This Book I took my time with, I feel this book was a little advanced
for 2nd and 3rd grades. The book is conflicting between school use and
home use. I feel some projects would be difficult to do in a
classroom setting, but yet with only one child at home would be difficult.
It is very well written and with great step by step instructions. ( )

I received this book free through Early Reviewers. (Sorry for the delay)

I am hesitant to give 5 stars but I can't honestly think of anything that could have improved the book. Perhaps some 'guides to additional learning' on the topics covered, or ideas for further projects would have enhanced it a bit, but it is a solid book as it exists.

We took 3 months on this book, doing various projects as a family and working through the lessons. Here is my feedback:

First, I worked through these with my fourth grader, my second grader and my first grader. All 3 were able to grasp the concepts and learn something appropriate for their ages. I do not think this book could be applicable at anything lower than first grade, but I think there could still be appropriate lessons up to 5th or 6th grade, perhaps with some minor tweaks in the delivery of the lessons.

This book isn't really 10 'projects.' It is 10 comprehensive lessons that are organized and themed and that include a few activities each, which combine into one final product. Not trying to nitpick, but I don't think 'project' does it justice.

This book has a wide range of lessons from those requiring nothing except the clothes on the kids' backs, to lessons that will require some basic resources to be purchased. This book is geared toward the classroom and some of the projects would be difficult to do in the home unless you have several kids. (You could do them, there just wouldn't be as much value without more kids involved). That being said, there are a few that work just well with one kid and still provide for a meaningful learning experience.

This book would serve elementary school teachers nicely, and home schoolers as well. It could also serve any parent who wants to foster an interest and love of science and critical thinking in their kids, but that is not what the book is designed for and there are probably other works that are more geared toward home applications.

All in all the projects do a good job of giving kids an idea of the practical applications of different scientific disciplines and really helps kids understand that there is value in a scientific approach in settings and with topics that one might not necessarily consider as 'science.'

This book will expose your children to critical thinking, debate skills, research methods, data collection and analysis, basic engineering principles, and basic presentation skills. If I were an elementary teacher with a responsibility for science instruction, I would find this book to be a valuable resource, and as parent in a 'science family' where we frequently do experiments and projects, I intend to work through most of the rest of these lessons with my family. ( )

I really like this book. It is laid out really clearly and the projects are very creative. Each project is detailed thoroughly and includes every worksheet that is needed to complete the project. Each subsequent project also builds on each principle that is discovered by completing the stem project. I do wish there were a few more visual images in the book and more media links to continue learning but overall this is a great resource. It is very well thought out and I love how it challenges kids to a higher level of thinking, a real world sort of thinking. ( )

Very well-written. The projects are clearly described with step by step plans for implementing the lessons. The author has selected topics that demonstrate how critical thinking and analysis are useful in real world situations and the projects foster collaboration among students. ( )