科学小天才 + 数学小天才 杂志 Young Scientists & Smart Mathematicians Magazines with Hanyu Pinyin

If you have kids between the ages of 5-12, do not miss this Chinese version of Young Scientists and Smart Mathematicians with hanyu pinyin, animation video and audio read-aloud!

Our family has been reviewing this set for a few weeks and highly recommend it!

It's incredibly challenging to find interesting Chinese reading materials
for our tweens and older kids,
With content that is engaging but not too kiddy,
in language that is understandable,
not too easy that they're bored, or too difficult that pushes them away.

The Young Scientists and Smart Mathematicians series are extremely popular among Singaporean kids! The moment we set our eyes on this Chinese version with hanyu pinyin, I knew that this is an excellent resource and my older kids would enjoy them.

Through funny comics and stories, we can cultivate our children's mathematical and scientific thinking!

More about the magazines

• Each monthly issue consists of 2 magazines:
  （上）1x Smart Mathematicians and
  （下）1x Young Scientists
• Smart Mathematicians Series
  •  Each magazine covers about 4-5 concepts, including Whole numbers 数字, Measurements 测量, Geometry 图形, Calculations 计算, Fractions 分数 etc
• The Young Scientists Series
  • Each magazine covers a range of topics and scientific knowledge, including animals 动物, plants 植物, physics 物理学, technology 新科技, chemistry 化学 etc

Features we love and reasons why we highly recommend this set:

• Comic stories based on Singapore's Ministry of Education local curriculum for Science and Mathematics - stimulating kids' interest in learning
• Scenarios are based on real-life problems not just abstract concepts - this helps kids relate and make connections better
• Focus on application of knowledge and principles to solve practical problems, not just memorising formulae or procedures to learn Math and Science.
• Nurture higher order skills of critical thinking and problem-solving
• Hanyu pinyin - this is the BEST feature that makes these magazines and content matter highly accessible for second language learners!
  The pinyin aid allows my 9- and 11-year-old kids to easily read all the comics in the magazines confidently without barriers (and without my intervention!).
  As an adult, I especially appreciate the pinyin aid for the big chunks of text with in-depth explanations about the topic, to help me easily read and digest the info, so I can explain in simple Mandarin to my 4.5 year old after I read the comics with her!
• Each comic strip comes with an animation video (screenshots + some special effects + audio) and audio recording via scanning a QR code.
  • The audio recordings are done by professional voice actors, akin to radio drama
    
  • Different ways to enjoy the story via reading, listening, watching, or a combination of them
  • My 4.5- and 9-year-olds enjoy the videos very much, 
    but my 11-year-old finds it faster to read the magazines himself
    - to each his own!
  • As a parent I'm happy to add these to my collection of educational Mandarin screentime options!
  • The audio read-alouds are a great resource for auditory input too
• Interesting fact sheets to extend our learning
• Home experiments to explore the topics more
• High mileage across the years / siblings,
  and inviting for kids to read again and again 
  - my kids have read and re-read them many times over the months since we started reviewing the series!
• Language used within comic strips is mostly conversational and not too difficult,
  but occasionally includes some descriptive phrases 好词好句 which I really appreciate as a parent!
  eg 2023.05 （下）《藏不住的光污染》：欣赏一下璀璨的星河, 满天繁星，头晕眼花，小鸟在空中漫无目的地飞来飞去，筋疲力尽，我可不会坐以待毙
  2023.03 （下）《沙漠求生》：足不出户，酷热干燥的沙漠，夜幕降临
• Suitable for learners of different levels of understanding and language abilities to enjoy

Note:

• The magazine issues do not correspond exactly with the same year/month English version sold in Singapore

To let you have a better idea of how amazing these are,
here's a sample of topics covered and related learning
for the 2023 Jan-Dec Set of 24 magazines!

• Can humans "close" our ears?  人能“闭上”耳朵吗？
  + Ways to protect our ears 护耳小常识 
  (Related to: Body systems, parts of our body, health)
• Amazing vacuum packaging 奇妙的真空包装
  + Methods of food preservation 保存食物的方法
  (Related to: Diversity of living things, daily life, durian, canned food)
• Read the clouds to predict the weather 看云识天气
  + Different kinds of clouds 种类繁多的云
  (Related to: States of matter, water cycle, weather forecast)
• Why igloos don't melt 雪屋为什么不会融化
  + Fun facts about igloos 雪屋趣闻
  (Related to: States of matter, water cycle, eskimos, winter)
  
• The last curry chicken bun 最后一个咖喱鸡肉包
  + Calculating weight 计算重量
  (Related to: Multiplication and subtraction, Word problems, food)
• Spring cleaning plan 大扫除计划 
  + When can the 3 friends finish Spring cleaning? 三个小伙伴什么时候能够完成大扫除？
  (Related to: Time, duration, timeline, school holiday, housework, time management, prioritisation of tasks)

Recommended for Ages: 5-12 
(Ages 5-7 - read with parents - stories contain simple conversational language but young ones may not understand the Math and Science concepts fully. 
Ages 8-12 - read independently)
Pages: 56 per magazine
No. of books: 2 per monthly issue, 12 for half-year collection, 24 for full-year collection
Format: Softcover
Size: 26cm x 18.5cm
Language: Simplified Chinese with Hanyu pinyin
Translated from: English