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How To Teach Science Without A Curriculum

We don't use a store bought science curriculum in our homeschool, instead I sit down with my daughter before a new school year begins and ask her what science topics she would like to learn about that year. This year she asked to learn about the human body, plants, and microscopes. Instead of just ordering a premade curriculum, I like to build my own to tailor suit my daughter's interests and needs. And believe it or not, it's really not that difficult. In this post I will share how I build my own science curriculum and what resources I use.

#thebarefootmom


Getting Started

I usually start by searching Amazon for a good science kit on whatever topic I'm working on. For our human body unit this year I ordered The Magic School Bus: Journey Into The Human Body kit. We've used several of their kits before and they make an excellent base for building a science curriculum around. There are lots of other companies out there with great science kits too. I just recommend reading lots of reviews before choosing one.

 If I can't find a good science kit for a topic, which is rare but occasionally happens, I scour Pinterest for experiments and activities that fit the topic. Pinterest has so many awesome ideas!


Building Your Curriculum

Once I have some base experiments and activities planned, I search for additional resources to go along with each experiment or activity.

 For our human body unit, I found a YouTube series for kids about the human body and it's systems. We're going to watch each video as we cover that body system.

 I also found printable worksheets to go along with each body system. There's a label the dancing skeleton worksheet, a worksheet about a few of the major muscles, a worksheet about the heart, and a label the parts of the digestive tract worksheet.

 We also plan on visiting the public library as we cover each body system to find books to read about that system.


My Favorite Resources


The Public Library- Your local library is an awesome resource, use it! We go weekly for new books on what ever topic we happen to be covering.

 There are always lots of books and magazines on science topics at the library. Some books have experiment ideas too.

 Pinterest- Pinterest is easy to use and has so many awesome science experiment and activity ideas. Check out The Barefoot Mom on Pinterest, I share lots of fun science ideas.

 YouTube- There are lots of great science videos for kids on YouTube. I can usually find several good videos on any given topic.

 A few of our favorite science YouTube channels are:
-SciShowKids
-SciShow
-NatGeoKids
-Peekaboo Kidz
-How Stuff Works

 Printables- I can often find free or cheap printable worksheets and activity sheets to go along with our science topics online. Just a quick google search for something like "printable digestive system worksheets" yields lots of results.

 Websites- There are lots of great science websites designed for kids out there for general research and information.

 A few of my favorites are:
 -Ducksters
-NatGeoKids
-How Stuff Works

 Science Kits- Like I mentioned before, finding a good science kit on the topic your covering is a great way to get started building your own science curriculum and takes a lot of work out of it.

 Here's a few of our favorite science kit series:
-The Magic School Bus Science Kits
-The Young Scientists Club
-National Geographic STEM Toys
-EEME (electrical and mechanical engineering kits for kids)

Putting It All Together

Once I have enough resources gathered, I organize it all into subtopics and break it up into individual lessons.

 So for our human body unit, the science kit I ordered starts with a few activities about the human skeletal system, so we'll be starting with that sub topic. We'll be starting with an experiment about what bones are made of. Our next lesson will include a YouTube video about what bones are made of and looking at a section of bone under the microscope. The next couple of lessons will be about the names of major bones and will include an experiment and a sticker book page activity from our science kit, a label the bones worksheet, and a video about the bones of the body. Then we'll move onto the muscular system and so on.
If you enjoyed this post, check out:
-Rainbow Science

-Math Outside The Classroom



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Comments

  1. Kristen of A Mom's Quest to TeachAugust 21, 2018 at 12:54 PM

    What a great resource of ideas! Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charlene MSeptember 12, 2018 at 6:47 AM

    Thanks so much for this post! I have been stumped with science. Most curriculum is so boring to my 8yr old son and, quite honestly, me too! This will be a nice way to change things up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brandy NicoleSeptember 16, 2018 at 4:20 PM

      Your welcome, glad I could be helpful! Learning is always more enjoyable when it's something we're interested in or project based. I searched for a science curriculum my first year homeschooling and just didn't find much I liked so I decided to give it a try without curriculum and it's been working great for us for several years now.

      Delete

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