How to Unlock Advanced Science for Your Homeschooled High Schooler

  I was compensated for my time and provided with a copy of this curriculum for review purposes, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Homeschooling offers unparalleled flexibility, allowing you to tailor your child's education to their unique strengths and interests. While this freedom is fantastic, it can also present challenges, especially when it comes to subjects like high school science. Many homeschool parents opt for watered-down curricula to simplify the teaching process. However, this approach might be doing your child a disservice. In fact, challenging your high schooler with rigorous science curriculum can reap significant benefits. And as unsure as you feel about teaching advanced science, you can do it!

Challenging Science Creates a Strong Foundation

You have been setting a foundation for your children their entire lives, so why stop once you get to high school especially when so much can be gained from challenging curricula. 

• College Readiness
• Career Preparation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
• Deep Learning
• Fostering Intellectual Curiosity and Independence

Colleges and universities expect high school students to have a solid grounding in science. Challenging curricula prepare your child for the academic rigor they'll encounter in higher education.

Planning to go straight to the work force? A strong foundation in science can open doors to  opportunities in STEM careers, but these jobs demand advanced scientific knowledge. 

Science teaches students to analyze data, form hypotheses, and draw conclusions. These critical thinking and problem solving skills are invaluable in all areas of life.

Challenging science courses encourage in-depth exploration of complex topics. This leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the subject matter. This is especially important is it is a subject your student is interested in pursuing further or one that is directly related to the field they wish to enter. 

High-level science often requires some amount of self-directed study especially when they come across topics that are particularly intriguing. This helps homeschool students become independent learners, a crucial skill for success in college and beyond. 

Making Advanced Science Accessible

All that sounds great, but teaching challenging science is still daunting especially when it comes to Chemistry or Physics where math plays a big role. So while advanced sciences can be frightening, it is possible.

Choose the right curriculum: Look for programs that offer clear explanations, ample practice problems, and hands-on activities. More practice leads to more retention and better understanding, and applying the knowledge to experiments helps students grasp the concepts more firmly.

Utilize online resources: There are countless online tutorials, videos, and simulations that can supplement your teaching. These are helpful when you can't figure out how to solve a problem, don't understand a concept, or even when you just didn't get an experiment to turn out correctly. They can also be a nice change of pace from bookwork. 

Don't be afraid to ask for help: Join homeschooling groups or online forums to connect with other parents who are teaching the same subjects. Finding a local "expert" who is comfortable with the subject can be an excellent way to get technical questions explained especially in upper level sciences like Chemistry or Physics. 

Learn together: Yes, you as the parent can learn or relearn the material. You've been doing it throughout your homeschool career. Working together is a great way to help your student no matter the topic. It helps your student learn that you are never too old to stop learning, plus it improves your relationship and teaches resilience as you work through the challenges together.  

Berean Builders Makes Challenging Science Possible

High school science is a subject we do together for the reasons stated above as well as to help with motivation since sometimes challenging topics just lead to frustration around here.  

For us, Berean Builders has met the requirements for a challenging science curriculum stated above. We have previously used the Chemistry curriculum, and we are specifically looking at the Discovering Design with Physics Curriculum today. 

Each chapter of the Physics curriculum offers examples of how to solve each type of problem as well as practice problems (comprehension checks) throughout the chapter. Each chapter also features at least one and typically multiple hands-on science experiments to cement the physics topic the student has been reading about. Following the chapter, there is a review provided as well prior to the test.

As a side note you can also purchase audio of the book if you have a child that prefers listening to reading. 

When it comes to looking for online resources to help with Physics, Berean Builders has simplified this as well. They have linked videos to various topics in each chapter on their website. Whether it is another explanation of a calculation or the demonstration of an experiment, there are a variety of helpful videos already sorted by lesson. Plus, you can purchase replays of the online class lectures as well. Dr. Jay L. Wile has made these available in a way you can rent a single lecture or the entire year. 

If you are really stuck and looking for a knowledgeable person to help, you can ask Dr. Wile! He hosts a site where you can search previous questions by chapter or submit your own if you don't see the answer. That's amazing support!

Along with the amazing support available with Discovering Design with Physics, they also provide a nice lesson plan in the back of the book. While it may not make the work easier, it definitely helps with planning for the year which is always a bonus for homeschool parents.  

Advanced Science for Homeschoolers is Achievable

By committing to a challenging science curriculum, you're investing in your child's future. It's a journey that may require extra effort, but Berean Builders makes it achievable. 

If you have a younger kiddo, Berean Builders has a science curriculum for them too!