Find out what you need to teach your kids science.

For a home school parent, science can be an intimidating subject to teach. Teaching science doesn’t have to be a burden, however, especially since most home school science supplies are things you already have around your house.

 

Biology supplies

 

The biggest expense when gathering your home school science supplies will be the microscope. It doesn’t have to be a university-grade nuclear microscope, but you will want one with a magnification great enough to see cell details. Along with the microscope get a variety of prepared slides of various cell types and a supply of empty slides. Check with an online supplier of school science equipment.

 

Of course, there’s more to biology than looking at things under a microscope. A garden can be one of the best tools to teach your children about plant life, the water cycle, and agriculture. You can also purchase an ant farm, a butterfly habitat or some tadpoles to study animal life cycles.

 

Chemistry supplies

 

The best thing about teaching home school chemistry is that most of your ingredients can be found in your own home. You can buy a complete chemistry set if your kids are in the older elementary grades; and there are many experiments you can do for younger kids using materials found in your kitchen. They include: baking soda and vinegar; diet Coke and Mentos; eggs and vinegar–the possibilities are endless.

 

Physics supplies

 

For elementary age physics, you can’t go wrong with magnets, build-your-own circuit kits (like Snap Circuits or Logiblocks), paper airplanes, and balloons. You’ll be amazed at how far you can get with these simple items and a book explaining the science behind how they work.

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Earth science supplies

 

For the budding geologist in your family, nothing is more fun than going on a nature walk and picking up rocks. My son is an avid rock collector and is just now getting to the age where he can learn about the various types of rocks. Papier-mache makes for a great model of the earth’s crust and a working volcano (just add baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar).

 

Books and movies

 

If you’re already home schooling, then you know that your public library is one of your greatest resources. The library is full of books and films that can add to your science studies. We recently finished a unit on astronomy and the space program; we celebrated by watching Apollo 13. Most libraries have a vast supply of educational films. For science, check out The Magic School Bus videos and any of the excellent films on weather, earth science, agriculture and other topics by Schlessinger Media. Dorling Kindersley has a wonderful series of films on many topics, and the Amazing Animals series is great for younger children.

 

For books, be sure to check out Janice Van Cleave’s series of Science for Every Kid books: Chemistry for Every Kid, Earth Science for Every Kid, and Physics for Every Kid (plus many more). These books are full of science experiments you can do at home, plus great explanations of the scientific principles behind the experiments.

 

Teaching science to your kids can be rewarding and fun, and it doesn’t have to be intimidating. You might even find that you learn a few things!