Janice Vancleave's Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects

We got this book from the library first; my 5 yr old spent all afternoon putting post-its on the experiments he wanted to try. I then ordered it, because there were so many he was interested in! They only take a few minutes, with household products. Even my 2 1/2 yr old was interested in participating! We purchased this book to give us some ideas of things we could do over the summer to keep my soon-to-be-first grader involved in science. We expanded on many of the ideas, and the kids are still talking about projects we did the first weeks! What a great book- we will be pulling it out on rainy days and during the long winter months as well.

I liked the experiments in this book, and my girls (ages 4 and 5) loved them also, but I found that there was quite a bit of prep time and gathering of materials for the experiments. Most of the materials were easy to find. Bottom line - plan ahead. Do not wait until the kids are ready for an experiment to find the materials.

This book has some very easy experiments for young children, most of which use very simple items found in the home. Basic scientific concepts are explored with directions and pictures for the little ones. There are both indoor and outdoor experiments. Most of the indoor ones would be most suitable for the kitchen or bathroom as they may involve liquids or food coloring. Overall, the projected level of interest would be PreK-grades 2nd-3rd, maybe 4th.