project books for upper elementary

[EmilyGF]

Do you have a project book you like for upper elementary?

I got a few from the library and am not happy with any of them.

• Janice van Cleave's 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimey etc is very simplistic
• How to Build a Hovercraft was too hard. The easy projects might be doable, but the font is quite small and off-putting for ds9.
• Edible Inventions was also too hard, though we may do a few together

I'd like a project building OR cooking book that is about halfway between the van Cleave and the other two. Maybe a page or two of project, in size 12 font, with a page or two of explanation. We had a cookbook that went into the science of Baked Alaska once that was very inspiring (my kids made the largest Baked Alaska imaginable) , but I'm not sure what that was.

Suggestions?

Thanks, Emily

[Haanz]

Have you seen the DK Maker Lab books? We have and like the original one which includes a good mix of kitchen, home, and outdoor projects. There are a couple other books in the series too, like Maker Lab Outdoors and Star Wars.

[caffeineandbooks]

There's a large series called (fill in the gap) Lab For Kids.  They contain around 50 projects/experiments on a theme, either art or STEM.  Kitchen Science Lab for Kids is one.  Each project is a double page spread, with clear instructions and a short "why" for the sciency ones.  If I had a criticism it would be that the explanations are very brief, but my kids love them and it hasn't been difficult to pair a nonfiction title from the library with the books if I want to flesh out a fuller curriculum.

[Not_a_Number]

Following. DD9 seems allergic to following instructions most of the time, but maybe if I leave something like this lying around, she'll take to it?? 

[CTVKath]

I just ordered this cookbook for my 12yo daughter: "The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science makes Great Food" by America's Test Kitchen Kids. They just started a short (like 1-2 minute) video series on YouTube that will feature 1 question a week. This week was "What is Gluten Anyway?". I only ordered the cookbook yesterday so we haven't used it yet but I think we will like it. From the look inside feature, the gluten question is the first one in the book and is accompanied by 2 recipes: crepes and cinnamon swirl bread. My daughter is asking for a Raddish Kids subscription which is costly and so I'm hoping this cookbook will be the answer to what she needs. She watched the ATK Kids trailer for the new series and also the What is Gluten Anyway? video and liked them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1948703661/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Not_a_Number]

40 minutes ago, CTVKath said:

I just ordered this cookbook for my 12yo daughter: "The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists: Good Science makes Great Food" by America's Test Kitchen Kids. They just started a short (like 1-2 minute) video series on YouTube that will feature 1 question a week. This week was "What is Gluten Anyway?". I only ordered the cookbook yesterday so we haven't used it yet but I think we will like it. From the look inside feature, the gluten question is the first one in the book and is accompanied by 2 recipes: crepes and cinnamon swirl bread. My daughter is asking for a Raddish Kids subscription which is costly and so I'm hoping this cookbook will be the answer to what she needs. She watched the ATK Kids trailer for the new series and also the What is Gluten Anyway? video and liked them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1948703661/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oooh, very cool. I like America's Test Kitchen in general. Some Cooks Illustrated recipes are really stellar. 

[HomeAgain]

You might try the Potentially Catastrophic Science book series.  It is just what you describe: 2-3 pages of cool information, followed by a project. There's large type on the pages and it's relatively easy to read. The original is chronological science experiments from early man to the 20th century but there are others focused on engineering, chemistry, math...

[2_girls_mommy]

I love a series called Arty Facts for art projects related to science topics.  There is a weather one, a bugs one, a space one, a human body one, inventions and maybe more I am not remembering.  I do not think these are in print anymore, but you could find at libraries or used.  These are great for open ended art projects on science topics. 

[goldenecho]

For recipes, I like The Science Chef by Joan D'Amico.

I like the Make It Work books for projects.   They have books related to history and science.

[Gil]

I'm not familiar enough with Van Cleaves book to know where the "base line" is, but here are some books that you might look at.

Sewing School 1
Sewing School 2
DIY Tech -- has some basic hand-sewing in it.

Woodworking for Kids

Make: Electronics

Howtoons: Tools of Mass Construction

 

 

[goldenecho]

The Make It Work series is packed with projects.   Many of them are hard too but there's some easier ones also.  Most libraries have them. 

[Porridge]

On 10/10/2021 at 4:21 AM, Gil said:

I'm not familiar enough with Van Cleaves book to know where the "base line" is, but here are some books that you might look at.

Sewing School 1
Sewing School 2
DIY Tech -- has some basic hand-sewing in it.

Woodworking for Kids

Make: Electronics

Howtoons: Tools of Mass Construction

 

 

My DD enjoyed sewing  school!

 

 This isn’t cooking related, but Forest Fairy crafts was also a big hit:

https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Fairy-Crafts-Enchanting-Supplies/dp/1607056909/ref=nodl_

 

Some of the TOPS books might also be good — the electricity one is full of one page projects that teach basic principles

[EmilyGF]

Oooh, we have DIY Tech and Sewing School. DS9 and I just did a machine sewing project together (and the kid, who reminds me of a saint bernard puppy, is practically knocking me over over to do another). We have the Electronics for Kids book, too. I am not sure he has the motor skills to do it, but that might be a nice way to work on fine motor skills.

Thanks.