Jessica-Is your son going into a STEM field? That would definitely affect your decision in this area.
If a student is starting in community college, I would say that having a rigorous high school Chemistry course is not nearly as much of a priority as if he is going straight to University.
You could put together a chemistry course using Chemistry 101 dvds and living books along with chapters from Apologia chemistry.
Many, many homeschoolers use Apologia texts in a much more relaxed method than outlined in premade lesson plans. For instance, here’s how we are doing Apologia Biology. We are not using anything except for the textbook-no dvds or notebooks. We read several pages a day and do the On Your Own Excercies orally each day. My daughter draws many of the diagrams and tables in her science notebook. I have her complete the Study Guide independently and then I give her the test orally. She only missed 2 on the test for module 1 so I am pleased so far.
We used Apologia General Science in a similar manner. I did have her do one module in the more traditional manner just to get a feel for how textbook learning usually works. I will have her do a couple of modules this year in that way as well.
Most homeschoolers I have talked to (online and in real life) use textbooks in a less formal manner than a traditional school would. Always feel free to make the textbook work for your student rather than conforming your student to someone else’s lesson plans.
Oh! We also do selected labs when they are doable for our family. We plan on doing several dissections for Biology and many of the other labs but I am not planning on buying a microscope at this point.
Just thought I’d share how we handle Apologia at our house!
