Peggy AshbrookScience Is Simple: Over 250 Activities for Preschoolers

I love this book and have recommended it to other homeschooling moms. We have done ten of the lessons and all I have bought is a magnet kit (I started using this when my child was 3 1/2). A lot of the lessons require you to gather simple things around the house. Sometimes you need things that you have to think about in advance (like I need to save that next cardboard tube from the toilet paper), but most everything is quite common. Most of the recommended books are available at our local library, and I would say a library card is a must when using this book. We do a lesson approximately every two weeks and as soon as we finish one, I began reading what I need for the next and requesting the books (our library often has to request them from another library in our network and that takes a week or so). I think the experiments are so simple and yet there is so much a child can learn. The lessons leaves me thinking, why didn't I think of that?, yet I never have! I must admit I wasn't fond of science in school, but I am loving teaching it. I wish I had science lessons like this as a young child.

I just started teaching science to pre kindergarten children. This book takes a concept, breaks it down into explainable elements and then provides complimentary activies to include books, songs, fingerplay, etc. I was talking about a lesson plan in Clay Cafe to a friend last weekend, and a teenager nearby piped up: "We just did that in 8th grade science." I viewed this as a real compiment! My pre kindergarten students love the class. Mothers apologize when their child is sick and cannot come! This book has been absolutely terrific! I need to see if the author has other books that she has written as well.

I have a neighbor couple with a little girl almost three who really liked the plastic dinosaurs I gave her (with, of course, her parent's permission). Coming from a math/science family, I want to encourage STEM-type interests without overwhelming the kid with stuff at too high a level. I also want her to feel that science-type stuff is not only for boys but for girls, too. This book has a picture of a little girl at about her age with a magnifying glass on the cover and lots of suggestions inside for how to do what I want to do. It is well worth the purchase price.

Use this for "homeschool" activities with my 5 year old and 3 year old. The concepts are great, lessons are easy to follow, and it offers a list of children's literature and needed supplies for each activity. Our local library has had a lot of the children's literature and it has been really easy to reserve the books online and pick them up at the start of the week. The lessons are very hands on and are favorite "rainy day" activities in our house.

I bought this for my 4 yo son 3 yo daughter. It does seem a bit geared for the classroom but VERY easily adaptable to the homeschooler. I like having a few different activities to help the children relate to. I also appreciate the "What to talk about" area to give me a jumping off point for discussion. For me this book helped me put very basic concepts into activities and language for my preschoolers to understand.

First off, I'm a parent with a bachelor level science degree, not a teacher or scientist. I bought this book to get my kids interested in science by doing experiments at home. So far, I'm very happy with what I've gotten from this book. We've done a few of the experiments and my kids loved them. The book was written for teachers to use in the classroom, so I've had to adapt a few things for home use. A lot of the experiments will require items that you probably don't have at home, but there are quite a few that can be done with household items. There is a breakdown of experiments by season, plus a list of experiments that can be done any time of the year. Each chapter explains the setup, the science involved, and gives some questions to ask to get the kids thinking. Overall I think it's a great book and definitely will help my kids enjoy science.

This book is simply fantastic! I'm a working mom, but I wanted to do some science activities with my three year old. After reading the reviews, I figured this book may be just the thing, and it is! It's clearly targeted for teachers (at a preschool, for example), but it works just fine for us at home. The activities are divided into (short) "units" with multiple activities associated with each unit. We can easily devote a week to a unit and spread the activities over the week. I also LOVE that each unit comes with some suggestions of books to grab from the library that can reinforce the topics. The activity descriptions are very clear, with obvious lists of supplies (and there's not much that you need to get that you won't already have), and great examples of questions and discussions to have with your child during the activity. It's great!

I'm not loving this book. It specifically says at the front of the book that there isn't much you'll need as far as supplies because you'll just use things that are already around your house. Well, the first lesson is about magnets and it says "What's Needed: Iron Shavings" yeah, I definitely don't have iron shavings. Another lesson is about trees and it says "What's Needed: A baby tree. Allow the children to pass the tree around and ask if they are taller than the tree"...yeah, don't have a baby tree, either. If you buy this book, just be prepared to buy supplies for each lesson. Other than that, it is a fun book that is very fun and interactive. I do think this book is great at getting kids interested in the world around them.