HiddenJewel Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I am thinking on using Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry Middle School this coming year. It seems awfully expensive for only 10 lessons. Is there a way to expand it without a lot of extra effort?What is the teacher manual necessary for?How easy the implement are the experiments?How effective at reinforcing the material are the experiments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I own this and have used it. honestly? Not impressed. There are better alternatives out there--van Cleave, Apologia's elementary series, even cobbled together books on the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Have you looked at the ACS's free chemistry program? It's excellent. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 I own this and have used it. honestly? Not impressed. There are better alternatives out there--van Cleave, Apologia's elementary series, even cobbled together books on the topic. What parts have you been disappointed with? The depth? The experiments? The questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Have you looked at the ACS's free chemistry program? It's excellent. Do you have a link? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Frankly, I was disappointed in all areas. I've had a mix of interest levels in my kids. I have one that just wants to do experiments all day. I have another who wants to read and write about the material. It hasn't been a good fit for my first couple of kids, and I'm moving on for my younger ones. The experiments in and of themselves are the standard ones: build a toothpick model of a molecule, build a cabbage ph indicator and then test household substances, etc. The base/acid indicator experiment ran over two weeks. Testing food for starch by chewing it and watching ink color change over wet paper were rather underwhelming as well. None of the experiments run very long. It's entirely possible to read the text and do the experiment in a single study session. So, the program lasts ten sessions or ten weeks, whichever you prefer. The text is vocabulary driven. I appreciate the exposure to the vocabulary. The text however, was very unengaging. It is larger/bolder print than normal, which is a benefit to one child of mine, but the lack of good graphics and the skimpiness of the text was off-putting to my kid who wanted to read and write about chemistry. We used the text as a spine for jumping off points for further research, but it makes a rather expensive outline. The program has the potential to be and do a lot more, but as it currently stands, I recommend using other materials. The ACS program mentioned above is good as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Do you have a link? Thanks. http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com It's minimal on text and has a learn through hands on experiments philosophy. It's not quite a full year. You could combine it with some of the Ellen McHenry programs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I had planned to marry Real-Science-4-Kids to the ACS free chemistry resources online. DD is in middle school, but most middle school chemistry resources are too babyish and not deep enough. RS4K was the same; the middle school science just wasn't weighty enough. So I ordered the high school chemistry and that was too much for her (because she didn't have the math background for it). So the only reason I didn't use it was because I couldn't find a level that "fit" her properly. I wound up going with McHenry The Elements and Carbon Chemistry, along with some ACS lessons. That was grade level for us. I still regret that I couldn't use RS4K, though, because I thought it was really well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMathMommy Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Based on several reviews, it appears as though this curriculum (RS4K) may be too simple for middle school. What do you think about using it for 4th and 5th grade? We'd be supplementing with several other sources in order to build off the lessons in this curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Decided on going with Elements and Carbon Chemistry with some biographies and other books thrown in.http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CmpSciMom Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 We used several of these sets this year after dropping another curriculum. They were quite simple and my daughter has actually done half s book in one session. We really needed something to fill the science void until the upcoming 8th grade year. This worked with lots of supplements. I'd recommend it to younger than 6th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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