Janice VanCleave's Play and Find Out about Bugs: Easy Experiments for Young Children

I love the Janice VanCleave's Play & Find out series & this book is no exception. It is written for 4-7 year olds. It has great, simple enough activities to do with your kids to make science & nature come alive. It has great information and is VERY user friendly.

I got this book (and the others in the play and find out about series by Janice Vancleave) when I decided to start homeschooling my daughter. The 'experiments' in the book are very easy - generally you really do have the materials in your house (except for maybe the pipe cleaners). We have used it as a supplement to our Usborne books on Butterflies and Creepy Crawlies - just pick the section that has experiments related to the topic you are discussing. Great! Would be a great addition to the Sonlight Curriculum. And best of all the experiments are typically fun! The section on camouflaging was great - we played a hide-and-seek game with bugs we made from pipe cleaners (a bit hard for a 4 yr old though) and had Dad try to find them. It really made the concept understandable to her. It is a game she wants to play often now!

This is a wonderful book for anyone who is homeschooling or teaching using the thematic unit approach. The experiments are simple but effective. When the book says it is fun, it is not just a catchy phrase to sell books! I found it at my local library and am thrilled to have been introduced to Janice VanCleave's special approach to teaching.