On the first page, you read the puzzler. The mystery. On the second page, you read the solution. Of course, in between the first page and the second page is where the magic happens. That is the space in which you think. When my son and I were considering 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science ($9.95) by Science Naturally for review we read a few of the sample mysteries and got hooked. He thought it was great fun and especially if I was stumped for the answer.
Once the book arrived, Jonathan started reading the mysteries out loud right away. Up until that moment I wasn’t sure if this would be a product he would read and enjoy on his own or something we used together. It quickly became apparent that his enjoyment in this book was enhanced when we shared the experience. Of course, after the first several mysteries were read and solved before I could get a word in edge-wise, I had to set some ground rules. At least every other mystery you have to actually give Mom a chance to answer first. Otherwise, it looks like Mom is losing the game but she hasn’t even gotten to play! He thought that was funny, but he agreed. Of course, the very next mystery stumped me!
Now that being said, I will admit that most of these mysteries are not terribly difficult. You will have to think, process, and sometimes apply logic though! Jonathan did not find the book challenging. Fun, yes. But not challenging. The younger kids were definitely challenged though! The book is listed for ages 8-12 and since Jonathan (age 12) confiscated the book upon it’s arrival he was the primary user. He read the mysteries out loud to us and then gave us a chance to answer per my request. Sometimes my nine-year-old would be able to figure out the answer (especially the one I am remembering that had to do with the water cycle…) but not easily. Originally, we set out to read just one mystery per day, but we never actually stuck to that. We usually read three or four mysteries!
The mysteries themselves actually cover a variety of science topics and thankfully none of those topics include the words “evolution”, “natural selection”, or “survival of the fittest.” Instead we were solving mysteries related to plants, animals, color theory, earth and space, chemistry, physics, and even food (to name a few.) Each mystery involved a group of kids trying to solve a mystery. The mysteries were very short (the sub-title was One Minute Mysteries) and I was pleased that the font was a nice larger-than-normal size which is perfect for kids.
My Bottom Line: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science is a fun book that got us thinking about how we use science in our every day lives. We all enjoyed the mysteries in this book and therefore spent at least a little bit of time each day enjoying science. That’s a pretty neat accomplishment! As a side note, my husband picked up the book the other day and he didn’t want to stop at just one mystery either! The man has a PhD in Science, and he still thought the mysteries were fun.




I probably should tell you a little bit about the book first. It’s actually five short books in one: Principles of Learning, It’s Been Said, Practical Helps, Gems and Homeschool Helps. These books were written by Joyce Herzog and come from her vast experience as a classroom teacher and as a consultant to homeschool families. You might recognize Joyce’s name as the author of the Scaredy Cat Reading System. I had the privilege of listening to Joyce Herzog speak a few days ago and found her spoken words just as encouraging as this book I’ve been reading!



hosting this month’s giveaway! You can win your very own copy of 





As I began to print the various things we needed to get started with 



I know I used the phrase “beautiful moments” in my title, but I would like to start out by sharing a not-so-beautiful story about my motherhood. The story of Mother’s Day 2012. Mother’s Day 2012 was all about me. That was my perspective anyway. I wanted to go somewhere “nice” for lunch. We left the first restaurant we tried when we were told it was a two hour wait. We spent about an hour driving around looking for a restaurant with a shorter wait. We finally found a restaurant with a one hour wait. When we were finally seated one and a half hours later, one thing was clear. We should have stayed at the first place.



































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