Little Homeschool Blessings: Fascinating Chemistry {Fascinating Education Review}

Fascinating Education sent us access to their Fascinating Chemistry online course.

What is it?

Fascinating Education is a series of science courses including Fascinating Chemistry, Fascinating Biology, and Fascinating Physics. Each course is taught with online videos, scripts, exams, and labs.

To begin the program, Dr. Sheldon Margulies (the creator and teacher of the courses) recommends beginning with Fascinating Chemistry and then proceeding to Fascinating Biology and then on to Fascinating Physics. Since Ceesa is in junior high and working on an introduction to chemistry this year, we decided we would begin with Fascinating Chemistry. If you'd like to begin in another area, there are crash courses available to give you a light introduction to get you ready for the area you'd like to start in. You can check out reviews of Biology and Physics by clicking the link at the end of our review.

Fascinating Chemistry is broken into separate video sections:

Lesson 1: The Structure of the Atom
Lesson 2: The Ionic Bond
Lesson 3: The Covalent Bond
Lesson 4: The Polar Covalent Bond
Lessons 5 and 6: The Metallic Bond Part 1 and Part 2
Lesson 7: Heat
Lesson 8: Air Pressure
Lesson 9: Properties of Water
Lesson 10: The Mole
Lesson 11: Gases
Lesson 12: Solutions
Lesson 13: Chemical Reactions
Lesson 14: Orbitals
Lesson 15: Molecular Geometry
Lesson 16: Electrochemistry
Lesson 17: Polymers
Lesson 18: The Nucleus
Lesson 19: Final Problems

You can see a sample lesson here.

There are a total of 12 labs: Salt Crystals, London Dispersion Forces, Making Brass, Heat of Fusion, Volume of Ice , Weight of Air, Atmospheric Pressure, Barometer, Density, Sugar in soft drinks, Viscosity, and Heat.

Additional Materials Required
Lab materials are necessary if your child wishes to do the labs; including protective eye-gear. The lab materials range from basic supplies to supplies you may not have on hand. You may wish to print the exams as well (which is provided in the script); however, they are available to be taken online.

Note on Safety
It is recommended that direct adult supervision be required and safety instructions discussed for the experiments described in the labs because some of the chemicals can be dangerous, open flame and heat sources are used, and glassware is utilized.

Time Frame
We found that Ceesa did not need me for to do anything during the lessons. She would watch them on her own. They would take her about 20 minutes to watch the video lessons.

For the labs, we would gather the materials together and work together on each experiment. Total prep and experiment time varied with the actual lab.

Our Experience
Ceesa enjoyed watching the videos and decided that she wanted to take notes. I did not even suggest it, she just grabbed a pencil and paper one day and got started.

Li watched a video occasionally and decided to make his own notes as well.

Her favorite part (as always) was working on the labs.

~From Lesson 2: Grow Your own Salt Crystals...

~From Lesson 3 Weakening Strength of London Dispersion Forces

~From Lesson 6: Making Brass

What Ceesa has to Say
I liked to learn about atoms. I learned how to make table salt. You put sodium and chlorine together. That makes another molecule, NaCl. When you add a bunch of those molecules together, you have a crystal of table salt.

What I Think
I like that the lessons are taught through a video and that a script is provided. The scripts are helpful for the parent to see what the child is learning and can also be used as a text.

Note
Depending on your beliefs, read over the information provided about what is included on creation versus evolution and dating.

50% Off Coupon for Fascinating Education
Now through December 31, 2015, you can received 50% off on any one course or any combination of courses by using the code 2015REVCREW.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,