A Parent's Guide to Selecting Homeschool High Chemistry Curriculum

Welcome to the latest episode of Teaching High School Science! I'm your host, Doc, a former biochemist turned high school science teacher and private tutor. In this episode, we're dedicated to helping parents find the perfect high school chemistry curriculum for the upcoming school year. While "perfect" might be a stretch, I'm confident that the diverse range of curricula we'll discuss will help you find the best fit for your needs.

We'll cover several options:

1. Apologia High School Chemistry - Known for its comprehensive, rigorous approach from a Christian perspective, with engaging lab experiments and activities.
2. Guest Hollow's Chemistry in the Kitchen - Ideal for students seeking a conceptual understanding of chemistry without the math, featuring hands-on kitchen-based experiments.
3. CK-12 Chemistry - A free, online interactive textbook offering simulations, videos, and quizzes, suitable for self-study with various levels of difficulty.
4. Time4Learning High School Chemistry - A subscription-based, self-paced course with interactive lessons and virtual labs.
5. PA Homeschoolers - Focused on honors and AP Chemistry, these courses provide live interaction with experienced instructors to prepare students for college-level work.
6. My Comprehensive Chemistry Planner - A flexible, 17-unit planner designed for parents who want more control over their child's chemistry education, with resources and videos to aid in teaching.

Each curriculum has its strengths, and I'll share insights from my own experiences and what other parents have told me. I'll also provide links in the show notes for further exploration.

Homeschooling offers unique flexibility and customization, which can make the chemistry journey both enjoyable and effective. For additional resources and support, including online courses and tutoring, visit my website at thesciencementor.com. Subscribe to the Teaching High School Science podcast for more tips, strategies, and motivation. Let's make high school science a journey of exploration and achievement!

Remember, curiosity leads to endless possibilities. Until next time!

Thanks for tuning in! 

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Let's continue the conversation and explore the wonders of science together!

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

This episode is dedicated to helping parents find the perfect high school chemistry curriculum for the upcoming school year. Now, perfect may be a strong word to use, but hopefully, with all of the curricula that I'm going to talk about, you will find the best fit. So let's dive in. Welcome to Teaching High School Science. I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist, turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your team through high school science or teaching online, join me as I share tips and strategies I've learned over the years for at-home and online labs and activities, breaking down complex concepts and structuring learning in a way that makes sense. Now let's dive into today's topics. Choosing the correct curriculum can be the difference between headache and engagement, and I'm hoping that this episode will take some of this stress and time out of researching high school chemistry curriculum. Some I've used, some I have not, but I at least wanted to take some of the time out of your research. Talk about a few from different perspectives, what parents have told me and what I have read about them, to at least give you a starting point in your journey. And the links to each of these curricula can be found in the show notes. The first one is Apologia High School Chemistry. Now, this one is popular because it offers a comprehensive overview of the chemistry concepts in a rigorous way. It includes textbooks, lab kits, online resources for both students and parents, and it provides everything with a Christian point of view and from what has been shared with me, is that the lab experiments and the activities are very engaging as students enjoy doing them. From what I could tell, looking at this curriculum, that it is very comprehensive. In other words, your student will be prepared for any future studies in chemistry by completing this curriculum. The second curriculum is for those that want just a conceptual understanding of chemistry where you're not looking to have any math, and this one is math free guest high school chemistry in the kitchen, and this is curriculum by guest hollow, as the name suggests. You're going to have a lot of kitchen based experiments and activities where students explore the concepts without the need to do a lot of calculations. It's very hands-on, so you are going to need the supplies, but it's good for students across different ages and across different backgrounds.

Speaker 1 2:37

Third curriculum is ck12.org Chemistry. Ck12 offers a free resource. It is an online interactive textbook. When I say interactive, I've used this quite a bit, especially their simulations and activities for chemistry and physics. The textbooks are in different levels, from conceptual all the way up to advanced. They are set up to where each unit not only explain the concepts but they are interactive in that they provide videos, simulations, practice questions and quizzes. This curriculum is completely self-study, so you would definitely need to set up a schedule for going through all of the material. The fourth curriculum is time for learning high school chemistry program. Now, this is a subscription base where CK-12 was free and in the subscription it is a full, self-paced high school chemistry course where you have all of the lessons, videos, interactive activities and virtual labs. Now, because it's self-paced, you also want to set up a study schedule to ensure that you get through all of the material, providing everything they need to go to whatever they want to go to after high school.

Speaker 1 3:55

The next one you may have heard me mention before is PA homeschoolers. This is for honors and AP chemistry, and you know AP chemistry is dear to my heart, so I had to put in at least one homeschooling option for AP chemistry. Their courses are led by experienced instructors, which means that want to have that live interaction with a teacher, where you will be in class with a teacher and able to ask questions, and these courses are geared to set you up for success in college level courses. The last one I want to talk about is my own comprehensive chemistry planner. This is a comprehensive 17 unit chemistry planner, and this is set up for my parents that want to have more control and hands on involvement in their child's chemistry journey. It is a scope and sequence where each unit is set up in a checklist format, ensuring that you have all topics needed to be in a comprehensive chemistry program.

Speaker 1 5:05

From my years of experience teaching chemistry and allowing you to select which topics you want to include that are honors, that are not honors, you get to decide.

Speaker 1 5:16

Each unit comes with what I call a parents corner, where I have a video breaking down all of the concepts in each unit, providing tips and additional resources to help you teach the content in that unit.

Speaker 1 5:29

The goal of this planner is to make planning and teaching high school chemistry easier and more manageable so that you and your student will have an enjoyable experience throughout the chemistry journey. So, whichever curriculum you choose, homeschooling offers a flexibility, a customization that you just cannot find in traditional schools, and if you're looking for additional resources, support. Visit my website, where I have online courses, tutoring and other resources to help you through your high school science journey. Let me know if you have any questions, ideas or other experiences that you'd like to share. Head on over to my podcast page, which you can access by visiting my website at thesciencementorcom. Then select podcast from the menu and subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for your regular dose of motivation and just-in-time science ideas, and together let's make high school science a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember curiosity leads to endless possibilities.