Curricula and Resources
Want to know what resources we’re using? Here’s the place to find out! This is not an exhaustive list, but rather the highlights of our favorite resources. This is also not an exhaustive list of what we’re doing – a lot of our activities just come out of our heads, and have no particular resources attached, such as Eva’s writing lecture videos, the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, etc. The purpose of this list is simply to share the titles of books and resources we return to again and again, or were so bowled over by that I just had to share them with you.
Math: Singapore Math (book), Khan Academy (online), Art of Problem Solving Algebra I (book) and Alcumus (online) program, DreamBox (online), Thinkwell (online)
I also ran across this fantastic list of math-related books. There’s plenty here to keep your math student busy!
Science:
- Robotics: Lego Mindstorms
- Biology: Cells curriculum by Ellen McHenry, Manga Guide to Molecular Biology, Manga Guide to Biochemistry, DNA Replication and Transcription set by K’Nex, various models of organs and prepared slides provided by the public school district’s library media center, microscope (part of our collection), Build a Human Skeleton cardboard puzzle model, CellCraft biology game, Crash Course youtube videos on biology
- Chemistry: Elements: Ingredients of the Universe, Tom Lehrer elements song (found on youtube)
- Physics: Lego WeDo Education, general forces and motion books/online research to develop Rube Goldberg machine; Lego Technics Simple Machines (book), single, double, and triple pulleys with weights and dual calibrated spring scale (purchased separately, online), Zombies and Forces and Motion by Mark Andrew Weakland
Literature: National Novel Writing Month, library book club, parent and kid-chosen novels
History: resources gathered at public library, online video clips (especially the History Channel), Horrible Histories books and television episodes, Take Me Back (DK Publishers), Poop Happened by Sarah Albee, History of the World (DK), Off With Their Heads! All the Cool Bits of British History by Martin Oliver, Liberty’s Kids dvd series
Philosophy: A Young Person’s Guide to Philosophy by Jeremy Weate (DK Publishing), Philosophy (DK Eyewitness Companions) by Stephen Law, Philosophy for Kids by David White, and The Great Ideas of Philosophy dvd lectures by The Great Courses.
Spanish: Mango Languages (online resource)
Music: private instrument lessons, private music theory lessons, public school concert band, middle school jazz band, Finale composition software
[...] used a lot of resources for our study (check out my Curriculum and Resources page for the full list). My main objective was not to have the kids recite the philosophy and [...]
Thank you for your excellent blog. I am the parent of a highly gifted eight year old boy. I found your blog through a friend who went to high school (I think) with your husband in SC. She told me all about the incredible things your children were doing. This is the first blog I have ever seen by a mom who home-educates highly gifted children. We struggled for three years in the local brick and mortar public schools to get the advanced education that our son needed. Even after IQ testing which proved him to be very gifted and standard testing that showed him to be two-years ahead of grade level in some subjects, the school did very little to challenge him. In frustration, we finally put him in a virtual charter school. Although that has been a better experience academically, I still think there’s so much more that we could do. Your blog has given me the courage to home-educate him ourselves next year. (I have a degree in child development, but this is still a daunting task!!) Thank you, for all the resources and great ideas. You are making a difference!!
Oh my goodness, Amy. You brought tears to my eyes. It’s for people like you that I keep this blog. It’s such a difficult and potentially isolating journey to navigate, and though mostly for us it’s been three years of joy, we’ve also shed quite a few tears. But it doesn’t have to be so hard if you have a community! In case you haven’t found these posts, read over these for specifics about the nitty-gritty of gifted issues. I list a lot of practical steps and resources that every parent of a gifted kid needs to know (the most essential of which is the Davidson Institute). Also, let’s stay connected by email. I will happily be your personal cheerleader! http://gwynridenhour.wordpress.com/category/gifted-education/
[...] as good as these, so I purchased a few extras to add to the mix. You can see what all I ordered here; just scroll down to the biology [...]
[...] resources I’m using. I’ve fixed that now, but basically, it was simply a link to my Curricula and Resources page. Sorry about that! Share this:EmailFacebookStumbleUponTwitterLike this:LikeBe the first to [...]
Thank you for your blog! Although I live a world away (South Africa) the issues we face with gifted education here seem to be the same as there in the US. My 3 boys are now at home full time. Aiden, who is nearly 6 was in pre school and in Grade 0 (K) for a while but we pulled him out about 7 months ago. Nathan just turned 4 and was only at pre school for a short while. They both love being at home and now feel free to let their abilities soar. We also use bits and pieces for learning as the boys need it, and as they are still so young we do a lot of playing too. They especially love to play with Dylan who is nearly 2. I will be following this blog now to get some ideas and inspiration as we go along our journey. Thank you again for the courage to carry on
Hello Lauryan, over there in South Africa! And I’m happy that you find my blog helpful to you. Having my kids at home with me was totally unexpected – I never thought I’d be a homeschooler – but truly has been nothing but wonderful. Exhausting sometimes, yes, but that’s so little in comparison to the Awesomeness.
If there’s any specific support I can offer, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m here to serve!