The Best Free Science Curriculum Options for Homeschool

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You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give your children a great science education. Traditionally, free curriculum options were very weak and required parents or teachers to supplement heavily. There are many high-quality free science curriculum options available for homeschoolers, covering everything from life science, biology, and earth science to chemistry, physics, physical science,  and general science.

While I think there is a time and place for investing in science lessons (high school lab sciences come to mind), I also think that there can be benefits to utilizing free science curriculum options. Some of the benefits include:

  • Combine units from different science courses to create a truly personalized curriculum
  • Try free individual courses from a publisher before investing money in their paid options
  • You have flexibility and can change curricula if something isn’t working for your student
  • Treat each class as a self-paced course and work through the material on a schedule that works for your family
  • Frequently gain instant access to downloadable products
  • Try a different science curriculum for different science units

You are the administrator of your homeschool, so you can decide whether you want to complete every unit in a grade level or explore fewer topics in more depth. You can also decide whether you want to stick to just the units in your child’s grade level or jump around a bit.

The Best Free Science Curriculum Options for Homeschool

homeschool free science curriculum written above beakers of brightly colored liquid

Core Knowledge

The Core Knowledge Foundation offers free curriculum that can be used for a variety of subjects and in a variety of settings. They are an ideal choice for elementary or middle school homeschool families who want a well-designed option without a hefty price tag.

I used the Core Knowledge science curriculum when I was a classroom kindergarten teacher. Some of the lessons are a bit dry, but I liked that the comprehensive teacher guide made the instruction clear. The curriculum includes a teacher’s guide with detailed lesson plans, student books, and printable worksheets. I recommend adding interesting reading materials and field trips to make the lessons more engaging.

The current Core Knowledge Foundation free science curriculum options include:

Kindergarten

  • Science in Action: Kyle and Jamie
  • Pushes and Pulls
  • Needs of Plants and Animals
  • Changing Environments
  • Weather Patterns
  • Our Five Senses
  • Computers All Around Us
  • Science All Around Us

First Grade

  • Science in Action: Daniela and Thais (Life of a Scientist)
  • Sun, Moon, and Stars
  • Plant and Animal Survival
  • Exploring Light and Sound
  • Simple Machines
  • Human Body Systems
  • Helpful Computers
  • Science for Everyone

Second Grade

  • Science in Action: Laura and Sandra
  • Properties of Matter
  • Organisms and Their Habitats
  • Exploring Land and Water
  • Electricity and Magnetism
  • Human Cells and Digestion
  • Using Computers
  • Learning About Science

Third Grade

  • Science in Action: Christian and Skylar
  • Investigating Forces
  • Life Cycle, Traits, and Variations
  • Habitats and Change
  • Weather and Climate
  • Human Senses and Movement
  • Codes and Computers
  • Reading About Science

Fourth Grade

  • Science in Action: Pearl, Dan, and Kendrick
  • Energy Transfer and Transformation
  • Investigating Waves
  • Structures and Functions of Living Things
  • Processes That Shape Earth
  • Using Natural Resources for Energy
  • Human Respiration and Circulation
  • Problem Solving and Computers
  • Making Sense of Science

Fifth Grade

  • Science in Action: Rowan and Gianna
  • Investigating Matter
  • Energy and Matter in Ecosystems
  • Modeling Earth’s Systems
  • Protecting Earth’s Resources
  • Astronomy: Space Systems
  • Human Hormones and Reproduction
  • Designing Computer Programs
  • Using Science Knowledge

Sixth Grade

  • Light and Matter
  • Thermal Energy
  • Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling
  • Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling
  • Natural Hazards
  • Cells and Systems

Seventh Grade

  • Chemical Reactions and Matter
  • Chemical Reactions and Energy
  • Metabolic Reactions
  • Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis
  • Ecosystem Dynamics
  • Earth’s Resources and Human Impact

Eighth Grade

  • Contact Forces
  • Sound Waves
  • Forces at a Distance
  • Earth in Space
  • Genetics
  • Natural Selection and Common Ancestry

Core Knowledge is one of the only free science curriculum options that teaches real science to young students. Check out my Core Knowledge curriculum review.

OpenStax

OpenStax offers high-quality free digital textbooks to high school students. If you submit proof of homeschooling, you can also download any instructor resources and the answer key for the high school courses. They require proof in order to ensure that students are not accessing answer keys to cheat. When my husband and I were homeschooling our youngest, we emailed them a copy of our NC homeschool registration. They accepted that as proof.

Current OpenStax free science curriculum options include:

  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Astronomy
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Health Science

OpenStax can be a great option if you want your high schooler to have experience with a traditional textbook. In my experience, it is valuable for high school students to know how to retain and find information using a digital textbook. I required my high schoolers to use a digital textbook for a few classes, and that helped prepare them for dual enrollment classes.

Class CrunchLabs

CrunchLabs is created by Mark Rober. You might remember him from his Backyard Squirrel Maze YouTube video that went viral a few years ago. He has partnered with other science professionals to create a free middle school science curriculum. The CrunchLabs units are designed to be engaging and easy to teach.

Each unit includes:

  • Lesson plans
  • Slide decks
  • Teacher manual
  • Hands-on challenges
  • Student mission log (essentially a student workbook)
  • Multimodal assessments
  • Handouts and other printable materials

Class CrunchLabs free science curriculum options include:

  • Rocks Vs Big Rigs (Kinetic Energy)
  • Operation Space Jump (Gravitational Force)
  • Carnival of Collisions (Contact Forces)
  • Mission Maglev (Electric and Magnetic Forces)
  • Solar Cook-Off (Thermal Energy) – Coming soon!

Class CrunchLabs looks really well planned out. I wish this was an option when my son was in middle school because I think he would have had so much fun with these video lessons!

Guest Hollow

Most of the Guest Hollow curriculum options are paid resources, but they do offer two free science curriculum options. Guest Hollow’s Biology is a Christian science resource, and I always recommend previewing religious materials to make sure they align with your family’s specific beliefs.

Guest Hollow free science curriculum options:

  • High School Biology
  • Elementary Science of Seasons Unit Study

These Guest Hollow curricula can be used on their own, or used as a way to determine whether the paid resources are a good fit for your family.

American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society (ACS) offers free science curriculum and lesson plans that are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). There are options for elementary and middle school. The material is presented in a 5E format (engage, explore, explain, evaluate, and extend).

Elementary students will use the Inquiry in Action lesson plans. These free science lesson plans and activity sheets are designed to help children understand how chemistry is all around them in real life.

The middle school chemistry course includes hands-on experiments, lesson plans, interactive animations, and activity sheets.

In addition to the lesson plans, there are links to science stories, additional experiments, and resources to deepen scientific understanding.

Open Sci Ed

Open Sci Ed offers free science curriculum options for all grade levels. This curriculum teaches using a storyline approach that is intended to logically guide students through material. Every lesson follows the same basic educational routines:

  • Anchoring phenomenon
  • Navigation
  • Investigation
  • Problematizing
  • Putting the pieces together

The current Open Sci Ed free science curriculum units include:

Kindergarten

  • Energy: Sunlight
  • Weather
  • Forces and Motion
  • Plants, Animals, and Their Environments

First Grade

  • Waves: Light
  • Waves: Sound
  • Space: Sky Patterns
  • Animal and Plant Traits

Second Grade

  • Earth: Land Changing Shape
  • Structures and Properties of Matter
  • Habitats and Biodiversity
  • Plants

Third Grade

  • Forces and Interactions
  • Weather and Hazards
  • Trait Variations
  • Ecosystem Change and Survival

Fourth Grade

  • Energy Transfer: Collisions
  • Energy Transfer: Electricity
  • Earth Processes
  • Structure and Function

Fifth Grade

  • Ecosystems and Matter Cycling
  • Matter Properties
  • Earth Systems
  • Sun, Moon, and Star Patterns

Sixth Grade

  • Light and Matter
  • Thermal Energy
  • Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling
  • Plate Tectonics and Rock Cycling
  • Natural Hazards
  • Cells and Systems

Seventh Grade

  • Chemical Reactions and Matter
  • Chemical Reactions and Energy
  • Metabolic Reactions
  • Matter Cycling and Photosynthesis
  • Ecosystem Dynamics and Biodiversity
  • Earth’s Resources and Human Impact

Eighth Grade

  • Contact Forces
  • Sound Waves
  • Forces at a Distance
  • Earth in Space
  • Genetics
  • Natural Selection and Common Ancestry

High School

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics

I like that Open Sci Ed offers free self-guided professional development for educators. This sort of training can equip teachers to have a better teaching experience and more knowledge about the course subject matter.

The Good and the Beautiful Marine Biology

The Good and the Beautiful offers a free marine biology curriculum for 3rd – 8th grade. There are 12 lessons in this curriculum, so it is more of a unit study than a full curriculum. The free download includes a course book and student journal.

This might be a good option if you are considering other The Good and the Beautiful products or if you have a child with an interest in marine biology.

Yapa Kids

Yapa Kids is intended to act as a supplement to 1st – 8th grade science classes; however, this might be enough to act as a spine for young children. Then you can add in related books and activities at home. The classes are live virtual classes. My main hesitation with this free science resource is that the science classes are held at 4:00 PM PST. If you are on the East Coast, 7:00 PM seems late to expect a first grader to pay attention and participate in an educational class.

I think there is a slim group of homeschool families Yapa Kids will benefit, but I wanted to include it just in case it will work for your family.

Smithsonian Science Education Center

I am a big fan of anything the Smithsonian produces. My family visited the Smithsonian museums frequently when we lived in Northern Virginia, and they always seemed to be well run. The Smithsonian Science Education Center offers a variety of educational resources, including free middle school and high school science curriculum options.

The current Smithsonian Science Center free science curriculum options include:

  • Food! How do we ensure good nutrition for all?
  • Starting with Sustainability: Good Health and the Environment
  • Starting with Sustainability: Energy and Climate
  • Starting with Sustainability: Good Health and Disease
  • Starting with Sustainability: Energy and Daily Choices
  • Zero Barriers! How can we support access in our community?
  • Biotechnology! How can we ethically create a sustainable future using biotechnology?
  • Climate Resilience! How can communities adapt to a changing climate?
  • Biodiversity! How can we balance the needs of people with the needs of other living things?
  • Mosquito! How can we ensure health for all from mosquito-borne diseases?
  • Ocean! How can we create a sustainable future for the ocean
  • Innovation! How can we create new solutions for the changing climate?
  • Climate Action! How can we mitigate human impacts on the atmosphere?

I think you will likely need to combine multiple units to create a free science curriculum plan for an entire year. These curriculum options also seem like a great option for a student who has completed the traditional core science classes and has a passion for sustainability.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is always one of the first online resources I think of when I want a free curriculum or educational resource. This free website teaches the material through readings and videos. Then students answer questions to make sure that they understand the material. Parents can sign up for a parent or teacher account and assign lessons to their students, or students can work through the material at their own pace. The Khan Academy free science curriculum options are geared towards middle school and high school.

The current Khan Academy free science curriculum options include:

  • Middle school biology
  • Middle school Earth and space science
  • Middle school chemistry
  • Middle school physics
  • High school biology
  • High school chemistry
  • High school physics
  • AP/College biology
  • AP/College chemistry
  • AP/College environmental science
  • AP/College physics 1 and 2

If you want to use Khan Academy for a free science curriculum, I suggest adding additional books, hands-on activities, and experiments.

I hope this list of free science curriculum options helps you stretch your homeschool budget while still providing an amazing education. It can be fun to homeschool science!

Keep reading . . .

Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.