Review of Intro to EM Book by Griffiths

Introduction to Electrodynamics is a great course in electromagnetism written by great David J. Griffiths. He writes about electromagnetism in a concise, easy style, and, as a rule, tries to create a physical picture of the ideas explored before delving into the underlying mathematics used to describe them. The discussion is accompanied by many examples and exercises that definitely help the readers apply the material they've learned. This textbook is definitely counts as one of the really good ones when it comes to beginner introductions to electrodynamics and will serve as a great reference for years to come.

This textbook presumes that the reader has knowledge of elementary calculus, but introduces to the reader the ideas of vector analysis which form the necessary mathematical background to learn from most of the book. This is the most well-received introductory textbook on electricity and magnetism, and has won that eminence by being an uncomplicated, educational and thorough introduction to topic. The introduction to the mathematics is extremely useful, not only for applying the physics but also for learning applied mathematics and for learning other branches of physics and understanding the basis of the mathematics used. This introduction actually does a better job of explaining vector mathematics than most other textbooks used in undergraduate calculus studies - those specifically written for this subject - that's how clear Griffiths is!

Just Started Our First Lap Book!

Recently, I was introduced to Lap Books. I'd never heard of them before, but I was intrigued, so I went to the "In the Hands of a Child" website and took a look around. They have a bunch of different lap books in a huge number of categories.

My daughter is in 3rd grade and absolutely loves Voyage of the Dawn Treader. So I thought the first lap book to try should be one on this awesome book by C.S. Lewis. She starts book reports this year and I thought it would be fun to do something a little different than the "normal" book report.

I remember loving reading books for school, but I always dreaded the required book report at the end! It was tedious to me, having to spit out in my own words the story I had just read. So I wanted to do something more fun with my daughter, so that she would continue her love for reading without it being squelched by the "looming" book report!

She just finished her first day, which was to read a biography on the author and to learn a few vocabulary words. At first, she protested when she heard that she would have to read about the author, instead of getting into the first chapter of the book right away. But I gently coaxed her by telling her that she was going to learn a little bit about the person who wrote the book so that she could appreciate the book even more.

After she finished reading the biography, I asked her what she had learned. With a sparkle in her eye, she listed off a dozen things about C.S. Lewis! Now, normally when I tell her to write about what she has learned, she gives me a whine about how she "can't" do THAT! But this time she was eager to write down what she had learned. Maybe it was because what she was writing on was not the same old, same old white writing paper that she normally uses. This time it was a brightly colored cut-out in the shape of a miniature book. It's amazing how a little thing like that can be a motivator!

The vocabulary words also became a joy, when she saw that she would be "making" something out of them. She was so excited about her first day with the lap book, that she couldn't wait to tell her daddy about it!

I have high hopes for the rest of the book report, too. Each day has a new activity to do that really encourages and involved the child in what they are learning.

If you have never tried a lap book, I highly recommend it. They aren't expensive, and you can even download them as e-books immediately!

If you have tried lap books, please leave a comment with your experiences!

I am a stay at home mother of five children. I love homechooling my children and teaching them to live healthy lives. I enjoy staying healthy and fit and love helping others to do the same!