Elaine Levenson has done a fabulous job of putting together a book of science teaching principles and ideas for people who work with children, ages 4-10. The book begins with three chapters that tell us how to encourage the inquisitive nature of young children and nurture their science skills, how to organize a science unit, and how to make the language connection with science. These chapters are very clearly written in a pleasing format, so they are user-friendly even to the scientifically illiterate (like me). The rest of the chapters cover topics such as weather, animals, seed-bearing plants,and ecology in a beautifully organized fashion. Each unit begins with a list of objectives and a good base of information on the topic for the adult. Then the activities and procedures section begins, starting with the easiest and most concrete lessons and progressing to more difficult ones. Thus, each unit is ideally suited to families with siblings of all ages. At the end of each unit are lists of further rescources, grouped for children, adults and older children, and literature connections for younger children. There are also suggestions for field trips and other community connections. One thing I like about this book and its companion volume, Teaching Children About Physical Science, is that the graphics are pleasing and the text is easy to follow. But also, the author has a sound appreciation for how children's curiosity about the natural world around them easily creates opportunities for making science moments happen. I highly recommend this book to all parents and teachers, but especially to homeschoolers!

I just love this book. It is one I will be using often. If I had been taught this way in school I would have loved science. This book is filled with simple, interesting science lessons and experiments. Divided into eight subjects: models; the five senses; weather; volcanoes, rocks and erosion; animals and insects; seed bearing plants; and ecology. I highly recommend it. It has lessons anyone can do with objects around the house and my kids love it.

Elaine Levenson has written two of the very best hands-on science books for teachers, parents, or homeschoolers. The experiments are easy to follow and don't require elaborate, expensive equipment or a Ph.D in rocket science. I have used this book in my teaching, writing, and with my own children.With this book, and its companion volume Teaching Children about Physical Science, you'll have everything you need for great science.

The reason no other person has written a review on this book is because probably few other people have read it. I have been reading it in conjunction with my work on eugenics and the impact on the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the United States. What does science literacy have to do with eugenics? The whole reason eugenics was possible in the United States from 1880 to the 1930s and beyond, is because people left 'science' up to the 'experts'...those who had science training, physicians, social workers, and some very questionable 'scientists'. These experts used science colored by prejudice to place marriage restrictions, sterilize those they considered less worthy of bearing children, and also to practice euthanasia and experimentation on the disabled in the U.S. Shamos makes the ridiculous argument that only those interested in science as a career should have exposure to scientific concepts, the rest of us 'illiterates' (whether female, minorities, or different abilities) should allow the 'experts' to make informed decisions about science and its impact on our lives. Shamos doesn't even bother to do the educational research to back up his general statements, and a good many of his statements border on offensive. This is a man who had the ear of science associations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

What is so frightening is this book is recent, and he makes several of the same statements the eugenicists used to use about society and people doing what is best for society, and not for individuals. According to Shamos, most Americans cannot possibly fathom science concepts and so we should not waste our time teaching science in elementary and secondary schools. Rather than doing research into the best ways to teach science so all can understand, even if it means using multiple methods, Shamos excuses science educators and scientists from even trying since the masses are too stupid to be able to overcome generalizations or what he calls "common sense." Rarely have I read a book which made me so angry. There is no excuse for laziness on the part of educators in teaching science for a lifetime, and there is no excuse for prejudices that dictate what individuals can and cannot do. Science pervades our lives, and in order to give informed consent to any science practice, all must have the education to question, whether medical, environmental, or any other science that impacts our lives. The right to restrict educational opportunity has no place anywhere, and it certainly has no place in the United States. Karen L. Sadler, A deaf scientist and educator, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh