TOS Review- AIMS What on Earth?

"The AIMS Education Foundation is a research and development organization dedicated to the improvement of the teaching and learning of mathematics and science through a meaningful integrated approach."

Both the Tot School and K4 classes love Science days... so I was very excited to review What on Earth? I used it for my K4 class (ages 4 &5). The "experiments" / demonstrations are easy to understand, fun, and.... easy to prep for (yay!!)

From the website: 

Grades K-1
30 activities—137 pages

Kindergartners and first graders are naturally curious about the world around them. What on Earth? will bring to their attention details of their everyday world that they previously have not considered.

They will be introduced to nature’s gifts of water, rocks, and soil and explore their many characteristics and beneficial uses. In “Secret Sources,” they will learn that everything comes from something when they discover paper comes the wood of a tree and a tee shirt comes from cotton on a plant.

Clever explorations fill the book that is divided into the following six sections/concepts:

• Resources: The Earth has resources that are used to make all kinds of things. Resources can be conserved by recycling, reusing, and reducing their consumption.
• Rocks and Soils; Rocks and soils have observable properties.
• Water: Water is found in oceans, lakes, ponds, and rivers.
• Changes: Earth’s surface can quickly change due to hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and wind and wave action.
• Day/Night: The sun and moon are objects in the sky that have repeating patterns of movement.
• Seasons: The seasons form a repeating pattern. The changes in weather help determine our clothing and activities.

What on Earth? retails for $21.95. It comes with a CD for printing accompanying worksheets. Be sure to check out the AIMS store for other grade level and subjects.

This has made a great addition to our science activities this year.  I am not sure I would use this as a stand alone curriculum but to supplement, it has been awesome! One thing that I want to mention- that the book overall seems to be geared to more of a classroom setting....

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below: