Homeschool Science Curriculum: The Ultimate Comparison

Rabbit Trails Through Science

Rabbit Trails is a curriculum that offers options for many subjects and topics. There is currently a science curriculum that focuses on the science of birds but more topics are expected to be released between 2021 and 2022 so take a look and see if there’s a topic that speaks to you!

Rabbit Trails is designed to be used as an entire family. Gather the kids, read some beautiful books, and dive down the rabbit trails of learning that these lesson plans take you on.

Grade

This is a multi-grade curriculum that you can use as a whole family. It is designed for grades PreK through 7th so feel free to include all of your kids! And as the creator’s own kids grow, so will her age ranges so eventually this will be a PreK-12 curriculum.

Price

Rabbit Trails is an extremely affordable curriculum. The done-for-you lesson plans are between $30 and $50 for the entire collection. You will need to come up with your own books in addition to the lesson plans but these are often found at libraries or online for free or super inexpensive.

Digital of Physical

Rabbit Trails is a physical curriculum. You’ll get a pdf lesson plan which you can print off and then you’ll follow along using your own books and notebooks.

Secular or Christian

While the creator is Christian, most of the lessons take a neutral worldview approach.

Preparation Time

There is a small amount of prep time. All the lessons are done for you so all you need to do is follow along but you will need to prep and gather your supplies.

Teacher Involvement

Teacher involvement is pretty heavy. This is a parent-guided curriculum. The good news is since you enjoy it as an entire family, you only have to do it once, no matter how many kids you have! Most lessons take 20 minutes or less.

STEAM Made Easy

STEAM Made Easy is a science curriculum put together by me and my family. This is a fun, hands-on curriculum that is perfect for those who enjoy doing their own research or need something fun to supplement their current bookwork.

Grade

The projects in the STEAM Made Easy books are designed to be enjoyed by kids PreK-12. Each book includes ideas for adapting each project for different ages.

Price

The STEAM Made Easy books are very affordable with digital copies running at just $13 each. Then you can source the project materials however you want! Many materials can already be found on hand, but some need to be purchased separately.

Digital or Physical

This is a physical, hands-on curriculum. You will purchase a digital copy which you will then print out. After that, each project is done physically by you.

Secular or Christian

The creator (me!) is Christian but for the most part, I tried to keep the projects at a neutral worldview.

Preparation Time

Preparation time is pretty heavy. You’ll need to gather supplies, perform the projects and conduct research on various aspects of each project. If your kids are younger, some of this is done for you and if your kids are older, they should be able to do a lot of this themselves.

Teacher Involvement

Teacher involvement is pretty heavy. You’ll need to supervise and assist younger kids with every aspect of the project including research. Older kids should be able to do most of the projects and research themselves.

Schoolhouse Teachers

Schoolhouse Teachers is a popular all-in-one curriculum that the entire family can use for one low price. They have a multitude of subjects, spanning from language arts to math to science to history to electives and more.

My favorite part about this curriculum is that it’s a work at your own pace resource so I can breeze through a course in a week or two, or I can spread it out over a few months. The choice is ours!

Grade

Schoolhouse Teachers caters to grades K-12 so the entire family can find exactly what they need!

Price

This is a very affordable course, especially when you consider the fact that you pay per family, not per child. You will not be nickel and dimed just because you have multiple children. Additionally, they often have sales so you can get their already affordable curriculum at an even better price!

For the most part, you can expect to pay between $100 and $300 per year for the entire family, depending on any current promotions. Check right now and see if they’ve got a good Schoolhouse Teachers promotion running!

Digital or Physical

This is a digital resource. All of your courses will be found on their website.

Secular or Christian

While many of the courses are follow a neutral worldview, Schoolhouse Teachers is a Christian resource so you’re likely to find plenty of Christian viewpoints.

Preparation Time

Prep work is specific to the course you are going through but most require pretty minimal prep work.

Teacher Involvement

You’ll need a small amount of teacher involvement for your kids depending on their ages. Older kids will be able to work more independently and younger kids will need more assistance.

Real Science 4 Kids

The next science curriculum on our list is Real Science 4 Kids. This curriculum adopts an upward spiral teaching method. Why? Because it’s all-inclusive, meaning that even those who struggle with learning will be able to engage with the material.

Grade

This homeschool science curriculum can be used for children in kindergarten to grade 8. Their two product lines, Building Blocks and Focus On, cover different ages so you can decide which is right for your child.

Price

The packages start at $75 depending on the grade and depth your child is in/wants.

Digital or Physical

It’s a physical curriculum that allows you and your child to participate in hands-on learning. This method is known to increase long-term memory and aid curiosity.

Secular or Christian

Real Science 4 Kids takes a strictly secular approach to science.

Preparation Time

When it comes to the experiments, the preparation time is high. Other than that, the textbook explains everything you need to know (although some terms are very technical).

Teacher Involvement

If you have younger children, you will need to be quite highly involved since the material does include some technical terms. Plus, you’ll need to supervise the experiments.

Berean Builders

Berean Builders is a science program that makes science come to life. It teaches everything chronologically so you’re almost getting a “2-in-one history-and-science” type of affair. As you might’ve gathered already, it’s not common core.

Grade

It can take your child from kindergarten to 12th grade! We love it for the family adaptability.

Price

It costs around $44 for all the materials.

Digital or Physical

It’s a bit of both. You’ll receive textbooks but your child can take part in online classes to supplement their learning.

Secular or Christian

Berean Builders adopts a Christian worldview. 

Preparation Time

Since Berean Builders is very textbook-heavy there’s little to no prep time until it comes to experiments.

Teacher Involvement

For younger children, you need to be heavily involved. But the older ones can do it almost independently.

The Family School Online

The Family School Online offers multiple subjects, including science. There are multiple science courses so you can choose topics based on your child’s current interests. And since it’s a one-room schoolhouse style of learning, the entire family can learn together.

Grade

There are courses for kids from K-12.

Price

The Family School Online is subscription based. You can get access to everything (all subjects and courses) for as low as $40 per month. (Keep in mind this price includes history, science, language arts, music, and more.)

Digital or Physical

While there are worksheets and activities you can choose to do at the end of each lesson, this curriculum is almost exclusively digital.

Secular or Christian

This curriculum is definitely Christian. It takes the viewpoint of The Church of Jesus Christ.

Preparation Time

Preparation for The Family School lessons is pretty minimal. Most of the lessons have a grab and go option meaning prep time is less than 30 seconds. Or if you prefer to take a more teacher-led approach, you can spend upwards of 20 minutes prepping that day’s lesson.

Teacher Involvement

This homeschool curriculum is very versatile. You have the option of leading and guiding the lessons yourself or of just pushing play on a pre-recorded teacher video. The level of involvement is completely up to you.

Elemental Science

Elemental Science is a science curriculum that takes a hands-on but highly teacher-led approach to learning. For those kids who love to note down everything they’ve learned, they’ll love this one.

Grade

The homeschool science curriculum is made for kids in kindergarten to grade 6.

Price

The prices start at $30.99 and increase depending on the age/package you choose.

Digital or Physical

It’s a physical course. You’ll receive weekly schedules, teacher guidance, reading plans, hands-on experiments, and student records.

Secular or Christian

It adopts a non-sectarian view (i.e. it’s all-inclusive and teaches from multiple points of view).

Preparation Time

Preparation time is rather high here since you’ll need to read over all the lesson plans and gather all the resources for experiments.

Teacher Involvement

The involvement level here is very high since it takes a classical, teacher-led approach to learning.

Moving Beyond the Page

For those of you looking for a curriculum that gives you everything you need, Moving Beyond the Page is a great option.

Grade

You can use this curriculum for ages 7 to 14.

Price

It’s quite expensive ($312 for the full package).

Digital or Physical

Moving Beyond the Page combines both physical and digital aspects. Depending on the package you buy, you’ll be given all the physical resources and access to the online portal.

Secular or Christian

It adopts a secular worldview and aligns with common core.

Preparation Time

There’s little to no prep time involved. You can start as soon as you open the box.

Teacher Involvement

The level of teacher involvement is high since it’s a rather teacher-led curriculum.

Science Shepherd

If your child is a visual learner, the video-based lessons that go along with Science Shepherd will be a real winner here. Just bear in mind that it’s not common core.

Grade

Science Shepherd offers courses for grades 1 to 11.

Price

You’ll pay a modest $60.

Digital or Physical

It’s a digital curriculum. You can decide whether to use DVDs or online lessons.

Secular or Christian

Science Shepherd adopts a Christian perspective.

Preparation Time

You won’t need to prepare anything as it’s online. 

Teacher Involvement

The teacher involvement level is close to zero. The lessons are student-led and video-based so you can let your child get on with it.

Master Books

For those homeschoolers wanting to be in control of the course and take a traditional approach, Master Books might be the perfect choice.

Grade

This curriculum offers courses for those in elementary to high school. It’s easy to change the lessons if you have multiple children of different ages.

Price

It starts at $40 and increases depending on the package.

Digital or Physical

Master Books is a physical course. Depending on the package, you’ll receive a bunch of books and lesson plans.

Secular or Christian

It adopts a Christian young-earth view.

Preparation Time

There’s little to no prep time involved. Just open and go!

Teacher Involvement

You will need to be heavily involved with this one since it’s teacher-led.

Apologia

While Apologia isn’t common core, your child will learn about science chronologically through the ages.

Grade

It works well for grades K to 12 making it adaptable for those with large families.

Price

The packages start at $62.

Digital or Physical

You can choose between the physical or online curriculum. For older kids, the self-paced online choice is the way to go.

Secular or Christian

Apologia adopts a Christian perspective.

Preparation Time

There is little prep time since everything is right there in the textbooks. Although, you can participate in experiments that involve more preparation.

Teacher Involvement

We’d say that teacher involvement here is medium.

The Rainbow

With The Rainbow, you’ll receive everything you need including textbooks, workbooks, experiment kit, lesson plans, and more. If you want to be heavily involved, you’ve found the right curriculum for you.

Grade

The curriculum is intended for kids in grades 7 to 9.

Price

It costs $280 for the first year and $165 for the second.

Digital or Physical

It’s a physical course that comes with everything you need.

Secular or Christian

The Rainbow has adopted a Christian perspective.

Preparation Time

Apart from setting up the experiments, there is very little prep time involved.

Teacher Involvement

The teacher involvement level here is rather high, especially when it comes to experiments.