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HOMESCHOOLIOWA.ORGJ
Just the mention of teaching science
strikes fear in the hearts of many
homeschool parents. That fear causes
some to scan over or skip teaching science
to their children altogether. It doesn’t have
to be that way.
When many people think of science, all
they can see is visions of mathematical for-
mulas, unpronounceable names, and dis-
secting frogs. Those things are part of sci-
ence, but at its heart, science is much simpler.
Science is in our everyday life. It’s all around
us. You are using it and are alive because of
it right now.
I’m here to tell you that you CAN teach
homeschool science. Not only can you teach
homeschool science, but when you realize
how simple science actually is, you might
even grow to appreciate and like science!
LearnWith Your Kids
When I talk with parents who are skeptical
about their ability to teach homeschool sci-
ence, their number one concern is that they
do not have enough science knowledge
and understanding themselves. How do you
teach something that you don’t know?
I have a degree in science and I still learn
so much, right along with my kids, everyday.
I read the same text as the kids and try to an-
swer the study questions just like the kids do.
When I don’t know an answer, the kids see
me look it up. They see me learning and en-
joying it.
Homeschooling is not only a great way to
teach children science at home, but is an op-
portunity to teach kids to love to learn so that
they never stop! Letting kids see you learn-
ing and enjoying the process teaches them
how to be lifelong learners.That’s important
because there is always more to learn.
Start Simple
If you are nervous teaching homeschool
science, don’t start out with a complicated
curriculum that will take a lot of prep work
and understanding on your part. Start out
with something simple.
When we first started homeschooling, I
wanted the kids to love science and not get
bogged down in the details. We spent that
first year doing simple experiments in ex-
periment books we found in the library. (You
can’t go wrong with books by Janice Van
You Can Teach Homeschool Science
BY MARCI GOODWIN