Most kindergarten workbooks are worksheets with a cartoon in the corner. This one asks a five year old to build something. More than fifteen projects run on materials already in the house, and each one starts with a question rather than a blank, so the child is investigating before they notice they are practicing.

The science is real and it is graded properly. Physical, life and earth science concepts are introduced through step by step instructions a beginning reader can follow, with open ended prompts that push past the first answer. Highlights has been building this kind of content for decades, and it shows in the pacing: puzzles and playful art sit between the projects so a child who has run out of patience gets a break instead of a wall.

Forty eight pages, aligned to kindergarten standards, with parent tips for talking through each project so the adult is not improvising. Science, technology, engineering, art and math, taught the way a five year old actually learns them, which is with their hands.