Sometimes as a homeschool parent you want a break from the usual science and with Science Naturally you can get that break while having fun and discussions with your children. I was sent a copy of One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Can Solve with Science!, this book is written by father and daughter team, Eric and Natalie Yoder. The stories literally take only a minute (or less) to read which helped us get through several a day and they were all very clever and a great delight to read aloud with all three of my children ages 11, 8 and 6.
Since the stories were all right around 1 minute even my son with his short attention span sat still and quiet while I read several aloud each day. I would read the first page of the story and ask my children to think about the ‘mystery’ I just read, it may be about growing a vegetable or an animal, but it all revolves around some sort of science. After reading the mystery and discussing it with my children, some of which we’ve studied, I’d read the solution which is just part of the story – high fives all around when all three got it right!
This is not a Christian book, however I didn’t run into any evolutionary ideas however, there was one mystery that involved halloween, which could be skipped for those who prefer not to delve into that arena. Most of the mysteries require calling upon previous knowledge, especially if the child has already studied that particular area of science as well as critical thinking skills. Which is great to see if the child is retaining what you’ve taught them as well as seeing if they are listening to what you’ve read as the clues are in the story – they just need to recall them.
The book covers several science areas:
- Life Science (15)
- Earth and Space Science (15)
- Physical and Chemical Science (15)
- General Science (15)
- 5 More Minutes of Mysteries (5)
- Bonus section: Mysteries you can solve with Math (5)
The books are geared for ages 8 to 12 but as you’ve read above I used this with my children in and outside of that age bracket. I do think children as young as 5 would likely enjoy these stories but they may need some help in recalling the clues. The authors have appeared on NPR and have won numerous awards for their book from both publishing and educational businesses. There are also math mysteries, more science mysteries and early childhood books which can be found on the products page. The book I received sells for $9.95 and there are bundle packages that are also offered, saving you money. If you’d like to see a sample of the mysteries visit the sample page and if you’d like to read what other parents had to say visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.
GrowingForChrist 