This year John is studying chemistry. In the classical education model (which we find ourselves following more and more closely - but that's for another post) a child begins to study both chemistry and physics in the elementary years. When chemistry is introduced in the high school years it can be almost like a foreign language to many students. The classical model suggests introducing chemistry at a young age so that, like biology which students have been exposed to since kindergarten, it will be second nature to the student when it is time to study it in far greater depth.
We are using the book Adventures with Atoms and Molecules as our basic text. Each chemistry lesson asks a specific question and then teaches the concept through an experiment. Today's question was 'Do Hot Molecules Move Faster Than Cold Molecules?' We then worked through a simple experiment using hot water, cold water and food coloring to illustrate the principle of diffusion. This book is wonderful; the experiments are straightforward and use household items while the text is clear and concise. Even if you don't homeschool it's a great resource for a summer of science.
John is loving chemistry. He is now wanting to write/draw the chemical structures for every compound he can think of. I am beginning to see the logic behind introducing chemistry to younger children; their little brains are sponges waiting to soak up whatever is put in front of them.
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