The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8
The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8 book cover

The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8

Paperback – September 8, 2015

Price
$17.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
224
Publisher
The Innovation Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1943147007
Dimensions
6.9 x 0.7 x 9 inches
Weight
1.66 pounds

Description

“Asia’s The Curious Kid’s Science Book is not just another book of experiments to fill a rainy day. This book guides parents through the process of inspiring a sense curiosity in children, and developing a set of skills to help them problem solve, and be scientific thinkers. Through real-life experience, Citro demonstrates that even very young children can design experiments, document progress, and share their discoveries in a meaningful way. While the book is full of easy, fun, and meaningful science activities, its real value is its approach to helping parents inspire a sense of exploration and discovery that will benefit their children long after they have grown.”—Bob PflugfelderFounder of ScienceBob.comSeen on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Live with Kelly and MichaelAuthor of the Nick and Tesla series“This is a delightful book that draws on a child’s natural curiosity to impart the basics of scientific inquiry—from question to hypothesis to experiment to the results and conclusions. Children will love it and parents will learn some things, too.”—Dr. Henry L. Roediger IIIJames S. McDonnell Distinguished University ProfessorWashington University in St. LouisAuthor of Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning“Asia Citro is a welcome new voice in the world of science education. As an educator and mother of two young children, she has a deep understanding that children are naturally curious, ask good questions, and freely investigate the world around them when given the chance. What The Curious Kid’s Science Book does so well, which so many science books for kids tend to miss, is the celebration of this innate curiosity and penchant for experimentation. With this understanding in hand, this book encourages children not to replicate tried and true science projects, but to ask their own questions and think like real scientists! From building a hypothesis to testing out theories, The Curious Kid’s Science Book will harness the scientist inside children and their adult counterparts. Bravo!”—Rachelle DoorleyArts Educator at TinkerLab.comAuthor of Tinkerlab: A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors“I am a firm believer in the power of children’s questions to open doors to discovery. Asia Citro has unlocked that power in this collection of explorations that even the youngest of scientists will enjoy.”—Tom RobinsonNational Board Certified TeacherBestselling author of The Everything Kids’ Science Experiments Book“Perhaps children are the best scientists and explorers because they aren’t afraid to ask the question ‘Why?’ I encourage you to use the easy-to-do hands-on activities in this book to fuel your children’s innate creativity and problem-solving skills. Plus, without knowing it, they’ll have fun learning science and math!”—Captain Wendy LawrenceFormer NASA astronaut“Based on the premise that young children are curious, observant, and determined problem solvers, The Curious Kid’s Science Book is a brilliant resource that will get teachers and parents of young children excited about exploring the world of science in the classroom or at home. Asia has photographed a wonderful and broad collection of easy-to-put-into-action scientific investigations and shared them along with simple tips for keeping science fun and engaging. As you and your child get busy exploring the ideas shared throughout Asia's book, your young scientist will be developing the confidence and basic skills needed to be a capable and competent problem solver in many areas of life!”—Deborah J. StewartFounder of TeachPreschool.orgAuthor of Ready for Kindergarten!“As an educator who values creativity, discovery, exploring, and experimenting, I’m thrilled to recommend Asia Citro’s science activity book that encourages kids to ask their own questions. Kids will explore answers and investigate their own outcomes, building on curiosity and creative inspiration. I especially like that easy-to-find materials are used. What a playful, powerful jump into science!”—MaryAnn F. KohlBestselling author of over 20 children’s art books Asia Citro , M. Ed, is a former classroom science teacher with a Master's in Science Education. She is the author of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids and the creator of the popular blog Fun at Home with Kids. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, The Chicago Tribune, Today, Disney Baby, MSN, King 5 TV, and Highlights, among others.

Features & Highlights

  • What happens if you water plants with juice?
  • Where can you find bacteria in your house? Is slug slime as strong as a glue stick?
  • How would your child find the answers to these questions? In
  • The Curious Kid's Science Book
  • , your child will learn to design his or her own science investigations to determine the answers! Children will learn to ask their own scientific questions, discover value in failed experiments, and -- most importantly -- have a blast with science. The 100+ hands-on activities in the book use household items to playfully teach important science, technology, engineering, and math skills. Each creative activity includes age-appropriate explanations and (when possible) real life applications of the concepts covered. Adding science to your at-home schedule will make a positive impact on your child's learning. Just one experiment a week will help build children's confidence and excitement about the sciences, boost success in the classroom, and give them the tools to design and execute their own science fair projects.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(296)
★★★★
25%
(124)
★★★
15%
(74)
★★
7%
(35)
-7%
(-35)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Skip this one

I wouldn’t recommend this. I strongly dislike that it does not give specific info about what variables create what effects. A good science book should tell parents what to expect with various experiments so that we can help shape the most enjoyable and educational experience for our kids whatever their level of interest is and this book doesn’t do that. Kid losing interest? Add some vinegar. Kid loves it? Here are some open ended ways to help them explore.
27 people found this helpful
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A Must Have for Small Scientists.

As a homeschooler and science major, I feel this book is a must in my children's classroom and curriculum. It focuses on allowing children to explorer scientific concepts on their own without being fed every answer. It does give project ideas that require a little bit of preparation and guidance but encourages parents and teachers to allow the student/child to ask questions, complete the experiment, and then answer the questions they asked. It focuses on using the scientific method on a beautiful manner for young learners.
26 people found this helpful
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Awesome Resource for Inquiry-Minded Parents and Teachers

As a mother of twin preschoolers who is about to jump into the world of homeschooling, I am so excited to have found this book! I am passionate about inquiry-based learning, which means I will be focusing on helping my children formulate and test their own hypotheses rather than drilling academic facts. There are very few resources out there that truly support this type of learning, and I applaud Asia for seeing the need for this type of book and filling it so superbly! This book will serve as our science "curriculum" this year, and I'm looking forward to diving in with my curious kiddos ;)
25 people found this helpful
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My 8 year old daughter is in love with this book

It is hard to write a science book that would scale well from early preschool to late elementary school, but Asia Citro has masterfully done just that. My 8 year old daughter is in love with this book, and she certainly has her fair share of other science books to choose from. What I really appreciated about the approach is that there are no direct answers and explanations in the book. In other words, kids cannot just read about an experiment instead of really experiencing it and finding the answers on their own. This moves them from being simply consumers of science facts to active participants in scientific inquiry. Another big plus point for age modification suggestions in the book.
19 people found this helpful
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and this one had the best experiments (easy to do

I looked through several science books at the library for my toddlers, and this one had the best experiments (easy to do, very entertaining for little kids to be amused and curious). The only thing I wish it did more is provide more guidance on how to do the experiments and provide more insights on how we can help explain the concepts to little kids. It does a good job at guiding parents on the questions to ask, but provide little to help answer them in a way that little kids can understand. Though most if just a Google search away so it wasn't a deal breaker for us. Overall it's still a great book.
17 people found this helpful
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Hands-on, open-ended inquiry for children

This book should be in the personal library of every elementary and middle school teacher. The books says it is geared towards 4-8 year olds but I can see this book working in even higher ages.
The book isn't what I first expected, which was cooker cutter, step by step science activities. Instead, the book is the best of open-ended inquiry, which is how I was trained to teach science as a high school chemistry teacher. I was pumped. There are challenges, exploration activities, ideas and experiments. The book asks probing questions meant to elicit young wonder. My 4 year old would not "get" the jist of some of the activities but others she will love right now, such as the plant activities. The other activities she will grow into, and once she is able to read, I know she will go through this book in it's entirety.
17 people found this helpful
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... book was very eye catching and the directions were easy to follow

The book was very eye catching and the directions were easy to follow. I'm a teacher and my students quickly picked the book up and spent a long time leafing through it. I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because the majority of the "science" projects don't explain the science behind them. If my students are doing an experiment they need to know why they are doing them, what they are looking for/ monitoring, etc. I had to spend too much time coming up with these rationales on my own.
17 people found this helpful
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My boys love all the ideas and had a hard time deciding ...

As a homeschooling mom of four I have quite the collection of science books. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book full of new ideas and fresh takes on encouraging scientific exploration in kids. My boys love all the ideas and had a hard time deciding which activities to do first! I love the colorful photos and detailed descriptions, and I appreciate the appendix listing where to find all the necessary materials for each project.
15 people found this helpful
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Eh. Just ok

While the experiments are great there is very little explanation offered for most of them. If you are looking for some open ended science exploration this is ok, but you'll have to look up supplemental information if you really want to get at the science behind these things
14 people found this helpful
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Mom and Teacher Recommended

Wow, as a teacher and parent who wants to encourage thought, curiousity and scientific inquiry in my kids this book is a winner! I love that the scientific method is introduced through experiment and hypothesis. My kids loved making all kinds of concoctions and trying to predict which would keep an apple slice from browning the longest. There are many easy to do experiments that encourage the kids to make predictions and play with science. This book is a great purchase for any family or school wanting to help develop critical thinking skills in our kids while having a lot of fun. I highly recommend this purchase.
14 people found this helpful