Episode 27 Science: The Wins, the Flops, and What We’d Use Again

In the next part of our homeschool curriculum series, Court and Jess are diving into Science, the programs we’ve used, the ones we loved, and the ones that definitely did not work for our families. From hands-on fun to total frustration, we’re sharing our honest experience with science curriculum over the years.

If you’ve been looking for real-life feedback on what made a science program engaging, what felt like too much, and what actually stuck, this episode is for you. We share our tried-and-true opinions, talk through the hits and misses, and help you sort through the options with honest homeschool insight.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to homeschooling and life unfiltered with Court and Jess, where real talk meets real life. Court and Jess are two friends, fellow moms, and business partners who live in different time zones and juggle homeschooling alongside motherhood and entrepreneurship. Jess is a mom of eight and Court is a mom of seven, and together they're raising 15 kids and navigating the wild, wonderful world of homeschooling, each in completely different ways. Every week we invite you to pull up a chair for honest conversations, practical tips, and uplifting encouragement. You'll hear from moms across the country who are homeschooling in a way that works best for their families. Whether you're a veteran homeschool mom just getting started or somewhere in between, this is your space to feel seen, supported, and inspired. Because no matter how different our paths may look, we are all in this together.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Hello and welcome to homeschooling and life unfiltered with Court and Jess. We're super excited today to continue our series on specific subjects and how we navigate them. We've recently spoken about math and ELA, and today we are gonna talk about science. So we'll let Courtney get started and let her talk about what she is doing and what she has done, and maybe even what she plans to do in the future with her kiddos uh with their science studies. All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

So I have to say that science is probably like my worst subject, probably because I like it the least. Like I'm not a big like sciencey person. I mean, I like the little fun experiment-y things, but yeah, um, it to me it's kind of like a throwaway subject. Like I think we get to it one day. Like we literally went years, you guys. I'm talking like an embarrassing amount of years before we really even did what I would call like science, like real science. Um, we had we've had a couple years where I think science is probably my least boxy curriculum subject. Yeah, like you know that more. Yeah. So like one year we had, or there was a couple years that we had um uh like zoo memberships, like our local zoo. And so that was science, and we would like do reports about the different animals and like explore the, you know what I mean? That was science for that year. And there was years when I was pregnant and sick, I had that hyper whatever, I can never remember the whole name. I was super sick for nine months, seven times, you know, over a 10-year period. Um, so we had one year, my my grandparents gifted us planet earth, but that was science for the year. Planet Earth, we watched planet earth videos and they would pick something out of it. Yeah, they're awesome. I mean, they're fantastic. We would watch the scientist videos, science or planet earth, and then they would pick something out of it and like do a little report, you know. That was science for the year. So anyway, so I'm probably very eclectic, I think, with um with my science, but the year we I had gung, I was very gung hum at the beginning, and I was like, Oh, we're gonna do apologia, and it was terrible. We hated it, it's so dry. It was just like killed science, and I think that kind of like killed it for me for a while, and I was like, Oh, this is just forget it. Um, when I when I joined Venture Upward when um I don't know, five or six years ago for like my second set of littles, right? Um, we learned about generation genius, and that is literally the year we did more science than we ever have in our entire things, and it's freaking fantastic. Everybody needs generation genius in their lives. It's like a 15-minute video that includes an experiment, and then you go to the experiment and it has like conversation questions, and oh, it's just fantastic. Um what was that? Kids love it, it's so engaging. So fun. Um, anyway, so we did generation genius, and that was kind of like, oh, wait, actually, maybe I do like science because it was fun. Like we had fun with the science. Um, and so we've done a lot as my kids got older, like in the high school years, um, Dive Science was probably one of my older kids' favorites. Like they did that's how they did chemistry and biology. It's called like dive capital D I V E.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Um, and it's kind of a video based, like, I don't know, they have these beautiful notebooks with all these notes, and my kids like or like that's their artistic output, is like their notes. But um, so we did that, and then we've done some. I've had some very good friends that like science, and we've done some like co-opy science. So we've done like all the dissecting things we did with wonderful other people that was not me, because I would never do it. And um we've done a little bit of um like the good and the beautiful science. Like that's what we did this year. I I have learned that if I do not do science in a co-op, Courtney doesn't do it. Like science just needs another, it's too easy to um I'm gonna pause really fast and yellow to kid to go get the baby. So I left a break, so she'd be easy to cut it off. So just a second. Perfect. Well, I got 45 minutes out of him. Sorry, we should have started early.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Do you need to go and check on him quick?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

I sent great. I only have Grady and Macy here. Well, bring it in. Yes, they're they're going to get him. Okay, sorry, we'll pause and then we'll go back.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Okay, so I've just learned that science has to be a co-op for me. So I do it better with friends. And so I put together a co-op this year um with just a couple of homeschooling families, and every Thursday we got together and we did it, and we did um the good and the beautiful science. And it we did like anatomy and uh anatomy, biology, anatomy and physiology is that what it's called. Um, and so that was fun. And so next year we're gonna do um botany and water cycles or something. I can't even remember what we're doing next year, but um anyway, so that's kind of we're a little, I'm a little eclectic in science. I don't have anything that you know is just rock solid. We did the beautiful feet science, which is kind of all about uh the science of science, kind of like learning about all the different biography like of scientists, and that one was really fun. We did that in a group. So I just science has to be in a co-op for me. Like I have to have people to do it, otherwise it's too easy to be like eh, we don't need to do science.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So are you doing the good and the beautiful science with your co-op this year? Is that what you said?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

Well, I have like a little mini co-op that meets at my house on Thursdays for like two hours. And but what curriculum are you using? We're using the good and the beautiful, and they're honestly like they're ones I've had forever, and so they're kind of like the I don't even think they're the new good to the beautiful. I think they're like the old ones, like botany. And um, they're great though. Like I really like them. And we kind of just add in like we add in storybooks or we add in videos from YouTube, like to just kind of like build it up. And it comes with the experiments and the activities, and they all had like we have science notebooks that were full of their anatomy things this year, and then at the end of the year, they all did reports, they all picked one area that they liked the most, and they went and did a report, and some did slideshows, and some did you know graphs and training? It was just it's it's very kind of like you take that little box curriculum, right? And then we turn it into something that works for us.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

That's awesome. I know um on the good and the beautiful, just in case people want resources, their marine biology, I think, is still free on their website, which is really good. We didn't, we actually just did little bits and pieces of it. We had we never did the full thing, but we did their botany, and I never in a million years thought that I would like it. And it was yeah, incredibly uh well done.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

I learned so much. Isn't that funny too? Like, I always feel like I have learned so much more in this education of being a homeschool mom than I ever did in my K-12 public school experience. Like doesn't even care. So um that's awesome. I was gonna ask you another question. Um are you doing experiment the the experiments then in that little mini co-op?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, so we do like a little lesson. So we have an hour for like the you know, like lesson-y type part, and then we have an hour of play, kind of like 45 minutes of into play. So we do some kind, we all take turns. There's four of us, we take turns, and so we do some kind of lesson. We read a book, we watch a video, we talk about whatever we do, and then we um put stuff in their notebooks, and then if an experiment goes along with it, we do an experiment.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

That is such a good idea. I love the idea of trying to put things into co-ops, but it's just so hard. Like for me, so we do a I'm getting a little off topic, but I think it's a good subject. We do like a um a women's Bible study at my house and like a skill. It's it's really like a it's not really so much a Bible study, it's based on like the Proverbs 31 woman, but it's more about like um like a homemaker's club where we try to look at it. Yeah, yeah, and just different things. Um, like tomorrow we are going to a cemetery and learning from one of our members um how to like restore and take care of gravestones. So like a service project, and we're doing it in preparation for Memorial Day. And then so, like if you like in Minnesota, there's a lot of really neglected rural cemeteries. So, like if we wanted to adopt a cemetery and then you know, you you can. Um, and there's some cemeteries even that pay you to do it, but um, we're just looking more for like some service opportunities, yeah, which is such a weird thing to do, like right, it feels like almost morbid, but you know, these are families and people that were so loved, and to be able to go in and like help restore their stones and kind of thing, which is really cool, yeah, especially in preparation for Memorial Day. But, anyways, it's hosted at my house mostly, and right, there is like this added layer of like making sure your house is ready and like your company feels comfortable and all of those things. Um, do you have any tips or tricks for other people who want to host something like this at their house but feel hesitant?

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Oh, just do it, and who cares? So, I also could care less. Like, I'm not like Jessica, where I'm just like, you know, you're gonna get what you get. Like you come in. This we live here, we do school here, we do things. Like we do pick it up, but I mean it's not. I make sure Audrey cleans the bathroom the downstairs bathroom because we have like an upstairs and a downstairs is like yeah, my daughter that lives downstairs, she's just a mess. Like she just is like she's just one of those people that like gets ready and just like throws everything everywhere and then leaves. Yeah, so that's those. So I like it because that bathroom does get cleaned up again. Like she has to do it before people come. So there you go. But no, I mean, I I am not a person that's like I have to have spotless clean floors and everything on the counter has to be put away. Like, that's just not I want people just to come. You're gonna take it and come and you're gonna love me because I'm me and not because my house is spotless. So I I do not have those same qualms as you.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

What about um how do you choose who's in your little co-op? So for other people who are like, oh, I really need the consistency and the structure, and maybe they don't have a venture upward near them, right, to help with that consistency and structure. What's like how would you go about choosing the right people?

SPEAKER_00 10:32

So this one I kind of did as a um, there's three gals in my church that were just started homeschooling this year and they needed something. And so I did it like I'm like, well, let's just do it together and like let's, you know, like, and then we kind of have like a little like a mentor thing, like they ask the questions and I'll give them answer. You know what I mean? Like I've been homeschooling for forever. Um, so one I would say finding kids similar ages to your kids, right? Like you want your kids to want to go. Yeah. Um, so that that's kind of a big like I don't want to have an eighth grader and then have do a call up with somebody who only has a four-year-old. You know what I mean? Like you want somebody with similar age groups um as your kids, but also stretching. Like I I am a big component of like the one room schoolhouse. So like you want older kids to be with the younger kids and the younger kids to be the older kids. So I mean with them, but you want your kids to want to go, right? Yeah. Um, so I think that to me is the biggest thing. You want it to be close by. You don't want to invite somebody who lives 45 minutes away. I mean, you would in Minnesota, but not in Arizona. Like you want like a close, you know, something easily um uh you know, easily together. And we started out like I was like, I'll just teach every week, but then as we've gone on, they're like, oh, I'll help. And now that they've kind of like seen how we did it in the flow, and so then it's been nice because then I haven't had to do all of it. Um I don't know, like I I've just learned that I need the accountability, like I just don't do well on some things, but like language arts, math, no problem, reading, no problem. But for some reason, science and social studies are probably my biggest ones that they're just it's also more fun. Some subjects are more fun with friends. That is true. Yeah. And I think science is totally one of them. Yeah, I agree. So there you go. I'm I'm I don't I'm science is my very most like eclectic, like let's read a book and let's you know, let's watch a video, let's go on a field trip. Science leads to a lot of field trips, I think.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Oh, I I couldn't agree more. Actually, I have that on my list too, is field trips. So um, okay, well, I'll share what we do. And uh a big default for us for science, I'm with Courtney that science is absolutely my least favorite subject. My I I just don't I don't enjoy it. I love though, I have a very, very science-minded uh student, uh child, and that's my Hannah. She is 11. And so I love science because of what it does for and to her. Like she lights up, right? She loves everything science. This girl is going to be an engineer for sure, uh, or something very science-y. Um, she just she has a mind for it, and I love to see when we choose the right stuff, like what it inspires in her. So it's really cool. But we do a lot of classical conversation science, so that's where a lot of this is comes from. You cheat. We do cheat, seriously, but no, outsourcing is not a cheat, it's a great thing. Um, but every so every single week, uh, for 24 weeks in the year, we are doing a science experiment. So I'm I feel so very fortunate that that is taken off my hands. Um, we and then every so it's a three-year cycle. So every year we're doing something different, a different cycle. So, like I'm looking at one right now from cycle one, and there's like we do um classifications and like kingdoms, animal cell, plant cell, down to types of rocks, volcanoes, um, types of clouds, the globe, all kinds of things. So, oh yay, grandbabies joining. Hi, Macy. Hi, baby. Um, this is real life. Yeah, real life, everybody. Um it's so great. Uh, so we have uh we use the it's I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's like hundred 101 science experiments. Have you seen it? It's like a oh yeah. So that is what is used a lot in the curriculum. And so what I love about it is I don't have to lead it. My kids get tons of exposure to science. Um, I don't feel a great need to add a lot of science on top of it. For my kiddos who are in venture, of course, they get a ton of science on top of that, a lot of really, really rich science material. So I feel very fortunate. Um, but for our friends who aren't adventure or who are in a state where it's not offered, um, there's just so much out there, so much, so many good science curriculums. But CC classical conversations is what we do. Um, and then um I'll also uh we have we don't have access in my own town, but um, if I have access to a co-op that has like messy science experiments or anything like that, then we've done those in the past. We also do boxes and we get our boxes through venture upward as well, but you can get them on your own. You do not have to just get them through venture. Um, and our favorite ones are Crunch Labs, is by far our favorite. So that is such an excellent science one. My daughter has built some really cool things like soap dispensers and like automatic sand gardens and automatic calendars. Like it is crazy the things that you can that you can create.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

That's what I was gonna say. That's what I forgot. Is the Kiwi has a bunch of boxes, and then we also have the Mel Science boxes, and you can do chemistry, physics, like those are fantastic. So that's why we get our experimenty things in, or those boxes.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

I don't think we've tried Mel Science. We do love Kiwi, but we might need to try Mel. We're looking for a new box for next year.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

So Mel's more more literal science. Like we're talking like physics boxes, chemistry boxes, um, there's engineering boxes, there's stuff, like they're so good. And I actually have a closet full. We save them, and they're what one of the summer things. We do that in the summer.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

That's oh, that's a really good idea. I love that. Um, yeah, so the boxes I was talking about are a little bit more STEM-based, uh, but it sounds like these ones are really good. So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

French job ones are fantastic. Grady's done two years of those, like they're great.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Fine. Um, and then like Courtney said, uh, we do a lot of field trips. So we're going to science museums and even the zoo, all kinds of places. So we and we read a lot of books as well. Uh we have a lot of books that go with. So what I'll do is look at the scope and sequence for the year of all the subjects that we're going to cover in classical conversations, and then I'll find books to add to it or a documentary or things like that. Um, I don't do it for every week, but I'll do big themes. Yeah. Um, we're studying rocks, like we might go on a like this last year, we went um and learned about agates, and then we went on an agate hunt and all, you know, up north and stuff. And so we roll a lot of that stuff kind of um all into one like unit studies, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Um, and so we have different units that I'll try to add little pieces for, but I'm definitely not doing it for every single individual week. Um, the other thing that we do, we do through classical conversations, um, but it's also available through, I'm sure many co-ops, venture upward included, but we do science fairs and they are amazing. I think that a science fair in somewhere between that sixth and eighth grade year are so important. They teach kids so much, and so we really love doing a science fair. I had a kiddo do so far, and this is my oldest four have done it so far. So we've done um growing sprouts and how caffeine affected the growth. Um, so that was a really interesting one. Don't ask me the results because I can't remember all of them, but um, we did how music affects plant growth, and by we I mean my kids. I I was amazed at them. I just sat back and watched. Um, we did um soil erosion for one of them, which sounds really boring, but it was actually super interesting to understand the different factors with soil erosion.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

I'm super impressed that you can remember your kids' science projects. Like we've done dozens of those, and I could not probably tell you any of them.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

I love it. Well, um it's kind of our culminating, so it's not just like we and maybe you don't either, but we it's a culminating project, right? So they are studying and learning for an entire semester, and then it culminates in that presentation. So it's like their whole science second semester is doing this thing. So it's a bigger, it's a big thing, uh process. And then we did um, oh see, now I'm gonna forget my fourth one. Uh no, I'm just kidding. That's all right. It's so cool. I'm impressed now, but it was, I'm sure it was good. I don't know why, I can't remember. Um, but it's been it's been a lot of fun. Um, we've had a lot of fun doing it. So uh and then we've done thankfully my dissections that we've done have all been at classical conversations because I cannot do a dissection in my house.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

I was asked great co-ops that have done that. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Yeah, it's the only way to go. Um, we do do owl pellets at home. Just gonna say that I've done owl pellets. We love to do owl pellets. So, anybody who's watching, if you guys have not done owl pellets, they're like six bucks online, maybe 12 to 18. Like you get a bunch, it's not like you just get one. And for those of you who don't know, and maybe you don't, because I didn't know before I did them the first year, but it is all of the things that owls can't digest, like bones and different things and fur from animals, and they vomit them up, which sounds terrible, but they don't stink, they're dried up, they're a crumbly mess when you start dissecting them. But um, it is such a cool project, and um it's not very messy at all. And you know what a germophobe I am, Courtney. And I let my kids even do it without gloves because it is it's not we do tools, they're not open with their hands, but they've got tools, but all that to just say like it's not this big messy affair, it's very doable at home.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

Yeah, we do do it outside.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

If you want dirt, it's like a bunch of dirt. You want your kids apart. Yeah, if you want your kids to pull them apart with their hands, then definitely have gloves. But if you have tools, you're great. Um, we just do them on mats, like placemat, not what placemats we eat off of, but like just like a you know, like a plastic piece down. Yeah. Um because in the Minnesota winters, we are not taking them, right? There's only a short time we're going outside to do anything, and it's it's not during owl pellet uh dissection season in this house. Um, but anyways, those are really fun, and then they can rebuild those skeletons. It's crazy. If you do it, make sure you have a resource though for them to identify what they're finding. Um, but yeah, so I just think there's tons of science out there that you can do, and if even if it's your least favorite subject, there's still good resources out there, which I'm super grateful for. Yeah, but I like this follow-up idea.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Yeah, there's a really fun one that's been on my list that we haven't done, but it's um like kitchen science in the kitchen or something like that, where they like cook their way through all the sciencey things. I've seen that a few times, so that's on my list.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

There was one, it's funny that you say that. We were just at a homeschool conference, L D S H E, and they had a food science booth there. Oh, yeah. I wonder if that is the same one, but it looked really cool. Um, but me and my lack of love for science, I didn't stop at the booth, but it looked cool from afar. How about that?

SPEAKER_00 21:43

I don't know, I it can be fun, but I my total tip is a hundred percent do it with friends. Like get a group together. Super simple. It's I mean very low maintenance, it's a very easy co op to put together.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

That's a I think that's such a good idea, and I think that's a good piece of encouragement. Encouragement for any subject that you don't enjoy, do it with friends, you know, share the burden. I think that's such a yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:06

The other thing with science is it doesn't need to be every day. Like once a week is fine.

unknown 22:10

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

And that that's the other thing that's why it makes it so nice and easy to do as a co-op because it doesn't, it's not a subject that needs to be done to death like every single day.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

No, I totally agree with you. And there's enough resources that if you have a really science-minded kiddo, but your family's only doing science once a week, there's enough resources out there that they can be really independent with that. You can they can do science every day if they want to and not need you every day. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

There's so many great living science books, like so many good books.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Yeah, so many good ones.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

I totally agree. All right, so such a fun conversation. I'm quite curious to see what everybody else has to say about science. So tell us in the comments what you do for science, whether you love it, you hate it. You do it in a co op, you do it every day. I mean, some people might love science, they might do it every day, but yeah, who wants to go for a ride? Um, but anyways, all right. Thanks everybody. We'll see you next week for social studies. Bye.