Yes, and it works well as a family activity. Everyone reads the same chapter and follows the same research question together, and each child does the part that fits their age. Younger children focus on coloring and storytelling, and older children take on more of the reading, writing, and data work.
One lesson, three levels
Take Chapter 3, The Great Guess, as an example:
- Ages 4 to 5: color page 28 (the "If... Then..." machine) and say a prediction out loud while you write it down for them.
- Ages 6 to 8: write their own "I think ___ because ___" sentence and draw what they expect to happen.
- Older siblings: write two competing predictions (like the signpost on page 30) and explain which one they would test first, and why.
The same pattern works in Chapter 5. A little one counts and makes tally marks, a middle child builds the bar graph, and an older child explains what the graph shows.
Give everyone a role
Let each child be one of the four characters for the week:
- Curious Bunny asks the questions.
- Professor Hoot finds the facts in books.
- Subby the Robot organizes the plan and materials.
- Detail Dog counts and records the results.
Rotate the roles each week so everyone gets to try every step. Older kids often enjoy being Professor Hoot for a younger sibling and reading aloud to them.
Practical tips
- One project, shared. A single family experiment is easier to manage than three separate ones.
- Their own pages. Siblings can share the story and discussion, but each child usually wants their own pages to color. On the website, you can print a copy of any page for each child.
- Present to each other. On Chapter 6 day, siblings make a ready-made audience for one another.