Best Homeschool Science Curriculum – The Ultimate Guide
Best Homeschool Science Curriculum –
Science is one of those subjects that can be really hard to get a grasp on where to start with your kids. No matter what homeschool style you tend to align yourself with, figuring out the best homeschool science curriculum for your family can be a challenge.
Adding in the fact that some kids thrive with all things science related and some could pass on it all together, makes it a subject that often gets pushed aside.
My kids LOVE all things science experiment related so we tended to steer towards those activities, especially for the younger years.
Bookwork though, not as “fun”, can easily slide to the back burner. Realizing this has been a challenge for me over the years to find the best combination of learning and fun.
I’ve learned over the years that adding in quality science, even for multiple ages , doesn’t have to be so overwhelming.
Here is what I’ve found on my ongoing search for the “best homeschool science curriculum.”
Best = the one that works for YOU.
With all things homeschool the word “BEST” can be super misleading. Why? Well, best is such an objective word. What you like, I may not, and vice versa.
Also, as we homeschooling parents all know all kids learn their best in different ways. So I use the word “BEST” carefully here in this post. I do use it though because once you find what works for you & your kiddos, that’s the best!
The best homeschool science curriculum = the one that you and your kids like and actually do!
I know there have been plenty of times I start out with a grand plan using new curriculum or workbooks and we get into them and it just doesn’t fit.
I used to feel so guilty “quitting” some book and tried to force our way through but it just made me and my kids annoyed or frustrated and no one was happy.
So I learned sometimes it’s ok to quit!
Life is too darn precious to waste a moment doing something we don’t enjoy just because we think we “should”.
Same idea goes for schooling. Homeschooling is such a gift to both us as parents, and to our sweet kiddos. Enjoy it! Your kids will learn more when they’re actually happy and engaged.
Ok, enough of my rant haha, let’s get to some of my top homeschool tips for choosing the best homeschool science curriculum!
How to choose the “actual” curriculum
The Good and The Beautiful Anatomy & Space Science Curriculum
Depending on how you choose to plan your homeschool year and whether you choose to use an all in one curriculum, Abeka or The Good and The Beautiful are popular options, you will likely need some guidance on choosing what will be the best homeschool science curriculum for your kids.
Selecting a curriculum that is all planned out for you, like one of the open and go styles I just mentioned, is one option. Another is to build your own plan for science, piecing together different science resources.
Cathy Duffy Reviews is a wonderful online resource reviewing all aspects of homeschool curriculum. That is & has always been my first place I go to online when researching & considering new curriculum.
2 easy steps to choosing curriculum:
- Start with your child’s age(s) and decide if it’s a subject you want to teach all your kids at once or maybe have each child have their own specific science lessons. Science is a great subject to teach to all ages/grades levels at once, since it can be easily adjusted to different learning levels.
- I would then decide if you want to let your children’s interests lead the topics you choose to study or if you want to pick one topic to study for the entire year, say earth science.
Having these two decisions made, and knowing if you want to explore open and go types of curriculum, or customize your lessons, will make it so much easier to decide what to study with your kids.
Another thing to note, is that if you are considering joining a homeschool co-op that has group classes, science may be included.
Unit studies as an option
Themed unit studies can be customized and are easy to pull together with some great books
Unit studies are a fantastic option for studying science with your kids! As I wrote more about in this post on unit studies, they are basically a set amount of time planned to study one main topic of interest, say learning all about bees or astronomy or a particular historical person.
The difference between a unit study and just researching or learning more about one topic, is that a unit study can encompass multiple subjects like math, science, history, geography, language arts, music and/or art.
Whether you choose to do a full blown unit study, covering many subjects, including science, or plan to study one topic in science, unit studies can be a great option.
An example would be deciding to study Earth Science for the year with your kids. There are four main areas of study you could cover in a year’s unit study: geology, astronomy, meteorology and oceanography.
Breaking the year’s subject into smaller pieces makes it a ton easier to plan (ask me how I know!) your studies.
Start with my favorite homeschool resource of all time – the library! Check out all the books you can and get to planning! Again this post will give you more in-depth ideas of how to actually create a unit study.
Allowing your kids time to really explore a subject, along with hands on projects and maybe some field trips can really help science come alive! Unit studies allow just that to happen.
Experiments, projects & resources!
As I mentioned earlier, my kids love, love, love all things experiment related. Potions, slime, any kind of concoction they can get their hands on has been a steady interest in our house for years!
Science is the perfect place to let a lot of this type of learning happen. Depending on ages and what you’re studying, there are endless project and experiment ideas out there.
If you’re not using an all in one curriculum complete with experiment ideas, you will have to do a little research to get some ideas.
Here are a few of my favorite places to get ideas:
- Pinterest – need I say more ha!
- Teachers Pay Teachers – one of the first places I go for inspiration on any subject. Great printables and you’re supporting a teacher or small business ☺
- 8th grade science project ideas – there are so many fun ones here! The site also has other grade level project ideas
- Sciencefun.org – awesome resource with TONS of cool experiments & projects
- The Curious Kid’s Science Book – we must have done these experiments a million times over the years!
- Backyard Birds – so much fun for backyard bird studies! Pair with these binoculars, my youngest is rarely without these nearby!
- Bill Nye – The Science Guy! Remember him? His site has some really fantastic experiment ideas
- SciGirls – PBS kids show that my kids love! Features real girls exploring different science topics, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM with experts in that field
- National Geographic Kids – we LOVE this site! So many, fun, engaging experiments
** I WILL BE UPDATING THIS LIST WITH SOME TOP PICKS FOR OLDER CHILDREN 🙂 **
Learn to love science!
I hope these tips and ideas help inspire & encourage you to find the best fit for your homeschool science! Remember it may take a few tries, but have hope! Science can be something you can all enjoy and your kids can learn a ton doing so ☺
