Homeschooling Biology - Online Resources

General Biology Websites

Biology 4 Kids
Excellent sequential lessons about cells, plants, animals, body systems and more. Great for kids ages 8 to 13, for teens' review, or for adult reference.

Treehouses on the Tree of Life
Make your own webpages about various animals, plants, or other organisms as part of this ever-growing project. Hosted bt The University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Ask A Biologist
Experiments, articles, links....very useful, especially if you have a question that your books don't answer.

Biology in Action
More video, fascinating!

Biology in Motion
Flash animations of biological processes: digestion, glandular activity, cell division, etc. Helps cement ideas in the memory. Ages 12 and up.

National Geographic Kids
Excellent site, with photos, videos, games, puzzles, news, and many things to keep a kid busy and learning. Great for times when school isn't going to happen....

Science with me

A cheery, colorful website with games, animations, worksheets and coloring pages for preschool to about age 10. Subscription required, but it's free!

Microbial Life, Cells Websites

Microbe World
Stunning site! Videos, photos, news and information about life in the world of the very small. Great for teens, and curious younger ones. Check this out for yourself, also!

Cells Alive!
Another well-done, very visual site, with lots of information games, puzzles, etc. Older kids and teens.

The Virtual Cell
Great for visualizing cell structure. Has a virtual textbook, worksheets, etc.

Heredity

I Can Do That!
For younger kids, ages 5 to 10...very nice explanations of cells, DNA, RNA and cloning. Teacher/parent pages also.

DNA From the Beginning
A really well-done interactive Flash animation site which teaches genetics in a fascinating way. Highly recommended for older kids and teens, and you!

Animal Life

Animal Diversity Web
A teen-level University of Michigan site about taxonomy and the lives and structure of animals. Look up any animal that exists, and several that don't anymore....

Electronic Naturalist
Learning about the world around us...includes 'identify this', ask-a-naturalist, and many fun things to learn.

What's That Bug?
Insects galore! All ages.

All About Birds
From Cornell, a multimedia site that will be a great help to bird watchers and those who have a report to do.... teens and up, unless your younger one LOVES birds...

Human Biology

Human Anatomy Online
Study the systems of the body with pictures and lessons.

What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have?
Basic genetics for older kids and teens...interesting approach! Compare their results with your actual kids!!

Evolution

Becoming Human
Very interactive site about how man evolved. Ages 12 and up.

PBS Evolution Lessons
Student lessons, teacher pages, activities, and videos. 12 and up.

Explorations Through Time
The history of life on earth presented in interactive modules for various age groups. Reading needed, but concepts are well-presented.

Evolving Planet: Tour Through Time
The Field Museum's  illustrated timeline about the history of the earth. Older kids and teens.

My Mad, Mad Love for The Teaching Company

When kids make the transition into True Teenhood, it can be hard to satisfy their innate curiosity without boring them to tears : that is, the format in which they learn may bore them excruciatingly.


For instance, while Neal may love to read, he finds that most textbooks are mentally anesthetic. They give stock answers to unenticingly-asked questions, then proceed to make it sound as if all the answers have been found. This make subjects like science, which are intrinsically  fascinating, into Butt-blasting Boredom with a capital 'B' or two.


Happily, Neal has taken quite well to dvds and such from The Teaching Company (no $$ or free products have exchanged hands here, : we have really, honestly used and enjoyed them after paying with our own hard-earned monies.) We've used ones on Algebra, history (we're currently using The Early Middle Ages set), World History (the ones for High school are great fun and very memorable) and science (cosmology and more.) Neal gets college-level teaching that respects his curiosity and caters a bit to his need for a bit of entertainment and variety. It works well all around.


The DVDs are pricey, but watch the site for sales. All of the sets go on sale quite regularly at amazing discounts. Occasionally, used ones are available on Amazon or Ebay. They have a great resale value also!

Hands-on Cell Structure Activity

Hands-on Cell Structure Lesson

Here is a fun way to introduce cell structure to your children. It can also be used in a co-op situation, but then the instructor must have a variety of items available for use. Wear old clothes or an apron, and do it outside or in an easy-to-clean place!


After reading about cell structure on a site like Rader's Biology4Kids or in a book like Eyewitness Life, review the various parts of a cell, either plant or animal. Then, give each child a heavy-duty plastic bag with a zipper top.

Have the child search your junk drawer or desk drawer to find a small object to represent each organelle.Make a chart and write the function of each organelle, which types of cell it's in, and what your child used to represent each part. Be careful about using sharp objects! When you have assembled your cells, add a cup of corn syrup, cooking oil or clear dishwashing liquid to it to represent the cytoplasm.

Keep your potentially messy models for a few days to use as memory aids. Take photos when they get too messy to be carried around.
These make great pictures for those end-of-the-year portfolios, or to send to grandparents who wonder exactly what you do all day.