Using STEM kits for homeschool science

Subscription kits are a supplement, not a curriculum. None of them is sequenced, assessed or aligned to a standard, and any that claims to be a complete science education is overselling. What they do well is provide the practical component that home science most often lacks.

Matching kit to gap

• Physics and mechanics - a motorised building system gives you gear ratios, torque, friction and energy transfer as things a child can manipulate rather than read about
• Chemistry - MEL Science is the only option here with genuine laboratory rigour, and it is a real step up
• Broad primary science - KiwiCo's subject rotation maps reasonably onto a general science scheme of work
• Geography and humanities - Little Passports, though it sits outside STEM proper

The scheduling advantage of weekly content

For homeschooling specifically, cadence maps onto planning. A weekly project slots into a weekly timetable in a way a monthly box does not - you get a practical session every week rather than one good week followed by three you have to fill yourself.