Homeschool science curricula for middle school, compared

What this list holds

Programs for 6th to 8th grade, when many children start working more on their own and pre-algebra and essay writing begin.

Science curricula range from read-and-narrate books for young children to high school courses with lab work. Many elementary programs cover one topic a year, such as plants or the human body, rather than a little of everything.

This list holds programs sold for science on their own. Full curricula that teach it along with every other subject are on homeschool all-in-one curricula.

At a glance

• All 7 show a price on the publisher's site. For one child and one year of the main package they run from free to $255.95, and 1 is free.
• How the child works: 5 books and workbooks, 1 on screen, 1 video lessons.
• 3 of the 7 have a placement test or level guide on the publisher's site, linked on each card.
• Grades: all reach pre-K or kindergarten, all reach the elementary grades, all reach middle school and 5 reach high school.

Each program in a line

• Apologia Science: A family teaching several children who wants one science topic at a time, read together from a textbook with hands-on activities, and then a structured textbook course for each teen.
• Beautiful Feet Books: A family that wants to teach history and geography through real books read aloud together, with discussion rather than worksheets, across several grades at once.
• Blossom and Root: A family that wants a gentle, hands-on year built around nature, books and art, and is happy to choose its own math.
• Generation Genius: A family that wants ready-made, video-led science or math lessons with hands-on activities for the elementary and middle school years.
• The Good and the Beautiful: A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed lessons and likes teaching science and history to several children at once.
• Khan Academy: A family that wants free, self-paced practice in math and other core subjects, with a parent who is happy to choose the courses and check progress on a dashboard.
• REAL Science Odyssey: A family that wants one science subject a year, read aloud and done together, with hands-on labs already planned out.

Before you buy

Check how much the program expects the child to do alone, and whether it prepares for the high school course you have in mind.

Look for what the experiments need: some programs sell a supply kit, others list household items. For high school, check whether a lab course counts toward the credits you plan to give.

Most publishers post samples and a placement test; each card links the placement test where the publisher has one.

Side by side

• Apologia Science vs REAL Science Odyssey

Related lists

• Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
• Secular homeschool curricula for middle school 24
• Homeschool all-in-one curricula for middle school 21
• Homeschool math curricula for middle school 13
• Homeschool language arts programs for middle school 12
• Homeschool science curricula 8
• Homeschool science curricula for high school 5
• Print homeschool science curricula 5
• Secular homeschool science curricula 5
• Traditional homeschool science curricula 5
• Charlotte Mason homeschool science curricula 3
• Faith-based homeschool science curricula 3
• Every program, with a filter for any combination

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.

No affiliate links, no sponsored places, no ranking. Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction; publishers can send corrections, never money.