Apologia Chemistry for High School

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If teaching high school doesn’t scare the bajesus out of you, I can’t think of a thing that will. I’m not sure why it’s so intimidating, even after all these years of homeschooling but it just is. Counting credits, helping your kids plan for their future and trying to figure out how the heck to get a lab credit can be exhausting. That’s why I was thrilled to find that Apologia offers a Chemistry curriculum, just for high school!

My oldest daughter took a chemistry class last year and she loved it! But it wasn’t very in-depth and I constantly found her watching Crash Course videos about chemistry. I knew there was an interest and I wanted a more detailed curriculum. Apology Chemistry is just what we needed!

I received this product for free & was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
As always, I only review products I think are high-quality and will be useful to your family. A positive review is not required.

I could sit here all day long and tell you about all the bells and whistles Apologia offers on all their courses. But you can read all that fun stuff on their website, so I would rather tell you about the features we’re enjoying the most in our own homeschool.

What We Love About Apologia Chemistry for High School

Trusted Company:

First things first: I love Apologia and have never been disappointed with any of their curriculum. We used their science curriculum in elementary school, until we decided to take an unschool approach. My kids still pick up the books and flip through them during our “reading time” each day. That’s a testament to the quality this company brings, when kids are willing to read a textbook for fun.

Apologia is one of the most popular homeschool companies you will find and there’s a reason why: they offer high quality curriculum at a great price. I’ve seen enough of their products to know I can trust them and don’t need to second-guess if we’re learning “enough.”

Independent Work:

I’m a firm believer that kids should be able to “teach themselves” by high school. Unfortunately, I’ve found a lot of curriculum geared towards high schoolers just leaves them scratching their head and needing more and more help.

Apologia is written in a conversation-tone, making it engaging and easy to understand. They cover each topic in depth, bringing chemistry to life with hands-on activities and student notebooks.

Hands-On Activities:

As a busy homeschool mom, I don’t have the time or energy to chase down a page-long list of items needed for activities. Apologia offers hands-on activities that use mostly things that can be found around the house. I love that I don’t even have to gather up stuff anymore, but Miss Bookworm can do that herself! (Who said high schoolers are more work!?!) 😉

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Earn Credits:

Credits are what I dreaded most about high school. Not only do I have to ensure my kids is learning enough and still exploring their interests but now I have to keep track of their classes and create transcripts? If that’s not scary enough, add in trying to figure out exactly how to earn a lab credit at home. It’s just a lot of pressure for me to handle.

Luckily, I discovered that Apologia’s Chemistry curriculum includes a lab credit, that we can do from home! Hallelujah! Mark that one off the list!!!

Perfect for All Learners:

I know all kids learn in different ways but Apologia has covered all the bases. The textbook is perfect for auditory learners, while the DVD provides over 20 hours of learning for the visual learners. Social learners will thrive in Apologia Online Academy. There, they can interact with teachers and fellow students. It’s literally the perfect curriculum for ANY type of learner!

It’s Worth It:

You know the old saying “You get what your pay for?” The price tag can seem steep at first but once you realize exactly what all you’re getting, it’s worth its weight in gold. I plan to use this exact curriculum with each of my kiddos, so it isn’t really that expensive when you look at it that way. (I will have to replace the student notebook with each kiddo.)

What my High Schooler Says About Apologia Chemistry

I asked my 16 year old about what she thought about the curriculum and here’s her thoughts, in a nutshell:

“It feels like a lot of work because I do it twice a week but it’s more complete than my other chemistry curriculum.” (She doesn’t do the recommended one hour per day, 5 days a week. Instead, she does it twice a week, for a couple of hours each time. She made this schedule herself.)
“I like the notebook because it makes studying for the tests easier.”
“The experiments have all been pretty fun!”
“I like the videos for when I need more help. I don’t have to Google it!”
“These books are too heavy!” 🤣(She likes to do her schoolwork outside a lot, so she has to tote them out to our picnic table and back in. I tell her that’s just part of having such an in-depth chemistry curriculum and she’ll have to get used to it!)