Science and Health Curriculums I've Used
Science has been one of my most favorite subjects to teach, and Health is near and dear to me as a former fitness and nutrition trainer. The curriculum I have used during the majority of my homeschool has been from one company. However, as we have moved into high school, I have switched to using different homeschool curriculums for the subject of Science. In today’s post, I share the curriculums. As with the other curriculum post, I share how long I used it, for what grade levels, what I loved about it, and if we ended up switching from it and why.
Disclaimer: if you know anything about me, I DO NOT BASH other curriculums. However, I will be transparent and let you know what didn't work for MY children. Before we go any further, please remember that this has been our experience with these curriculums. Every child will learn differently and benefit differently from curriculums.
EXPLORING NATURE WITH CHILDREN
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I used Exploring Nature with Children for all four of my kids, so it definitely can be used for multiple age ranges and multiple kids. This curriculum is based on The Charlotte Mason philosophies for educating children. I used this curriculum more as a framework and then branched out based on my kids interests. During the younger elementary years, we enjoyed using nature study as our main science for the year.
How long I used it:
2017-2018
What grade levels I used:
Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade
Why we switched:
I didn’t find anything wrong with the curriculum, we just switched to The Good and the Beautiful science units. It is very structured which was a little more than what I had planned on doing for our nature study.
Relevant Videos:
THE GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
What I enjoy about the curriculum:
The science unit studies by the Good and the Beautiful are truly a treasure. They are packed with so much information yet are easy to teach and open and go. I love that they are set up as unit studies versus an entire year curriculum. I really liked the lesson extensions for my older students because they were getting stretched to learn more. The curriculum is wasn’t overly challenging for my kids yet we all felt it was full and rich. The price point is also very reasonable. And not only does this curriculum impact your child’s academic growth, but it has a deep influence on your child with an appreciation for God’s creation and has high moral lessons. God being our creator is a focus of all the units.
How long I used it:
2017-present
What grade levels I used:
1st grade through high school
Why we switched:
I am still using this curriculum with my youngest daughter, but will be switching her to BJU as she reaches upper middle/high school.
Videos:
Bob Jones University (BJU)
Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I truly love BJU’s science curriculums. They have made high school science enjoyable for my kids and have helped me feel more equipped for high school science. I especially love that some of the courses, like Biology, include labs for my children to complete at home. My oldest daughter absolutely loved the lab for Biology and especially enjoyed the dissections. In fact, she said it was her favorite thing she’s ever studied. BJU MORE than prepares your high schooler for future college science courses. It is academically challenging but also very doable. I will be using BJU science in our home for the foreseeable future for high school.
How long I used it:
2020-present
What grade levels I used:
high school
Videos:
APOLOGIA
Health & Nutrition
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I liked how in depth the course was. It really covers all subject matters regarding health and nutrition.
How long I used it:
2020 (one quarter)
What grade levels I used:
8th grade
Why we switched:
I really wanted to like this curriculum, but at the end of the day, my daughter did not like it. It was also more of a full on highschool science course and I was looking more for an elective type course. Bottom line the info was great, it was just a lot more than we needed and wanted from a health course. From this we switched to Paces Health course.
Videos:
PACES
Health
What I enjoyed about the curriculum:
I like how straight forward this curriculum is. I also like how it came in Unit booklets. I really liked the information included in this course. It was a great elective for my daughter and son and I plan to use it for my younger two children as well.
How long I used it:
2020-present
What grade levels I used:
8th grade
Why we switched:
This was a one year study so there was no need to continue.
Videos:
These are all the curriculums I've used for Science up to this point. I hope this post was helpful to you, and be sure to check out the videos included if you want more information about each curriculum.
