How can we do a better job homeschooling science?
Homeschooling science can get more complicated as students get older. A flexible plan, clear goals, and a great secular science curriculum can make it a little easier.
Science always seems to fall by the wayside for us. We start out strong with a different curriculum every year, but by the winter holidays, we’re months behind and barely logging any science hours. The experiments end up taking too much prep time or they’re not well organized, and the curriculum either ends up being boring or not giving enough information so that I am always having to spend way too much time tracking down resources or books. I kept thinking we’d figure it out eventually — but now we’re starting 7th grade, and science can’t keep being optional. Do you have any recommendations for finding a curriculum or a routine to make science easier?
Honestly, this is a common problem — science may be the hardest subject to pull off entirely as a homeschool class once you move past the elementary years. A good science class requires two things: information, which homeschoolers have in spades; and the ability to test that information with critical thinking. This is where things get hard: Even if a homeschool parent has a strong science background, running a science lab in your laundry room can be challenging.
The easiest way to solve this is with strategic outsourcing. If you have a homeschool coop with a science lab or — for high school students — an accessible dual enrollment program at a convenient college, in-person science with a small group is the ideal learning environment. If in-person classes aren’t available, Next Level Homeschool has solid science classes for middle and high school. For older homeschoolers, I always recommend spending your budget first on the subject your kid is most excited about and second on science classes with a lab component.
If you’re committed to finding a curriculum to use at home, I recommend focusing on one subject at a time — you probably will not find one good curriculum creator that includes great at-home biology, great at-home chemistry, and great at-home physics, so you will likely need to shop around. You might look at the options at Conceptual Academy, which are video-centric and designed by science educators but allow students to work at their own pace. They’re similar to classes you’d get in traditional schools, but you can supplement with fun readings and activities to keep things interesting. Similarly, Oak Meadow offers major middle and high school science classes in a traditional school format, with all supplies included. If you love Real Science Odyssey, Blair Lee has shared tips at SEA Homeschooler conferences for expanding these curriculum into high school-level spines.
As far as finding a routine that works goes, start with science your next academic year. In other words, start your homeschool year with just science, doing a little every day, and gradually adding the other subjects for the year around your science classes. It may not come naturally to your existing routine, but you can make it part of your homeschool rhythm.
