Homeschool Science Curriculum Tips All Parents Need to Know
The thought of a homeschool Science curriculum can cause many people
to worry and be afraid that they aren’t capable of teaching it
adequately. When you think of teaching Science in the steps mentioned below, it becomes a bit more manageable.
Remember you only have to be one page ahead of your student. Once they are in 4th grade and above, they are capable of doing a lot of self-teaching.
Basically Science can be broken down into 3 main topic areas:
1. Earth Science
2. Life Science
3. Physical Science
You don’t have to learn it all in 1 year. You actually have 13 years to introduce these concepts to your child. A Kindergartener
will be introduced to some very basics concepts in these areas of
Science. You can choose 1 or 2 areas to study each year after that and
have plenty of time to dive into more in-depth areas of study. As a
child gets older they get more and more detailed in their study of these
areas, but all of this can be done when spaced out over time.
Detailed outline of what is covered in each area of Science:
Earth Science - Meteorology, Geology, Astronomy
- This includes the basic study of air and water, weather and climate,atmosphere,
solar system, water, and land.
Life Science -
Biology, Zoology, Botany
- This includes:
1. Animals and their classifications, characteristics, reproduction and environment.
2. Plants and their characteristics, relationships with animals and reproduction.
3. Human body including parts, senses, teeth, cells, skin, body systems, illness and drugs.
Physical Science -
Physical Science
, Physics,
Chemistry, Technology
- This includes force, gravity, machines, air and water as forces,
magnetism, energy, electricity, sound, matter, atoms, elements and
compounds, gasses, water, solids, electronics, engineering, flight and
the periodic table.
This hands-on approach to learning science is a wonderful
alternative for all types of students! Whether they're creative,
Kinetic, high-energy or traditional students, this course has activities
and learning opportunities for all. Chapters cover all aspects of God's
creation, including the natural world, solar system, the human body,
animals, plants, weather and more. Many activities are cut-and-paste,
with the final result being a chart, mobile, helpful illustration or
demonstration or the concept, sequential order of events or other
representation of the creativity displayed throughout the universe. The
student text contains the instructions and reproducibles; the teacher's
guide contains lessons with instructional information and answers.
Student book is 268 pages with puzzles, songs and glossary; Teachers
Manual is 128 pages with answers, CD with Bible songs, and lessons. This
can be used for 1 or 2 years of a homeschool science curriculum.
Supercharged Science can also be
used when teaching with a hands-on approach. They make it easy to get
your children interested in Science. They have videos that show you
complete science experiments right before your eyes. You can do them on
your own too, but it's wonderful to be able to have someone else do the
planning and initial experimenting.
They offer a free Science Experiment Guide. The best value is their e-Science Curriculum Program where you can access all their videos online and work at your own pace.
If you want to see some of their videos, just enter your information and view them on their website Articles: Supercharged Science also provides
lots of parent resources on their site in relation to teaching science.
Whether you are using a homeschool science curriculum or their online
program, they provide lots of fun and interesting things for your
children to learn.
Picture Books - For preschool
through the early elementary years, I believe that you can use picture
books for ALL of your homeschool science curriculum. Homeschool Science can easily be taught with picture books. This is an enjoyable method for BOTH parent AND child.
Unit Studies - Amanda Bennett is
the queen of unit studies! Why reinvent the wheel when she has already
done all the hard work for you? Here is a sample of what Amanda has
available in Science unit studies:
Simple Science suggestions you can use alone or with a homeschool science curriculum:
- Sprinkle baking soda in each sink of our house and then pour
vinegar over it to see the bubbles. It’s a fun activity to do together
and it gets my drains cleaned without damage to pipes or our lungs.
-Plant seeds indoors our outdoors.
-Draw animals and plants with your child. This helps them notice details and characteristics.
-Watch and track the weather and climate with your child.
-Explore the planets and how they rotate around the sun.
-Get books out of the library about animals and discuss what kind of characteristics they have and where they live.
-Talk about the colors of leaves that fall in Autumn.
-Walk around outside in the Spring and watch the blooms and growth of the trees and flowers.
-Talk about your body and how it works and how to take care of it.
-Talk with them about how machines can be used to get work done.
-Discuss how everything is made up of either a solid, gas or liquid.
Whether you use a prepared homeschool Science curriculum or you put
together your own Science resources, be sure to use the time you have
with your child to enjoy the world that God has created. Use the
resources available to you, but don’t make it a chore. Answer your
child’s questions about the world around them and help them create a
sense of wonder about how things work and how they were created. This
will help you the most when approaching a homeschool Science curriculum.
Once my children turn 13 or 14 I get them started on the Apologia Science series. Before that you can use Considering God's Creation or the Apologia Zoology Series mentioned above.
Science Experiments
My son and I did some fun exeriments with water that I have listed here:
Alkaline Water Experiments Video -
Testing Water for Chlorine Video -
For more information about alkaline water or the supplies I used here, you can either contact me or check the website for product information and retail prices. I have access to a 50% discount that I can share with you if you contact me.