tests!

In his very first lecture {lecture, by the way, is a rather dry word to describe his lively recorded lessons,) he tells a story about his first day of college and how he started off uber-excited but then how it ended nearly in tears. All because he could not keep up with what was happening in class. And that’s what drove him to develop a note-taking strategy that served him well throughout his college classes. As much as my son enjoyed learning about Marine Science, I’m more grateful that Mr. Landry taught him how to take notes in this interesting and engaging way.

These types of things may sound trivial or inconsequential, but I fully agree with Mr. Landry that students need to know how to take notes in order to learn. It’s an invaluable skill that can make or break their college careers and also be used for a lifetime. And, whether we like it or not, good test-taking skills are necessary to get into and succeed in college.

WHO SHOULD TAKE GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE?

This course was designed for 6th-12th grade students. This course works well for high school students who are in need of a half credit of science and for the student who has taken the standard classes (biology, physics, chemistry) but who wants to add more science to their transcript.

HOW IS GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE FORMATTED?

Marine Science is presented in a clear, simple manner. Mr. Landry uses Canvas, which is considered a top-notch educational platform and is used for thousands of different types of classes including homeschool, private/public and college. My son has used Canvas for other classes and has always found it very easy to navigate. {We have also used other online platforms which did NOT work well. So, take it from me, Canvas is a great option!}

The entire class is laid out on one page in Canvas with easy to understand sections: Study Guide links and Class Recording links.

And every piece of the Study Guide is clearly labeled so students know exactly which section they are studying and which Class Recording to watch.

Mr. Landry even does a phenomenal job of consistently labeling each page of the Study Guide. Again, this might seem trivial, but believe me…when you are printing things off and your teen is trying to keep his classes organized, if a teacher has failed to label pages, it can get confusing, messy and annoying.

And every image he includes (in both the Study Guide and during the Class Recording) is colorful and high-quality. I don’t know if he created them all himself, but the styling is not only visually appealing, it lends itself to cementing the information in a student’s mind.

During the pre-recorded classes, Mr. Landry will show slides and mark on them as he explains additional information. This dynamic approach not only brings the material to life, but it also encourages their own detailed note-taking.

The Class Recordings are about 45-50 minutes in length and include Mr. Landry sharing his wealth of knowledge in an engaging manner. You can both see and hear him at the same time (some online classes do not show the teacher which results in a weird, disconnected relaying of the information) while simultaneously being able to see the slide he is presenting.

DOES GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE QUALIFY FOR HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT?

Yes! This class includes enough content for .5 science credit.

WHAT IS COVERED IN GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE?

There are 12 units included in Marine Science.

• 1 Introduction to Marine Science, Note-Taking, Studying, & Test Taking
• 2 The Metric System, Measurement, Statistics, Accuracy, & Precision
• 3 The Scientific Method, Lab Reports, & Graphing
• 4 Navigation, Latitude, Longitude, Prime Meridian, & International Date Line
• 5 Tides, Waves, & Currents
• 6 Marine Ecosystems
• 7 Marine Plants, Algae, & Invertebrates
• 8 Fish
• 9 Marine Mammals, Reptiles, & Birds
• 10 Water, Density, Pressure, Boats, & Buoyancy
• 11 Ocean Geology & Climate
• 12 Sea Mysteries, Sunken Treasure, & Boat Life

HOW MUCH DOES GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE COST?

$120 includes everything for the class except the optional adult/teen marine biology coloring book ($13 on Amazon.)

WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER GREG LANDRY’S MARINE SCIENCE?

• It allows you to outsource a higher-level science course with confidence. You do not, I repeat DO NOT, need to do it all. Homeschooling does not mean you need to teach every subject to every one of your students every single day. You just need to manage the process. So, outsource when you can!
• The course is self-paced. This makes it easy for your student to plan around and fit into his/her busy schedule.
• Every aspect of the course is high-quality. I cannot reiterate this enough. One of my biggest homeschool mistakes was signing my son up for a very expensive online Spanish class that was poorly organized and horribly executed by a teacher with unclear, inconsistent communication. It was a disaster. Marine Science was the polar opposite of that disastrous class!
• The course includes invaluable aspects beyond the course material. The note-taking strategies and the test-taking tips are worth a very pretty penny in my opinion.
• You can get direct help from Mr. Landry. You can email him directly or message him through Canvas. These options are not always available, even for live classes.
• Mr. Landry has big goals for your student! He is not trying to just teach your kid about Marine Science.

I will conclude by saying that I wish we had found Greg Landry’s Homeschool Science courses much sooner. Though we have been extremely pleased with our live, online Apologia Chemistry and Physics classes with Mr. Dan, I would have loved to have used Mr. Landry for some of the upper elementary and middle school classes. And, I am strongly considering signing my son up for Mr. Landry’s Human Anatomy & Physiology live class for my son’s senior year.

You may also enjoy reading my review of Greg Landry’s ACT Prep course!