Hands-On Family

Oodles and oodles of noodles! Get your kids in the kitchen with Noodle Kids. Packed with recipes, tips, suggestions, and inspiration to introduce children to, and get them involved in, making noodles like Japanese ramen, Italian spaghetti, Southeast Asian stir-fries, and classic American mac and cheese. The recipes are simple and will take you on a journey around the world. The tips provided can help you choose the perfect topping and even help you set up your very own noodle bar dinner party! So go ahead, see where these worldly noodle recipes will take you!

At-home science provides an environment for freedom, creativity and invention that is not always possible in a school setting. In your own kitchen, its simple, inexpensive, and fun to whip up a number of amazing science experiments using everyday ingredients. Science can be as easy as baking. Hands-On Family: Kitchen Science Lab for Kids offers 52 fun science activities for families to do together. The experiments can be used as individual projects, for parties, or as educational activities groups. Kitchen Science Lab for Kids will tempt families to cook up some physics, chemistry and biology in their own kitchens and back yards. Many of the experiments are safe enough for toddlers and exciting enough for older kids, so families can discover the joy of science together.After graduating with an undergraduate degree in art, an M.S. in Bacteriology from UW-Madison, and doing molecular biology research for ten years, Liz Lee Heinecke(Minneapolis, MN) now spends her days trying to keep up with her three kids while sharing her passion for science in the classroom, online, and on TV. On a mission to make science easy for parents and fun for kids, she uses her lab-bench experience to find fun ways to do science at home using things people have on-hand. In 2009, she started a website called KitchenPantryScientist.com which averages 500- 1,000 hits a day. In the summer of 2012 she released an iPhone/iPod app called KidScience which has been downloaded more than 11,000 times. She appears monthly on Minneapolis/St. Pauls Kare11 Sunrise news, teaches science to nursing majors at Twin Cities colleges, and works with the Science Museum of Minnesota as an Earth Ambassador for NASA.

A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings. Author Renata Fossen Brown guides your family through fun opportunities learning about botany, ecology, the seasons, food, patience, insects, eating, and cooking. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hands-on outdoor experiences. The lessons in this book are open-ended to be explored over and overwith different results each time! Garden Lab for Kids is the perfect book for creative families, friends, and community groups and works as lesson plans for both experienced and new gardeners. Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises.So, slip on your muddy clothes, and get out and grow!

Get ready to measure, mix, and decorate! Baking with Kids is just the book you need to help teach children to bake. Show your children how to safely use basic equipment in the kitchen and explain all about the important ingredients they'll need to make the most delicious baked goods. Recipes include muffins, scones, breads, pretzels, crackers, pizza dough, pie crust, cake, cookies, cupcakes, and more! Celebrated chef and instructor, Leah Brooks creates activities with simple step-by-step photo illustrations that will guide kids through each recipe and inspire creativity throughout. Put on your aprons--it's time to get baking!This guide to teaching children to bake will provide parents with an easy and safe curriculum for learning the ways of the kitchen and some delicious recipes their kids will love.