This Home School Honors Chemistry Kit is fantastic and so much better than anything else I’ve seen for actually doing real chemistry. The kit includes the equipment and chemicals that you need to provide a rich lab experience for high school chemistry in your home, along with a PDF guide to help you through. The intention is to use it alongside a textbook. If you already have a text, this kit can replace their laboratory assignments. If you do not already have a textbook, there is a free online one that is recommended by The Home Scientist, so you do not need to purchase a text.

You will need to obtain quite a few supplies yourself. Most of these are truly common household items (aluminum foil, a penny, a baking dish, a knife) or common household equipment (a microwave, a stove, a lamp). Some might not be quite so common, but are easily obtainable (foam cups, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol). Some are perishable or things you really wouldn’t want to store (lemon, milk, ice). The only item that might take a bit of actual effort to obtain is a digital multimeter. We already had one.

This course includes 39 lab sessions spread over 14 topics. My current students are likely to go into a science field, so we felt it was important to complete most of the lab sessions. Alongside our chemistry text, we absolutely consider this an honors-level course.

My middle child, a 9^th grader, isn’t as science-oriented, and my plan for him will be the bolded sessions (twenty-two in total) alongside a chemistry text. This will still be a chemistry course that includes more real lab work than my public school honors chemistry course did.

When my youngest two are in high school, we should still be able to use this kit, as there is enough materials to go through the labs two or three times. We’ll likely need to replace the 9V battery and possibly a couple other items. This kit is certainly large-family friendly.

Not only do you get an incredibly amazing box full of test tubes, wires, beakers and chemicals, but this also comes with a 221-page instruction manual and an answer guide, both as pdf files. The manual is written to the student, and my older teens are easily able to complete the labs without much (usually without any) assistance from me. The labs also require little prep time, which makes all the difference in the world for actually completing them in my household.

I do have a science background, so chemistry does not intimidate me. That being said, this course doesn’t require Mom to already grasp chemistry. The course is intended for ages 16 and up, and can be used fairly independently at those ages. Since I have the answer guide, I don’t have to be right in the middle of things to be able to tell if they did roughly what they were supposed to. If I was less knowledgeable about science, I’d probably want to observe a bit more of what they are doing.

It seems to be showing the kinds of experiments and chemicals that you would actually use in real research. Many other lab experiences we’ve tried in the past seemed more contrived to make a point, or to only use things you could find in a regular grocery store. It is clear that there are items in this kit that you shouldn’t mess around with, and it is even obvious to my teens that there is a good reason for having eye protection.

My bottom line: If you have a high school student who loves science, you need to get this. If you have a hands-on high school student who is easily bored with a textbook approach to science, you need to get this. If you want to easily add an “honors” designation to your child’s high school transcript, you want to seriously consider this kit.

At $184, this kit isn’t inexpensive, but it is very complete, and you can use it with several children. If you don’t feel you need quite so much lab work, they also have a Home School Standard Chemistry set for $139 that provides more and better labs than my honors chemistry course did. I think these kits are a fantastic value.

You should also take a serious look at their biology and forensic science sets. I’m definitely planning to use the forensic science.

-Product review by Debra Brinkman, Assistant Director, The Schoolhouse Review Crew, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, January, 2016