Homeschool Science: a doable plan

Bringing wonder and beauty into the homeschool

The two subjects most often avoided in the homeschool classroom are science and art. They get a bad rap because of the obvious preparation and supply challenges not to mention the messes they create in an already challenging homeschool day. I get it!

But, there’s a piece of the homeschool missing if you aren’t making space for these beautiful hands-on subjects. Today we will focus on science. I’ll share with you my art resources soon!

Photo by Clint Patterson on Unsplash (Not my kid, but we all cringe at the mess he’s making and then realize the genius - the mess is in a cookie sheet!)

Let’s start with why Science is awesome.

I used to say that I didn’t like science. But what I didn’t like was science taught inside of a beige room with florescent lights, no windows, and a textbook that made all God’s created wonders as interesting as a pencil that had no connection to anything outside said room of doom.

But! I love God’s creation! I love how as we study His world, we see that everything He made points to how God ordered the universe and His love for beauty. When we study science, we are really learning more about God! But the thing about science is it’s not just in a book, though books are helpful for introducing ideas and telling us stories, the study of science is experimenting, playing with, and experiencing the laws God put into place to order His world. And this knowledge is quickly being lost as technology takes us further and further away from nature.

1. Science gets kids to use their bodies to discover God’s world - Experiments and hands on experiences are worth the effort because as our children learn and grow, we want them to have access to the heritage that is theirs for the taking! Corn on the stalk, beans sprouting from the ground, a flame burning, water tension holding up a pin… all of these wonders are seen and experienced for the first time or not at all and that depends entirely on us.

2. Science teaches kids to pay attention to the details - Attention disorders seem to be a rising problem, but one way to cultivate attention is to give our children things that are interesting and worthy of their thoughts and study. Children are naturally curious, we just need to point out some worthy things for them to wonder over.

So the key here with science is the hands-on experience. But, the thing your looking for is to maintain your sanity and find a way to have fun AND not blow up the house.

Here are some resources for hands-on science:

Sabbath Mood Homeschool- Living lesson plans from a Charlotte Mason mom who really gets our homeschool science needs. Form 2 is best done with your children side by side. But Forms 3 and higher are designed so that they can do the experiments on their own, you just need to get the supplies and offer accountability by either sitting with them for the experiment or seeing a demonstration afterwards. I don’t know where we’d be without these guides!

Homeschool Science Tools- The place to get any science supply you can think of. They have kits that make life easier

Electronics for Kids- This is a book but the kit that goes with the book is available on the Jameco website here. Here’s a link to the book.

Noeo Science - An open and go science curriculum. It’s really what I want - all in one box. Please and thank you.

Magnet Kit - This kit goes with the book recommended for Magnet study with Sabbath Mood. The book makes this kit come to life!

These resources should get you started. Now, at the core of every science lesson is a child who is regularly exploring nature and keeps a notebook of some sort to keep track of discoveries. If you want to be effective with your Nature Study work, check out my Nature Study Hacking Guides. Learn how to get outside and use those lovely nature journals.

Happy exploring!

I’d love to know; do you have a science resource you love? Please share in the comments!