Every once in a while, you come across a product that you wish you could have had when you were growing up, and those were exactly my feelings when I reviewed Ellen Johnston McHenry’s introductory chemistry course. Geared for the upper elementary to junior-high age students, it introduces chemistry gently, comparing the elements, the ingredients of our world to common kitchen ingredients we use everyday to make many very different baked goods. The analogy kicks off the first chapter, where they learn about the more common elements such as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, analogous to flour, sugar, and salt, which are used in nearly everything we bake. More uncommon elements such as berylium, gallium, and selenium are compared to fruit, spices, and other add-ins that you might only use in special recipes. The periodic table is then introduced, in the more simplified (and less intimidating) format of the "Kitchen Cupboard of the Universe). The basic concepts of chemistry are introduced in each chapter, in a very simple, understandable format, and avoids bogging them down with details that will be covered (much more exhaustively!) in high school or college. The approach appears to work well, with protons, neutrons, electrons, the electron cloud model, orbitals, bonding, spin, and more covered in just the very first few chapters. Fun and interactive activities are featured at the end of each chapter, to review and reinforce what was covered in the chapter, before moving further on. The activities are a good mix of hands-on experiments, and model-making, puzzles, fill-in-the-blanks, and of course short answer to write electron configurations, Lewis diagrams, chemical compounds and more. The hands-on activities have been well-chosen and illustrate well the concepts that have been learned. Constructing balloon electron cloud models and edible chemical compounds, creating carbon dioxide bubbles, and electolysis are several examples. Several songs are included, for those who are more auditorily oriented. Several more involved activities include making periodic-table pillowcases to play a game on, creating your own "collect-’em-all" chemical elements card deck, and performing several short skits on the discovery of several of the more common elements of the periodic table. Students are also challenged by the author to memorize as much of the periodic table as they can, to help make life easier when they revisit the subject (as well as impress their relatives at get-togethers). At only 70 pages of lessons, this is a fairly brief, but effective introduction to chemistry that could be easily worked into the academic year with any style of curriculum being used. Patterns, outlines, activity sheets, game boards, and more are included in the activity packet. And, to make things easier on Mom, most of the materials are easily found, either around the home, or at your local Wal-Mart (no poring over science supply catalogs trying to decide how many moles of a chemical to order!), and all are listed in the very front of the book.

All in all, this is a very well-done introduction to the basics of chemistry, and whatever your students take with them from this course will be well applied to more advanced chemistry, making their journey into more advanced chemistry all the more manageable. Plus, I think students will definitely be impressed with themselves for being able to complete some college-level chemistry by Chapter 3 of the book! Personally, my first real experience with chemistry was my senior year of high school, followed by the four semesters of chemistry required by my major, and I think both high school chemistry as well as introductory college chemistry would have been much easier to understand had I had some experience with these concepts at an earlier age. --- Jess

Customer Reviews

 
Trish S. from Kentucky wrote the following on 08/16/2005:
Did your children (students) learn from it what you thought they would? Absolutely. My children enjoyed using the materials and demonstrated very good comprehension and retention. They transitioned from this to high school level chemistry with surprising ease (and that wasn't even a goal). Did you find it easy to use? Yes! Was the teacher's manual (where applicable) helpful and/or necessary? N/A How much teacher preparation is necessary? Very little. How successful were you in using it with multiple age students? Very. How does it work for various learning styles? Great. Is there any additional information that would have been helpful to have prior to ordering/using it? No. How does it compare to another similar product? I haven't found anything similar, but I wish I could! Is the product a good value (i.e. was it worth the expense)? Definitely! This is one of the best instructional purchases we've ever made.

 
Jodi M. from South Carolina wrote the following on 05/10/2006:
This chemistry curriculum was outstanding. It is well written, easy to understand and alot of fun. I used this with my 3rd, 4th, and 7th grade students. My three year old actually memorized a large portion of the elements by listening to the CD. This has been my favorite science curriculum in all my years of homeschooling.

 
Mary S. from Basking Ridge, NJ wrote the following on 10/09/2006:
This program is fantastic! I used it at home with my five and seven year olds. When I took them out for fast food my five year old looks at the drink cup where it says RB (for root beer) and he says, "Is it safe to drink Rubidium?" Unbelievable!! I then used this in a co-op with 5-8 year olds and I had them so excited about doing electron configurations their moms thought I was a scientist. Ha! Ha! I know NOTHING about Chemistry. Absolutly wonderful program!

 
Michelle L. from Long Beach wrote the following on 01/03/2007:
BUY THIS CURRICULUM!! I absolutely loved it. I used it with my 4th and 5th grade daughters and it was amazingly easy to use to learn all about Chemistry. I highly recommend it.

 
Cordelia T. from Michigan wrote the following on 06/20/2008:
Elements could make chemistry your children's favorite subject; it is everything in the product description--elementary school children really can understand the organization of the periodic chart (families of elements), atomic structure, and simple chemical bonds. It could be completed quickly (1 month) and simply by just reading the seven chapters...or get into the games, songs, review activities, internet sites, lab experiments, and plays for a good semester course. The author hits the right balance to make this curriculum adaptable for an age range 5 yo to adult with stories, simple experiments and games for the little ones and clear technical information and projects for the older student (would make a great co-op course). A winner with my 5 yo, 10 yo, & 12 yo. and an extremely solid foundation for their future science courses.

 
Kelli K. from Madison, Ohio wrote the following on 08/28/2008:
Of all the science we have ever done at any level, this is the most fun! We were looking for an elementary to middle school level chemistry curriculum as an introduction to chemistry for our children, so that their first exposure to chemistry was before high school. We wanted them to be at least acquainted with this wonderful subject. This curriculum far exceeded our expectations. It is simple to use, a just "open and start" curriculum. The supplies you need for experiments are actually found around the house, even our house. I am always frustrated with science experiments calling for household items that "everyone" has in their home yet we never seem to have in ours. The text is intriguing to read, even for little ones. Information is presented in an exciting story format, containing wonderful information for children of all ages, even older children. She explains scientific concepts in such an easy to understand way that even the least scientific among us will understand and enjoy this curriculum. She really brings chemistry to life through stories, games, drawings, experiments, activities, songs, crafts and more. If my children had gotten their wish, we would have done this exclusively until it was done. I'm not sure we've ever looked so forward to science! This same author has other curricula that we can't wait to use. We plan to use "The Elements: Ingredients of the Universe" with a small group of young children this fall. Our children are excited to do it all over again. While they love to learn, I'm not sure how many things they would be excited to turn around and repeat immediately after completion so that says something about this program. The price is great for the product: money we feel was very well spent. This encompasses all learning styles, being a comprehensive, multi-sensory, developmentally appropriate introduction to chemistry. I would highly recommend this in the years preceding higher level science. There is simply no other product that compares. Many people we talked with when looking for something like this said that chemistry is a higher level science. This program proves how wonderful and appropriate chemistry can be for younger children. Our children have learned so much from this, not only in knowledge but in application. This curriculum definitely rates in the top ten of everything we've used over the past ten years of homeschooling.

 
Amy Y. from NM wrote the following on 04/07/2009:
On my quick preview, I liked how things are presented and the kids really like the cartoons inside. I think this is a reasonable introduction to chemistry for kids. However, I noted a few things that I thought needed correction. Chapter 1 activity #4. Either just drop it or change all the units (liters, pounds, etc.) to number of atoms or even thousands of atoms. Quick explanation: 1. volume measure depends on the state of the matter (ie H2O liquid or gas have different volumes). 2. using weight you must factor in the atomic weight of the atom (i.e. there's a group of moms each holding a baby in her arms--guess they are bonded. If the weight of all the moms is 3000 pounds, we do not have 3000 pounds worth of children).