High School Chemistry for the Christian Homeschooler

I received the curriculum for review purposes and was compensated for my time. All opinions expressed are my own.

High school is on the horizon here much to my dismay, and so far, my kids' favorite science topic has been chemistry, so I know high school chemistry is in my future.

Honestly, I have no problem with that at all. I love science, and chemistry is super fun for me (guess my kids came by it naturally).

We have used Apologia Science since we started our homeschool, but as my kids begin leaving the elementary series behind I start to wonder if Apologia will continue to meet our needs as a science curriculum. Thankfully I have the chance to review the newest version of Exploring Creation with Chemistry from Apologia and to share with you too.

A review of Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry High School Curriculum

I like to think that my list of must haves in a science curriculum is not a long one, but it is ever increasing as the kids get older, and I have more of them to teach. In fact we made a move to more independent learning this year as I am adding a kindergartner. So now I look for science that is from a Creationist point-of-view, scientifically sound (no flat earthers here), includes lots of hands-on experiment opportunities, and can be accomplished independently by the student. This last one only applies to middle school and up where I can be reasonably sure they won't destroy things in an attempt to complete activities.

With that in mind let's look at some of the features I noticed with Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry High School Curriculum.

Features of Exploring Creation with Chemistry

Christian stance
Student Notebook
Daily Schedule Provided
Readily Available Lab Supplies
Thumb drive with video lessons
CD audio of text

First up, this text is written from a Christian world view as would be expected from Apologia. At the end of each module they offer a Science and Creation section that dives further in to how the science we know today points to creation.

The student notebook that goes along with the text provides a daily schedule to keep independent learners on task as well as areas for notes they take while reading, places to answer the questions posed in the reading, and an area for each experiment to be performed with complete instructions.

Student Notebook includes a schedule kids follow on their own.

One thing the student notebook does not include are tests. They are in a separate book which is nice as the student can't sneak peeks back at their notes.

Apologia Chemistry Tests are in a separate test book

Since my kids learn better by doing, having experiments they can perform safely on their own is a necessity. I love doing fun experiments with random chemicals I have to purchase, but I do NOT want my high schooler to be doing those on their own. It was good to see that Exploring Creation with Chemistry does not call for any off the wall ingredients. In fact all the ingredients you need can be purchased locally if you don't already own them. You will want to get some glassware made for chemistry experiments and some lab goggles too for safety!

While the hands-on experiments are great for my hands-on kids, it is also nice to see all the options Apologia has made available for learners of all types. You can of course purchase a regular print textbook, but you can also purchase it as an audio book on CD for auditory learners.

They also offer a thumb drive of video lessons that would appeal to visual learners. The videos also demonstrate the experiments!

Apologia Chemistry thumb drive includes videos of the experiments.

The Apologia SuperSet even includes both the thumbdrive and the audio book as well as all the print books!

Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry Super Set

Improvements that could be made to Exploring Creation with Chemistry

Hardback Text Option
Video visuals

There were two things I thought could be improved in the 3rd Edition of Exploring Creation with Chemistry. The first was the textbook. The new version is a paperback cover which my kids will quickly destroy. While I know it helps keep costs low, I would love to see the option to upgrade to a hard cover textbook. This becomes even more important when you have multiple kids who will likely use the book.

The second thing I would like to see is more visuals included in the video lessons. I love that the videos are an option, but for me, I really had a hard time concentrating on them without more happening on the screen. For others this may not be a problem at all, but I do think for those with a short attention span, this could be frustrating. The experiment videos were great though; they caught all my kids' attention!

The Apologia experiment videos captured everyone's attention.

Final Word on Exploring Creation with Chemistry

One thing I didn't touch on was the content of the course, aside from the lack of flat earth theories. As with all Apologia science curricula that I have used, the amount of information provided in Exploring Creation with Chemistry is enormous. This text easily surpasses my own high school chemistry experience.

I am sure it will satisfy my chemistry lovers as well once they reach that point in their education, which if my oldest has her way, will be as soon as she finishes algebra. If you are looking at high school curriculum for Chemistry be sure to take a look at Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry.