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Homeschool science curriculum · Grades K–12

Rise & Discover

One jar of flour and water becomes a living science lab your whole family can learn from, from kindergarten to senior year.

Get the curriculum $4.99 Instant download · 36-page printable PDF
24 lessons4 grade bands1 sourdough starter

What's inside

One starter. Every grade, side by side.

Siblings work from the same jar at their own level, so a 6-year-old and a high schooler can do science together at the kitchen counter.

All ages

Book 1 · Teacher's Guide & Starter Launch Week

A day-by-day plan to grow your starter, kitchen safety rules, supplies checklist, troubleshooting table, assessment rubric and NGSS standards alignment.

Grades K–2

Book 2 · Little Bakers

  • Is It Alive?
  • Bubble Detectives
  • The Warm vs. Cold Race
  • Mix & Measure Pancake Day
  • Solid, Liquid, or Both?
  • Bake Day & My Five Senses
Grades 3–5

Book 3 · Microbe Explorers

  • Meet the Microbes
  • Fair Test: Which Flour Feeds Best?
  • Temperature & Time Line Graph
  • Sour Science: Acids & Bases
  • The Gluten Ball
  • Fractions in the Kitchen Bake
Grades 6–8

Book 4 · Fermentation Engineers

  • Cells, Energy & Fermentation
  • An Ecosystem in a Jar
  • Gas Laws & Oven Spring
  • Enzymes at Work
  • Baker's Percentages & Ratios
  • Design Your Own Experiment
Grades 9–12

Book 5 · Applied Food Science & Microbiology

  • Modeling Microbial Growth
  • Acid–Base Chemistry
  • Protein Chemistry: Gluten
  • Chemistry of the Crust
  • Reaction Kinetics: Q10
  • Independent Research Project

Also included

Everything you need to teach it

Same format every lessonBig Question, The Science, You'll Need, Let's Do It, Observe & Record, Talk About It, Go Further.
Fill-in data sheetsStarter log, rise tables, a five-senses chart, recipe scaling tables and a reusable lab sheet.
Rubrics & lab reportsA 1–4 rubric for any lesson, a middle-school lab report template and a high school research rubric.
NGSS alignmentPerformance expectations listed by grade band, handy for charter or co-op records.
Recipes that teachA master sourdough loaf written in baker's percentages, plus discard crackers and pancakes.
Plain-language scienceA one-paragraph parent explainer and a 22-term glossary, so you can teach it without a science degree.

Take a peek

Real pages from the PDF

Cover page of Rise and Discover
Cover
Book 2 lesson page: Bubble Detectives
K–2 · Bubble Detectives
Book 3 lesson page with a flour fair-test data table
3–5 · Fair test with data table
Book 4 lesson page with fermentation equations
6–8 · Fermentation equations

Sample lesson · Grades K–2

Here's what a lesson looks like

BOOK 2 · LESSON 3

The Warm vs. Cold Race

Big QuestionDo our tiny helpers like warm or cold?

The Science
Yeast and bacteria work faster when warm and slow down when cold, like how we move slowly on a chilly morning.
You'll Need
Two jars of freshly fed starter (same amount), rubber bands, the fridge, stickers.
Let's Do It
Mark both jars with a rubber band. Put one on the counter and one in the fridge. Check every 2 hours and put a sticker at the top of the starter.
Observe & Record
Color a bar for each jar showing how high it got. Which one won the race?
Talk About It
Why do we keep the starter in the fridge when we go on vacation?

The full curriculum has 23 more lessons like this one, plus the teacher's guide and reference pages.

Questions

Good to know

What do I get?

One 36-page printable PDF (US Letter) with all five books: the teacher's guide, 24 lessons across four grade bands, data sheets, rubrics, standards alignment, recipes and a glossary. You can download it right after checkout.

What supplies do I need?

Mostly kitchen basics: flour, water, salt, a few clear jars and a digital kitchen scale. Some lessons use extras like balloons, pH strips or a red cabbage, a thermometer, and an optional beginner microscope. A full checklist is in Book 1.

Do I need to know how to bake sourdough?

No. Book 1 walks you through growing a starter day by day, with a troubleshooting table, and includes a step-by-step master loaf recipe.

How long does it take?

Each grade band is a 6-week unit at one lesson per week. Most lessons take 30–60 minutes of hands-on time, plus waiting time while dough rises.

Can I use it with more than one child?

Yes. It's licensed for one family or one classroom, and every grade band works from the same starter, so siblings can learn side by side.

Is it safe for kids?

Adults handle the oven, hot pans, sharp blades and any iodine, and kids never taste raw dough. Safety rules are listed at the start and repeated in each book.

Rise & Discover · K–12

Start your family's science starter this week

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