Really struggling to pick chemistry

[Janeway]

Son is well prepared math wise. But, he is not planning a STEM career so I do not need the hardest and most confusing program and advanced program. I prefer to not have a religious program, but will use that if need be. I do not wish to sacrifice quality, but I also do not need an honors level course.

 

I have been considering Spectrum and Berean Builders. But I am concerned about the level of religious matter in either program. I am also worried about the high cost of Spectrum's labs as well as a few reviews I read that it does not explain things well. I also worry about Jay Wile's habit of being wordy in the Berean Builders books. 

 

I have RS4Kids. I compared the table of contents for RS4Kids high school chemistry with Spectrum and just from that, RS4Kids seems to cover more than Spectrum. I am wondering if maybe they just do not go in to depth enough so that no one ever recommends it? And what about the Singaporemath.com chemistry? Is that very good?

 

Also, if he likes the chemistry, he will just go on and take it in dual enrollment at the community college when we are done with what we are doing at home. He will end up needing to take at least 2 semesters of science at the community college to finish the core. He might need 4, depending. So, I do not need a ton for him to do at home. But I don't want him to go in to community college having no clue about these subjects. 

[Garga]

I can only tell you what we plan to do, but as we haven't done it yet, I don't know if it's any good.  I chose this curric based on reviews I read on these boards.

 

Discovering Design in Chemistry--yes this is the Jay Wile book.

I chose to use this teacher/tutor to teach Chemistry to my son for me, using the above book as the text of the class:  http://www.currclick.com/product/104813/Chemistry-High-School-Discovering-Design--1st-semester-FALL-2017

(Note the class is on sale right now--$126 per semester.)

 

The teacher only has a few reviews on the currclick site, but they're all positive.  

 

Per reviews and research, my son ought to be able to read the book and learn it on his own, but he doesn't like that method (and neither do I.)  He prefers to have some sort of instruction while he learns. I chose to sign him up for the class so that he has someone who has taught from this book a number of times who can answer any questions or help him through any difficult passages.

 

 

We start on Aug 28th.  

Edited August 15, 2017 by Garga

[eagleynne]

This is the secular version of the Novare science books. I haven't used them myself, but I have heard really good things about them. They have a regular track and an advanced/honors track.

 

https://www.novarescienceandmath.com/extras/centripetal-press/

[Random]

I didn't find Spectrum to be overwhelmingly religious.

 

The labs weren't expensive.  We got the Intro to Chem kit from Home Science Tools to go along with the Spectrum text.  I think it's about $100. I guess I should say it wasn't inexpensive, but for high school chemistry, I thought the lab supplies were reasonable.

 

There were a few times when the Spectrum explanations were hard for my son & I to understand, but I will say that it was never hard to find additional information on Khan Academy or other reliable educational websites.

 

Have you looked at Guest Hollow's high school chemistry?

 

Best wishes!

 

[Saddlemomma]

We plan to do Chemistry in 10th followed by Biology in 11th.

 

We've been using The Great Courses Plus for science since last year.  We will be finishing The Joy of Science in 9th (this fall) for a credit in Conceptual Integrated Science.  DD has absolutely LOVED this course using the recommended text for the class.  So, we will be using the GCP course, Chemistry: Our Universe & How It All Works along with either their recommended text or paired up with Novare Chemistry.  I was given a bunch of Chemistry equipment and chemicals to do several experiments in conjunction with whichever text we choose. 

[RootAnn]

The Spectrum chem text is not overly religious. I honestly don't remember anything specific, although I am sure there was some God-mentioning.

 

It covered a good, non-honors, non-AP level of chemistry. The meat of the program is in the labs. Those are what take the time and give the most understanding. He also emphasizes the math (which my dd loved in chem but hated in Derek Owens' physics).

 

I'm not saying you'll like it, but your non-$$ concerns are unfounded. The $$ of the Spectrum-recommended and provided labs is high. That is a valid concern if money is a problem.

[JanetC]

How about Friendly Chemistry for secular w/ no expensive chemical labs?

[G5052]

How about Friendly Chemistry for secular w/ no expensive chemical labs?

 

I used Friendly Chemistry. She did the Landry Chemistry Intensive, we did some of the Friendly Chemistry Labs, and I had her watch all of the DIVE lectures and do the labs. Her brother used DIVE with BJUP, so I already had it. She was in Geometry at the time and hadn't done Algebra II, so we had to go low-key math.

 

She loved it and said it was her favorite year of science! In my checks of her notebook and discussions we had, she clearly grasped what I had hoped for high school chemistry.