The where, the why, and the how

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1. mbubbMar 2013
   That is really great. We did something a little similar with the tiles on our floor. Geometric answers are nice as they are tangible.

   I have found some beautiful books to use for reading time - but they tend to be biology/ physics/ astrology/chemistry - rather than pure math.

   Growing up the boys both drooled on, ate and generally mangled about 5 copies of the same Animal encyclopedia. Also Roger Tory Peterson-ish "Field Guides". Good quality illustrations; they are relatively durable and the text gives parents the answers to thingsl like 'Where does a 3 toed sloth live?" or 'how big does an aligator gar get?', etc, etc

   No Starch press has a nice little book "The Lives of the Elements" which my boys ( 8 and 6 yrs) devour repeatedly. We also got some of the Manga series for fun (also O'Reilly or NoStartch).

   "Big Questions for Little Minds" is a nice book. Little 1-2 page 'essays' on "why is the sky blue" questions. They are written by experts in each area and are fun. They also have a handful of hard vocab words for kids that age and they are mostly written by British experts so there are some variants for North American readers to learn.

   This book is beautiful: "The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science"

   but is more for the cool graphics than the text.

   Math is a subject where parents need to improvise a bit more.

   Math I am often at a loss. My kids - though they are in the same system - have not had the same experience with learning math. My elder son grokked odd/even numbers in kindergarten but my younger son did not get that.

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2. DanBCMar 2013
   Amazon UK and US links

   Big Questions From Little People Answered By Some Very Big People: (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Questions-From-Little-People-Answere...) (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Questions-Little-People-Answers/dp...)

   Wonderful Life With The Elements: The Periodic Table Personified: An Adventure through the Periodic Table: (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1593274238/ref=ox_sc_act_...) (http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Life-Elements-Periodic-Perso...)

   The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Where-Why-How-Illustrate/dp/1452...) (http://www.amazon.com/The-Where-Why-How-Illustrate/dp/145210...)

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