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The Elements and Carbon Chemistry by Ellen J. McHenry – Any Users, Thoughts, or Feedback?
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Has anyone ever used either of these resources or any other resources by this author? If so, what ages? Thoughts? Anyone know more about the author?
We did Elements 2 years ago, so the boys were 10, 7 and 4. They really enjoyed it and it was fun and interesting. It did require me to look ahead and make sure I had the materials put together for the next day (there are quite a few hands-on activities which is GOOD for boys). I added a few other books here and there, as well as some videos. Overall I thought it was a good program and will use it next time we go through chemistry, but I did feel it needed a little more. I don’t think it’s enough for junior high/high school, but you could definitely use parts of it for the older kids to help them understand chemistry better.
Thank you! I was thinking that perhaps The Elements along with the Carbon Chemistry might be enough for a 7th-8th grader. What do you think?
We have a few co-op members interested in doing middle school science together. A couple have already done Apologia General Science, but several have not. I was wondering about skipping Apologia General and going with this combo instead.
I think it would be enough IF you added a bit here and there and used both of them. We made it through Elements fairly quickly, but they wanted to move on so we only did part of Carbon. I kept them both though because I do like them. When we hit high school chemistry I’ll pull it out for them because a lot of her explanations are clear (and funny) and I’m sure it will help them where Apologia is dry.
Off topic – can you see my response in the Night at the Museum post? I had a HUGE long answer but am not seeing it. I don’t want to repost if I can avoid it, so if you can’t see it I’ll ask Doug if it’s in the spam trap.
If I taught it at co-op, it would be 1 day per week, 3 weeks per month. We have 24 classes total. Could add John Hudson Tiner’s Exploring Chemistry. It’s just a thought at the moment. Other parents may prefer Apologia General or Physical.
OT – No, your post isn’t showing on the Night at the Museum thread. If it has links, it’s likely in the spam trap. I can’t wait to read it as I’m very excited about the possibilities with that class.
We are using The Elements this year and I like it very much. Along with it, we are watching a video for each element at the Periodic Table of Videos web site and reading the page for that element in the book The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. For a while we were finding samples of the elements (or a compound) but we are far enough along now in the periodic table that we can rarely find a sample anymore.
Talk about making connections! History, geography… explosions LOL. It has been a great study. Ellen McHenry’s The Elements is great chemistry – but still entertaining. It has made me realize how interesting chemistry really is, but it was made into horrible drudgery by my high school chemistry class. I want to learn more lol.
btw I started the year by reading this book myself, and I highly recommend it for a high school student or adult wanting to get comfortable with chemistry or the elements that make up our world – The Periodic Kingdom.
We will definitely be using Carbon Chemistry at some point. I think The Elements would be great for a coop since so many of the activities are designed to be done with a larger group of participants than I normally have at home lol. The skits are wonderful!
Has anyone else used these? My boys 11 and 13 would like to study chemistry. I was also looking at God’s Design for Chemistry and Ecology but I have no idea how to compare them or if there is any comparison.
Gem, how old were your children when you did Elements? I bought it in the fall when my boys were 7 bc the beginning lessons are so gentle and approachable but as I read further into it I knew they would struggle so we haven’t used it. I’m going to take note of your additional resources and try them out when we do finally do the course. I’m having a hard time figuring out when I should start it.
We used Noeo Chemistry II this year and it was fantastic. I was so pleased with it. My 12YO and 8YO sons both liked it.
Shannon – my kids were 8 and 12. My younger did not do all the writing that could have been done in Elements, my older did. The younger did not really get all the details in the Elements curriculum, but he got an overall view. My both kids really enjoyed the periodic table of videos and the book about the periodic table.
If it were me and I had some other options for science – maybe I would put Elements off until they were older, because there is a lot of great material in it for a kid who is ready.
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