The Human Biology Annual Planning Guide

Discovering Your Goal and Path

This year are you are building your own custom unit studies from scratch or looking for a structured, open-and-go program? Either way, we’ve created this human biology annual planning guide to help you figure out exactly what you need!

This is the single most important question: What is your goal?

• Prepare my family to understand and care for the one body they get for life
• Prepare my child or teen who is curious about or plans on a healthcare career
• Ground my child’s understanding of puberty and reproduction in clinical science

PATH 1: General Human Body & Health Literacy

The Goal: Prepare your student to be a person who understands how their body works and takes active ownership of their daily health.

What to Cover:

• Systemic Anatomy & Physiology: Study all 11 major organ systems. Focus on how the anatomy and physiology they are learning tie into actually taking care of their body. 
• Practical Health Science: Try to include a mix of hands-on projects and life application questions. You can get our project manual for free through the end of August 2026 by signing up for either the MedPath or LifePath preview classroom. That has enough projects to last through the end of the year. Starting September 1st, it will only be available for download when you enroll in LifePath: One Body for Life or MedPath.
• Literature Integration: Incorporate middle grade novels in which the main character has a medical condition or disability. I recommend these even for older students because they are approachable in a way YA novels on the same topics might not be. We highlight a middle grade novel every week in the Friday newsletter. Watch for recommendations there or sign up for BookPath: Stories for Life to get the full book study and discussion guide.

How to:

DIY Approach:

• Download our project manual by August 31, 2026 to get it for free! This is available in both the LifePath and MedPath free preview classrooms.
• Use an anatomy coloring book for hands-on learning (mine is available on Amazon!) Watch out for clip art anatomy coloring books because they are really common on Amazon right now. Look at who created the book. It should be someone with a degree in at least biology, if not anatomy or medicine.
• There are lots of great human biology books available! Avoid books that have a lot of “fun facts.” The book can still be fun! But if the focus is on fun facts, that’s a sign that your child will come away with a lot of random pieces of information without the connecting concepts. Also avoid books that just tell your kids what they should do to take care of themselves. Without understanding how it works, that’s just not very motivating!
• After you pick a book, use sticky notes to mark the specific pages that you can relate to how we care for our bodies and focus on those during the year. For each body system ask at least one question about how it relates to your child’s life. I like to sometimes make a writing assignment with my own kids, but sometimes we  just discuss it. Sticky notes can also mark when to do a project.
• I also recommend covering common medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes so your child understands their own experience or that of their friends or family members. You can often find information about these on the websites of associations for these programs (for example, the American Diabetic Association) or on YouTube channels like Nemours Kids Health.
• In the weekly newsletters, I include book recommendations for books in which the main character has a medical condition or disability. That can also be a great way to foster empathy and understanding.

Dr. Robin Option:

LifePath: One Body for Life This is designed to be simple for parents. One book has the anatomy coloring pages, anatomy learning pages, guided notes, projects, and life application questions. If you do science twice a week, it’s a full one year program. BookPath book studies and discussion guides are included free.

PATH 2: Clinical Science & Pre-Med Exploration

The Goal: Turn an interest in a healthcare career into clinical reasoning, medical terminology, and career options, starting early so they build a real foundation, not just fun-fact science.

What to Cover:

• Clinical Anatomy, Physiology & Pathophysiology: This looks different for different ages.
  • I recommend starting with anatomy coloring for the youngest learners (approx 1st through 3rd grade) and focus on the concepts and how to think about anatomy rather than naming and labeling. 
  • For older elementary (3rd through 5th grade), start looking at how the different systems actually work and some basics of what can go wrong. 
  • By middle school (5th through 8th grade), students are ready for more in-depth anatomy lessons, more complicated physiology, and more detailed pathophysiology (disease). 
  • In early high school (8th through 10th grade), students should be preparing for AP Anatomy and Physiology.  Rather than cramming in random facts that will disappear, focus on helping them to think through the details so that when they are having to deal with massive amounts of facts, they will already have the brain wiring to hang those facts on so they stick.
• Diagnostic Thinking & Clinical Labs (8th grade and up): Often “labs” are simply a matter of copying what they watch someone else doing. By 8th or 9th grade, provide your student with the instructions and goals. Then let them work through the steps themselves and come to their own conclusions. Be available for safety and documentation (I like taking photos for my kids to use later).  
• Healthcare Career Discovery: Even though 20-30% of kids plan on a healthcare career, almost all of them name only one of three careers! Doctor, nurse, vet. Expose students to the full landscape of healthcare careers through career snapshots, YouTube videos, and discussion. Help your student think through what they are actually looking for in a career. (Starting September 1st, our career exploration guide, MedPath: Compass, will be available standalone or included free with MedPath).

How to:

DIY Approach

• Download our project manual by August 31, 2026 to get it for free! This is available in both the LifePath and MedPath free preview classrooms.
• Career exploration videos on YouTube can be an incredible resource because it’s the only way to actually go into many of these settings as a child or teen. I recommend asking your learner what tools they see being used, what they like or don’t like about the career, and ask any questions that may come up.
• Use an anatomy coloring book for hands-on learning (mine is available on Amazon!) With a tween or teen it can be easy to think you should get one with lots of things to label but be careful. Without context, they will just memorize the labels but not understand what they are learning.  For younger learners, watch out for clip art anatomy coloring books because they are really common on Amazon right now. Look at who created the book. It should be someone with a degree in at least biology, if not anatomy or medicine.
• There are lots of great human biology books available! Avoid books that have a lot of “fun facts.” The book can still be fun! But if the focus is on fun facts, that’s a sign that your child will come away with a lot of random pieces of information without the connecting concepts. 
• I also recommend covering common medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes so your child understands their own experience or that of their friends or family members. You can often find information about these on the websites of associations for these programs (for example, the American Diabetic Association) or on YouTube channels like Nemours Kids Health.
• Try using sticky notes to mark which medical conditions go with which topics in the books you’ve chosen.
• In the weekly newsletters, I include book recommendations for books in which the main character has a medical condition or disability. That can be a great way to foster empathy and understanding.

Dr. Robin Option

MedPath We have robotics and coding for even very little kids. But a young person who wants to have a career in healthcare gets the same science as everyone else! So I created MedPath to fix that. Every level covers the human biology appropriate to that stage and includes BookPath and MedPath Compass for free. Not sure which level? Use our level finder!

• Foundations: For the youngest learners (approx 1st-3rd grade), everything has a coloring page! I’ve designed each drawing in my anatomy coloring book to demonstrate specific anatomical concepts that even young children can start understanding. We have dozens of career coloring pages with “Would You Rather?” questions. 
• Essentials of Human Health (level 1): For older elementary (3rd through 5th grade), I focus more on learners understanding how the different systems actually work through physiology lessons and some basics of what can go wrong. We also cover anatomy. Career exploration includes coloring pages, career snapshots, and MedPath: Insights videos.
• Principles of Clinical Biology (level 2): By middle school (5th through 8th grade), students are ready for more in-depth anatomy lessons, more complicated physiology, and more detailed pathophysiology (disease). They are asking more in depth questions about why the body works a certain way and how problems are treated.
• Comprehensive Human Biology (level 3): In early high school (8th through 10th grade), students should be preparing for AP Anatomy and Physiology.  Parents often think this means intensive memorization but those facts won’t stick. Instead, now is the time to wire in a deep understanding of human biology so that the information they learn later has the scaffolding it needs. At this level we also offer optional cases with feedback.

PATH 3: Puberty, Reproduction, Development & Body Safety

The Goal: Provide a clinically accurate and shame-free education on puberty, reproduction, consent, and body safety before your child or teen figures it out on their own from questionable resources.

What to Cover When:

• Birth to Age 7: The Foundation Years
  • Name body parts accurately using proper medical terminology (vulva, penis, clitoris, scrotum, testicles).
  • Teach early body autonomy including that their body belongs to them and that nobody touches it without permission.
  • Normalize diverse body types and family structures.
• Ages 7 to 9: Building Blocks & Basics
  • Connect anatomical structures to their functions (for example, DNA as an instruction manual) and introduce biological homology (matching structures in male, female, and intersex bodies).
  • Explain the difference between secrets and surprises. Continue to talk about other aspects of safety in age appropriate ways that don’t place blame, just in case something bad does happen.
  • Introduce the “Smart Brain vs. Survival Brain” framework to help kids understand impulse control, tech/screen pull, and emotional regulation.
• Ages 9 to 12: Construction & Calibration (Puberty)
  • Discuss puberty as part of ongoing development that started from a single cell and will continue throughout life. Explain the science and what to expect from their bodies and brains as well as those of people who have different hormones from their own
  • Normalize periods and erections as routine biological events. Equip kids with practical supply kits and logistics plans to prevent panic.
  • Explain consent in more detail using age appropriate examples or analogies. This is the age the majority of kids come across porn for the first time so explain what it is and how it’s not an accurate source of information. 
• Ages 12 to 14: Origins, Agency & High School Readiness
  • Teach the basics of conception, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Provide the basic clinical facts and also discuss your family’s values.
  • Help tweens/teens differentiate between limerence (infatuation) and true love. Teach them to spot relationship red flags like love-bombing, isolation, and controlling cycles early.
  • Make sure your kid understands the concepts of biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and attraction. 
  • Cover the risks and realities of sexting and porn and what to do if they receive pictures they didn’t ask for or find out that someone is sharing pictures of another person.
• Ages 14: Advanced Systems and Risk Management
  • Make sure they understand both male and female anatomy in detail and what kinds of problems can happen (such as PCOS, endometriosis, torsion, epididymitis, and testicular cancer).
  • Explain the details of conception, contraception, infertility, miscarriage and STIs.
  • Cover the difference between sexual pleasure and sexual response so they don’t confuse a physiological response with actually wanting or enjoying something.
  • Go into detail about assault, exploitation, coercion, and what to do.
  • Teach how to evaluate evidence and advocate for themselves in a medical setting.

How to:

DIY Approach

There are innumerable books available for how to help tweens and teens navigate puberty and learn about reproduction.

• When you are considering your options, look at the one star reviews as well as the three and five star reviews. Sometimes the reason that someone else hates a book will be what you’re looking for! 
• Make sure to read the books ahead of time to see that they align with your values. Many books will unintentionally include body shaming or leave out young people who aren’t having crushes or interested in a relationship. 
• Don’t just hand a book to your child. You’ll want to discuss each topic with your child so you’re able to make sure they understand what they learned, got all their questions answered, and that you have an opportunity to discuss your family’s values. 
• I prefer an approach that focuses on science first rather than sex first so I’d recommend also getting a biology textbook with a section on the reproductive system.

Dr. Robin Option

Making More Humans. After years in practice seeing what happens when kids and teens don’t have a good understanding of these topics, I knew I had to make the clinical truth of reproduction, pregnancy, development, consent, and health available to everyone. The result is this comprehensive curriculum that covers the full arc of human development.

• As a spiral, everyone starts at the beginning and builds until they get to their age’s stopping point. 
• You have lifetime access so you can come back and watch the next lessons when it’s time or use it as a reference when questions come up.
• As a mom, I know it’s hard to discreetly preview a video about any of the topics I cover, so I also have a private podcast feed for parents to preview every lesson with earbuds while you’re doing dishes or driving carpool.
• I’ve also created various options for helping you talk with your kids. Conversation cards, family discussion guide, even the answer key to your child’s workbook is actually a guide to help you with the conversations.
• I also want to make sure people don’t skip this so if you are going to get LifePath: One Body for Life for lifetime access, you can purchase a bundle with Making More Humans for just $25 more. If you’re getting lifetime access to any level of MedPath, contact Jill for how to create your own bundle!

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