Customer Reviews

Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculum

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just checked out Mudpies to Magnets and More Mudpies to Magnets from our local library. I have heard so many wonderful comments about these books, but wanted to see for myself before purchasing them. They are great! I'm definitely buying them for our home. We will be homeschooling our daugther for kindergarten next year, and these books touch on all the subjects I want to cover - weather, magnetism, geology, plants, human body and senses, and much more. Directions are very clear, experiments and activities are easy to do. This is more than just a book of science experiments - activities utilizing arts and crafts, movement, and language skills are also included throughout. These activities are also very easily adaptable up through early elementary age. Highly recommend these books!

So disappointing! Like a lot of people I bought this on the recommendation of the Well Trained Mind (which I do like), but I just bought this book and the other book Every Body Needs a Body that it recommends for PreK/K science. I am very disappointed in both of them. So, before you read any farther, if you can go see a copy of this before buying it, I would recommend it--then you would know what you're buying. These books would be good if you were in an actually preschool setting, but a lot of the materials called for are not readily accessible at home and the preparation for a lot of the lessons takes time and space. I liked a few of the ideas that I will integrate into my curriculum, but overall I felt the books were wordy and over the head of my daughter. I would recommend any book by Totline on Science--they are simple, quick, and easy activities for preschoolers. (if you search for Totline and Science on Amazon, you'll get a list of several books to choose from). But, really, all of the concepts that these books address are addressed in Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready, which I highly recommend. It does a much better job and is much more age appropriate--even if you do the activities at an older age than they are recommended for. It is a book for 0 to 5 years old, so if you do an activity at 3 or 4 instead of at 2 years old, it will still work. So, if you're looking for a preschool science homeschool curriculum like I was--I think Slow and Steady and something like one of Totline Science's books are much better choices.

I checked this book out from my local library after seeing its recommendation in The book, The Well-Trained Mind. I would not say this is an ideal book for homeschooling families as two of the nine chapters are titled, "Science Center Activities" (pgs. 27-44) and "Circle Time Activities" (pgs. 61-74). The book was written for a preschool or elementary school classroom setting.

In addition, the book is comprised of your basic science activities for preschoolers. If you want something new or phenomenal, you won't find it here. There are activities such as watching a scab heal, observing the full moon and making pennies shiny again. These are very basic activities that you may feel discouraged you paid for, but for people who have a hard time finding something new to do every day or for teachers who want a written curriculum, this book is well organized. Also, those who have not had much exposure to science in their lives, or do not remember it, may not know how much fun it is to play with an amorphous solid (Magic Matter p. 91) and would need something such as this book to remind them.

For each activity, you are told if it's appropriate for ages 2+, 3+, 4+ or 5+. These suggestions are coming from college professors and can give confidence to those parents or caregivers who are unsure of what is & isn't appropriate for the average child.

Preschool science is very simple and I feel that a book is unnecessary, but if you feel you need one, this isn't a bad choice. For homeschoolers, though, I'd also recommend Janice Van Cleave's Play and Find Out About series because they skip the classroom style activities. Amazon sells Janice VanCleave's Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects for $13.57. With 224 pages, that ought to keep you busy for a while! = )

I have just started a science program at our child's preschool using this book as my primary resource. I am so pleased with the lay-out of the book: how the experiments are sorted by age and subject, the lists of "Words to use" when teaching, the clear step-by-step instructions, and the throughness of the supplies list. What a fantastic teaching tool!

This book is great for all ages, despite the age recommendations.
Great illustrations, detailed explanations and LOTS of fun! You can skip around or if an experiment (or topic) strikes your fancy look it up and fire away!
NOT textbooky, which is a huge plus!
These are the kind of books your kids will want to pick up and read just for the fun of it! (My kids are teen to toddler)
An excellent addition to ANY homeschool library.

I home school my two little boys and we've had fun with this book. The primary reason I love this book is that the instructions for each activity are written so that parents and teachers can be aware of points of interest for kids, which might be overlooked by an adult.

Another reviewer complained that the two sections about science centers and group activities can only be done in a classroom-- this is incorrect. Any of these can be done with just one child. I plan to use some of these activities when my sons' friends come over, just to give them a few minutes of organized fun in the midst of their running around and playing.

I've read reviews that there's nothing "new" in this book. I'd argue that. As a homeschooling mom, I've read every book out there and was pleasantly surprised to find some new ideas or neat twists on old ideas. Sure, the lessons aren't real in depth and you may wish to supplement with other texts to further explain the experiment, but, it was written for preschoolers! I'd say we'll use this book for K and 1 too and fill in any holes with other books from the library. My daughter is gifted and finds these experiments to be "pretty neat". She's 4.

I like this book only because it had more than activities in it then expected. I did find a few activities mention in the book to not be age developmental appropriate

This book is just okay. There are some good experiments in here (maybe 10-15)and I had hoped to find at least 30. A lot of this stuff is just plain goofy, but maybe that's what you need for preschoolers, goofy stuff. I wanted implement it into my son's kindergarten homeshool curriculum and there just isn't a lot of good hands on science books out there for this age group (4-6). Well, not without spending a lot of money. I'm using several sources for science. But I did get this book for just a few dollars, so it was worth that price.