Fascinating Chemistry (Homeschool Review Crew)

Did I ever tell you about High School Chemistry? Strangely enough I took both Chemistry I and Chemistry II in High School. I don’t know why. I think my teacher liked me and took pity on me. Needless to say, I don’t remember much. In fact, I distinctly remember that I was going to stay as far away from Chemistry in college as I could. This being said, having someone teach my son Chemistry who actually knows what he or she is talking about (and actually LOVES it) is a biggie. We’ve reviewed Biology from Fascinating Education before. This time around…you’ve guessed it…we had the opportunity to review Fascinating Chemistry.

Fascinating Education was developed by retired neurologist, Dr. Sheldon Margulies. His system consists of video lectures and hands-on experiences. Dr. Margulies’ background gives him an upper hand when it comes to understanding how the brain works. He’s used that knowledge to develop his system of teaching science.

The lesson screen. You can see how to access each aspect of the lesson. 

Here is the good news about Fascinating Chemistry. There is no textbook! You can view all 19 lessons on a personal and mobile devices. For those of you who need more, you can print out a script of each lecture. Each lesson also has a test.  

You can easily find particular concepts of the lesson on the left-hand side of the screen. 

The recommended sequence for Fascinating Education is chemistry, biology, and physics. The courses are intended for High School, but you can use them with middle-school kiddos.

Each video lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. I appreciate that you can proceed through the lessons at your leisure. This program is very flexible.

I love the inclusion of history in this first lesson. 

Fascinating Chemistry includes 12 labs. The labs we’ve looked at so far seem to have “easy-to-find” materials. For example, the Lab for Lesson 2 uses table salt and a few household materials. I do believe some labs require a bit more specialized equipment, but with some planning they shouldn’t be hard to come up with.  

I am particularly excited to try the lab that measures the amount of sugar in soft drinks. Somebody in the house (not mentioning any names) needs to be aware.

Here are my Thoughts

It has taken Josiah a little bit longer to work through the lessons. There is a lot of information. However, the beauty of this program is that he can rewind, watch over and then watch over again. I particularly like that Dr. Margulies uses familiar ideas and items to connect the dots. For all you sports buffs…there is even a mention of football in the first lesson. Personally, I am listening to these lectures for my own benefit. I NEEDED Fascinating Chemistry in High School.

For those of you who would rather your students take a paper test...you can print one off. 

This is really one that you can assign and leave it to your student. For me, it is becoming more important for my High School student that I find programs that I can let him work through independently. He is dyslexic and a program like Fascinating Chemistry is one that appeals to his learning style and my expectations.

I don’t want him to feel that his course work has to be dumbed down because he struggles. Of course, I can see where the printed script would be invaluable to any student for review and further study.

And this is purely a shallow remark, but Dr. Margulies has a pleasant speaking voice. I know that shouldn’t matter when it comes to lofty things like science instruction…but you know.

Overall, I think any parent would be pleased to offer their student a Fascinating Education experience.  The lessons are stellar and professionally created. They offer sound and interesting science. Dr. Margulies knows his stuff and I can rest easy leaving Josiah to explore and learn.

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