chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 The current passion around here is basic chemistry. Theodore Gray's book The Elements is often the first thing my daughter (10) goes to. Wow, she loves this book. We also are working our way through the Life of Fred chemistry book and this is a good level for her. She's been introduced to Avogadro's number, moles, STP, simple reactions etc. She's loving balancing chemical equations. In terms of level of challenge, this book hits the sweet spot. She loves the periodic table and is taking great delight in trying to memorise it. We've found a couple of apps which quiz her and we've made the Ellen McHenry periodic table game. I've baulked at getting the Ellen McHenry Elements book, as I'm not sure what level this is. Oh yes, and we're watching Crash Course chemistry. I'm just wondering if anyone has any other ideas of great resources for this early level chemistry. I want to feed this passion while it's all-consuming. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SierraNevada Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Periodic Videos YouTube channel The Royal Institution chemistry lecture series--can find on you YouTube. go React - app The Disappearing Spoon --maybe as an audio book or to read in print. Short History of Nearly Everything-also as an audiobook or print. Has large Chem section. Uncle Tungsten-audiobook or print 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Study materials for the You Be the Chemist Challenge: http://www.chemed.org/programs/challenge/study-materials/ The Disappearing Spoon, though I'm reading it out loud to edit out some things The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckittre Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Second the Periodic Table of Videos, and their molecular videos. A molecular modeling kit and the website ptable.com With the site set in "compounds" mode, you can build molecules by hand, then check if they exist and what they are, challenge yourself to build molecules with certain properties, play competitive molecule-building games etc... The Mystery of the Periodic Table Book. That one's good on the history of how chemistry got discovered, and helps lay out the scientific thinking of it all. Real chemicals that make interesting reactions (some with supervison, probably). Understanding basic reduction/oxidation principles allows you to take advantage of the energy embedded in aluminum to blow up hydrogen balloons, set off thermite reactions, etc... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Thanks folks for the ideas - much appreciated! I'm looking forward to checking out all those options. The Disappearing Spoon - would you mind giving some examples of the sorts of things you'd be choosing to edit out? Is it maybe not suitable for a 10 year old? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 I feel like I had already heard in a post on these boards that there might be some things we would need to edit (don't think it was specific, though). We are pretty picky about what we let our kids read so I knew I would be reading it to them. We are only on the first chapter. There is a discussion about The Symposium by Plato, which is a dialogue on love and the erotic. I only had to edit out a sentence or two, mostly just a few words. Not a big deal to edit, but I wouldn't put it directly into the hands of my kids. They do really like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Thanks Lisa. The thing is, my daughter likes to read her non-fiction by herself. She LOVES fiction read-alouds and I do read LoF out loud with her, but other non-fiction she just wants to curl up and read on her own, so I need to be a bit cautious. I wish I had time to pre-read everything, but alas there just aren't enough hours in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckittre Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Mystery of the Periodic table is for middle schoolers, so should be fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Sounds like you have/or been recommended much of what we are doing with my kiddo. However, if you haven't seen the Peter Weatherall chemistry videos, definitely take a look. Order the whole set for a ridiculously inexpensive price. The Human Body videos alone are worth it! http://kidsinglish.com/video_clips/chem_vids_short_clips/chem-songbook.html You said she wants to memorize the periodic table: have you seen the awesome New Periodic Table song by ASAP science? It works really well:) As a total brag😄I am linking my dd's video of her singing it. She learned it for Daddy as a surprise bday present. Funnily enough, he won an award at the uni where he teaches and he used the video--she got a standing ovation from a room full of chemists:) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) Oh my, that video is just too cool for words. :hurray: ETA: I was so taken by your daughter's song that I forgot to say thank you for the resources ideas - thank you! Edited April 25, 2016 by chocolate-chip chooky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 This was the age Ds did Apologia Exploring Chemistry with Creation (2nd Edition). If you go with edition 2, there is very little religious content (I was worried). The book is an extremely simplistic high school chemistry book. The conversational tone, handful of well established, high quality problems, and pre algebra math level made it just right for my son. The books are cheap on Amazon (or they used to be). We did much of it together, and it was a great text book intro. I feel really good about delving deeper this coming year with a total lab science year after the foundation it provided. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Here are some links from when I asked a question about periodic tables about a year ago. The awesome people on this forum pointed me to these resources. I am too lazy to search for my old thread now. http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/chemistry http://www.ptable.com http://www.periodicvideos.com http://kidsinglish.com/video_clips/chem_vids_short_clips/chem-songbook.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 (edited) Thanks EoO - it's always great to get your input. Much appreciated, as always! Thank you too, mathnerd. I look forward to checking out all the links. Thanks! Edited April 25, 2016 by chocolate-chip chooky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 This was the age Ds did Apologia Exploring Chemistry with Creation (2nd Edition). If you go with edition 2, there is very little religious content (I was worried). The book is an extremely simplistic high school chemistry book. The conversational tone, handful of well established, high quality problems, and pre algebra math level made it just right for my son. The books are cheap on Amazon (or they used to be). We did much of it together, and it was a great text book intro. I feel really good about delving deeper this coming year with a total lab science year after the foundation it provided. Good to know. I was afraid the math was going to be just a little too much for my dd, but that sounds like it will be just perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Another fiction suggestion.... Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter and it's sequels. But definitely screen them first. IMO, 10 is a bit too young (which is why I won't let my DS read them, even though I know he would love the series and probably totally relate to the main character). But every family is different. I'm actually still reading the last one, lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 Oh yes, we love Itch! The second book just arrived in the mail yesterday :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Oh yes, we love Itch! The second book just arrived in the mail yesterday :hurray: Just an FYI, the second book has some language, including the b**** lovely. In case that matters to you guys, lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Oh...once we learned about the Periodic Table, mine enjoyed playing Toca Lab on their tablets. It's pretty neat. I think they could have done a little better in some spots, but mine enjoy it anyways. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted April 26, 2016 Author Share Posted April 26, 2016 Thanks for the heads-up on the language in book 2. Much appreciated. I will be reading it out loud to her, so I'll be able to edit as needed. Thanks also for the Toca Lab info. I'll check it out. Right now, my daughter is loving Theodore Gray's The Elements in Action app. I wish it had more scientific info, though. But if she's watching the videos over and over, she must be getting something out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Two great PBS videos.... NOVA, Hunting the Elements and The Mystery of Matter In MoM, they were particularly interested in Episode 2, which was all about Mendeleev. They like it because they use an actor to portray the scientist as though he were still alive. We are actually doing an introductory unit on chemical and physical science now. We just started it a week ago. The kids wanted to do earth science and I figured it would be prudent to start such a semester with a unit on what all of its made of! There are lots of really great resources out there. Have fun! (And you know...maybe I'll read Itch outloud to them and edit needed areas...I am not fond of reading out loud, but I know the 9yr old would love it). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckittre Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 My son likes the "Chemist" iPad app and the virtual chemistry labs on this site http://chemcollective.org/vlabs Both let you mix chemicals in a virtual lab, that may not be practical or safe in the home. But they react just like the real ones. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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