Talk to me about McHenry's Carbon Chemistry and The Cell

[Chrysalis Academy]

When did you use these (what grades?)

 

What did you like about them - if you did?

 

What did you dislike about them/what made you quit them?

 

If you used them both, is there an ideal order? Does one logically precede the other?

 

 

[Space station]

I asked a similar question recently and got no answer, so I am listening with big ears.

[Reefgazer]

When did you use these (what grades?)

 

I have never used The Cell.  I used The Elements and Carbon Chemistry this year (7th grade).

 

What did you like about them - if you did?

 

I liked that the programs were thorough and very in-depth.  They allow a middle schooler to learn some serious chemistry without having the math background.  In addition, some (not all) of the units have very good demonstrations/experiments, which you don't generally find in a home-brewed-type science lab.  Third, DD loves McHenry's style - she gets the point across without being dull or preachy, and really holds the student's interest.  I'm extremely impressed with her work, and because I am a trained scientist, I am very picky about science.  Fourth, she has a terrific balance between the background theory of what she is trying to teach and experiments/demos; the experiments really support the lesson.

 

What did you dislike about them/what made you quit them?

 

I didn't quit the books; we finished The Elements in December and will be wrapping up Carbon Chemistry by June.  The one thing I wasn't all that crazy about are some of the games she has as part of the lab exercises.  I get the games - they are a cost-effective way of reinforcing the lessons.  But although the games are cleverly done, I am not into games and we don't use most of them.  We opt for other lab exercises.

 

If you used them both, is there an ideal order? Does one logically precede the other?

 

Although I haven't done The Cell, I don't imagine the order of The Cell and Carbon Chemistry matters.  However, I think it would be best if a student has completed The Elements before Carbon Chemistry.  Carbon Chemistry can be a handful if you really get into it.

 

[mumto2]

Simply answering because I saw the other thread, since it was so long ago I didn't answer but probably should have because I am now looking back on it after high school chemistry. I am another who used the Elements and Carbon Chemistry.

 

We did them rather sporadically mixed with physics (self designed with library books) for about a year when the dc's were 10 and 8. I loved these classes and so did the kids. The content is great. The workbook type pages were fun and easy to use. The content well explained. I don't remember ever having a content issue. Honestly these are on my list of great curriculum.

 

A good friend is a Chemistry Professor and loved what they were learning. He was a bit doubtful about the value of memorizing the periodic table because he doesn't know it and never felt the need but it seems to have served my kids really well in terms of speed while doing their high school class, definitely did not hurt them! They are also great on answering quiz show chemistry questions thanks to their periodic table knowledge.

 

I also think these classes gave my kids a huge sense of confidence mixed with a strong chemistry foundation. Dd loves chemistry and has gone on past basic high school chemistry to do some chemistry Coursera classes. Ds does not enjoy chemistry to be honest so I can't say these courses guarantee a love of chemistry. This is my very practical Ds who hasn't found a computer programming application for chemistry so considers it irrelevant to his life, loves physics which his uses in programming daily. :lol:

 

We had the very first version of these curricula. Most games we played or tried to. I remember having cards with the elements around for quite awhile but they didn't really play the games repeatedly other than the memorization one.

 

As a side note the customer service was great. We had a problem with the CD that accompanies the book. They were willing to mail a new one to Europe although in the end we were able to get it via downloads.

[eternalsummer]

I liked them very much, but I think maybe I tried too early with DD (she was 8); she hated Botany so much that one day she "accidentally" (I am doubtful) left it outside overnight in the rain.  I thought about just reordering but she was so gleeful to even get just the week off that I figured there are better hills to die on.

 

We'll try again in a year or so.

[MamaSprout]

I think Elements can be done at any age, but I recommend 9 +.

 

We're doing Botany right now, just off of the screen with some videos. We did the lap book over a week or two after we wrapped up Earth Science. Here's what we are doing:

 

Elements (done)

 

Botany (now). We'll finish the year with Eric Slone's Weather Book.

 

Cells- next year- 6th/ 7th grade level (I coordinated with BioZone NGSS to round it out as Honors Life Science) with:

 

Anatomy Unit (free page, although she's developing a High School Anatomy similar to Mapping the World)- Next year. Probably Girl's Body Book and the Horrible Science Body book.

 

Brain- if we have time in life science next year. If not, we'll skip it.

 

Carbon Chemistry- as part of a physical science year following life science. Not sure what I'll round it out with- probably Quality Science Labs PhysSci kit and Astronomy with Great Course videos or PBS series. Maybe history of science.

 

Mapping the World. Next year with K12HO and SHEG for Middle Ages

 

Excavating English. As a unit study before co-op classes start next year with McCaughran's Canterbury Tales.

[Clear Creek]

When did you use these (what grades?)

 

What did you like about them - if you did?

 

What did you dislike about them/what made you quit them?

 

If you used them both, is there an ideal order? Does one logically precede the other?

 

My 7th grader is using Carbon Chemistry right now; she just finished The Elements prior to that. She has not used The Cell, so I can't help you with the order they should be used.

 

So far Carbon Chemistry is fun, it is well laid out, it contains lots of games and demonstrations to illustrate the concepts, and it looks like it (along with the Elements) will give my daughter a really good foundation for high school chemistry.

 

I don't anticipate quitting the curriculum, even if we have to carry it into the summer...my daughter thinks it is that fun. The only thing I dislike is that the games are designed for several students, so we are skipping them. It is still a really full program without them, so skipping them doesn't bother me.

[SilverMoon]

I am curious too. The Elements and Carbon Chemistry seem to be the standard recommendation. While they sound meaty enough, all the projects, activities,and games mentioned don't sound like a good fit for DS/rising 7th. I've mostly been looking at conceptual (= low math) high school courses instead.

[quark]

Rose, our experience is very similar to reefgazer's only that instead of doing the books with me, DS unschooled it. He read and did the worksheets mostly by himself but didn't use the games. My role was to organize labs/ discussions with similarly interested kids from our local homeschool group and the labs/ discussions were led by two chemistry-loving parents and a very-qualified mentor. Each kid used his/ her own study materials. DS used Elements and Carbon Chem and miscellaneous books e.g. the ones by John Emsley (Nature's Building Blocks, Molecules at an Exhibition are two that I can remember). The mentor used a high school textbook as a spine. DS read Elements first followed by Carbon Chem. It was a very positive experience.

[MamaSprout]

I am curious too. The Elements and Carbon Chemistry seem to be the standard recommendation. While they sound meaty enough, all the projects, activities,and games mentioned don't sound like a good fit for DS/rising 7th. I've mostly been looking at conceptual (= low math) high school courses instead.

We are very selective about the add ons. We really read the text then pick and choose among the activities, videos, etc. Dd can read/ do more if she's interested, but the text is enough for us a lot of times. I was surprised she wanted to do the lap book for Botany. Sometimes we watch videos from Bozeman Science.

[KeriJ]

Are these easy for them to do independently?  

[Momling]

We loved them! It was especially fun when we did it in 6th/7th grade because I had two kids at the time and they loved to play the games and do the activities. Once I had only one child, the materials were less fun, but still good. I think the materials are best when you have multiple kids.

[MamaSprout]

Are these easy for them to do independently?

Yes. We do them together if I have time, but if I don't, she does fine. She likes Botany on the screen and uses the edit feature to highlight new words. We do often do the worksheets orally (and sometimes skip them) but she can do them on her own with little complaining.