Is it that time of year already? The time of year where we research and research trying to find the “perfect” Science curriculum that will leave our children begging for more? 
For us, this is a major decision and one that I don’t take lightly. Like so many others, my boys have different interests when it comes to science. I have one that enjoys learning about the plants and animals, and one that loves anything that has to do with astronomy.
In the beginning when I thought I was Wonder Woman, I tried to incorporate different science curriculum into our home that would allow me to teach them each what they were most interested in. I mean, that’s what a good homeschool mom does, right? However, I quickly realized that this task was almost impossible and having to teach two different science courses in a day, along with experiments became overwhelming really quick.
Not only that, but overtime I noticed that I often had both boys sitting in for both lessons and working on the experiments as a team. That’s when I decided to drop the multiple science curriculum and find a curriculum that both of my boys would enjoy.
I knew that this wouldn’t be an easy feat. I mean after all, I have a fourth-grader and a first-grader. I needed something that would not only challenge my fourth-grader, but would keep the interest of my younger son as well. That’s when the research begin. I stopped and asked myself the following questions that I hope will also help you in determining what science curriculum is best for your family.
How much time do I want to spend in preparation?
While in my mind I like to pretend I’m Wonder Woman (there’s that word again), I know that in reality I’m not. My first year of homeschooling I really believed that I could spend hours upon hours preparing for our school year, then reality hit. My goal in a curriculum is one that doesn’t take hours upon hours to plan. I want a schedule that is laid out but yet manageable. One that I can tweak or move around so that it fits our week.
What do I want to instill in my student about science?
This was an easy question for me. One of the reasons that I homeschool is so that I can instill Christian values into our learning. With that being said, I knew that I wanted a Christian-based curriculum for my boys, as well as one that would leave them having a love for science and the world around them.
What is their learning style?
This is a big one for us. Both my boys have very different learning styles and I’ve had to figure out what works best for them along the way. One learns the best when we have more hands-on and the other is perfectly content with reading from the book and answering questions. So with us, we needed to find a curriculum that would meet in the middle. I needed something that would allow hands-on learning, mixed with a little book learning and that would keep their interest.
How involved are the experiments?
This may sound crazy to some, but it was important to me. First off, I didn’t want to spend days planning an experiment and hours performing it. Like many homeschool families, we do have a budget when it comes to learning. I knew I wanted (and needed) that hands-on learning, but I didn’t want to break the bank, or spend hours on one experiment. Science experiments don’t have to be expensive or time consuming. Afterall, so many can be done with items that you already have lying around the house.
So what did we end up with? In the end we found that Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space would be a great fit for our family. This decision came after many hours of research and reading. It’s a program that basically “meets in the middle” which is what I need at this time. We do our Science two days a week. One day is book reading and some writing (my first-graders way of learning) and one day is hands-on (fits my fourth-grader perfectly). The lessons aren’t intense, yet they keep my youngest son’s attention all while challenging my oldest. I can honestly say that we have found the “perfect” curriculum for us.
You can read learn about Christian Kids Explore Earth & Science HERE.
