Homeschooling Q&A: What about science labs?

I think this question comes from two misconceptions: 1) labs must be done as a group and 2) lab supplies are only available to brick-and-mortar schools who can buy in quantity.

Personally, I have never faced the first misconception. I think it comes from the idea that schools break up into groups to do labs, but no one ever thinks about the reason for that. I think the reason is because they are trying to cut costs. It is cheaper to buy half the materials and have the students do the experiment in groups than it is to buy materials for every student. After all, how many students does it really take to dissect an earthworm, or mix two chemicals for a chemical reaction?

I have had to answer the second misconception. It is my experience that the person asking the question doesn’t realize the abundance of material available to home schools. They do not realize that you can readily get chemicals for experiments, animals for dissections, microscopes, and any number of other materials used for science experiments. Once I tell them I can get the materials easily and relatively inexpensively, it usually keeps the critic quiet.

This question is making me laugh! I was only homeschooled for my last two years of highschool, but my best friend was always homeschooled (we’re both now college/grad students). She told me once that she used to be jealous of institutionally schooled kids because on tv, they’re always shown in fancy science labs doing cool experiments. However, after she started meeting kids who had gone to school, she realized none of them had done these experiments. You know what? In 4 DoD schools, 3 public schools, and 1 international school, I never had a science lab. One of my high schools had us dissect a frog once, but we were 4 to a frog, and I just sat and read a book the whole time (no, the teacher never noticed).

Going to a ‘proper’ school doesn’t mean the kids are getting what you think they’re getting.

you can buy what ever you need for any science experiment now a days

Has anyone written any labs up that they would share here?  Or were most of them purchased/boxed and ready?

Also, in terms of high school transcript requirements … what constitutes a “lab” …. are there a number of hours?  certain types of things to check off with each field of science? 

I studied in a public school and the only “experiments” we did was to sit in the lab as the teacher went on teaching from their text books. Sometimes we would be allowed to put on our bunsen burners and watch chemical reactions but we had to wait to be picked to stand as the teacher did the experiments for us. In contrast, my kids get to exercise their curiosity many times over. We always look for practical ways in which they can pick up theoretical knowledge. All our supplementary activities revolve around their ability to pick up a concept easily. Our summer bucket list even includes taking up science experiments weekly and documenting it! As a birthday gift, DD demanded a scientist kit complete with lab coat and safety goggles. She even wanted one of those solar panel kits where you can build toy boats and cars that use solar energy. I doubt this is something a school will let you experiment with!