Instead of waiting until after the homeschool year is over, I wanted to share a few posts featuring new-to-us curriculum choices. We have not used this curriculum yet, but after much research, I have decided to give it a try. Stick around and see if we end up liking it!
I have decided to use Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen for my rising 11th-grade son.
INFO FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Most chemistry curriculums are comprised of thick, boring textbooks that require a firm grounding in algebra and feature labs with chemicals that can strike fear in a homeschool parent’s heart. Our chemistry curriculum is like nothing out there in the homeschool market (that I know of)! You don’t need to know any higher level math to do it. You don’t have to purchase a $250 lab kit with chemicals galore and test tubes.
This is a PRACTICAL chemistry course for those of you who have students who hate math, hate science, and are in tears thinking of that scary chemistry textbook they are supposed to choke down.
This is also the perfect science curriculum for those students who LOVE science and want to learn some down-to-earth science they will use and enjoy knowing throughout their lives.
Chemistry that actually makes sense!
There is NO textbook in Guest Hollow’s Chemistry in the Kitchen. That keeps things fresh, interesting, and non-intimidating. Students also learn a bit of history and other subjects like physics, because chemistry is NOT something that happens in a vacuum. It’s the world all around us and tied to many other things. Your student will learn lots of interesting and fun facts while getting to learn another important skill s/he can actually put to use – cooking!
WHY I CHOSE Chemistry in the Kitchen:
We will use Chemistry in the Kitchen as our guide and use the textbook: Discovering Design with Chemistry from Berean Builders as our textbook spine for reference when needed. I used Discovering Design with Chemistry as our main curriculum with my older son and did not like it. I wanted to try something different with my next kid! Since he is a college-bound athlete I have to be careful choosing curriculum and Chemistry in the Kitchen would not qualify by itself for NCAA approval, which is why we will add the textbook as a supplement. I chose Chemistry in the Kitchen because of the practical life approach to learning. Who knows, I may not like it – it’s a lot of prep work to choose what to use. You’ll have to stick around to see what we think after we get into it!
The curriculum recommends many books and some are more important than others. I bought the main books, and organized all of the books into a list on Amazon for you and for me so I can reference the list throughout the year. Some books I can get at the library, some I bought, I put notes on each item in the list so you can see.
LESSON PLANS
They provide lesson plans, but I have a format I use so I create an at-a-glance page for each subject every year. You are welcome to download and use these also. There is a cover sheet for a binder as well. I like to have a simple checklist like this for each subject. My kids have a copy and I keep a copy for myself. Each week I check lessons off so I can see where we are at-a-glance.
