Homeschool science curricula, compared

What this list holds

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 8 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, 2 video lessons.
• 3 of the 8 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, 7 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.
• Mystery Science: A family with children in kindergarten to 5th grade who wants short, ready-made science lessons with a video to start and a hands-on activity to follow.
• 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

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
• Mystery Science vs Generation Genius

Related lists

• Homeschool science curricula for middle school 7
• 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.