Topical Areas

103 Top Pick for homeschool curriculum by cathy duffyIndicates that the item was selected as one of Cathy’s 103 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

    Animals, Birds, and Insects

    Human Body and Health Education

    Study of the human body and health education go hand in hand so I've listed these resources together in this section. Many of the standard health texts published for government schools are either objectionable or a waste of time for homeschoolers. We should be training our children to care for their bodies with good health habits, good nutrition, and proper exercise without a health curriculum directing us. If we do in-depth study of the human body, we will very naturally learn about some good health habits as we learn how the human body functions and the problems we encounter when we mistreat it.

    While I'm not excited about health textbooks, as you can tell, some texts and other resources can point out topics we might wish to cover and help us focus on particular areas.

    Note that A Beka's health textbooks are designed to be used along with another science text to make up a complete science course in most of the elementary grade levels.

    Plants

    Biology and Life Science

    Physics and Chemistry

    Earth and Space Science

    Technology

    Nature Study

    Science Web Links

    • 5 STEM Lesson Plans to Teach Forces of Motion

      Five free lesson plans provide instructions for a balloon car; a paper roller coaster; a two-stage balloon rocket; parachutes made from tissue paper; and homemade cars that are used to learn about force, mass, and acceleration.

    • 84 easy science lessons you can do at home

      This page posted by Darren Bagley of Michigan State University Extension has some great ideas that are simple to use, especially if you're new to homeschooling or are trying to interest children in science.

    • Common Sense Education

      Common Sense Education has a section titled Ed Tech Ratings & Reviews that hosts teacher reviews and ratings for online games, websites, and apps. The site is free with no registration required.

    • Free (mostly) online STEM resources

      Baylor University's online education department has posted a page with some great (mostly) free, online STEM education resources. Go to “How to Identify Effective STEM Activities for Children” and scroll down to "Nine Quality STEM Resources Online."

    • Geoscience Teaching Resources

      Free activities from national parks for teaching geology.

    • Innerbody Explorer

      The Innerbody Explorer is a free, interactive tool for exploring 12 different body systems. Viewers who want more detail can click to focus in on parts of the detailed images, and they can read descriptions at each level of detail.

    • MIT OpenCourseWare free AP test prep

      MIT OpenCourseWare has free AP test prep for Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

    • Online Learning Fun With Physics

      At Online Learning Fun With Physics, Maryville University has groups of links to other educational websites (free) with topical lesson material and/or videos on physics topics under the headings Motion, Heat and Thermodynamics, Light, Electricity and Magnetism, and Gravity. 

    • Python Essentials kit

      The Python Essentials kit teaches the fundamentals of Python using real-world projects. This is a self-paced interactive platform for ages 13 through 17. It should be great for those just beginning to learn Python. It should take about 8 hours to complete.

    • ScienceBob.com
      The ScienceBob.com website has free videos and instructions for impressive and fun experiments such as building a rideable hovercraft and growing crystals on eggshells.
    • Sky Lights Blog

      Dan Heim hosts a weekly blog (advertisement free!) that should be helpful to homeschoolers at junior high level and above. Topics addressed are generally from astronomy, meteorology, and earth science, often determined by current events. Search "Browse All Posts" for brief interesting coverage of many topics, often with links to vetted sites.

    • www.HookedOnScience.org

      www.HookedOnScience.org is the website of noted science teacher Jason Lindsey that features a huge archive of relatively simple experiments for free.

    • www.teachwithmovies.org - Science
      www.teachwithmovies.org provides free detailed lesson plans for various science topics that use clips from videos. You need to obtain the videos yourself. It also lists feature films that relate to science topics but with no lesson plans.

    Core Curricula

    Teaching Textbooks
    CTC Math
    Heart of Dakota
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    Popular Reviews: Science

    Note: Publishers, authors, and service providers never pay to be reviewed. They do provide free review copies or online access to programs for review purposes.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."