Science Play! is a great introduction to science experiments for kids with 20 experiments for preschoolers to do with their parents. These simple experiments cover four areas of science: chemistry, physics, earth science and biology. I would have preferred the Notes for Big People and Science Field Kit (tools for investigating science) sections to be at the front of the book as it might be beneficial for the adults to read prior to starting any of the experiments. I appreciated that the book includes a guide of the concepts used in the experiments for adults. This fun collection of science experiments would make a great Christmas gift for the preschooler in your life.

Concise and approachable, “Busy Little Hands: Science Play” is the perfect book for busy caretakers who want to expose their children to fun science experiments without all the hassle. The name of the game here is simplicity: the steps are numbered, illustrated, and fit on one page, the supplies needed are found in your house, (sparing you the trek to multiple stores for a weird ingredient you will never use again), the prep time is quick (read: your kids won’t get bored during the set up time), and the experiments have enough “wow” factor for the kids. Even the educational explanations that accompany each experiment (found at the back of the book) are concise enough to hold the attention of your most fidgety kid. Are these experiments groundbreaking? No. Could you find these same experiments combing through Pinterest? Probably. Is it significantly easier to just get this book rather than read through countless blog entries? Definitely. Listen, there’s a lot of pressure on moms to entertain their kids in educational ways and using this book just makes it easier.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for the chance to read and review an advance electronic copy of this book.

I originally requested this book because, as a children's librarian, I am always looking for more ideas for programs. This book is very attractive. It has very bright and cheerful photographs of children doing science experiments. It also has colorful illustrations of the science experiments themselves. the directions for the experiments are simple and easy to follow. I think my one complaint is that half of the experiments are ones that are overdone by schools and libraries such as making a volcano or slime. The makers of the book should have found more interesting experiments instead of the old tried and true. There are still some interesting experiments to try. I think this would be a great book to add to the science or homeschooling section of the library.

I really like this book. This is a great introduction to science. These are easy activities for pre-schoolers, which make use of every day items around the house, making it a lot of fun for the child(ren) and caregivers! Caregivers will appreciate the tips from setting up projects and The step-by-step directions have easy to follow pictures with Pictures of children completing each of the steps.

This book is done well and worth buying and is a good addition to any library, also they have done a few more books with different subjects but under the same series: Busy Little Hands and they are all worth a look through as they are good fun!

As a parent of young children, I was excited for this book. However, the experiments are generic and the scientific rigor low (even for preschoolers.) I also didn't like how the experiments and their accompanying scientific explanations were separated (experiment information in the front of the book and explanations in the back.) It just made it clumsy to review and use effectively, especially in the eager learning environment of preschool.

If your child has had limited exposure to science activities, this book may be of interest to you. The photos are engaging, experiments included simple to execute, parent-friendly explanations of the "science" happening included in the back (e.g., you don't need a degree in sciences to understand the writeups.) However, if you have explored various scientific ideas and the scientific method already with your child, likely they will have already outpaced this book.

*I received an advance e-copy of this book from the publisher.*

This is a perfect book for curious kids! The low barrier to entry lessons include simple steps for the adults and kids and require minimal materials. The lessons are labeled as one of the 4 principles of: physics, earth science, chemistry, or biology. They even include the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano (I think this is the first one I would do for nostalgia's sake).

Each lesson is easily adaptable to what you have on hand or easy to acquire. I can see this being a great way to inspire sensory play or continue learning when school is on break. Or even if you are running out of ideas to entertain the kids! Something really important is that questions to help guide learning are included so you engage your child in the lesson. At the end of the book there is a section that provides background for the adult to facilitate the lesson and explain the reasoning/scientific method.

I think this book along with the materials required for a few lessons (packaged and labelled individually) would make a great gift. Another exciting thing to do would be taking the child shopping for the backpack science field kit at the end of the book.

I can't recommend this book enough, its a great addition to any kid's library.

Thank you to Net Galley and Story Publishing for a free e-copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

#BusyLittleHandsSciencePlay #NetGalley

Science Play is a fun filled activity book offering 20 easy to follow experiments. Each activity delves into a different area of science such as Chemistry or Physics and encourages the reader to question the experiment to further challenge their thinking. The book provides step by step instructions to follow with minimal preparation and the experiments are complimented by clear photos. This is definitely a book that I will use at home with my 2 year old son and I would highly recommend it to EYFS & Primary teachers too. I can already imagine using 'Rain Rain Come To Stay' with a class of 4year olds and how excited they would be to check the measurements after a down pour! A fantastic and instructive book to get children up and out, challenging themselves and learning through the environment.

Thank you NetGalley and Storey Publishing for my ARC!

This is a great little science book! Though it is marketed as learning activities for Preschoolers, lower elementary students would also enjoy some of these activities and would like that they would be able to follow the simple directions more independently.

Each activity has a box that has “grown-up prep steps,” the items you need are shown in pictures and most of the activities have 4 easy to follow steps or less! The activities are simple, but would be engaging to children, and you probably already have most of the supplies needed! Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley! My kids and I did so many of these experiments over the Summer break. Definitely one I would recommend to my teacher or home school friends.

This book is aimed at curious, budding little scientists. My children would love this. It Includes 20 hands-on experiments with every day items.

I loved the design of this book. Its really clearly laid out and engaging for both my 5 and 2 year old.. The colour scheme is bold and bright, and I really liked how everything was broken down into 3 or 4 steps. The introduction sets up the idea of being a scientist and how to go about it.

The activities themselves are mixed. Some feel inventive and like something we would try, and others are things I've seen many times before in books of this kind. I really commend the fact that the book uses things you'd already have in your house, but I wonder if there's more room for originality.

That said, I'd recommend this book for getting young children into following simple instructions and finding out more about what science is.

This is a great book with simple to follow directions for some fun experiments.

I really liked that for most of the experiments and activities we didn’t need to go out and buy supplies for which can be common for these types of books!

Also do these experiments have sparked great convos with my almost 3 and 5 year old about the basics of science which is so awesome when learning is fun for them.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC for my honesty review

I love this book! I have a now first grader but these were fun to do. It made for good quality family time. He learned a lot which I love as a parent. Highly recommend.

Super fun science play! I think this was a great collection of activities, especially for those just introducing hands on play and experiments. Most items can easily be found around the house and the steps are simple for grown ups to follow. I wish there was a little more in depth explanations for the importance of some of the activities, but my daughter still had fun with many of these!

Whether you’re homeschooling, looking for purposeful activities, or just trying to make it to naptime, Busy Little Hands Science Play is a gem for preschoolers. Even toddlers and older kids can enjoy these simple activities that introduce physics, earth science, chemistry, and biology principles.

My kiddos are excited for activities like Blooming Colors, Polar Bear Paw, Biodiversity Hoop, and the always-popular Vinegar Volcano. I’m excited for low-effort setups that yield big curiosity-promoting results.

The Notes for Big People offer a higher scope understanding of each activity and the scientific method. The suggestions for creating a Science Field Kit are wonderful for choosing your own adventure for further exploration and learning. This book is a great addition to a home library, and we’re excited to check out the other Busy Little Hands titles.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I did not find any new ideas in this book (for me). I have been an educator in early childhood for over a decade. A new teacher would find this useful not only for ideas but in how to lead the discovery process and how to talk about the "science" facts. It would be a handy guide for moms of young children, especially those who are homeschooling. I could see a grandparent using it for fun ideas to fill hours that they would be hosting their grandchildren.

It is laid out very nicely and organized well. The pictures are helpful.

I received a dARC from the publisher via Netgalley; this is my honest review.

This book is a great roundup of activities and the format is fun and engaging for kids, while still being easy to follow for adults. We especially loved the page on how to build a great field kit, and the reference pages for adults in the back were a great touch too! Definitely looking foreword to more books in this series.

We really enjoyed this book, I like that it is very easily read especially when you have more than 1 child to look after, it has a clear section for adult to prepare the things, pictorial guidance of how things should progress in the project and the outcome. It also has a section to help equip the preschoolers to enhance their experience while exploring the great outdoors.

I have yet to try it out with my preschooler as this is an ebook on my phone/iPad (we are avoiding device in front of children where possible), however I have memorise the first project to do with her today. Will update accordingly once done.

Many thanks Susan Edwards Richmond and Storey Publishing for this advance review copy via Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback.

This is a brilliant "everyone needs one on their bookshelf" type book! Full of interesting activities for rainy days, outdoor time, nature play, a spare 5 minutes, or just for when you or the kids want to do something fun to do.

Lots of notes for grownups to know how to set the activities up, but also lots of ways to engage children and get them thinking about and learning from the activities. Each activity is simple to set up and uses items mostly found around the house, so cheap and cheerful too.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A book full of cool ideas for little nature and science friends. I like that it's also for small children. I'd say my kids did some of the experiments already when they were 2,5 years old. The book is really colourful and with great explaining photographs, which is helpful when you're not the tool expert as the adult yourself. All in all very nice and fun for the whole family.