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Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop

By Ellen J. McHenryChecked October 31, 2026No affiliate links. Programs never pay to appear. How we label

Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop sells short science units written by a teacher who built them for her own homeschool classes, on topics such as the chemical elements, cells, botany, rocks and the brain. Each unit pairs a student text with a teacher section full of games, crafts, models and simple labs, and comes as a PDF download or a paperback. The site also has many free downloadable games and activities.

Grades it covers

  1. PK
  2. K
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
As the publisher states it: Ages 8 to 14 for The Elements and 10 to 15 for Cells (about 3rd to 9th grade); each unit gives its own ages.
Subjects
Science
Grades
Ages 8 to 14 for The Elements and 10 to 15 for Cells (about 3rd to 9th grade); each unit gives its own ages source ↗
Method
Unit studies source ↗
Format
Books and workbooks source ↗
Faith label
Not labelled
Cost a year
Priced per unit. The Elements as a digital download (70-page student text, teacher section of games and labs, and audio files, for 6 to 9 weeks): $18.95. Cells as a digital download: $18.95, or $29.95 as a paperback. Read on October 31, 2026; prices change. source ↗
Placement
No placement test on the publisher’s site when we checked.

What it does well

  • Each unit is built around activities: games, songs, paper models, crafts and simple labs sit beside every chapter of reading.
  • Units are short and cheap, so a family can try one topic for a few weeks without committing to a full year.
  • The material was written for mixed-age homeschool groups, and the activities work well for a co-op or several siblings together.
  • Free sample chapters and a large set of free downloads let you see the style before you buy.

Watch for

  • These are separate units, not a year-long course, so you plan how they fit together and fill the rest of the year.
  • Many activities are written for a group; with one child some games need adapting.
  • Some units, such as Cells, go into high school level detail, so younger children may need more help with the reading.
  • Ages are given per unit and vary, so check each one before buying.

It fits

A family or co-op that likes hands-on games and models and wants a few weeks of deep, lively study on one science topic at a time.

It doesn’t fit

A parent who wants one boxed science course with a lesson for every day of the year.

Visit Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop ↗

Compare Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop

Other programs for the same subject and grades:

  • Apologia Science Preschool to 12th grade; each elementary course is for K to 6th grade, General Science for 7th to 8th, Physical Science for 8th to 9th
  • Beautiful Feet Books Kindergarten to 12th grade, in grade spans such as K to 3rd, 4th to 6th and 5th to 8th
  • CK-12 Kindergarten to 12th grade, plus some college and adult courses
  • Elemental Science Kindergarten to high school; Sassafras Science volumes run from K to 6th grade
  • Exploration Education Elementary (K to 3rd), Standard (4th to 6th) and Advanced (7th to 10th)
  • The Good and the Beautiful Preschool to 12th grade; high school has language arts and biology only
  • Khan Academy Kindergarten to 12th grade, plus early college courses
  • MEL Science From age 5 (STEM) up to 14 and over (Medicine); Physics and Math from 8, Chemistry from 10

Lists it is on

What we read, and how we label

Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.

The publisher’s pages we read on October 31, 2026:

Something wrong or out of date? Publishers and parents can send a correction and we will fix it. Publishers can send corrections, never money. All programs compared · Find your homeschool style