The Elements and Carbon Chemistry by Ellen J. McHenry – Any Users, Thoughts, or Feedback?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.