What did you use for logic stage chemistry and how did you like it?

[Meriwether]

I tried searching for science threads but didn't come up with much. I know very little about logic stage science. Dd is interested in doing chemistry next year. I want to wait a year or two, but I thought I'd look into it.

[Lily_Grace]

Oh, what haven't we used?

 

Noeo Chem II - okay, a little dry and monotonous, but it used living books and had links to demonstrate as well as labs. It was a great intro to chemistry, imo

Mr. Q's Advanced Chem - very difficult and not very in depth. We made it through half before I stopped fighting what I knew - we could not work on learning the math concepts and the chemistry concepts at the same time. Maybe in a year or two when he's had more practice with the math.

Ellen McHenry's The Elements - fun, interesting, but short. It lasted 6 weeks here.

An Elementary Guide To Chemistry - ancient college text free from Project Gutenberg. The Kid was actually pretty interested in this. Decent sized chapters with a handful of questions that made him think. He's still reading it for fun.

ACS - so far, so good. Easy, but he's enjoying it and it's helping to solidify concepts while we wait for him to grow into Mr. Q's Advanced Chem or another high school text.

[Crimson Wife]

We used Ellen McHenry plus Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry the first time through the cycle. Next year I am going to try Mr. Q. Advanced Chem. DD will be in Singapore 8 and I think she will be okay with the math. Suchocki's Conceptual Chemistry is my back-up.

[Julie of KY]

We are using Chemistry Matters (Singapore). I'm not sure it's still available for saile however.

[crazyforlatin]

We have a bunch of books, but honestly, the most successful sources have been McHenry's The Elements and Gray's The Elements and the sequel. I do like Tiner's as well.

 

I have NOEO II, but I still have to be more consistent using the schedule. That's why I never buy curricula with schedules - I don't follow them, but for NOEO, I went ahead, thinking it's time to get serious about Chemistry. I like that the kits are included.

[Susie in CA]

During the Logic Stage we used Ellen McHenry's Elements, Tiner's Elements, and the Chem2000 Kit by Thames and Kosmos. It worked out fine.

 

Susie

 

Edited: OOPS yes, the title is Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry.

[Melissa B]

What is Tiner's Elements? Is that the same book as John Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry?

[cschnee]

There are several chemistry related GEMS guides that are great (and hands-on) for this age group.

[Targhee]

We are using RS4K and I do NOT recommend it. There are plenty of things in it that students do not need to know (dye indicators of pH for example) and it is missing things they do need (how acids in solution have dissociated H+ ions (essentially just a proton) which is what makes it acidic). There is basically no coverage of the organization of the periodic table. The print quality also bugs me - looks like it was done on a home word processor with random clip art taken from the Internet. It isn't a horrible program, but I would not recommend it or use it again.

[FairProspects]

There are several chemistry related GEMS guides that are great (and hands-on) for this age group.

 

 

Which ones did you like? We love GEMS.

[rdj2027]

We do not use any curriculum per se. I have a 6th grader who is highly motivated in chemistry, a kinesthetic and visual-spatial learner. I bought the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments, pilfered ideas from various posters on how to teach chemistry and simplify certain labs and set up shop.

 

For a whole-to-parts learner who likes to discover things by himself this method is working very well. However, it is time consuming and can be expensive. I need to do the experiments with him as we handle actual lab equipment and chemicals. Since he does not have the math and is lacking some basic knowledge we have to go down a good number of rabbit trails. For my son this is great because he learns the math in context, he is physically engaged and is beginning to understand why details are often more than bothersome extras one has to slog through. This learning has carried over into other subjects.

 

While it takes a lot of time now, once he understands something it usually goes into permanent memory so when high school comes along time spent on chemistry will be much less since he will already know much of the material of a typical high school course. This will allow him to either delve deeper into chemistry or dedicated more time to other subjects

 

I happen to like chemistry very much so I am having as much fun with this method as he has.

 

As far as textbooks are concerned I pull material from different sources such as BFSU, Conceptual Chemistry by Suchocki and Chang or Zumdahl when he asks for something way beyond middle school level.

 

He is not much of an online fan so we do not use many videos or other online resources.

[redsquirrel]

I used (and modified) the chemistry plan from Guest Hollow. That means that I am mostly using Ellen McHenry's The Elements and Carbon Chemisty. She includes a bunch of non-secular materials and we don't use christian worldview science, so I skipped those obviously. We have used Grey's The Elements and the Periodic Table of Videos (or whatever that is called) so we have been working through the elements all year. I did do some of the library books she suggested such as The Mystery of the Periodic Table and a few others. I added in the chemistry chapters from CPO Physical Science and done those demonstrations when at all possible. I have also added in some videos from Crash Course Chemistry and Crash Course Biology (those goes along with Carbon Chemistry), Brainpop, and the book The Periodic Kingdom.

 

So, it looks a little messy and feels like we are flying by the seat of our pants, but I think it has gone well.

[crazyforlatin]

I also added in Kean's The Disappearing Spoon, but I have it as an audiobook.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632

 

Melissa, I think we are all referring to this Tiner book, http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Chemistry-High-Speed-Computers/dp/0890512957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364324475&sr=1-1&keywords=Tiner+chemistry.

[KellyMama]

We're using The Rainbow science curriculum with our 7th grade dd. She's currently doing the Chemistry semester and likes it. I feel she's learning and I like the way it teaches directly to the student. We go over her lessons/labs and I'm using the optional "downloadable" quizzes for reinforcement of the concepts which have made it more then challenging enough for her.

 

My other 2 kids are interested in Chemistry too (5th and 3rd). I'd really like to review the Apologia Chemistry/Physics book coming out this summer so I can compare and see what kind of overlap there is between the two programs.

[ondreeuh]

I bought Mr. Q chem (not the advanced one) and hope to do it this summer.

[TKDmom]

We used Ellen McHenry plus Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry the first time through the cycle. Next year I am going to try Mr. Q. Advanced Chem. DD will be in Singapore 8 and I think she will be okay with the math. Suchocki's Conceptual Chemistry is my back-up.

 

 

I taught a co-op class with mcHenry's Elements this semester and loved it.

 

Can you tell me a little about Tiner's book? I seem to remember looking over another of his books and deciding against it, because of YE content (I think--it's been a while). I'm okay with limited religious content in science books, but I'm not YE, and I get annoyed by authors who push their religious beliefs into science curricula.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

We are using RS4K and I do NOT recommend it. There are plenty of things in it that students do not need to know (dye indicators of pH for example) and it is missing things they do need (how acids in solution have dissociated H+ ions (essentially just a proton) which is what makes it acidic). There is basically no coverage of the organization of the periodic table. The print quality also bugs me - looks like it was done on a home word processor with random clip art taken from the Internet. It isn't a horrible program, but I would not recommend it or use it again.

 

Were you using the middle school one? I have been looking into this for next year, but my daughter hasn't had any chemistry yet.

[Crimson Wife]

I taught a co-op class with mcHenry's Elements this semester and loved it.

 

Can you tell me a little about Tiner's book? I seem to remember looking over another of his books and deciding against it, because of YE content (I think--it's been a while). I'm okay with limited religious content in science books, but I'm not YE, and I get annoyed by authors who push their religious beliefs into science curricula.

 

The chemistry book has a very subtle "intelligent design" POV, but I felt my DD would probably not even pick up on it. The book *IS* explicitly Christian, however, with Bible references and discussion of the religious beliefs of various scientists. There was not anything that I, as a Catholic Christian, objected to in the Tiner book.

 

I have not seen any of Tiner's other books so I don't know if they are YEC or not.

[Alessandra]

If you want secular, you might want to check out Holt Science & Technology Physical Science. RR and Saxon Homeschool sell the text, along with teacher guides, etc as part of a package. Ds used it last year in ps, and I fell in love with the series. Holt also publishes ScienceFusion (RR & Saxon stock it -- it's a worktext + computer access license). I only have the Earth Science modules, and they seem to have less depth than the comparable HST.

[Susie in CA]

What is Tiner's Elements? Is that the same book as John Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry?

 

 

Sorry, Used the wrong titles. Yes, it is Exploring the World of Chemistry.

[Nicholas_mom]

Is anybody familiar with REAl Science Odyssey Chemsitry Level 1. It's supposed to be geared for Grades 1-5. On the Website, it looks like it might be geared towards 5th Grade, but I don't know for sure? I was thinking of using this with McHenry's Elements.

[Heather in VA]

You might want to check Elemental Science. Their Chemistry Logic stage is supposed to be out this spring thus ready for next year.

[2_girls_mommy]

We are not YE, and I have no trouble w/Tiner's Biology and History of Medicine books that I have. They do point out religious beliefs of the scientists, but I don't mind that. We are Christian. I did see another book in that series, Exploring something... (I cannot remember what!) by another author on another YE Christian website. It was grouped w/Tiner;s books as if they were all in the same series and had a similar cover. I read through the samples of that one and it was very YE in the text. It was a very different feel from Tiner's. So I don't know how it got to be in the same series. Some that complain about the perspective in this series might be refering to things in that book. I plan on using his Exploring Chemistry and the Usborne Science Encyclopedia in a couple of years. I am sure I will add to that with something for more hands on. I will refer to this or other threads at that time for help!

[mlbuchina]

We do not use any curriculum per se. I have a 6th grader who is highly motivated in chemistry, a kinesthetic and visual-spatial learner. I bought the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments, pilfered ideas from various posters on how to teach chemistry and simplify certain labs and set up shop.

 

For a whole-to-parts learner who likes to discover things by himself this method is working very well. However, it is time consuming and can be expensive. I need to do the experiments with him as we handle actual lab equipment and chemicals. Since he does not have the math and is lacking some basic knowledge we have to go down a good number of rabbit trails. For my son this is great because he learns the math in context, he is physically engaged and is beginning to understand why details are often more than bothersome extras one has to slog through. This learning has carried over into other subjects.

 

While it takes a lot of time now, once he understands something it usually goes into permanent memory so when high school comes along time spent on chemistry will be much less since he will already know much of the material of a typical high school course. This will allow him to either delve deeper into chemistry or dedicated more time to other subjects

 

I happen to like chemistry very much so I am having as much fun with this method as he has.

 

As far as textbooks are concerned I pull material from different sources such as BFSU, Conceptual Chemistry by Suchocki and Chang or Zumdahl when he asks for something way beyond middle school level.

 

He is not much of an online fan so we do not use many videos or other online resources.

 

 

:001_wub: Can you come and teach us when it is time? This is how I wish I could do chemistry. I LOVE chemistry.

[Targhee]

 

 

Were you using the middle school one? I have been looking into this for next year, but my daughter hasn't had any chemistry yet.

 

Yes, it is the middle level. If she hasn't had any chemistry she won't got w lot more from this. There are good things in there, but it just seems to not explain things enough (conceptually) so that kids can own the material. It is very authoritarian in that way, and not very rigorous. Oh we'll, live and learn. I didn't like the looks of the lower levels so I never used them. This was given to us by our umbrella school to use because MPH was not available (being updated). I am thinking the ACS course looks worthwhile.

[lifesadream83]

RSO Chemistry from Pandia Press is for 2nd-5th Grade.

[Abeille]

You might want to check Elemental Science. Their Chemistry Logic stage is supposed to be out this spring thus ready for next year.

 

 

I was interested in checking this out for next year, so I contacted ES. They told me it won't be out until Summer, but didn't have an exact date yet. I liked ES Logic Biology this year (though didn't love it) but would rather make a decision on science for next year before then. I'm having a tough time making up my mind, but right now I'm leaning towards using NOEO Level III with some of the supplements from Oak Hollow's list.

[AllSmiles]

I really like a Middle School Chemistry Set I found on Amazon Synergized Middle School Chemistry Teacher Book 1 Synergized Middle School Chemistry Teacher Book 2 Synergized Middle School Chemistry Student Book (I did not buy this. I just made my own worksheets as necessary.) I linked to the paperback editions, but they offer them on the Kindle for only $10 each.

[dereksurfs]

I really like a Middle School Chemistry Set I found on Amazon Synergized Middle School Chemistry Teacher Book 1 Synergized Middle School Chemistry Teacher Book 2 Synergized Middle School Chemistry Student Book (I did not buy this. I just made my own worksheets as necessary.) I linked to the paperback editions, but they offer them on the Kindle for only $10 each.

 

These look interesting. I've never heard of them before. I wonder how they are to teach from and how much time they take.

[Arcadia]

We have used the "You be the Chemist Challenge" study guides as enrichment materials

http://www.chemed.org/ybtc/challenge/study.aspx

The competition is on June 24 in PA if anyone is curious.

[Kim C]

We started the year with ACS Middle School Chemistry. It's easy, but my son enjoyed it because there is a hands-on activity with each lesson. Not all of the activites were exciting (like watching water evaporate), but they deomonstrated the concept we were studying. Some lessons were bigger hits than others, but when we finished my son said he enjoyed it and he seems to have retained what we covered.

 

Now we are going through Ellen McHenry's The Elements, which my son is also enjoying.

 

We also have the Thames and Kosmos C3000 chemistry set. (I found it on sale around Christmas.) We have done some experiments from that as well.

 

Kim

[~Amanda~]

You might want to check Elemental Science. Their Chemistry Logic stage is supposed to be out this spring thus ready for next year.

 

I was wondering if this was out yet, and what the consensus was on it.

[TKDmom]

I was wondering if this was out yet, and what the consensus was on it.

 

Looks like it's not out yet.

http://www.elementalscience.com/chemistry.html

[dereksurfs]

great ideas everyone. ;)

[RootAnn]

I also added in Kean's The Disappearing Spoon, but I have it as an audiobook.

 

DH & I enjoyed The Disappearing Spoon, but I felt there were age-inappropriate (for Middle School) comments in the book. YMMV as my kids are pretty sheltered!

[dereksurfs]

 

Looks like it's not out yet.

http://www.elemental.../chemistry.html

 

Here is the latest news from the author who I emailed:

 

Derek,

 

Yes, Chemistry for the Logic Stage has been delayed. It is now set to be released in early August. You can learn more about the program here, but if you have anymore questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

 

Paige Hudson, Author

[TarynB]

Another option I saw mentioned elsewhere is Chemistry Matters by Singapore. I believe it is new, though, so not sure if many people have experience with it yet. It says recommended for 9th - 10th grade, but perhaps an eager logic stage student who has completed Algebra could tackle it. Anyone here used it or looked at it?

[Targhee]

Another option I saw mentioned elsewhere is Chemistry Matters by Singapore. I believe it is new, though, so not sure if many people have experience with it yet. It says recommended for 9th - 10th grade, but perhaps an eager logic stage student who has completed Algebra could tackle it. Anyone here used it or looked at it?

 

 

Algebra as a prerequisite is most likely for balancing equations, calculating molarity/molality, solving titration problems, and graphing/interpreting graphs. That's a bit steep for middle school, but doable for some. The thing that turned me off, however, was this disclaimer that the lab book was not useable in a home setting. You'd have to pull together your own labs, and finding a lab plan and equipment for a quantitative titration could be hard.

[Crimson Wife]

Algebra as a prerequisite is most likely for balancing equations, calculating molarity/molality, solving titration problems, and graphing/interpreting graphs. That's a bit steep for middle school, but doable for some. The thing that turned me off, however, was this disclaimer that the lab book was not useable in a home setting. You'd have to pull together your own labs, and finding a lab plan and equipment for a quantitative titration could be hard.

 

The bolded is why I decided to scratch it off my list of programs to consider for the upcoming year. Mr. Q's Advanced Chemistry is specifically designed to be homeschool-friendly.