$52.99 – $87.99
REAL Science Odyssey- Life is a year-long, secular homeschool life science curriculum for early elementary grades. Students learn key concepts in life science through an incremental series of lessons and hands-on exploration.
Pages: 328
Grade level: most appropriate for K – 2nd grade
Course type: textbook
REAL Science Odyssey- Life is a year-long, secular homeschool life science curriculum. Students learn key concepts in life science through an incremental series of lessons. They start with the definition of life itself, and work up to the diverse creatures that share our world. Age-appropriate math and labs are woven into the course, providing students with many opportunities to apply the scientific method and reinforce their knowledge. The course guides elementary-age learners as they Read, Explore, Absorb, and Learn life science:
It’s also important to understand what REAL Science Odyssey is not. This curriculum is NOT:
RSO Life is an elementary life science curriculum designed for grades K-2.
Elementary-age students are naturally curious about plants, animals, and the natural world. The RSO elementary life science curriculum leverages this curiosity. It gets children into the natural world to explore the diversity of life with all five senses. It starts with their own body, and broadens into a systematic study of the animal and plant kingdoms. The curriculum deepens their understanding of living systems through fun songs, observation, and experiments.
What’s more, you don’t need to have a science background to use this homeschool science curriculum! All materials are written with the life science novice in mind, so you don’t need to do a lot of extra research in advance of the lessons.
You can also use RSO Life as part of a co-op or with multiple students. If you’re using the curriculum with more than one student, you can purchase extra copies of the consumable student pages separately.
If you need a homeschool science curriculum for a different grade or a different subject, check out the REAL Science Odyssey homepage!
RSO Life starts with the basics, and each unit builds on the last. Every unit reinforces aspects of the scientific method and critical thinking. Each unit explores a big idea or question in depth through reading, experiments, and conversation.
In addition to being a complete, homeschool science curriculum, RSO Life will guide your student in learning essential skills that will serve them throughout their education and life, such as:
No homeschool life science curriculum would be complete without hands-on experiments. Your children will get their hands dirty, gain a few interesting new pets, and see how concepts play out in the real world. With RSO Life, your child will:
. . . and much more! Each experiment includes detailed supply lists, step-by-step instructions, and, when needed, safety precautions.
Lab sheets guide your student through implementing the scientific method. Your student will gain experience:
Research shows that science is best learned in deep investigations of a single subject, rather than short hops from one field to another. All REAL Science Odyssey curricula align with this methodology. Each RSO curriculum is designed as a full-year homeschool science curriculum. It includes:
Important Copyright Information: If you choose the eBook version of this course, you are purchasing a license to use the PDF for your own children. You may make copies for your own children, but you may not share (email, download, print and distribute, resell, etc.) this eBook or any portion of this eBook to others.
Licensing is available for group, school, and co-op use. Please contact Pandia Press for details on group licensing (info@pandiapress.com).
Most supplies are normal household items that you can find either in your home or at the grocery, craft, or big-box store. You’ll also need a 3-ring binder for lab and notebook pages. Field guides to your local birds, insects, and plants will also be helpful.
Since our homeschool life science curriculum is hands-on, some of your “supplies” will include critters–insects, worms, snails–that you find or dig up. You will need access to an outdoor space (garden, yard, park) where these things live. All our experiments are designed to avoid harming these test subjects.
Science Thermometer– The liquid in good science thermometer goes down on its own, unlike the liquid in a medical thermometer, which must be shaken down. Some kitchen thermometers will work, but most do not go low enough. You will need a thermometer that will go down to 30° F or 0° C.
Butterfly house– homemade or purchased one from online science supply stores (comes with a certificate to get five butterfly larvae).
Live critters- garden snails, earthworms, butterfly larvae, spiders (optional), isopods (aka pill bugs or roly-polies)
Triple beam balance (optional)
Binoculars– avoid the $10 ones, but you don’t have to spend $100
Refer to the Try Before You Buy file for a complete detailed list of the lab supplies needed to complete this course.
Don’t have time to search around? Home Science Tools offers kits containing the harder-to-find materials you need for each REAL Science Odyssey curriculum.
