While summer is a great time for kids to relax, play outside, and gear up for the next year, a recent study found that more than half of children lost up to 39% of the academic gains they made that year over the summer. July and August can be a great time to help your students maintain their academic skills, especially in the STEM fields. The best homeschool STEM curriculum can also help you ensure your child continues to make progress throughout the school year.
Jump right into learning important computer science skills with award-winning live online classes led live by an expert. Most students start with beginner-friendly Scratch coding:
Discover the best homeschool STEM curriculum
We’ll discuss everything you need to know about learning STEM through homeschooling. We'll reveal the best ways to learn STEM, what to look for in a curriculum, and explore how live online computer science classes can help students build fundamental skills year round. We’ll also show you some free coding classes that can help engage your student before you commit to any programs to ensure their interests align.
What is STEM homeschool?
STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math, can be taught effectively at home. Practicing skills such as coding, design, and discovering new concepts like robotics, cloud computing, and AI, are engaging ways to get students to learn new ideas or develop current interests.
Homeschooling your student in STEM is most effective when you can support their learning. While you, as a parent or homeschool teacher, need not be a subject expert, ensuring that your child does homework and practices what they learn in class is a critical part of your student’s success. Even asking your child to show you what they’ve learned, projects they’ve made, or to describe their favorite parts of class can help increase student learning.
Explore homeschool STEM curriculum classes
Award-winning computer science education platform Create & Learn offers a wide range of virtual STEM classes and STEM camps. Students can pursue classes in artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, and more, selecting a class or classes based on their interests. There are even learning pathways based on student interests by grade: Grades K-2 | Grades 2-4 | Grades 4-6 | Grades 6-12.
Classes tend to have four-class levels, typically beginning with an introductory course (comprised of 4 55-minute live class sessions) and then followed by additional levels. You can sign up for a class one level at a time, or buy several course levels at once (often at a discount). Courses are held at many times throughout the day, and most classes can be taken once, twice, or four times a week, depending on your availability.
Classes are live and completely virtual. Your student will be in a small group of up to five peers led by an experienced instructor. Students can ask their teacher questions at any time during the session, and can get instant feedback on their work. Additionally, students can communicate with their teachers over email throughout the week.
Several of STEM class topics are listed below. Choose an area that your student is drawn to, then branch out to others as they build their skills.
1. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science classes
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science are often thought of as the next big frontier in computer science. There are several AI and Data Science classes that teach students about the role of machine learning in daily life, the methods by which we use data to make decisions, and lots of cool new technologies. AI Explorers is a great starting point for many students - learn about the three types of AI and how we use them in this fun free event!
2. Coding classes
Coding classes help students build coding proficiency in a language of their choosing. Students can learn how to make mobile games, design websites, and much more. We recommend most students begin with Scratch Ninja (Grades 2-5), which teaches kids coding fundamentals through the popular block-coding language Scratch which is simple to pick up and lets students focus on the logic rather than typing syntax. Younger students should begin with Scratch Junior, and teens should begin with Accelerated Scratch. Find out more about why coding is such an important skill for kids to learn here.
3. Robotics classes
We are surrounded by electronics: smartphones, computers, TVs, robots, and more! While lots of students have learned to code, few have had the opportunity to build a physical system, which opens up a brand new world. By learning Arduino coding, kids can create electronics projects for real world adventures at home. In Create & Learn’s robotics classes such as Smart Devices, students learn the basics of robot design and programming, fusing hardware and software.
4. Digital design classes
For students who love art, digital design is a great entry point into the STEM space. The curriculum marries creative and artistic thinking with developing an understanding of the technology behind graphic design. Younger students might enjoy Budding Digital Artist, which exposes young minds to a variety of art mediums to grow their creativity. We recommend most students begin with fun Modern Website Design with Wix. This class covers a wide range of topics in Web Design, starting from the basics of how to use WIX and how to structure a website, to designing layout, choosing color schemes, and even to creating a web store to sell products.
5. Game design and development classes
The most common response we get when we ask students why they want to learn to program is “to build games.” At Create & Learn, we have classes that both allow students to develop their own games, and code within existing structures. Minecraft Modding Quest is a fantastic introduction to coding in Minecraft, teaching students to solve problems and challenges through Minecraft code.
6. Science classes
Our science classes and science camps are designed to get kids excited about quantum physics and its impact on our lives. Quantum physics is the foundation of modern technology: electricity, solar energy, batteries, wifi, computers. An understanding of quantum physics opens doorways to STEM fields such as quantum computing, electrical engineering, biotechnology, astrophysics, material science and other growing industries. These classes incorporate a wide variety of engaging activities, including hands-on physical demos, cartoon visuals, educational presentations, drawing activities, guided discussions and humorous quizzes. There's also a fun NASA Science class that's a student favorite!
Homeschool STEM curriculum elementary
One stand-out feature of Create & Learn’s curriculum is the fact that it is geared towards students of all ages. Find fun homeschool options for students as young as five. For elementary students, we recommend learning the basics of coding, AI, and robotics to discover how computers power our daily life. We've pulled together some great combinations of classes that you can choose based on your child's interests. Following these learning pathways allows your child to keep learning and building their skills, while making it easy for you to plan.
Engineering homeschool curriculum
If you’re wondering why to encourage your students to pursue STEM education at home, know that STEM skills can readily translate into future academic and career success. Beyond the raw coding skills that students will obtain, Create & Learn’s inquiry-based approach to STEM education asks kids to be curious, engaged, and creative. These qualities are all invaluable in any kind of engineering or scientific field, and set your student up to succeed in any one of a number of fields down the line.
If you'd like your child to focus on building strong foundation in coding, we recommend the Coding Essentials Pathway. This is the shortest path for your child to go from beginner to Python with a smooth learning path.
Free homeschool STEM curriculum
Many of Create & Learn’s classes have free, introductory sessions. Students can get a taste of the language or concept that will be covered in the paid options and build a short project. Give our free coding classes a try today, before deciding which homeschooling path to pursue! We recommend starting with Scratch, Python, or Roblox.
Homeschool STEM Kits
Aspiring engineers may love hands-on robotics or circuit kits for home learning, which afford curious kids the opportunity to “get their hands dirty” and build something cool. STEM activities like Arduino can also be programmed, giving students hardware and software experience. Check out our post on Arduino kits to see some of our favorites.
What makes the best homeschool STEM curriculum?
The best homeschool STEM curriculum for your child will have a few different components. Here we take a look at what to consider, and some great classes to help:
1. Created by experts
A curriculum created by technology professionals who have worked in the fields they're teaching about will ensure your student learns skills that are applicable to their future. It also means there will be added real-world examples, which are key to helping children understand context.
Create & Learn’s curriculum was developed in conjunction with and using expertise from Google and Stanford University, pioneers in Computer Science, and CS education.
2. Taught by experts
Expert instruction matters because kids will have questions! Experts know the most about their subjects and can make the material fun because it comes naturally to them.
All Create & Learn instructors are background-checked and US-based. Every teacher has more than three years of experience in their fields, and has skills in both education and computer science.
3. The best homeschool curriculum has to be high-quality
A high-quality curriculum ensures your student learns in a progression that helps them build on their previous skills, while also not overwhelming them.
Create & Learn’s method of instruction and materials support student creativity and inquiry-based learning. We designed our classes to get students thinking and problem-solving, asking students to step out of their comfort zones while continually providing support and encouragement. Classes build skills logically over time, and students can choose age-appropriate tracks that play to their interests.
4. Interdisciplinary learning
While coding is often the focus of computer science education, students learn best when they can apply what they’ve learned to real-world contexts. That’s why we offer classes in not just coding, but also artificial intelligence for kids, robotics for kids, digital design for kids, and more. Students can transfer programming skills between classes, and fully immerse themselves in the computer science world.
5. Convenience
The best curriculum for your student will have to work with your schedule. That's why you might find online classes - offered at many different times throughout the day - particularly convenient. Because of the flexibility of our online scheduling, we can often accommodate students from many time zones.
6. Fun
The best homeschool classes making learning fun! Your student will want to dive much deeper into material if they're having a great time.
In our coding and design classes, students build games, animations, and more in every class session. Students take a lot of pride in what they create, and can customize their projects to fit their interests.
Our Silicon Valley vet-expert-designed curriculum, our awesome staff, and our convenient scheduling have led Create & Learn to be loved by all: Create & Learn classes have been recognized by HulaFrog and parents worldwide as the Most Loved 2021 Virtual Learning program and won a Best of 2021 Award from ActivityHero.
Begin with the best homeschool STEM curriculum
Today, we’ve covered the importance of STEM education and how to get your student started with STEM homeschool curricula. Choose a few free classes for your student to see what they're most interested in and kick off your learning adventure. Not sure where to begin? Try our free Scratch coding for kids class.
Written by Sarah Rappaport, who graduated from Northwestern University with undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and music. She's now working on a masters in data with Georgia Institute of Technology. She taught math and computer science with Teach for America for two years, and now works as a Systems Engineer.
