If you are doing lab sciences at home, how are you doing it

[LibraryLover]

We are thinking about sending our 17 yr old to honors chemistry next semester at our local high school.

 

[MamaSheep]

Have you looked at LabPaqs? http://www.labpaq.com/product-overview/chemistry-overview-page

[LibraryLover]

Have you used this? Would it be something that could be set up in a regular kitchen? The 101 program ($197) seems doable, I think.

 

Has anyone 'out there' used this? I really need to bend the ear of someone who has done high school chemsitry at home.

 

 

Have you looked at LabPaqs? http://www.labpaq.com/product-overview/chemistry-overview-page

Edited December 29, 2009 by LibraryLover

[MamaSheep]

Have you used this? Would it be something that could be set up in a regular kitchen? The 101 program ($197) seems doable, I think.

 

Has anyone 'out there' used this? I really need to bend the ear of someone who has done high school chemsitry at home.

 

I haven't yet. My oldest is only 12, I'm just eyeing it in preparation for the future, as he tends to be a little precocious in science, but cannot tolerate a classroom environment. I saw it in someone's post here a while back and tagged it. I too would like to hear more from someone who has actually used it.

[LibraryLover]

My dd wants to try a high school class, although she doesn't care which one. I really need to have some squared info and a chemistry plan soon if we do chemistry at home. The school lab starts towards the end of Jan.

Edited October 19, 2013 by LibraryLover

[MamaSheep]

What are your main hesitations about sending her to the high school for this?

[TravelingChris]

We do it at home. We have better equipment than either of us had in high school and my dh loves to do this. He is a PhD physicist, We have two expensive microscopes, lots of chemistry glassware, dissection instruments, etc, etc. My son who graduated from our homeschool and went to college found the college science classes very elementary compared to what he did at home. ( He was not a science major). THe only one of our kids who will be a science major or something related will have excellent opportunities at our home since the one thing I can't stop dh from doing is buying more and more science equipment and books. If we live near our grandchildren, I suspect he will love to teach them too.

[SusanAR]

We are using and enjoying this:

 

http://www.homechemlab.com/

 

 

Here is a link to the book.

 

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514921

 

I do have a lot of $$$ invested, however:001_smile: The book lists experiments for nonscience majors, science majors, and AP students.

 

Also, you might find SWB's article about high school labs interesting:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/httpwww-susanwisebauer-comblog/high-school-students-at-home/musings-on-lab-sciences-what-are-they/

[EKS]

Have you looked at LabPaqs? http://www.labpaq.com/product-overview/chemistry-overview-page

 

This is what I was going to recommend.

[EKS]

Have you used this? Would it be something that could be set up in a regular kitchen? The 101 program ($197) seems doable, I think.

 

Has anyone 'out there' used this? I really need to bend the ear of someone who has done high school chemsitry at home.

 

I will be using it this spring. It's sitting on the shelf right now. I have gone through the manual and it looks doable. (I do have a degree in biochemistry and worked in a lab for years so that might skew my idea of "doable" a bit.)

[Mama Lynx]

I don't know about the OP, but you've just convinced *me* that we can do labs at home, or in a co-op!

[LibraryLover]

My hesitation about using the high school is simply that she is a homeschooler. :D

 

Edited October 19, 2013 by LibraryLover

[Jenn in CA]

This lab kit looks great. I've been planning on using comm. college for chem but it's getting harder to get into classes due to budget cuts. Maybe we'll take a stab at a home lab.

 

Dumb question: What textbook would you use along with the 101 set?

[MamaSheep]

My hesitation about using the high school is simply that she is a homeschooler. :D

 

I read Susan's article on labs, but it doesn't ring true for us or the program available to us. The teacher is an excellent teacher and an actual PhD chemist with an actual lab set up for students. (our oldest was a student and received a 4 on the AP test, and he is not a scientist. He Is a music/history major). The school is brand new and well-equipped. When I look at that Vs me and my set up and equipment...well... I don't think I personally can do a better job.

 

If we had no other decent option, there wouldn't be a question.

 

This is hard. Although it seems obvious to others.

 

Well, it's not obvious to me, if it makes you feel any better. I can see pros and cons on both sides of the question. If you're religious, I'd say pray about it. If not, I guess I'd say make a list of pros and cons and talk it over with your dh and dd. At that age I might leave it up to your dd, as she will soon be making all the decisions for her own life as an adult, and it might be good to have some practice at it while she is still on the cusp and living with you. But that's me.

 

I once asked my mother about making a tough life-altering decision (in my 20's). I asked how you know you're making the right choice. She said the best you can do is study it out, pray about it, and make the best choice you can. After that you live in such a way as to make it the right choice. In other words, you do what you can to make your choice succeed, and you don't look back wistfully at the other choice and pine over "what if". You just move forward with confidence. (Which does not rule out course corrections, of course, should it become clear that they are necessary. You just don't beat yourself up over it, having made the best choice you could at the time with the information you had.) I've always thought that was good advice.

 

Good luck!

[Mama Lynx]

I once asked my mother about making a tough life-altering decision (in my 20's). I asked how you know you're making the right choice. She said the best you can do is study it out, pray about it, and make the best choice you can. After that you live in such a way as to make it the right choice. In other words, you do what you can to make your choice succeed, and you don't look back wistfully at the other choice and pine over "what if". You just move forward with confidence. (Which does not rule out course corrections, of course, should it become clear that they are necessary. You just don't beat yourself up over it, having made the best choice you could at the time with the information you had.) I've always thought that was good advice.

 

Good luck!

 

I love this. Yes. Make the best decision you can, and then don't look back.

[Julie in MN]

It sounds like dh likes the high school option. The biggest downside I found to single public school courses is driving them both ways EVERY DAY. And we had some attendance issues such as not being told when there was a "shortened schedule" due to some sports game or something. Also, it tended to result in more effort put toward the one class than for all the rest of the classes together -- but that might have just been my dd. I know other local kids who manage it just fine.

 

My dd did Experiences in Biology by Julicher, and there is also an Experiences in Chemistry. Both dd & ds have taken weekly or biweekly labs from local public & college teachers for a year, and the labs weren't any different than what we've done at home, IMHO.

 

Julie