Screen-Free Summer:
5 Montessori Science Projects
to Enjoy as a Family
Summer is here... and with it, long days, sunshine, ice melting in your drink... and all those free hours your kids have ahead of them.
It’s the perfect time to reconnect.
To do all those things we never have time for during the school year:
building sandcastles,
hunting for little critters in the forest,
painting pebbles from the beach...
As a mother, there's no happiness I remember more vividly than that spark of connection when we were doing something together, truly present.
Now that my kids are teenagers, they remind me all the time:
“Mom, remember when we looked for shells at the beach?”
“And that time we saw whales in Tarifa?”
And then I realize how important those moments were.
Because —hand on heart— there’s something threatening those memories today.
That connection.
Screens.
The phone.
The tablet.
The “just five more minutes” that turn into two hours.
Let’s be honest: they’re an easy fix.
And in summer? Even more.
They have the whole day off, you don’t.
And when you get home, you’re exhausted.
But here’s something you need to know:
your child’s brain is soft, fresh clay right now.
Everything you touch, everything they experience, everything you let them do (or not do), shapes how they think, how they feel, how they see the world.
And in that clay, the good sticks... but so does the bad.
Too much screen time doesn’t just steal time — it steals attention, creativity, memory, motivation.
And it’s not just me saying this.
The Spanish Pediatric Society says it.
Neurologists say it.
Research says it.
That’s why they recommend creating a Family Digital Plan.
It’s not about banning technology, but using it with purpose.
And that’s where "Screen-Free Summer: 5 Montessori Science Projects to Enjoy as a Family" comes in.
I’ve designed 5 Montessori-style science activities for this summer.
Hands-on activities meant to:
Spark curiosity
Explore the world together
See through the eyes of a child again
And most importantly: to do it by their side.
Yes, you’ll use a phone in some of them...
But not to binge-watch videos — to turn it into a microscope and explore the invisible life all around us.
As the Spanish Pediatric Society says: use technology wisely.
But even more than that — use it to go on adventures with them.
Inside "Screen-Free Summer: 5 Montessori Science Projects to Enjoy as a Family", you’ll find:
A downloadable PDF workbook with ideas, materials, and suggestions for each of the 5 activities.
Five step-by-step video tutorials so you can carry them out confidently.
But remember: this isn’t about watching.
It’s about doing.
Using your hands, your magnifying glass, your imagination.
Molding that clay with real, meaningful, awe-filled experiences.
What Activities Are Included?
Activity #1:
Make Your Own Microscope
Build a scientist’s most essential tool with your own hands and use it to explore a universe of tiny things all around you—things you’ve never seen quite like this.
Activity #2:
Onion Cells
Cells are the building blocks of all living things. In this activity, you’ll take a look at the cells of a vegetable found in kitchens all over the world: the onion.
Activity #3:
Raise an Aquatic Dragon
It may look like a dragon, but it’s actually Artemia salina—a tiny, fascinating little arthropod you can hatch from an egg and observe through every stage of its development.
Activity #4:
Make Bird Feeders
Attract birds to your garden so you can observe them up close—by making a feeder they won’t be able to resist.
Activity #5:
Playdough Virus
Some teeny-tiny bugs can make us feel really sick. But if you build one out of playdough, you’ll have fun—and understand them much better.
And who am I to be creating these summer science activities?
Well, my name is María Jesús Molina Cimadevila—Txus to my friends.
I’ve spent 25 years working in science.
Eight years ago, I left the CSIC (Spain’s top research institution) to bring science into schools through a beautiful project called Danio Science for Kids.
This book brings together some of the best hands-on projects I’ve created during that time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Screen-Free Summer for?
For families who want to enjoy science activities with their kids and truly connect with them in a genuine, meaningful way—
and who refuse to let screens take over their entire summer.For primary and secondary school science teachers who want to bring excitement and wonder into their classrooms.
These activities are also perfect to do at school.
¿How much is it?
22 euros
What format is it in?
PDF + vídeos
From which countries can I buy it?
Since it’s a digital product, you can purchase it from anywhere in the world.
Does it come with a money-back guarantee?
Yes—if you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back.