Geology Rocks!: 50 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Earth

You must buy this book. It is packed with learning activities for children. One example: The section on caves in this book has your kids creating stalactites (it's not *too* messy, Mom) and discovering how surface precipitation dissolves limestone to create caverns. I love hands-on books, and this one has plenty of science projects for your kids to do with (and this is important) MINIMAL PARENTAL HELP. Your seven-year-olds and up will be on fire to learn more. Even littler brothers and sisters can get in on the excitement with rock collections and plate tectonics... this book can't be beat.

I will be homeschooling this year for the first time ever, and I chose this book as my first ever homeschool unit. Lest you quit reading, thinking I'm a newbie, let me just tell you that I do have a California teaching credential, and a Master's degree in Education, and I have taught in a school setting for a few years. But I was frustrated with the regimented, by-the-book education that a school setting is forced to provide due to, well, many factors, and my 2nd-grade son was already hating the workbook approach to learning. This book is the answer. It is very right-brained, tactile-learner focused, and it has a few activities for all subject areas including writing. Ironically, I will once again be teaching by the book, but it will be by this book, which is another thing entirely. I will be supplementing with other curriculum for Readin' Writin' Rithmetickin,' but not much because I feel the activities in this book, along with a geology-related field trip once each week, will foster in my kids a strong desire for learning--they'll WANT to learn, so I won't have to force them to. Honestly, I didn't know much about geology despite taking "Earth Science" in 9th grade, where I carefully read, detested, and answered textbook questions, but just reading through the activities in this book I suddenly know much more about geology and have had to restrain myself from enthusiastically telling my kids everything I've learned before our school year starts. Too bad Kaleidoscope Kids doesn't make any math or phonics books.

I'm not sure why the previous reviewer thought there was nothing to this book, perhaps they did not actually USE the book themselves. I HAVE used this book for my children's homeschool study, and it is FANTASTIC! The concepts found in the book can be elaborated upon for older children, and used ~as is~ for younger kids, while the activities very well lend themselves to cementing basic geology into ANYbody's head, young or old. Plate tectonics with graham crackers, earth's crust with a composite homemade marshmellow- peppermint candy- chocolate-coated lolli-pop, sand-box crater creater... and the list goes on! My children have absolutely LOVED this book! And quite to the contrary of the previous reviewer's opinion, it has gotten them FAR MORE interested in geology then they ever knew they were!

This is a wonderful introduction to concepts for your young geologist as well as a great place to find ideas for activities and experiements to aid her in her exploration of the earth! I've seen some of the activities presented in this book before, but several were new to me. The text is written in a witty manner, yet still provides a wealth of information.