Practical Ways to Teach Biology on the Go

There are many practical ways to teach biology on the go. In fact, I’m pretty convinced that this is one of those subjects that are best learned through hands-on and outside experiences. Using textbooks can come in handy when introducing a biological concept, but relating it to everyday life can be most beneficial. Keep reading for my best tips on teaching biology whether you’re a traveling or stationed family.

Psst… There’s a giveaway at the end of this post! Enter for your chance to win over $200 of free printable homeschooling resources.

The Different Types of Biology

Underneath the umbrella of biology are many different types. Some are introduced in the early years of learning (think botany), while others are typically saved for middle and high school (like biochemistry). Regardless of your children’s age, grade, or level of development, you can use the world around them to teach biology.

Below are the most common types:

Anatomy
Botany
Cell Biology
Ecology
Human Biology
Marine Biology
Microbiology (can include Molecular Biology)
Zoology (includes Entomology and Ethology)

Of course, you could get even deeper with other types, but the aforementioned are typically what’s covered at some point in time between 1st grade and 12th grade. With this mind, let’s look at a few practical ways to teach biology in your homeschool (and on the go).

Practical Ways to Teach Biology on the Go

Although biology can be seen as an “older student” subject, you can introduce it to children of all ages. Here’s how!

Start a traveling botany journal.

If you haven’t noticed a trend with this series yet, it’s that I LOVE giving my kids journals (and they love it, too)! With this special journal, the kids will take note of the different plants, leaves, lichens, herbs, and the like that are popular for every place we visit. They can take pictures, draw them out, and write a mini profile about them. And if they really like what they see, we take a sample!

Using a journal gives them something to look back on, review, and use for future study.

Incorporate hands-on activities.

This could go hand-in-hand with the journaling idea, except taken a little further with other hands-on activities such as visiting a local lake and fishing, test samples of store-bought yeast to see whether or not they are alive, or collecting dirt from outside and exploring what may hidden in it.

The key for most traveling families is to not accumulate more “stuff” to take on future journeys; however, there are lots of hands-on experiments that can be a one-and-done.

Visit local science museum.

Although I have planned to dedicate an entire post to learning science on the go, you can still visit local science-related museums. If you find yourself near a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Aquarium, that would make for a cool field trip. Taking a trip to the zoo would also help teach your kids about zoology. Places like that typically have activities for kids to do as well.

Use online resources.

I like to put together what I call YouTube University playlists that deal with particular subjects. When it comes to biology, you can find a number of educational videos to help teach about anything you can think of. Vet them out first, add them to an album, and then work them into your lesson plans. There are also tons of free resources that can be found separate from video platforms like YouTube.

Printable Plants Lapbook

All you need is this resource, a manilla folder, and some supplies for writing, coloring, cutting, and pasting. This lapbook will help your students learn all about plants! Bonus report page included!

GRAB YOUR PLANT LAPBOOK HERE