We are learning about the wonders of chemistry in our homeschool thanks to finding The Chemical Elements Coloring and Activity Book by Ellen McHenry. It was just what we needed to get started. 

The Chemical Elements Coloring and Activity Book is an eight-and-a-half-inch by an eleven-inch paperback book with 284 pages all about the chemical elements. It starts with twelve pages of background information about chemistry and answers questions about what elements are, how they were discovered, and more. I especially liked the question, "Why are those two rows underneath the table?" because I did not know the answer. The Coloring Pages section has a two-page spread of each Element from Hydrogen (1) to Bismuth (83). Polonium (84) to Nobelium (102) are on one page, and Lawrencium (103) to (Oganesson) (118) have two elements per page.

The coloring pages are full of facts and graphics about each chemical element. The information is for a middle to high school level but is easy to understand. The pictures are high quality, making the book worth reading even if you do not like to color. There are Word Puzzles such as crossword puzzles, a guess the element game, symbol practice with silly riddles, quotes, and fill-in-the-blanks. It has a section on Activity Ideas which includes how to assemble a periodic table poster and games to play. One game has clue cards you can photocopy. The Playing Cards section has element cards you can color, but you must print them for games and activities because they are double-sided. If you have a printer, Ms. McHenry offers these as digital files on her website for easy printing at home. Finally, the Question Bank contains all the questions you could want for a fun trivia review game with easy, medium, and challenging questions from which to choose.

We have been studying two elements per week with Eliana, 14, and Boaz, 11, who share the book and color while I read our chemistry leisure and nature lore books aloud. First, I read the information on the element, and then I hand them the book to color. They color while I read and usually finish by the time I do. The children enjoy listening and coloring. I like the tone of this book. It is friendly, engaging, and attractive. The coloring aspect makes it hands-on, but the pictures also give us ideas of practical chemistry through real-life applications–such as using borax to make slime (which we were inspired to do). It fills a necessary title and makes a fun addition to our course that makes including my fifth grader easy. It was the motivation I needed to start our next term's science and is a perfect fit for this course. 

Eliana, 14, says, "Keeping my hands busy helps me concentrate on what I'm hearing. I love to doodle and color while mom reads aloud to us, so this fits right in. And what we color connects to what we are learning about."

It is great to find products that fill a need in our homeschool. I am so happy to learn about Ellen McHenry's book!

-Product review by Michelle Gibson, The Old Schoolhouse ® Magazine, LLC, January 2022