My primary desire with this blog is to find solutions to the problems that drive us crazy. With respect to homeschooling, I know that one of the most crazy-making aspects of it is choosing curriculum. You spend HOURS researching. By the time you’re done, you can’t even remember what you’ve looked at and what you haven’t. If you make a choice that doesn’t fit, you start the process all over again.
Most of my education as a clinical psychologist wasn’t on treating patients, but on research. I really enjoy researching things and decided to research curriculum so you don’t have to! I thought science would be a quicker curriculum to research, and while it may have taken me less time than other subjects, IT TOOK ME A VERY LONG TIME. I have tremendous respect for the people who make their living by reviewing curricula. Whew!
How This List of the Best Homeschool Science Curriculum Will Save You Time
But you don’t want to read my whine about how long this took, do you? 🙂 You want the list of the best science curriculum! But before I share it with you, I want to explain how I’ve organized the research. You can read this list of my opinions of the best curricula, pin it, and share it–and I hope you do!
But the real gold I’ve produced is a complete PDF of all the best science curricula for elementary, junior high, and high school students. You can look through the tables within the PDF to find Christian, Catholic, or secular curricula. You can look for curricula by cost, difficulty, teacher involvement, or materials required. But even better, you can click on the BEST REVIEWS for each curriculum. No more Googling for you!! You can save the PDF to your computer for when your child reaches the next level of education or if you want to find something new. You can form your OWN opinions of the best homeschool science curriculum with this list.
The best news of all is that I’m not going to charge you for this great resource. You’ll get it for free when you subscribe to any of my email lists (which includes a Freebies Only list, meaning you’ll only be notified when a valuable freebie is ready for subscribers). Sound good? Click on the picture of the table below, add your email, and BAM! It’s yours as quick as it takes vinegar to react with baking soda. Now on to what, in my opinion, is the best of the best.
Best Elementary Homeschool Science Curriculum
Best Christian Science Curriculum
God’s Design for Science by Answers in Genesis is my top pick. Why? Because it takes the least amount of time to teach, is very interesting (I learn new things every week!), and is light on experiments. As a creationist, this perspective on science is also very important to me. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered if you’re looking for something else. 
A very close second for best Christian elementary science curriculum is Berean Builders. I love that it’s written by Jay Wile and would be excellent preparation for higher-level science. I’m also crazy about the fact that it’s organized historically. How wonderful to have your science curriculum coincide with your history studies!
Best Secular Science Curriculum
Just because I’m calling a science curriculum secular doesn’t mean that it’s anti-creationist. None of the curriculum I’ve included on my complete list of the best (which you can get by scrolling down) is anti-creation. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, my top pick in this area is Real Science 4 Kids. I love it because the lessons are short, engaging, and very easy to understand. The chemistry explanations are my favorite!
Best Science Curriculum for Experiment Lovers
Supercharged Science is my top pick. This curriculum is perfect for kids who love to investigate (and teachers, too). If you are raising a future inventor, I can’t think of a better choice. 
Runner-up in this category is R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey. One of the criticisms of it is it has too many labs. The reviews say they’re a lot of fun, so if you’re a lab lover but you don’t want to go full boar, this may be the perfect option.
Other Options
Not what you’re looking for? No worries! I have included several other elementary science curricula and all the info you need in the complete PDF. Click Here to Get the PDF!
Best Junior High Homeschool Science Curriculum
Both of my top picks for junior high homeschool science are Christian curricula.
Apologia is my favorite. It has just the right mix of interesting, conversational text with labs and it’s not expensive.
Runner-up is The Rainbow, which also has a conversational text and might be easier for some students. It is more expensive, however.
Best High School Homeschool Science Curriculum
Again my top picks are both Christian curricula.
Apologia is once again my favorite. Three of my children have used it and have enjoyed it. The criticism that it does not prepare students for college is unwarranted in my experience.
My second-place pick may be surprising. It’s Switched-On Schoolhouse or Monarch (the online version of SOS). I have been asked by parents of students who struggle with science what they should choose and this is it. It’s less challenging and the least demanding for teachers.
One final option is especially appropriate for high school and that is outside classes through local co-ops. The advantage is your student may enjoy doing labs with others and you won’t have to purchase equipment. If you have an advanced student, consider dual enrollment or AP classes online through programs like Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. My son had an excellent experience taking Advanced Chemistry through them.
Be sure to follow my Homeschool Science board on Pinterest for loads of great ideas to enhance your science curriculum. Happy learning!
I might have to check some of these out. 🙂
Great, Audra. I hope you are well!
I love the lesson style and kits of The Rainbow Junior High Curriculum, but its main book has 37 errors listed by the publisher, several of them quite large and encompassing, so much so that after the first year I could not bring myself to continue on into the second year with it. They have never published a second revision to address these errors. For the price of the book, I expect better. If they would come out with an update, I’d buy it.
Susan, I really appreciate you sharing this. Hopefully the publisher will read it and will make the corrections. As a publisher myself, I know how much work it is to edit and reprint, but it’s important. Thanks again!
This is a fantastic resource list. One to keep handy in your teacher binder for quick reference. Science is one of those tricky subjects for homeschoolers. Currently, we just wing it and learn by questions or opportunities that come up. I will be keeping this though, so I can refer to it when needed.
Thank you, Melanie
for all your hard work!
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Brandy!
In your research did you look at Crosswired Science? It appears to be new, but I am extremely intrigued by the concept.
Michelle, I did not, so thank you so much for telling me about it. The first glance looks great. I look forward to checking it out thoroughly.
I have used the Apologia Science with my high schoolers and I feel that IF your student does all of the work (On Your Own, Study Guide etc.) the test are actually pretty straight forward. I did have one of my kids who was not doing well on the tests but that was because he was skimming, not doing the problems and not studying the vocabulary. My daughter was generally able to get A’s because she was more systematic in her studying. On the same lines I feel that IF they do the work thoroughly it will more that adequately prepare your student for college work. (at least my daughter has done great in her college science classes).
Sandy, that’s good feedback and it fits with my experience. My friend is very good at helping the kids study with Apologia and they do well. Parents may need to teach study skills before tackling it.
Sandy, so sorry. I seem to have missed your comment. I absolutely agree. I feel that the study skills my kids have learned with Apologia have prepared them for other advanced coursework.
I’m curious about Monarch. We aren’t in HS yet, but my kiddo isn’t going to be a science major in college so I don’t know if Apologia is necessary. But I do want her to have a well understanding of Science (the Science major in me can’t have it any other way haha). We used SOS (basically the CD version of Monarch when she was in lower Elementary and I liked it. But I shied away from AOP SOS and didn’t even try Monarch because most say it’s super weak. I really wanted to use it for Middle School on up, but was nervous about what others have said about it. Do you have any more thoughts you could share on Monarch Science for High School? 🙂
I am not worried about a motivated student doing well in college science classes, regardless of what curriculum they use. However, the reason I really like Apologia is that it teaches study skills students need in college. It definitely prepares them for higher level work and is a great foundation for future science coursework. You could do Monarch if you are using something else that teaches study skills and if you enrich the course. For example, my son attended outside lectures and labs that added to his studies. I know that Lee Binz says that there are high school students who only watch video labs. So keep that in mind and don’t stress. 🙂
Sandy, that’s good feedback and it fits with my experience. My friend is very good at helping the kids study with Apologia and they do well. Parents may need to teach study skills before tackling it. – See more at: https://psychowith6.com/best-homeschool-science-curriculum/#sthash.hJrdWItS.dpuf
Great list! The Rainbow is new to me. I need to look into that one more.