A mom asked me what qualities were most important to look for in a science or math curriculum.
I’ve been asked this a lot, so I figured I’d share the answer with you based on my 20+ years of teaching experience.
NOTE: A number of the big-name curriculums fall miserably short.
There are a lot of homeschool science and math curriculums to choose from, and regardless of which you use, make sure it has these essential elements:
1. A good science or math curriculum should apply concepts to real life and use real-world examples. Math should be related to the kinds of things adults use it for in real life (not silly problems like dividing 14 watermelons among 17 friends).
Science and math must relate topics to the real world for kids to truly understand them AND to learn them more easily. A science or math curriculum that applies math to the real world is superior. Kids need to understand WHY math/science is useful and WHY they should care about it.
- Kids ask “Why do I need to learn this?” and we need a good answer or they’ll lost interest
- The answer is that they are tools to be used in the real world.
- They help us understand and predict the world around us.
- When kids understand “why” something is useful and can relate it to the real world, it’s 10x easier for them to understand, they will retain it more easily and they will enjoy it more.
- A research study in the academic “Journal of Research in Science Teaching“ found that students who engaged in science lessons tied to everyday experiences (e.g., water usage at home, local environmental conditions) performed better on assessments and showed higher motivation than peers who learned the same content abstractly. (https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/57510/20203_ftp.pdf)
2. Kids need a place where they can ask science and math questions and get a real answer from a real teacher. A good curriculum should provide for this (forcing kids to learn in a way where they just memorize and repeat so there’s no room for curiosity or questions might check off a box, but it’s not a real education).
3. A complete curriculum should be one that doesn’t require you to know the subject yourself. You shouldn’t need to re-learn long division or cellular division (unless you want to). The curriculum should provide the teaching AND support required.
Kids should be able to learn on their own without you needing to answer questions or learn science or math yourself.
- It should be Independent learning or self-guiding.
- It should encourage questions AND give the chance for kids to ask them and get real answers.
- Curriculums that water-down or over-simplify concepts so kids don’t have questions are wasting your kids’ time.
- This includes experiments and activates that are demonstrated in step-by-step videos that clearly illustrate HOW to do things.
4. A science curriculum should have lots of hands-on activities and experiments. This allows kids to learn faster, understand the material on a deeper level and remember it better.
These 4 qualities are essential for kids to get a TRUE science or math education.
If a good STEM education for your child isn’t important to you, then these won’t matter. You can “check off the box” with a typical all-in-one curriculums that keep kids tied up all day.
BUT, if you DO think STEM education is important for your child’s education and future, then you’ll want to be sure whatever curriculum you choose has these elements.
Best of luck with the new year!
— Aurora
P.S. If you want to try a sample lesson from my curriculum – which includes all these essential elements and more – I’d like to invite you to join me for a free class and decide for yourself.
You can try a sample class today right here:
Click To Try Free Class
