Thanks for including us in this lineup of options! The thumb drives and audio books do make a huge difference! Glad you are able to use both of those additions :)
This next year is a Biology year for us. We're going to try Shormann Biology bc it's a Christian curriculum and labs are done online while students get their lab credit. It's also so affordable compared to all the other ones I looked at. I can't buy a $300 lab kit for ANY subject - LOL!
I really appreciate this video! My son is doing Apologia's chemistry right now and is having a really hard time. I think I will have him do chemistry again but from a different publisher this time.
Same here!! It's so time intensive and demotivating to my child, it's taken almost all year to do about 5 of the 16 lessons. I'm going to try a video based, researching now. Best to you and your son with this!
Thank you so much for sharing. Chemistry wasn't on our radar yet, but I'm inspired to check in on some of the links. My 9th grader isn't quite ready for the math component yet.
Yes, the math component can be a challenge. I think most traditional chemistry curriculum wants you to be taking Algebra 2 concurrently. And it of course depends on what your student wants to do after graduation. I really like the Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen as something not so math focused. I also have been reading Life of Fred Chemistry (which definitely has the math component), and it is really funny and easy to understand.
@@Townsendhouse1 thank you for your recommendations. We've explored Life of Fred for math before, and the author definitely keeps it fun. My son likes to bake, so the Guest Hollow program sounds like an engaging option. 😊
I thought I would comment on ChemExplained since we have used it. I found it at a homeschool conference and just loved the creator. He's an award- winning chemistry teacher in Minnesota and created this program based on his scope and sequence of what he teaches to his class. It's all video-based with guided note-taking. It can be an honors class if you complete the entire course. There are a few chapters that you can leave out if you want a typical chemistry course. It is an excellent college-prep course and is very thorough. The labs are also on video so you can pick and choose which ones to do in person. He also makes himself available to answer questions via email and is very responsive. It has all the math and labs needed and is challenging, yet taught in such a way that is easy to understand. By the time they complete the course, they have a finished work of notes that can be a valuable resource to take with them to college for college chemistry. And my son put more effort into that class than he did anything else that year. It was almost like he didn't want to disappoint his 'teacher' even though it was not a live class. Anyway, I do highly recommend it. The labs are really cool too, especially if you like to use flames. Lol!!! My son was all about those experiments.
Thank you for sharing! I feel like this is one that I have heard of, but didn't put any time into researching because of the others I already had on my list. Glad to know that it is another great option!
@@Townsendhouse1 Dude, you can only do so much research before your head explodes. LOL! That's why I thought I'd share about it! It's still pretty obscure compared to the others you mentioned.
If you are still considering chemistry options, we are having a lot of success with Berean Builders Biology. We started in a biology curriculum that was all online, no lecture and no textbooks and it just did not work (which has me leery of trying Dive Science despite Shormann Math working well for my high schooler). BB is very well organized for students who do best with a lot of structure. I'm using Science in the Atomic Age as well for my middle schooler who enjoys using the audiobook (on thumb drive) to follow along with the textbook. I'm considering BB and Dive for Chemistry next year - Dive because that's what we are using for high school math and it is a success, but BB because it is so super organized! The downside for us personally is that BB chemistry is more simulated reactions / kitchen science vs the more advanced Dive lab supplies. There are also bonus videos as a supplement in their online content that is separate from the paid-for lecture series. Hope that helps!
I haven't heard of them before! We ended up going with BJU Chemistry this year, and it has been wonderful for her. I'm not sure what we will end up doing next year yet but will definitely check this company out! Thanks for sharing 😊
@@Townsendhouse1 they are on my short list for next year for Biology. But so is Berean Builders and BJU lol. I love the format of BB, but I prefer the labs in Journey Homeschool.
Looking at the Sonlight level J books, we already own a handful of them. Would you suggest ordering the Instructors Guide + Extra Activity sheets? Or would the activity sheets be enough (do they include directions relating to texts)?
Are you talking about the level J language arts or the level J HBL? If you are talking about the language arts, yes, you would need the worksheets and the instructor's guide to make that program work. If you are talking about the HBL level J, then I would still recommend getting the instructor's guide because it has the order of the books & schedule that you will use as well as a lot of context about books, and discussion questions. The language arts activity sheets are really just for an extra student that you have doing the same level, or a replacement for a student that will do the level in the future. The activity sheets come with the instructor's guide. There are no activity sheets for the J HBL though, that is only an instructor's guide with notes/discussion questions/schedule. And if you are talking about the Science J option, again, you would need the instructor's guide. The student activity pages are just where your kids write down answers, the instructor's guide has all of the instructions for the different activities as well as which books to reference. Hope this helps!
@@dilligaf97 Oh, I understand! In the video, I shared that a lot of the Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen books are part of the Sonlight level J history of science option, which we did last year. They are completely separate programs though. Sonlight level J is not a chemistry credit, if you used it for high school it would be a world history credit. If you wanted to do the level J science that goes with that level, it isn't chemistry. It is supposed to be used with the Sonlight HBL J, not separate. There is a lot of crossover in the books between this program - guesthollow.com/store/high-school-chemistry-curriculum/ and Sonlight's History of Science level J. So, if you wanted to do Guest Hollow for your chemistry, I would definitely recommend getting their program since you already have a lot of the books. It is pretty inexpensive at $39, and everything is a printable. It doesn't include a math component though, so if you want chemistry with math (which is the typical college prep chemistry), then you would have to add in something else for the math portion, like Life of Fred.
We did not do the science part with Level J - I know it is a bit confusing. Sonlight level J is called the history of science (and it is one of my favorite Sonlight levels ever). They do have a science course to go with it, and I think that if you did that with the history of science portion you could give a general science credit for high school - but that would also depend on your state's requirements. Level J is a newer course, and I did not use the science portion that goes with it, we only did the history portion. The reason I mentioned it in this video is because a lot of the history of science books in Sonlight Level J also cross over to the Guest Hollow Chemistry book list.
This is the most thorough high school curriculum video I have ever seen! Thank you so much for putting this together.
I'm glad it is helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks for including us in this lineup of options! The thumb drives and audio books do make a huge difference! Glad you are able to use both of those additions :)
This next year is a Biology year for us. We're going to try Shormann Biology bc it's a Christian curriculum and labs are done online while students get their lab credit. It's also so affordable compared to all the other ones I looked at. I can't buy a $300 lab kit for ANY subject - LOL!
The lab kits for high school are CRAZY expensive.
I really appreciate this video! My son is doing Apologia's chemistry right now and is having a really hard time. I think I will have him do chemistry again but from a different publisher this time.
Same here!! It's so time intensive and demotivating to my child, it's taken almost all year to do about 5 of the 16 lessons. I'm going to try a video based, researching now. Best to you and your son with this!
Thank you so much for sharing. Chemistry wasn't on our radar yet, but I'm inspired to check in on some of the links. My 9th grader isn't quite ready for the math component yet.
Yes, the math component can be a challenge. I think most traditional chemistry curriculum wants you to be taking Algebra 2 concurrently. And it of course depends on what your student wants to do after graduation. I really like the Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen as something not so math focused. I also have been reading Life of Fred Chemistry (which definitely has the math component), and it is really funny and easy to understand.
@@Townsendhouse1 thank you for your recommendations. We've explored Life of Fred for math before, and the author definitely keeps it fun. My son likes to bake, so the Guest Hollow program sounds like an engaging option. 😊
I thought I would comment on ChemExplained since we have used it. I found it at a homeschool conference and just loved the creator. He's an award- winning chemistry teacher in Minnesota and created this program based on his scope and sequence of what he teaches to his class. It's all video-based with guided note-taking. It can be an honors class if you complete the entire course. There are a few chapters that you can leave out if you want a typical chemistry course. It is an excellent college-prep course and is very thorough. The labs are also on video so you can pick and choose which ones to do in person. He also makes himself available to answer questions via email and is very responsive. It has all the math and labs needed and is challenging, yet taught in such a way that is easy to understand. By the time they complete the course, they have a finished work of notes that can be a valuable resource to take with them to college for college chemistry. And my son put more effort into that class than he did anything else that year. It was almost like he didn't want to disappoint his 'teacher' even though it was not a live class. Anyway, I do highly recommend it. The labs are really cool too, especially if you like to use flames. Lol!!! My son was all about those experiments.
Thank you for sharing! I feel like this is one that I have heard of, but didn't put any time into researching because of the others I already had on my list. Glad to know that it is another great option!
@@Townsendhouse1 Dude, you can only do so much research before your head explodes. LOL! That's why I thought I'd share about it! It's still pretty obscure compared to the others you mentioned.
Thank you for this video, very helpful!! 🩵
Happy to help! Please let me know if you have questions 😊
If you are still considering chemistry options, we are having a lot of success with Berean Builders Biology. We started in a biology curriculum that was all online, no lecture and no textbooks and it just did not work (which has me leery of trying Dive Science despite Shormann Math working well for my high schooler). BB is very well organized for students who do best with a lot of structure. I'm using Science in the Atomic Age as well for my middle schooler who enjoys using the audiobook (on thumb drive) to follow along with the textbook. I'm considering BB and Dive for Chemistry next year - Dive because that's what we are using for high school math and it is a success, but BB because it is so super organized! The downside for us personally is that BB chemistry is more simulated reactions / kitchen science vs the more advanced Dive lab supplies. There are also bonus videos as a supplement in their online content that is separate from the paid-for lecture series. Hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing!
Have you used apologia advanced biology for anatomy and physiology?
I have not! Only the first biology course they have for high school.
Have you looked into Journey Homeschool? Too late this year, but i feel like they might be the happy medium you're looking for.
I haven't heard of them before! We ended up going with BJU Chemistry this year, and it has been wonderful for her. I'm not sure what we will end up doing next year yet but will definitely check this company out! Thanks for sharing 😊
@@Townsendhouse1 they are on my short list for next year for Biology. But so is Berean Builders and BJU lol. I love the format of BB, but I prefer the labs in Journey Homeschool.
Looking at the Sonlight level J books, we already own a handful of them. Would you suggest ordering the Instructors Guide + Extra Activity sheets? Or would the activity sheets be enough (do they include directions relating to texts)?
Are you talking about the level J language arts or the level J HBL? If you are talking about the language arts, yes, you would need the worksheets and the instructor's guide to make that program work. If you are talking about the HBL level J, then I would still recommend getting the instructor's guide because it has the order of the books & schedule that you will use as well as a lot of context about books, and discussion questions.
The language arts activity sheets are really just for an extra student that you have doing the same level, or a replacement for a student that will do the level in the future. The activity sheets come with the instructor's guide.
There are no activity sheets for the J HBL though, that is only an instructor's guide with notes/discussion questions/schedule.
And if you are talking about the Science J option, again, you would need the instructor's guide. The student activity pages are just where your kids write down answers, the instructor's guide has all of the instructions for the different activities as well as which books to reference.
Hope this helps!
@@Townsendhouse1 I was specifically asking about the chemistry course in level J, as I looked it up we already own several of the recommended books.
@@dilligaf97 Oh, I understand! In the video, I shared that a lot of the Guest Hollow Chemistry in the Kitchen books are part of the Sonlight level J history of science option, which we did last year. They are completely separate programs though. Sonlight level J is not a chemistry credit, if you used it for high school it would be a world history credit. If you wanted to do the level J science that goes with that level, it isn't chemistry. It is supposed to be used with the Sonlight HBL J, not separate.
There is a lot of crossover in the books between this program - guesthollow.com/store/high-school-chemistry-curriculum/ and Sonlight's History of Science level J. So, if you wanted to do Guest Hollow for your chemistry, I would definitely recommend getting their program since you already have a lot of the books. It is pretty inexpensive at $39, and everything is a printable. It doesn't include a math component though, so if you want chemistry with math (which is the typical college prep chemistry), then you would have to add in something else for the math portion, like Life of Fred.
we are looking at masterbooks
With Sonlight J would that be science credit?
We did not do the science part with Level J - I know it is a bit confusing. Sonlight level J is called the history of science (and it is one of my favorite Sonlight levels ever). They do have a science course to go with it, and I think that if you did that with the history of science portion you could give a general science credit for high school - but that would also depend on your state's requirements.
Level J is a newer course, and I did not use the science portion that goes with it, we only did the history portion.
The reason I mentioned it in this video is because a lot of the history of science books in Sonlight Level J also cross over to the Guest Hollow Chemistry book list.