New parents in our homeschool group often ask for suggestions for science curriculum for younger students. Most start off looking for a boxed curriculum. Ultimately, many realize that a mix and match approach with an eye towards exploration and discovery is best. Here are my recommended five strategies to teach elementary homeschool science.
- Do experiments that work
- Observe nature
- Take field trips
- Cook
- Read
Do Experiments That Work
Well, this seems obvious. But there are a lot of disappointing kits and instructions out there. Product photos and descriptions promise great physical proof of scientific concepts, but you often find that, at home, results may vary… significantly. It’s a challenge to find project kits that are worth your time and money.
Do your research. Cathy Duffy Reviews is always a good resource. An even better source is other homeschoolers. Ask around and see what people are using. Find out what they like and why they like it. Then, choose items you think would spark your child’s interest.
Here are two that we enjoyed:
- Home Science Adventures We particularly liked the Astronomy, Birds, and Magnetism kit. The kit contains simple experiments that work and comes with everything you need. (I do see that the price has gone up significantly since I purchased it.)
- Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics (Apologia) This is a great pick for upper elementary students. It’s filled with experiments that work extremely well (like the smoke bomb). I purchased the experiment supplies on my own and did not purchase the student journal. The Apologia books do include a Christian creationist perspective. You can use this for discussion or skip past it if you prefer to focus on the experiments and accompanying information.
What else? My kids went through a stage when we purchased vinegar and baking soda in bulk so they could play endlessly with this reaction. Other families produce copious amounts of slime with a variety of simple recipes. And, of course, there are plenty of Youtube channels devoted exclusively to science demos for kids. Some of these are wildly popular and worth checking out for things you can’t or don’t want to try at home.
Observe Nature
Some of the best science demonstrations are right outside your door. All you need to do is make a conscious effort to recognize all that’s amazing in our natural world. Here’s a list of ideas to get you going:
- Watch the weather.
- Garden.
- Go on hikes.
- Attend ranger programs at local parks and nature centers.
- Visit a farm.
- Get a bug vacuum or magnifying boxes.
- Get nets to scoop up minnows, frogs, and crayfish.
- Learn about all the birds and wild animals that live in your community.
Get out and discover everything in your area and beyond. It’s up to you to decide what to do with the information. You can have your children draw, journal, or make charts to record observations, but learning can occur just as well with simple discussions.
Take Field Trips
Keep an eye out for the science you can learn in a variety of settings. In no particular order, here’s a sampling of field trips we’ve done that helped us understand science in the ‘real’ world.
- Aerospace Museum
- Zoo
- Natural Science Museum
- Bureau of Reclamation Lab
- Wildlife Rescue Organization
- Bronze Foundry
- Ornithology Monitoring Station
- Earth System Monitoring Lab
- Geology Museum
- Ice Core Lab
- Cave Tour
- Water Bottling Plant
- Water Treatment Center
- Recycling Center
- Fossil Tour
- …and many more.
We’re lucky to live in an area with many museums, universities, research labs, and businesses. But I guarantee there’s science to be found no matter where you live. Dig deep and you’ll discover all sorts of amazing learning experiences.
Cook
Recipes are basically instructions for science experiments in the kitchen. Bonus – you get to eat them when they turn out.
Start with simple recipes that your children enjoy. You don’t necessarily need to cover the scientific reactions. Your children will learn to follow step-by-step instructions, a great skill for lab work in the high school years and beyond.
After they get comfortable in the kitchen, give them free rein to create their own recipes. Yes, you might have some poor results. I know this for a fact. One of my children created a recipe for chocolate cookies that slid off the pan and baked (burned) on the bottom of the oven. It made a huge mess, but he changed his recipe and still makes the final version of those cookies today.
Read
You can find books on nearly anything science-related at the library. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, you can request books through inter-library loans. Just a few of your options include:
- Topic specific books (e.g. lizards, volcanoes, geology, etc.)
- Biographies of scientists and inventors
- Fact Books with lists of ‘Amazing but True’ type information related to animals and the natural world.
- How to Science Experiments
Also, despite the fact that we live in a digital age, young children still enjoy magazine subscriptions like Ranger Rick.
Exploring and Appreciating Science
When your children get to high school, they’ll need to learn specific information in subjects like Earth Science, Biology, and Chemistry and complete the accompanying lab work. For now, help them explore and appreciate all that science entails.
You may decide to follow a specific curriculum. Or not. Either way, these five strategies to teach elementary homeschool science will help you establish a great foundation for further learning.
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