No science curriculum? No problem! These easy ideas make teaching science possible without help from homeschool curriculum.
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Curriculum is a wonderful tool for homeschoolers, but that doesn’t mean your kids can’t learn science without it. In fact, you may be surprised by just how easy it is to teach science without it.
Not so sure? Here are 5 easy ways to teach science in your homeschool… with or without curriculum.
Easy Ideas for Teaching Science
Without Curriculum
1. Books
Books are my favorite place to turn when it comes to teaching science. The best part is there are countless options for books that can help you teach science. It’s just a matter of checking with your local library or favorite bookseller to see what’s available on the topics you want to cover.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- For Kids books – These all have a great mix of information and activity suggestions for each topic. Choose from Zoology for Kids, Marine Science for Kids, Isaac Newton & Physics for Kids, Albert Einstein & Relativity for Kids, and more.
- DK Eyewitness books – These are great for fast facts and visuals. They have a huge range of books that cover topics like chemistry, weather, and electricity. If you can’t find a DK title on the topic you need, look for a Nat Geo book instead. They’re similar in presentation and are of equal quality.
- Who Was? books – Use this series to read about specific topics like NASA and the Great Barrier Reef or scientists like Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie, and Thomas Edison.
- Living books – Books like Along Came Galileo, Archimedes and the Door of Science, Gregor Medel: The Friar Who Grew Peas, and The Girl Who Drew Butterflies have been incredibly helpful in helping my kids explore different scientific disciplines.
- Picture books – Don’t dismiss picture books for teaching science. For example, these books about women in space talk about groundbreaking women scientists and their contributions to space science.
- Janice VanCleave’s books – She has titles on biology, physics, earth science, astronomy, engineering, and more. We own several of her books and they all contain thorough explanations and plenty of hands-on learning ideas to go with each topic.
Once again, there are plenty of other options for exploring science through books. The ones shared here are simply the ones we’ve turned to the most over our 10+ years of homeschooling.
2. TV Shows & Documentaries
I will forever advocate making the most of your TV time. That’s why it’s a no-brainer to use TV time to teach science.
You can see my post on teaching science through TV shows for all my viewing suggestions, but PBS’ Ruff Ruffman Show, Popular Mechanics for Kids, and The Magic School Bus are our go-to shows for science.
There are several YouTube channels that also make it easy to teach science. Our favorites are Smarter Every Day, Ryan’s World, and Crash Course Kids. Keep in mind that these are quite different and aren’t exclusively dedicated to science, but they’re where we turn for science content on YouTube.
As always, it’s wise to preview before watching with your kids and to be present while they watch.
3. Subscription Boxes
I love the idea of using subscription boxes for teaching science for three reasons.
They naturally spark curiosity.
Kids LOVE getting mail. Because of that, a subscription box approach to science engages kids and keeps them excited about digging in and looking forward to learning more.
They’re perfect for hands-on learning.
While monthly subscription boxes seem like a random way to cover science, they’re an easy way to add hands-on learning to your homeschool.
In a nutshell, these are experiments or projects in a box. It doesn’t get more hands-on than that!
They’re an open-and-go approach.
Better still, subscription boxes are great for teaching science without curriculum because they usually have everything needed for learning about the topic. From supplies to booklets to extra learning resources, this is truly an open-and-go approach to teaching science.
Need some subscription box ideas? You can’t go wrong with any of the ones listed below:
- Amazon’s STEM Club – We gave this to my youngest kiddo for her birthday one year and she loved it. They’ve since discontinued the program, but I’m listing it here in case they bring it back. It was a great fit for us.
- Groovy Lab in a Box
- THiNK OUTSiDE – This subscription could easily replace your science curriculum if you’re focusing on nature study and all things outdoors. See my review for more info on this fun subscription box.
- KiwiCo – They have several non-science options that my kids love, but most of their boxes have regular STEM themes. The best part is they have something for all ages from tots to teens!
4. Field Trips
You can also take your science lessons on the road by visiting zoos and aquariums, science museums, nature centers, and planetariums. This is a fun way to teach science, especially if you live in close proximity to a field trip spot.
In fact, it may even be possible to work these trips into your regular or semi-regular learning plans. We found this to be true by paying for zoo membership. While we only get to go three or four times a year since it’s a 3 hour drive for us, we learn so much each time.
Better yet, our zoo membership also comes with reciprocal membership for our state aquariums. That’s allowed us to go to our local aquarium on an almost monthly basis since then. In turn, we’re constantly learning about marine life even when it’s nowhere in my lesson plans.
Keep in mind that many locations offer discounts or free admission to homeschool families; you’ll just want to check with the location for specific instructions regarding dates and documentation needed.
5. Learning Games and Kits
Much like subscription boxes, topical activity kits can go a long way in teaching science without a curriculum.
For example, if you need to cover three primary science topics throughout the homeschool year — let’s say space science, human body, and chemistry — you could use the following Magic School Bus learning kits to guide your study:
These learning kits are a fantastic way to incorporate hands-on learning without curriculum because they come with instructions, explanations, and most of the supplies needed for any experiments.
Also worth noting, they can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to work through. That means they could stand alone as your primary science focus for a quarter.
Not a Magic School Bus fan? Don’t worry, there are several other science kit options to consider for topical studies. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Crayola Color Chemistry Set
- Crystal Growing Experiment Kit
- Snap Circuits Electronic Exploration Kit
- Insect Lore Butterfly Garden
Putting it all together… without science curriculum
Hopefully by now you can see that curriculum isn’t necessary to teach science in your homeschool. That said, the best way to make it work is to use a combination of these ideas.
There’s no right or wrong formula for doing so because availability, interest, and even budget varies from family to family. Even so, it’s easy to use a mix of these ideas to teach science at home.
That may mean that you cover a science topic by reading a few books, working through one subscription box, and watching a documentary. For another topic you may go on a field trip, read one book, and work through a learning kit on and off for a few months.
Also, there’s something to be said for having an idea of what to cover and when. To help with that, I recommend consulting Rebecca Rupp’s Home Learning Year by Year.
While you don’t have to follow every suggestion she makes, this book serves as a must-have resource for implementing the ideas I shared for teaching science without curriculum (and all other subjects, for that matter.)
More specifically, this book provides a framework for what specific science topics to cover and when, from preschool through high school. That makes it possible to truly teach science on your own terms without answering to curriculum.
What about you? Have you tried teaching science without curriculum? What are your takeaways from the experience?