When my daughter asked if we could learn about the water cycle I thought it was a great idea, but how would we ever do it?  Explore Water! came to my rescue. This lovely book by Anita Yasuda is full of projects related to water - including the water cycle. The text is written so that it can be easily read by emergent readers ages 6-9, or it makes a wonderful read aloud. Not only does the book do an excellent job of introducing children to water science, but there are also fun projects about the weather, clouds, shadufs, snowflakes, and more. We enjoyed this well-rounded perspective.

The first thing that caught my attention was the wonderful ocean map included in the introduction. These easy activities really cemented the information into our young learners' minds, and they even wanted to repeat some of the projects later! All of the projects were easy to do, using common household items, they were quick to pull together, and were quite fun. The book is recommended for ages 6-9, but with modifications it could be used for earlier or later ages as well.

There is an excellent glossary included that is perfect for creating vocabulary and spelling words. The resource section at the back of the book contains some wonderful supplemental titles to enhance your study. I really appreciated the clever list of museums that is included, which makes planning a science adventure a must. Most practical and helpful for homeschooling parents is the list of websites, many of which offer additional hands-on activities, science information, and additional reading material.

I was delighted to discover that this book is part of a series. We're planning to utilize some of the other titles for different history studies in the future. If you have young, active, and inquisitive learners, you won't be disappointed with this spectacular book!

Product Review by Karen Yuen, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January, 2012