★★★★★ 5,200+ Recipe Box reviews · ESA-eligible

Hands-on chemistry your kids beg to do.

A monthly homeschool chemistry curriculum. Every lab ends with something your family actually uses.

  • This month: muscle soak, cooling mist, scrape serum + 3 more
  • Parent guide + lab journals, all included
  • Curriculum for ages 4 to 17
50% OFF
Your first box
$24.50 today $49 · free shipping
START FOR $24.50
  • Skip, pause, or cancel anytime
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
A laughing mom and her two daughters at the table with the Recipe Box, essential oils and a DIY candle kit
A homeschool mom smiling with the Recipe Box and The Chemistry of Candles parent guide
A girl at the kitchen counter with her Recipe Box just opened
A girl making a recipe next to her lab journal page
A mom holding up the parent guide, The Chemistry of Candles

#1 Wellness Box · 2023 & 2025 USA TODAY 10Best

As seen on

  • CBS
  • FOX
  • My Subscription Addiction
  • Hello Subscription
  • A Year of Boxes
  • Subboxy
  • A Life Adjacent
  • Essential Oil Haven
  • Liv Holistic
  • Torey Noora
  • Curly Crafty Mom
  • Happy Home Happy Heart
  • Everything Pretty
  • The Crafty Blog Stalker
Katie Veldkamp making silly faces with her four kids around a Recipe Box

“My own kids hated science textbooks too.” So I built the Recipe Box they ask for.

I taught middle school science. At home with my four, the textbook still lost them.

So I wrapped real chemistry around the thing they already loved: making soap, candles and lotion.

  • Lab ingredients at your door
  • A parent guide that tells you what to say
  • Journals for all three age tracks
START FOR $24.50

You’re starting with me. — Katie Veldkamp, Co-founder · former middle school science teacher · mom of 4

 

Made by kids who didn’t know they could.

Homeschool kids making soap, lotion and lab recipes, with five-star reviews from Kayla R., Ashley P., Amanda M., Teresa S. and Kim Z.
START FOR $24.50

5 out of 5 stars “…when I ordered it I intended to make it part of my daughter’s homeschool learning experience… Before I knew it, she had taken over the kitchen island…”

— Melanie S. 

From “I dread science” to “I made this” in three easy steps.

  1. Step 1: a smiling girl at the kitchen counter with her Recipe Box just opened

    The box arrives

    Lab ingredients, recipe cards and the parent guide, all in one box.

  2. Step 2: a mom holding up the parent guide, The Chemistry of Candles

    You read for 10 minutes

    The guide tells you what to say. No science degree needed.

  3. Step 3: a girl making a recipe at the kitchen counter next to her lab journal page

    They make it

    A real product, a finished lab page, and “I made this!”

START FOR $24.50

5,200+ verified Recipe Box reviews
The Recipe Box stacked on the Big Bonus Box, with the oils, jars and supplies

50% OFFyour first box

Start this month’s labs with the Recipe Box.

Six chemistry labs a month for the whole family, ages 4–17.

$24.50 first box was $49

Then $49/mo · skip or cancel anytime

  • Parent guide
  • Lab journals
  • Oils + lab supplies
  • Hero Course videos
Start for $24.50 → Pay yearly: $540 →
🎓 ESA-eligible — enrollment guide →

Free shipping · 30-day guarantee · yearly plan adds a free Big Bonus Box.

Why you’ll keep loving it

Same box. Every kid at their own level.

Same recipe, same table — three curriculum levels so every child goes as deep as they’re ready for.

  • Discovery

    Ages 4–7

    “What happened?”

    You lead. They stir, smell and draw what they saw.

  • Exploration

    Ages 8–11

    “Why did that happen?”

    You supervise. They measure and fill in the lab journal.

  • Mastery

    Ages 12+

    “How would I design this?”

    They lead. They change the formula and write it up.

How every lesson works

Hear the story. Make it. Learn why.

The same four steps, every month.

  1. Homeschool mom holding the Recipe Box and its Chemistry of Candles parent guide

    Hear a story + the concept

    Each lesson opens with a story that sets up the science.

  2. Lab journal worksheet, Testing Four Mechanisms in Parallel, filled in by a student next to four test jars

    Answer questions + make a guess

    Kids write their answers and predict what will happen.

  3. Katie and her daughters cheering with the Recipe Box and a candle kit

    Make it together

    Follow the recipe side by side.

  4. Child reading a recipe card next to essential oil bottles and the lab journal

    Learn by making

    Test the finished product. Was your guess right?

 

Inside this month’s box · Muscle Relief

Everything you need to make 6 chemistry-backed muscle-relief recipes.

Each lab teaches a real chemistry idea — mineral salts, melting points, dilution ratios — and ends with something your family actually uses.

  • Start here

    Spraying Cooldown muscle mist onto a shoulder

    Muscle Mist

    Cooldown · 2 min · easiest

    Evaporation

  • Dropping Clear & Grounded diffuser blend into a wooden diffuser Watch Diffuser Blend get made

    Diffuser Blend

    Clear & Grounded · 2 min · ages 10+

    Scent diffusion

  • Dropping Bumps & Boo-Boos skin serum into a glass serum bottle

    Skin Serum

    Bumps & Boo-Boos · 2 min

    Mixtures

  • Rolling Steady & Strong roll-on across a wrist

    Roll-On

    Steady & Strong · 5 min

    Dilution math

  • A jar of Muscle Mend bath soak with a wooden scoop

    Bath Soak

    Muscle Mend · 5 min

    Mineral salts

  • A Wildwood wellness bar with massage knobs, beside grapefruit and pine

    Wellness Bar

    Wildwood · 10 min + set

    Melting points

Swipe to see all 6 →

Plus everything included

  • A full-size Simply Earth essential oil bottle

    4 full-size oils

    Four new oils every month

  • Recipe cards from the box

    Recipe cards

    Step-by-step, all six labs

  • A mom holding up the parent guide with the three lab journals on the table

    Lab journal + parent guide

    3 age tracks: 4–7, 8–11, 12+

  • A Hero Course video lesson

    Hero Course videos

    Watch every recipe get made

The Big Bonus Box

Free with the annual plan

Big Bonus Box

Carrier oils, beeswax, bottles and jars. $47.84 value.

START FOR $24.50

13% gives back. Every box helps fight human trafficking.

Your year, from here forward

Your year of hands‑on discovery is just getting started.

Here’s what ships this month and every month after it. A new theme and six new labs, every box.

  1. Wildwood Wellness Bar
    This month

    October

    Home Remedies

  2. Coming soon

    November

    Gift Giving

  3. Coming soon

    December

    Diffusing

  4. Uplifting Winter Heel Cream

    January

    Body Care

  5. Silky Hand Saver Balm

    February

    Soap

  6. Pure Renewal Clay Mask

    March

    Face Care

  7. Shine & Simplify cleaning spray

    April

    Cleaning

  8. Silky Strands Hair Mask

    May

    Hair Care

  9. Brightening Face Oil

    June

    Beauty

  10. Glacial Rose Foot Soak

    July

    Bath & Spa

  11. Harvest Glow Beeswax Tapers

    August

    Candles

  12. Woodland Spice cream deodorant

    September

    Everyday Essentials

Scroll to see all 12 → · Get all 12 on the annual plan: $540, Big Bonus Box free →

 

What’s behind every bottle in your box.

  • Certified pure, tested every batch

    No fillers, no synthetics, and the GC/MS report ships in your box.

  • Sourced from farms we visit

    We can name the grower behind every oil.

Wildly Rooted

“Knowing exactly what I’m bringing into my space and onto my skin.”

5 out of 5 stars. Wildly Rooted · 13 Nov 2025

START FOR $24.50

13% gives back. Every box helps fight human trafficking.

Growers we buy from, on their farms

Simply Earth growers on their farms, holding the day’s harvest

 

No textbook. No Pinterest scramble. No supply runs.

What you get Recipe Box Textbook + Pinterest
Kids make things your family uses Yes No
Curriculum for ages 4 to 17 Yes No
Real chemistry: soap, lotion, pH Yes No
Lab ingredients shipped every month Yes No
ESA-eligible, ClassWallet approved Yes No
START FOR $24.50

ESA families: the annual plan is one $540 purchase.

Before you decide

Still wondering? Email [email protected] — a real person answers.

Is this a full curriculum?

It’s your chemistry block. Six hands-on labs a month, each with a lab journal, vocabulary and a check-in for every age, plus a certificate when the month is done. Pair it with your own spine for the other subjects.

How does it work for multiple kids in different age groups?

One box covers everyone. Each month comes with parent guide notes and lab journal pages for all 3 age tracks (🐿️ Discovery 4–7, 🦊 Exploration 8–11, 🦉 Mastery 12+). Same recipe, same lesson concept, three different journals. A 5-year-old draws what they observed; a 14-year-old runs the lab independently and writes a report.

What does the parent actually have to do?

Read the parent guide (about 10 minutes), then run the lab with your kid for roughly an hour, every other week. No teaching degree, no science background, no prep. Katie wrote the guide to be read aloud — every question, every “watch for this” cue, every safety note is right there.

Can I use my ESA funds? Which states?

Yes. Recipe Box Homeschool Edition is currently approved as a curriculum vendor in Arizona, Arkansas, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas. You can submit through your state’s ESA portal. For most ESA families, $540 is $0 out of pocket. If your state isn’t on the list, we’re actively working to add more.

What if my kid is younger than 4 or older than 12?

Kids under 4 can do the box alongside an older sibling — they love the sensory part of lab work even if the chemistry is over their head. For high-schoolers beyond 12, the Mastery track scales into real independent lab work, and we publish optional advanced extensions (lab reports, variable testing, micro-research) for kids 14+.

What’s actually inside Month 1? What about Year 2?

Each monthly box ships with 4 essential oils, 6 recipe cards, and all the lab ingredients you need. The parent guide and age-track lab journals are emailed to you to download and print. Every year is a fresh curriculum — different recipes and experiments, expanded chemistry concepts, and a deeper version of each theme. It’s an escalation, not a repeat.

 

50% OFFyour first box

October’s box closes Oct 25

Order by October 25 to start with October’s labs.

After the 25th, your first box is November’s. Six labs, the parent guide and a journal for every age — $24.50 today, then $49/mo. Skip, pause or cancel anytime.

Start monthly: $24.50 today → Pay yearly: $540 for 12 boxes →

Free shipping · 30-day guarantee · ESA-eligible

 

Verified reviews

What homeschool families say.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “My youngest (4 years old) and I had a great time… She loved making her own hand soap and was so proud to show her older siblings!”

    Heather C. · Verified buyer

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “I have just started with SE and wanted something nice to do with my kids that actually amounted to a productive activity. We have loved the hands on experience SE recipes give us.”

    Amy T. · Verified buyer

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “Love the recipes! I let my grandkids make some of them as a science project for homeschooling!”

    Melissa S. · Verified buyer

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “She loves it! She tried all the recipes that came in the box! She even took the box of goodies to her room!”

    Kim Z. · Verified buyer

Not ready? Try one lesson free · Lead a co-op? Get a free Lesson Box

Questions? Chat With Us!

Close