Will Your Child Be a Casualty of a Broken Education System?
- 68% of 8th graders can’t read at grade level, and most will never catch up
- 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year
- 44% of dropouts under age 24 are jobless
These are frightening statistics for a parent to see. Every day, you watch your child come home from school with a mountain of homework. They spend hours doing the work, but it’s all “teaching to the test” – they repeat, and they memorize, but they don’t learn, and they don’t understand.
Dear Fellow Parent,
My name is Elva O’Sullivan, and I’m the proud mother of Loghlen, age 11 Luke, age 9, and Leah, age 8. I’m also a Chemistry PhD, and my husband Scott Rickard is a professor of Mathematics. We both love our children (what parent doesn’t?), and, and it is important to us to share with them our passion for science and learning.
Children don’t come with instruction manuals, and we were as lost as any parents are with their first child. When, at the age of 3, Loghlen would say “play with me, play with me”, I didn’t know what to do – after all, I’m a chemist!
So I made up little experiments to do with my son, and he loved them. Soon, his pleas of “play with me, play with me” changed to “experiment, experiment!”
One day, a mother at my son’s Montessori school overheard my son asking for experiments. She asked what that was about, I explained the whole thing, and she asked if I would be interested in teaching an after-school science program. All of the parents were looking for fun science activities to do with their children at home – experiments that the kids could do themselves, and activities to get them thinking. Except that their options seemed limited and dumbed-down. Face it, how many baking soda volcanos can you make?
I was excited, and said that I would do it!
Then I went home, and talked it over with my husband. He asked me when I was going to find the time, and I realized that I didn’t have the time to do this; I was involved with another project at the time, and there was already too much on my plate.
So the next day, I told the other mother that I wouldn’t be able to do it after all.
35 parents had already signed up!
That’s right – she told me that 35 parents had already signed up, and that I just had to do it.
I told her that I was sorry, but I just couldn’t – I didn’t have the time.
She said I was crazy; in just one day, 35 parents had each paid $200 for me to teach the program – how could I walk away from it?
Well, I actually did walk away from it, but I couldn’t sleep that night, and the next day I went back to her and said that I would do it.
My husband agreed to help me with it, and we were off to the races. As teachers and scientists, my husband and I loved the idea of putting our professional skills to work for a new audience. And as parents, we jumped at the challenge of developing a sophisticated science program for elementary-school aged children.
We decided not to hold back and over-simplify the program. Children are used to extracting knowledge and making their own sense out of what they see and hear. As parents and educators, it’s not our job to say that a child is too young to understand something. This became the principal philosophy of ScienceWithMe!® – the premise that kids, when put in the right environment and asked the right questions, are smart enough to figure things out for themselves.
We developed a program that mentally stretches kids, builds scientific confidence, and – most importantly – gets kids excited about science at an early age.
We piloted ScienceWithMe!® in 2003 at the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, New Jersey. The experiment was a success; the program’s number one customers – the kids – loved it!
We opened the program to the public, but with a twist…
The program was then opened to the public, but with a twist: unlike other science programs for children, the kids were the lead scientists, and the adults were the assistants.
The program was incredibly successful – the kids learned about science, and they enjoyed learning about science. The parents had a great time, too, and they loved seeing their kids get so excited about science!
That’s when we realized that we had a winning idea on our hands.
We wanted to share it with as many parents as possible, but we couldn’t do it in the form of a classroom program – we didn’t want to navigate the bureaucracy of the educational system, and either way, there are only two of us, and way more frustrated kids and parents out there than we could teach.
There weren’t any entertaining and age-appropriate animations about science for kids, and we realized that we could turn our successful program into a series of such animations. That’s how the ScienceWithMe!® series was born.
The ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle
We developed the ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle to teach science to children, and get them comfortable with scientific vocabulary, without boring them to tears, or turning them off to science for life.
The bundle includes over a dozen animations teaching science in a way that is fun, exciting, and keeps your child eager for more. Topics covered include:
- Sore Eye - When little sister’s eye gets banged up during a soccer game, a trip to the hospital becomes an easy and engaging learning exercise… with the blink of an eye, your kids will know how their eyes work!
- Five Senses - Interested in learning about the body’s senses? Have your kids learn how we hear, see, smell, taste, and touch with this wonderful and classic activity.
- Esther the Earthworm - Esther the Earthworm is nearly “worm-napped” by two mischievous boys who attempt to capture her and put her in a jam jar! Yikes! As Esther tries to escape she tells us all about her wormy body parts and the role of earthworms in soil irrigation. Find out what happens to Esther!
- The Heart - The heart himself shows us how he works! It’s really lively and entertaining so kids won’t even realize they are learning about a complex subject. They’ll be ready to go to med school after this – a perfect introduction to the human heart for young children and middle-schoolers too!
- Lord Glucose (The Respiratory System) - Lord Glucose, Lady Oxygen and their three kids, Water, Carbon Dioxide and Energy proudly explain their contribution to human respiration. Lord Glucose, who goes to great lengths to point how important he is, also explains how he (Glucose) is made when we eat food and then turned into energy!
- Sound - A little boy explains the physics of sound. How we hear is definitely not as boring as it sounds! Another fun creation by Science With Me! After kids watch this animation they’ll know what is really happening to their ears when Mom or Dad tells them “it’s time for bed!”
- Stanley the Skeleton - Learn all about the human skeleton with the very spooky “Stanley the Skeleton”. This is not just for Halloween, and is actually a ScienceWithMe! favorite all year round. Watch as your kids’ light up and squeal with delight “Play it again Stanley!” over and over! (Check out the preview:)
- The King (Learn about SI units) - How do we measure stuff like length or heat? How did we decide that weight should be kilograms? Or that time should be measured in seconds? A wise old king tells his subjects how he has decided to have a “uniform system” of measurement (SI Units) so everybody is on the same page! What a clever king!
- Steam Engines - A steam engine explains how he converts fuel and water into steam and then into different types of energy. There are different kinds of energy? Let this little steam engine teach your kids all about potential energy, heat energy, chemical energy and kinetic energy. Little boys (and girls) who like trains will absolutely love this animation from Science With Me!
- Honey Bee - Two rapper Honey Bee’s, Herman and Fred, sing and rhythm about life as a Honey Bee. Learn about the Honey Bee’s Life Cycle, their anatomy and how bees make honey. This is a colorful, cool and engaging activity for children. (Check out the preview:)
- Skin - This entertaining creation from Science With Me! teaches kids about the body’s largest organ…the skin! A young scientist learns about his three layers of skin and how they keep everything together!
- Joints - How does the knee work? What makes your elbow bend? A little boy learns how his joints prevent him from becoming a lump of jelly. Your children will laugh as they learn about bones, ligaments and muscles.
- Blood - Using bright colors, amazing illustrations, zany animations and simple explanations, your kids will learn about a complex and important subject… The Blood! Your kids will be so engaged watching this animation they won’t even realize they are learning about their blood! They’ll be sounding like a medical doctor in no time! (Check out the preview:)
- Flutter – This beautiful animation teaches children about the entire inspiring life cycle of the butterfly. A classic!
Everything is taught in a fun, entertaining format through music, rhymes, and games. Each animation comes with a sing-along storybook, a coloring book, and a science song.
It’s easy and fun for your child to navigate through the activities, have a blast learning and playing, while you support them along the way.
All of the content is designed to be supplementary, and accessible to kids at all ages. I started developing the material when Loghlen was 3 and it appealed to him then. He is now 11, nearly 12 and it still appeals to him and he still learns!
I want it, and so do my kids – give me the bundle!
What Parents and Children Are Saying
The program is great, and kids love it. Don’t take our word for it – see for yourself what parents and children are saying:
“Great site! My son can’t wait to log on each day. www.sciencewithme.com — It’s our homepage!”
– J. Molnar, Yardley, Pennsylvania
“When I have a question for my Science homework I always go to Science With Me!® to find the answer. It’s a great science site!”
– Grace Doyle (age 12), Dublin, Ireland
“Thanks so much! We have watched the animations all morning!”
– Martha King, Aurora, Colorado
“Awesome worksheets!!!!!”
– Kerri Yatsevich, East Hampstead, New Hampshire
“Thank you for a wonderful website!”
– Lisa Sawtelle, Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Love your website.”
– Al Surdo, St. Paul, Minnesota
“Thank you for providing fun experiments for children and families to enjoy together!!!”
– Rhonda Miller, Davis, California
“Your web site is an excellent educational resource. My girls really enjoy watching your animations over and over again. I believe early exposure to science in such a fun and friendly way will alleviate any future fear of science for them. Thank You Science With Me!®”
– Teresa Weller, Hamilton, N.J.
“Science With Me!® provides great exposure to scientific terms and concepts that they will hear in later years…It has helped my kids (age 5 and 7) become much more comfortable with science. They don’t fear it at all. Thank you Science With Me!®”
– Toni Dedrick, Montgomery, New Jersey
“It’s like Wikipedia but it’s for Science. Cool site!”
– David O’Brien (age 11), Dublin, Ireland
“Most science websites make science seem boring and hard. I think Science With Me!® makes science easy and fun.”
– Loghlen Rickard, Age 10, Miami, FL (His Mom is the founder of Science With Me! so he is a little biased J)
I want to see my kids get this excited – I’m ready to get started!
BONUS: Tavish McTiny’s Alphabetical Anatomical Adventure
We went farther than just creating the Activities Bundle – we also created a massive digital storybook that teaches real-life anatomy to children.
The book comes with a worksheet that children can use to mark off the anatomy that they learn as they work their way through the book.
We initially intended to sell this as a separate product, but we decided to give it to you as a special bonus to the Activities Bundle instead.
Only $54 for the Entire Bundle
We wanted to this to be accessible to every parent and child, so we made the price as low as we possibly could.
Only $54 – that’s it, that’s all.
You get the whole ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle, and you get it for less than the price of a couple of hard-back coloring books.
(Note: teachers who purchase a license can use it with their entire class, but entire schools, school boards or school districts require an institutional license – contact us for details).
Besides, remember the MasterCard commercials? This many dollars for the sandals, and that many dollars for the sunscreen, but the beach vacation is priceless?
The Activities Bundle is the same way. The deal for the content is great, but what you’re really paying for is science education that your children will love – that’s priceless.
Speaking of which…
Our “Happy Child” Guarantee
We know from experience that your kids are going to love the bundle, and that you’re going love watching them.
If you’re anything less than thrilled with your child’s learning and enjoyment from the ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle, then just email us and let us know within 30 days of your purchase. We’ll refund your money, no questions asked.
Okay, I’m sold! I want to see how excited my child will be with the ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle!
Remember, you’ll get the full Activities Bundle (animations, coloring books, storybooks, and songs), the Tavish McTiny bonus storybook, and you’re protected by our no-questions-asked “happy child” guarantee.
So get the bundle today – we’re thrilled to contribute to your child’s science education!
Best regards,
Dr. Elva O’Sullivan and Dr. Scott Rickard
Founders of ScienceWithMe!®
P.S. At the end of the day, you’re parents, and so are we. You want the best for your children, and so do we. Give us a chance to prove it to you. Get the ScienceWithMe!® Activities Bundle – we promise your child will thank you!
I’m sold – give me the Activities Bundle!
