Kindergarten Explores Science

A collection for kindergarteners of about 50 demonstrations that walk the line between science and Christianity.

In her first book, Maxwell attempts to illustrate science concepts for 5-year-olds by providing photos of experimental setups and brief descriptive text. She covers topics across the spectrum of basic physical sciences—e.g., gravity, light and magnets—and also tries to explain how some toys work, including those small pull-back cars that need to be dragged backward before they propel themselves forward. She connects each concept metaphorically to passages from the Bible, referencing familiar and less familiar examples from the Old Testament and New Testament. Maxwell seems concerned with showing how science and religion are not mutually exclusive; they can coexist, or perhaps, she aims to show, one can serve as the pathway for the other. However, her book isn’t in the middle: The strong dogmatic language, such as the frequently appearing phrase “God had created,” implies that the author expects her readers to be quite religious. In presenting the two realms so closely together with such a young audience, teachers might run the risk of confusing the experiments as proof of religious statements instead of simply proving a scientific concept. Additionally, though the writing is directed at students, the reading level is well above what would typically be read aloud in kindergarten classes. Likewise, the book doesn’t reach the level of detail many teachers would find useful. Even though the images usually provide enough information about what’s needed to replicate the demonstrations in the classroom, none of the explorations include materials lists or information on how to more simply explain a concept, and the unfamiliar setups could use more explanation.

Not quite ready for the classroom.