Pandia Press REAL Science Odyssey

REAL Science Odyssey (RSO) is the secular science series from Pandia Press. The publisher describes Level 1 as a complete science curriculum for kindergarten to grade 6 and Level 2 as a complete science curriculum for grades 6 to 10, and it describes the series as built on a Read, Explore, Absorb, and Learn method with hands-on labs.

Last updated: 2026-10-08 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist (science) with hands-on labs. The publisher's method is Read, Explore, Absorb, and Learn. Level 1 courses are consumable textbooks. Biology 2 and Earth & Environment 2 are each a textbook, a workbook, and a Teacher Guide, and Astronomy 2 is a combined textbook and workbook with a Teacher Guide
Worldview	Secular. The publisher says its courses are secular and based on valid, empirical science, that its publications are not written from any political or religious point of view, and that RSO is not from a creationist's viewpoint. Secular is the publisher's own word and Every Homeschool's category
Grades	The RSO page says Level 1 is grades K to 6 and Level 2 is grades 6 to 10. Level 1 courses are listed for K-2 (Life), 1-4 (Astronomy 1), 1-4 (Earth & Environment 1), 2-5 (Biology 1), 2-5 (Chemistry 1), and 3-6 (Physics 1); the Evolution Unit Study is listed for K-3
Formats	Print and eBook (PDF) for most titles, per the publisher's Life Level 1 page and Customer Service page. Level 1 print courses are softcover with perforated pages. The Evolution Unit Study is eBook only, and the eBook of a Level 1 course includes a PDF of its Student Pages
Cost tier	Standard (Every Homeschool classification). The year-long Level 1 courses list under $100 in print and as eBooks, while Biology 2 and Earth & Environment 2 are each sold as three separate books that together list above $100; prices are in the cost section below (retrieved October 2026)
Parent intensity	3 (Every Homeschool rating)
ESA-common	Not stated on the publisher's pages
Accredited	Not stated for RSO. The publisher's FAQ says Pandia Press is not an accrediting agency and does not offer high school credits
Publication history	The publisher's FAQ says the second edition of Biology 2 was released in August 2020. The publisher's pages give no release year for the series
Website	pandiapress.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Level 2 courses are listed for grades 6-10 with quizzes and unit assessments, and the FAQ says Biology 2 is entry high school level when the entire course, including all microscope labs, is completed
Ease of teaching	3	Level 1 courses such as Biology 1 include a suggested weekly schedule, weekly supply lists, and instructor pages, and the publisher says no science background is needed to teach Level 1; Level 2 is three books for Biology 2, and some courses need uncommon supplies
Content quality	5	Every Homeschool rating. The publisher describes Level 1 as an incremental program that builds on itself, Biology 1 is developed around evolution as its unifying theme, and Biology 2 has 32 textbook lessons with labs, research projects, and six unit assessments in its workbook
Flexibility	4	The Biology 2 Teacher Guide gives 2-, 3-, and 5-day-a-week pacing, its microscope labs are optional, and Earth & Environment 1 and Astronomy 1 are semester courses the publisher pairs for a full year
Value for money	4	Life Level 1 lists at $52.99 as an eBook and $87.99 in print, the same prices as Biology 1, Chemistry 1, and Physics 1, and Biology 2 is three books that total $140.97 as eBooks or $209.97 in print (retrieved October 2026)
Worldview scope	4	The publisher describes the courses as secular and says Biology 2 has an entire unit on evolution; in our assessment the series suits families who want science taught from a secular standpoint
Visual/design	3	The publisher says its Level 2 courses use colorful images and diagrams and that the Biology 2 textbook uses color images, diagrams, and charts; its pages do not describe the color of Level 1 interiors, so this score stays at the midpoint
Support resources	3	The publisher offers Try Before You Buy samples by email for its RSO courses, an errata page, Teacher Guides for Level 2, and a Facebook page and an RSO Facebook group

Who the publisher is

Pandia Press describes itself on its About page as the first secular science and history homeschool publisher. Its Meet the Team page lists Kate Johnson as Owner & Publisher. The Customer Service page says physical orders ship from its Florida fulfillment center. A July 2026 blog post on the publisher's site describes Pandia Press as a small team that writes, edits, and develops every curriculum itself.

The publisher's home page lists its core series as History Quest (grades 1-6), REAL Science Odyssey Level 1 (grades K-6) and Level 2 (grades 6-10), and Literature Odyssey (grades 8-12), and its site also lists History Odyssey, a timeline, and History Compass.

The course pages credit authors for most RSO titles. Blair H. Lee, M.S. is the named author of Biology 1, Chemistry 1, Earth & Environment 1, Earth & Environment 2, Astronomy 1, Astronomy 2, Biology 2, and The Stargazer's Notebook. Dahlia Schwartz, B.S., M.A., J.D. is the named author of Physics 1, and Marta Pentecost is the named author of the Evolution Unit Study. The Life Level 1 page names no author, and this review names none for it.

On worldview, the publisher's FAQ says its publications are not written from any political or religious point of view and do not posit religious beliefs as factual. It says RSO is not from a creationist's viewpoint, that RSO Biology 2 has an entire unit on evolution, that RSO Astronomy 1 and 2 address universe origins including big bang theory, and that the RSO Earth & Environment courses include material that teaches the science behind climate change. The Biology 1 page says the course was developed around evolution as biology's unifying theme, and the Evolution Unit Study page says that eBook is a 10-lesson secular unit study for grades K-3.

The core pedagogy

The publisher's RSO page says each Level 1 topic is presented in a story-like format followed by hands-on activities, background science information, parent instructions, labs, reading lists, journaling ideas, and websites, and that Level 1 is an incremental program that incorporates mathematics, the scientific method, and science terminology. It says the Level 2 student text is written to the student so the student can learn independently, and that Teacher Guides are available for Level 2 and highly recommended.

Signature mechanics, as the publisher's pages describe them: (1) Two levels. Level 1 is listed for grades K to 6 and Level 2 for grades 6 to 10 on the RSO page. (2) One discipline per course. Level 1 has Life, Biology 1, Astronomy 1, Earth & Environment 1, Chemistry 1, and Physics 1, plus the Evolution Unit Study. Level 2 has Biology 2, Earth & Environment 2, and Astronomy 2, plus The Stargazer's Notebook, which the publisher lists for grades 5 and up and says can be used with Astronomy 2 or as a stand-alone study of the night sky. (3) Read, Explore, Absorb, Learn. On the Life Level 1 page, Read is a text designed to be read aloud, Explore is hands-on experiments, Absorb is lessons that engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, and Learn is doing science rather than only reading about it. (4) Print and eBook. Most titles come in both (Life Level 1 and Biology 2 show both formats). The eBook license stated on the RSO product pages, for example the Life Level 1 page, covers the purchaser's own children, and the pages say licensing is available for group, school, and co-op use through the publisher.

Each experiment in Life Level 1, per the Life Level 1 page, includes a detailed supply list, step-by-step instructions, safety precautions when needed, and lab sheets for implementing the scientific method, and the page says students formulate hypotheses, record observations and results, draw conclusions, and answer post-lab questions. The Biology 1 page describes lab sheets that guide students through the same steps, and the Chemistry 1 page says each lab includes a supply list and step-by-step instructions and that students are guided through forming hypotheses, recording observations and results, and drawing conclusions. The publisher says that for Life most supplies are normal household items, plus a 3-ring binder for lab and notebook pages. Level 2 workbooks hold the labs, research projects called Famous Science Series, Show What You Know quizzes, and unit assessments, per the Biology 2 page.

How the publisher describes the schedule

The publisher describes Level 1 courses as one year of material: Life has 36 weeks of material for one or two science days a week, and Biology 1 and Chemistry 1 have 36 weeks of material based on two science days a week. Each of those three pages lists a suggested weekly schedule, a supply list for each week, and instructor pages.

For Level 2, the Biology 2 page describes a 36-week school year and says the Teacher Guide gives scheduling for 2-day, 3-day, and 5-day pacing. Each lesson has a reading in the textbook, labs and research projects in the workbook, and quizzes and unit tests. The page says the textbook readings are designed for students to work independently while parents or teachers may provide guidance for lab work and discussions. The Astronomy 2 page says its labs require parent or teacher supervision, especially for younger students. The publisher's RSO pages give no daily time estimates.

What they do exceptionally well (our assessment)

A stated secular position with evolution in the courses. The publisher says its courses are secular and based on valid, empirical science, and its FAQ names the places where evolution, the big bang, and climate change appear. In our assessment, a family can tell from the product pages what the position is before buying.

Labs described with supplies and steps. The Life Level 1 and Chemistry 1 pages say each lab includes a supply list and step-by-step instructions, and the Biology 1 page lists a supply list broken down for each week. The publisher's Retailers page says Home Science Tools offers supply kits for each course.

Print, eBook, and samples. The publisher sells most titles in print and as eBooks, and its Try Before You Buy page lists samples for its RSO courses that are emailed to the address a family enters.

What they do poorly (our assessment)

Level 2 courses are sold as separate books. Biology 2 is a textbook, a workbook, and a Teacher Guide. The publisher's FAQ says both the textbook and the workbook are needed to complete the course and calls the Teacher Guide available and recommended. The textbook and workbook together list at $158.98 in print or $105.98 as eBooks, and adding the Teacher Guide gives $209.97 in print or $140.97 as eBooks (retrieved October 2026). Earth & Environment 2 is also three books at the same list prices.

Several courses are semesters, and course lengths differ between pages. The publisher pairs Earth & Environment 1 with Astronomy 1 and Earth & Environment 2 with Astronomy 2 for a full year. The Earth & Environment 1 product page calls the course semester-long in one place and a 25-week course in another, and the Earth & Environment 1 Student Pages page says 18 weeks. Families should check the sample before planning a year around it.

Some courses need specialized supplies. The Life Level 1 page says the course needs outdoor access and live critters such as garden snails, earthworms, and isopods, and lists a science thermometer, a butterfly house, and binoculars among the uncommon supplies. The Biology 2 page says its microscope labs need a microscope and advises against those priced under $80 new. The publisher's pages differ on whether Home Science Tools kits cover all or most RSO courses: its FAQ says most, and its Retailers page says each course.

No Level 2 chemistry or physics course is listed. The publisher's RSO page lists chemistry and physics only at Level 1 (Chemistry 1 for grades 2-5 and Physics 1 for grades 3-6), and lists its RSO courses through grade 10, with The Stargazer's Notebook listed for grades 5 and up. Its FAQ says it is committed to completing the RSO series and that no courses are within a month of release, and it gives no release dates before that point. In our assessment, a family that wants chemistry or physics beyond Level 1 from this publisher will not find it among the courses listed in October 2026.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick RSO if (our judgment): you want secular science courses for grades K to 10 that you choose one discipline at a time; you want labs that come with supply lists and lab sheets; you want a Level 1 course the publisher says needs no science background to teach; you want a free sample by email before buying; or you want print or eBook editions.

• Skip RSO if (our judgment): you want science taught from a creationist viewpoint, since the publisher says RSO is not; you want a video-based or online course, since the publisher's product pages describe books; you want chemistry or physics beyond Level 1 from the same publisher; or you do not want to gather lab supplies, some of which are uncommon.

Cost honest assessment

All prices are from the publisher's product pages, retrieved October 2026, and are the publisher's current selling prices.

Course	Print	eBook
Life, Biology 1, Chemistry 1, Physics 1 (year-long)	$87.99	$52.99
Earth & Environment 1 and Astronomy 1 (each a semester course; the publisher pairs them)	$72.99 each	$43.99 each
Evolution Unit Study	eBook only	$34.99
Biology 2 textbook	$89.99	$52.99
Biology 2 workbook	$68.99	$52.99
Biology 2 Teacher Guide	$50.99	$34.99
Astronomy 2 (includes a free eBook of the Student Pages)	$89.99	$52.99
Astronomy 2 Teacher Guide	$50.99	$34.99
The Stargazer's Notebook	$44.99	$24.99

Adding list prices, the Biology 2 textbook and workbook total $158.98 in print or $105.98 as eBooks, and with the Teacher Guide Biology 2 totals $209.97 in print or $140.97 as eBooks. Earth & Environment 2 has the same three list prices on its textbook, workbook, and Teacher Guide pages. Earth & Environment 1 and Astronomy 1 together are $145.98 in print or $87.98 as eBooks.

Level 1 courses are consumable. The publisher sells extra copies of the student pages for additional learners, for example Life Student Pages at $23.99 as an eBook, and says the Student Pages do not add new material. Lab supplies are not part of the course price: the Life Level 1 page lists the supplies a family gathers, and the Retailers page names Home Science Tools as a seller of supply kits.

ESA eligibility notes

The publisher's pages do not mention ESA programs or state marketplaces. Its Retailers page lists preferred vendors for its print titles, including Rainbow Resources, Home Science Tools, and Christian Book Distributors. Whether a title or vendor is approved is decided by each state program, so families should confirm the specific title, edition, and vendor with their program administrator before ordering.

Alternatives

• Apologia Exploring Creation, a family comparing RSO with a program that Every Homeschool lists in a Christian worldview category would look at Apologia; see Every Homeschool's Apologia review for that publisher's own description.
• Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU), a family that wants a K-8 science curriculum whose publisher describes over 100 detailed lesson plans that address and integrate all four major areas of science would compare it with RSO's one-discipline-per-course design.
• Elemental Science, a family that wants a program from a publisher whose site offers classical science plans, living books curriculum, and science units would compare it with RSO's textbook-and-lab courses.

The publisher's home page also lists History Quest, History Odyssey, and Literature Odyssey, which are outside this review. The publisher's Shop All pages list no stand-alone math product, and the Pandia Press and Math page records what the publisher's pages say about math.