Friendly Chemistry

Name: Friendly Chemistry
Brand: Hideaway Ventures

by Hideaway Ventures

ScienceGrades 7–12

Friendly Chemistry: Simplified Chemistry with Games and Manipulatives

Friendly Chemistry is a simplified high school chemistry curriculum that uses games, manipulatives, and hands-on activities to make chemistry concepts more accessible. The course covers fundamental chemistry topics but with less depth and rigor than traditional chemistry courses, positioning itself as either preparation for more challenging chemistry or for students not pursuing further chemistry study.

Best for

Homeschool families seeking an accessible introduction to chemistry, junior high students preparing for high school chemistry, or high school students not planning advanced chemistry study

Evaluation Criteria

4 strengths · 1 concern · 1 neutral · 1 insufficient evidence

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum includes comprehensive teacher support designed for parents without chemistry backgrounds.

Two-volume Teacher Edition with 'complete lesson plans,' 'lab activity instructions and teaching tips make this course easy for the parent/teacher without a chemistry background'

Direct InstructionStrength

The curriculum provides clear explanations and structured lesson plans for direct instruction.

Book includes 'fairly extensive explanations of these basic concepts,' teacher edition has 'complete lesson plans,' and text is 'written so clearly that many students could study independently'

Hands On IntegrationStrength

The curriculum strongly integrates hands-on activities, games, and manipulatives with content instruction.

Includes manipulative booklet for vocabulary and structures, games like Element Bingo and board games, labs using household items, and activities integrated throughout rather than separate from instruction

Scientific VocabularyStrength

The curriculum includes explicit focus on chemistry vocabulary through manipulatives and games.

Manipulative booklet specifically designed for 'learning chemistry vocabulary' and games that help students 'demonstrate knowledge' of basic concepts

Knowledge RichConcern

The curriculum covers basic chemistry fundamentals but explicitly provides less depth than traditional courses.

Review states it covers 'most of the fundamentals typically taught in a traditional high school chemistry course, but they won't cover every topic' and 'won't be as challenging as courses such as those from BJU Press or A Beka Book'

Retrieval PracticeNeutral

Games and activities provide some reinforcement but systematic retrieval practice is unclear.

Games are described as 'reinforcement/drill/practice tools' and each lesson concludes with a test, but no mention of spaced review or systematic retrieval practice

Ngss AlignmentInsufficient Evidence

Standards alignment is not mentioned in the available review evidence.

No reference to NGSS or specific standards alignment in the review

Sources: cathyduffyreviews.com