Life Science is also known as Biology, the study of living things. This subject is one of the most fascinating for children because it encompasses three major areas: animals, the human body, and botany. Homeschooling parents who are on a budget will be encouraged to find out that the popularity of this subject has led to many options for those who want to find free life science homeschool curricula.
Free Science Curriculum
Classic Science is a curriculum developed by a high school science teacher in Kansas City. He has developed curricula and online science classes for students of all ages and offers his Life Science course as a free download. Aimed at 1st through 3rd grades, this curriculum is written to entertain as well as educate the student. Every lesson includes a bit of written work as well as at least 1 or 2 hands-on experiments. Materials needed for this curriculum are easy to obtain and can usually be found in the average household.
Guest Hollow offers Otter’s Science, a free 33-week human body curriculum aimed at 2nd through 6th grade, as well as versions for preschool-1st, and a high school version. Otter’s science was created by a homeschool mom for her own use with her son. This curriculum is basically a guide, assigning literature selections and lab work out of books you’ll either purchase or borrow at the library. Although not entirely free, this is a highly recommended method of learning using “living books” along with hands on activities.
Lesson Pathways is a free interactive online curriculum. Parents choose which “pathways” or courses their students follow. Life Science is available for many grades. Experiments are included in each unit, giving the student plenty of time to step away from the computer and get involved in some hands on learning.
MsNucleus is an online program that is a bit less user friendly than those mentioned above, but it is still worth mentioning because it is very thorough. This free curriculum uses storybooks, videos, slide shows and experiments to teach life science to elementary students. The curriculum also includes other areas of science, but if you are strictly covering life science, you can skip over those units.
Science Enclyclopedias such as the Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia can also help you create your own science curriculum. In the elementary years. Make a list of topics you’d like to cover including various animals, insects, fish, birds, plants, and of course the human body. Choose one topic per week, read library books and ask your student to write about what he has learned in a science notebook.
Kathy Wiehl - I am a stay at home mother with 16 years of parenting experience. I have been writing since 2008 about topics such as parenting, ...
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