Christian Kids Explore Chemistry = Good for All

I love Bright Ideas Press!  I think their Mystery of History was the very first curriculum that I used outside of a pre-boxed all-inclusive program in our homeschool.  I found it one year and decided we'd give it a try -- proving to myself that I was a "real" homeschooler!  After years of taking what I considered the "easy way," I moved outside of the box and started finding different things to fit my family and allow us to relax a little.  I had MADE it! And we've been making it ever since.  As a result, Bright Ideas Press has remained one of my favorite companies for great homeschool resources.

Last year we had the opportunity to review TWO Bright Ideas Press products -- Illuminations and WonderMaps.  They were both excellent and I've continued using them. {I'd love for you to check out both of those reviews and learn a little more about them.} I am impressed with all that I've seen from Bright Ideas Press so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review a book from their Christian Kids Explore Science series this year.  My Senior has been working through Chemistry, so I thought it would be a good subject to study with the Boy Scout and the Princess as well.  {I'll let you in on a little secret here though, the Senior has used it even more than me.  She says it explains so many things so much better than HER textbook.}

Christian Kids Explore (CKE) Science Chemistry is a Christian curriculum that is easy-to-use and offers hands-on activities for 4th- 8th grade students.  (My younger kids are 5th and 7th grade so it was PERFECT for us.)  Not only is it user-friendly, but it includes a variety of components to keep all of your learners involved.  For my Princess there were coloring pages and for the Boy Scout there were experiments to try.  I appreciated the teaching plans that made my life much easier and I LOVED the fact that GOD's WORD was included throughout.  Scripture-infused textbooks make me HAPPY!

CKE Chemistry is organized as 30 Lessons in 5 Units and is perfect for upper elementary and Junior High students.  Each lesson took us about 30 minutes of reading and reviewing (not including time spent doing the Hands-On activity). The 5 Units are as follow:

1. The Basics of Chemistry


2. Atoms and Molecules


3. The Nature of Chemistry


4. States of Matter and


5. Organic Chemistry

Included in the 356-page textbook are definitions, charts, graphs and experiments galore.  There's even a list of Suggested Reading for additional study on any of the given topics.  Students are directed to other books and resources for any of the topics that they want to learn more about and that keeps my Boy Scout digging deeper.  Yes!

The best part about the experiments is that I had what we needed right in my kitchen -- for the most part.  It was easy to read our lesson in the living room and then move right into the kitchen and dining room to do the Hands-On activity that went along with it.  The coloring pages were useful, too, because the Princess "listens" best when her hands are occupied.  While she was engaged in coloring creativity, she was able to stay focused on what I was reading aloud.  When it came time to answer the review questions, she proved she had been paying close attention.  That's a win-win for us all!



I shared the ~secret~ with you that my Senior found CKE Chemistry helpful, too.  I had loaded the PDF on my Kindle for ease of use and she "borrowed" it repeatedly to use as a supplement to her textbook.  I asked her to share a little about what she thought of it, and this is what she said:

I love the CKE Chemistry course because it provides information in an easy-to-understand format.  It was not overwhelming.  Each lesson offered a passage to read, vocabulary words to concentrate on and a fun experiment that wasn't stupid.  The quick review section made it easy to confirm that I "got" what I'd spent time reading.

I liked the fact that it took high school textbook information and made it easier to understand and grasp.  While it does not replace a high school textbook, it would complement just about any Christian high school curriculum nicely.  That's how I have used it and I think I understand even better what my textbook is saying.

Christian Kids Explore Chemistry, all new 2nd Edition, is available for purchase for $39.95 and includes an easy-to-use Resource CD.  The Resource CD includes Daily Lesson Plans, a Materials Lists, a bonus Literature Study Guide, and all of the reproducibles ready for you to print and embark on a great learning adventure.

You CAN teach Chemistry to your children -- and don't worry, answers are included! Why don't you take a peek at the Table of Contents for a more in-depth look at all that you'll be studying and then read through the entire first unit in the sample pages?  I think you'll be as happy to have found Bright Ideas Press as I was so many years ago.  Bright Ideas Press really IS curriculum moms love!




~~Disclaimer:  I was given the opportunity to use and review Christian Kids Explore Science Chemistry as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  The opinions stated are mine and mine alone.  I was not paid to share my thoughts and feelings with you.  I received a PDF Download of the curriculum in exchange for my honest review. You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew thought of  this and some of the other great Science curriculums offered by Bright Ideas Press HERE.~~

 

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