Science Is Simple: Over 250 Activities for Preschoolers
By Peggy Ashbrook, Illustrations by Marie Ferrante-Doyle
Read How You Want, (2010)
EasyRead Large Print, in 16 Point Font
(Originally Published in Standard Print by Gryphon House)
ISBN: 9781458757579
Genre: Science, Early Childhood Education Reviewed by Anna Dogole - February 7, 2011
Science Is Simple is an outstanding resource guide for early childhood educators, home schooling parents, and anyone interested in exploring the world of science with a budding scientist. Written by Peggy Ashbrook, teaching science to young students since 1988, this book provides everything you need to know to teach science to young children - even if you don't have an education or science background.
From teaching the teacher how to teach science to preschoolers, to detailed instructions on how to carry out more than 250 science related activities, this book is an essential reference guide for anyone trying to awaken a child's interest in science. Ashbrook provides clear and easy to follow instructions that explain the objectives of each activity, what materials you will need to carry out the activity, how to do the activity, and much more. In addition, she provides starter questions that will engage the child, and which will help guide the student on the path toward self-discovery, rather than having the teacher provide all the answers. These activities teach students both observational and analytical skill, while also giving them the opportunity to learn science through a hands-on methodology. Throughout, Ashbrook has also included handy reading lists, both for the instructor, and for the student.
Although the subtitle of this book is Over 250 Activities for Preschoolers, don't let the word preschoolers fool you. Many of the activities in this book can be used as is, or adapted for use by older students up through the second or third grade. Science Is Simple will not only help to introduce students to the world of science, but it will also help to jump-start their curiosity about the world around them and to teach them the importance that science plays in their everyday lives. Both teachers and students will find this a fun book to us and you'll soon discover that learning was never easier than it is when you open your eyes and your mind, and set out on a journey of exploration . . . In short, this is a fantastic book that should be in the hands of every preschool teacher and all parents of young children!