Creation Illustrated Pine Tree Unit Study Review
My boys love science so I was excited to be given the opportunity to review Creation Illustrated’s Pine Tree- Unit Study. We chose to do the unit study during our Spring Break as a fun learning adventure that was a little off the beaten track. These unit studies are actually geared for 5th grade and up so we tweaked ours somewhat for my 7 year old & 4 year old.
These studies are really neat and I learned a lot. First there was the access to Creation Illustrated Fall ’17 Digital Edition which is a super science magazine that is God-honoring! We read a very interesting article on Pine trees which described some of the differences in the kinds. For example some are short and scrubby and some tower up to 200 feet! Some live very short lives and some live to be thousands (yes you read that correctly!) of years old! That’s pretty incredible diversity! They also constantly referred back to the Bible with references to scripture to illustrate certain aspects of the pine. I really liked that!
There were links for several videos on pine trees and we watched them. They were quite interesting. Did you know one of the ways you identify pine trees is by the amount of needles in the sheath? Some always have 3 or 5 needles per bundle for example (the adults) and they are also a certain length. Some needles are quite short and some grow to 12 inches long! The length of pine cones also varies. The species we have in Southeast Missouri are rather small 3-5 inches long while some grow to be a whopping 24 inches, wow!
Another thing I found very interesting was the aroma of the pine trees. I love essential oils and when I read that certain people perform “forest therapy” which uses the aroma of the pine trees to soothe and heal I thought that was just another facet of our amazing God! They said the Japanese people have planted pines in their gardens for years to take advantage of this benefit. I can totally relate with this. There is nothing more peaceful or relaxing than sitting in a pine forest surrounded by these giants, the trees whispering and the lovely aroma wafting down. That’s better than any prescription!
I just wanted to mention the other study we have, but haven’t completed yet was on The Intricacies of Snow! This one looks really interesting also. This unit study utilizes the Winter ’18 Digital Edition.
The Digital issues of Creation Illustrated are beautiful, full color magazines! They are approximately 76 pages each and loaded with informative, interesting articles! They have print and online issues so no matter which media you prefer they’ve got you covered. Just a few of the articles in the Winter ’18 issue addressed sustenance living in Alaska, the bayou in Northeast Arkansas, working dogs, gardening and yummy recipes.
As you read this, the Spring ’18 issue has come out! And I’ve heard there is an upcoming butterfly unit study! I’m wanting to do that one! We just got a microscope & that would be so awesome to study them under it, using a live insect trap!
A few other features I thought I would mention are their dvd’s which include a totally awesome one called “God of Wonders“. We have this dvd and have watched it over and over! They also have many more Unit Studies which cover such topics as Black Bears, Dragonflies & Manatees.
My family and I were quite pleased with these studies & we plan on doing more! I hope you’ll check them out! They are running a special right now on their unit studies at only $6.95 each so if you want an even sweeter deal than normal, don’t delay!
Also, don’t forget to check out the other reviews at the link below!