Titles by Laurie Wiin Carlson

Travel back in time to see what life was like in ancient Greece and Rome while having fun with hands-on activities such as making a star gazer; chiseling a clay tablet; weaving Roman sandals; making a Greek mosaic; creating Roman jewelry; throwing Greek pottery; casting a vote in a Roman-style election; and much more. Learn how these civilizations contributed to our present-day world by participating in art, math, cooking, science, and geography activities. Interesting facts and trivia are included throughout. Helpful illustrations explain project steps.

Young adventurers can learn about the settling of America while enjoying activities like stitching a sampler, pitching horseshoes, making an almanac, churning butter, and more.

Kids can re-create a long-ago world of kings, castles, jousts, jesters, damsels, magic fairies, and Robin Hood—all they need are their imaginations, materials they can find at home, and the activities in this book. Dressing up in a coat of armor made from plastic milk jugs, whipping up a batch of curds and whey, writing secret messages in invisible ink, and telling time with a sand glass made from soda bottles are just some of the fun projects. Every activity is illustrated, and sidebars highlight colorful facts about life hundreds of years ago.

Dolls have a unique place in childhood. They are about play, empathy, and developing communication and socialization skills. Dolls are important symbols to children of what adults value, and handmade dolls convey that the individual is important and that to be unique—less than perfect—is just fine. These concepts guide award-winning children’s author Laurie Carlson’s Doll Crafts, which opens up the world of doll making to children. The emphasis is on following basic instructions that are clearly illustrated with line drawings in order to help children develop creative, open-ended projects that result in unique dolls and doll play. Using inexpensive, everyday, or even recycled materials, children make clever paper dolls, simple folk art dolls, soft cuddle pals, or 18-inch felt dolls as well as cute and easy doll clothing, accessories, and basic houses. Short, informative sidebars throughout explore dolls in various cultures and religions, relate doll trivia and fun facts, and expand readers’ ideas about what constitutes a doll by examining the history of action figures, scarecrows, robots, and more.

Budding gardeners will learn what it takes to make things grow with fun activities that require only readily available materials.

Activities to help young campers build an awareness of the environment, learn about insect and animal behavior, boost their self-esteem, and learn the basics for fun, successful camping.

Kids discover traditions and skills from the people who first settled this continent, including gardening, making useful pottery, and communicating through Navajo codes.

Thomas Edison, one of the world's greatest inventors, is introduced in this fascinating activity book. Children will learn how Edison ushered in an astounding age of invention with his unique way of looking at things and refusal to be satisfied with only one solution to a problem. This book helps inspire kids to be inventors and scientists, as well as persevere with their own ideas. Activities allow children to try Edison's experiments themselves, with activities such as making a puppet dance using static electricity, manufacturing a switch for electric current, constructing a telegraph machine, manipulating sound waves, building an electrical circuit to test for conductors and insulators, making a zoetrope, and testing a dandelion for latex. In addition to his inventions and experiments, the book explores Edison's life outside of science, including his relationship with inventor Nikola Tesla, his rivalry with George Westinghouse, and his friendship with Henry Ford. A time line, glossary, and lists of supply sources, places to visit, and websites for further exploration complement this activity book.