A Few of Our Favorite Things:
Member-Recommended Learning Materials

Multimedia | Math and Computer Skills | Language Arts | Science | History | Art and Art History | Field Trips and Travel Tips

Multimedia

• Don't miss!  TED: Ideas Worth Spreading is a fantastic resource for older students, and for adults, too. This website is full of "inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers" is easily searchable and will keep you and your children busy for hours, learning from the most brilliant minds of our time. Topics include technology, business, science, art, culture, entertainment, design, and more. 
• Boomerang — a children's audiomagazine that's like NPR's "All Things Considered" for kids. Great for multitasking kids who will work on an art project or build something while listening, or for the car. Subscriptions may seem pricey unless you figure in your kids listening to the tapes or CDs over and over again.
• Little Mammoth Media — BIG Adventure series takes children behind the scenes at the Big Auto Plant, the Big Aquarium, the Big Zoo, the Big Plane Trip, the Big Space Shuttle, and more.
• Netflix — online video rentals; has HUGE collection of historical, scientific, and other interesting titles.
• Schlessinger Media — a subsidiary of LibraryVideo.com, they have *everything* on video! Science, history, social studies, geography... all topics for all levels of ability and interest. Most of these are available at your local library.
• Schoolhouse Rock — Ah, memories! The same collection of musical videos that you loved when you were a kid is still out there . Your children can sing 'Conjunction Junction' or learn multiplication in song.
• Standard Deviants --  This highly entertaining video series covering many subjects is geared toward the middle and high school levels
• The Teaching Company -- Lectures on a variety of topics by some of the best college professors in the country. Available in a variety of formats.
• Moving Beyond the Page -- "a comprehensive curriculum that provides gifted educational strategies for all homeschoolers."
• Thinkwell's textbooks, video clips and online resources "combine the power of multimedia technology with compelling content" to earn recommendations from many GHF members. For the college level (more or less).
• BrainPOP -- Animated educational site for kids, covers virtually every topic.
• Internet Archive: Open Educational Resources -- The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. The Education page includes links to coursework, study guides, exercises, and recorded lectures  that are meant for students, teachers, and self-learners at all levels.

Math and Computer Skills

• Living Math -- Web site and mailing list from homeschooling mom and math expert Julie Brennan.
• MathStart -- series of math stories that teaches and reinforces math concepts at different levels of ability
• MathUSee -- A multi-sensory approach to math that works well for visual spatial and kinesthetic learners.  The emphasis is on finding patterns to make math easier and several methods are presented for arriving at a solution. Low repetition.
  
• Preparing to take the SATs? SAT Math by Video Aided Interactive is pricey but comes highly recommended.  Some copies can be found through interlibrary loan.
  
• Key Curriculum Press offers a variety of textbooks, software and other materials for exploration of mathematics.
  
• Kendall-Hunt has a series of products developed by the College of William and Mary that is intended for homeschoolers. Specifically recommended to GHF is the Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds series.
  
• Developing Mathematical Talent: A Guide for Challenging and Educating Gifted Students, by Susan Assouline and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik
• Algebra Survival Guide: a Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled, by Josh Rappaport
• The Algebasics website motto is "show me how, now!" and it does. In sounds and pictures, you'll find explanations for algebra at every level, from simple to complex. Definitely worth checking out!
• For the child who enjoys art but maybe isn't so crazy about math, the Mathematical Imagery section of the American Mathematical Society's website explores the ages-old connection between math and art and could be a good resource for considering mathematics in practical or aesthetically appealing applications.
  
• A Kid's Guide to Creating Web Pages for Home and School by Benjamin and Peter Selfridge
• MOOSE Crossing is a virtual world for kids ages 9-13yo where they can expand their creative writing skills and learn to program at the same time.
• New! Even YouTube.com is getting in on the educational action. Here are some homemade videos explaining SAT math concepts.
  
• Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians, by Luetta and Wilbert Reimer
• Theoni Pappas has written many terrific books for the student who prefers to learn math concepts in a "fun" way, including The Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat and Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales
• The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger is another enjoyable read.
• Edmark's Mighty Math computer software has gotten very positive reviews from GHF members!
• The spiral-bound book Calculus by and for Young People (Ages 7, yes 7, and up) by Donald Cohen also has worksheets available for purchase.
• An online resource for learning math through science is AIMS Education Foundation, "integrating math and science."

Language Arts

• Reading
  • Calvin and Hobbes — The "instruction manual" for gifted kids!
  • Muse Magazine — explores science, history, and the arts. With this and other excellent publications from Carus Publishing (Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, Odyssey, Click, etc.), gifted kids are ready for them at ages younger than recommended. This one is positioned "for ages 10 and up" but many highly gifted kids are ready for this at age 6 or 7, and some earlier than that. (Click is great for 3- to 6-year-olds learning to read).
  • The Stuart Brent Childrens' Book Club — Unlike other book clubs that send you a catalog, SBCBC sends children books selected especially for them based on their interests. Offers special club for gifted young adults.
• Literary Analysis
  • Literature Links, by Teresa Smith Masiello, is a very nice companion to that long-time classic for guiding gifted readers, Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School, by Judith Wynn Halsted. Aimed at advanced elementary age readers, Masiello's book provides activities and materials for ten of the titles recommended by Halstead.
  • Web English Teacher — Lists of links to biographical and critical information, e-texts and lesson plans related to specific authors. Includes Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and Children's Literature.
• Writing 
  • New! Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly is a readable new book by Gail Carson Levine, prolific author of novels aimed primarily at middle-school aged girls, with lots of practical suggestions for writing fiction.
  • If You're Trying to Teach Kids to Write, You've Gotta Have This Book! — That pretty much covers it, doesn't it?
• Spelling
  • Spelling Smart — A spelling program that combines whole language concepts and phonics strategies. The emphasis is on learning to recognize patterns and consistencies rather than memorizing isolated words. Program works well for visual spatial and kinesthetic learners.
  • New! Akeelah and the Bee is a wonderful movie about a girl and a spelling bee, but it's also much more. This inspirational movie (for all ages) encourages spellers, demonstrates the relevance of understanding word roots, and demolishes the idea that giftedness exists only in families with the resources to nurture it. The lessons are myriad, and gifted children will relate to the characters and to the memnonics they use for learning. 
• Poetry
  • Poetry for Young People — This series of books covers a wide range of poets, with something for just about everyone.
  • If you like silly poems and rhymes, you'll love anything by Shel Silverstein. His classics include Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic.
  • Prolific author Jack Prelutsky's  Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme is a fun way to teach young children about poetry.
  • For older kids, try Mary Oliver's New and Selected Poems (nature oriented and philosophical); A Poetry Handbook; (insight into writing and understanding poetry); or the Pulitzer Prize winning American Primitive.
  • U.S. Poet Laureate (2001-2003) Billy Collins' Sailing Along Around the Room is very accessible and often quite entertaining for teen poetry readers.
  • Living Between the Lines by Shelley Harwayne and Lucy Calkins have woven insights, practical suggestions, references, and anecdotes into this inspirational book on teaching writing from the heart.
• Other
  • Jim Weiss Storytelling — Some favorites: Shakespeare for Children, Greek Myths, American Tall Tales. Greathall Productions.

Science

• Books
  
  • Check out Enjoy Your Cells (series), Cells and Things (series), or any of Fran Balkwill's terrific books about cells and DNA for children
  • Let's Read and Find Out — Series of books explaining the world through science. Levels pre-K/K and Primary Grades.
  • The Mysterious You series of books has amusing titles such as Zzz... The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Sleep ,  Achoo! The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Germs, and more. (Can you guess what Burp is about? Or Aha!, Baaa or maybe Hmm?) Aimed at grades 3-6, these are really a lot of fun for the whole family.
  • For a younger audience, the Why Should I? series includes topics including recycling, saving water, saving energy, and protecting nature. These are fairly simple but effective for little ones.
• Geography Matters is a tremendous resource for geography and all the ways in which it can be applied.
• Animal Diversity Web is a site put up by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology that will answer all (most?) of your child's questions.
• The Exploratorium in San Francisco has information, activities and educational materials on just about any scientific subject that interests you
•  The Physics Front provides resources for teaching physics and physical sciences at the K-12  levels.
• Flash animations for Physics is a database of links to Flash illustrations of physics principles. Don't understand the words? Try looking at the demonstrations, which are available in Catalan, Spanish and Basque, as well.
• How to Teach Science -- website with a variety of fun and interesting materials (some are free).
• Instructables: step-by-step collaboration -- The home page of this searchable site says it all: "share what you make and how others can make it."  Directions for anything you ever wanted to know how to make plus many things you didn't know you wanted to create (such as smoke bombs, a marshmallow shooter, or a chocolate printer)!
• National Geographic — web site, videos, magazine... for kids of all ages.
• Bill Nye the Science Guy — humorous and informative science web site, videos, and other educational materials.
• Anything by Janice Van Cleave — hands-on books of science experiments in a range of disciplines.
• If your child is interested in archaeology, don't miss dig - the archaeology magazine for kids.
• Bite-Size Physics offers a fun way to learn about physics "one bite at a time"
• TryEngineering is a portal that allows anyone to "try out" being an engineer through lesson plans, games, and more.
• The Way Things Work — Wonderful animated video series exploring various topics based on the best-selling book of the same name. Teacher's guides available.
• The Young Scientist Club — Provides fun, inexpensive science kits aimed at children ages 4–8
• Musically Aligned — Science songs and more; CDs for kids.
• The Virtual Astronaut is one of NASA's many educational programs and online activities for kids of all ages. This site has user-friendly information and interactive opportunities to explore concepts from many branches of science.
  
• The eSkeletons Project has multidimensional skeletons of both human and non-human primates ranging from the gorilla to the tiny mouse lemur, all of which can be seen in full color, with animations and supplemental information. All of the large apes are represented as well as other species from different parts of the world, including many endangered species.
• For chemistry supplies, try Edmund Scientific for some very cool stuff! Alternatively, you can purchase UC-approved curriculum and lab equipment from the Laurel Springs distance high school without enrolling in their classes (unless you choose to); try Fry's Electronics (their stores have an entire aisle of lab equipment); or peruse the SKElementary online catalog for chemistry, math and reading supplies for all ages.
• Physics to Go is a searchable collection of websites where you can have tons of fun learning physics in the way that suits you best.
• While you're online, check out Neuroscience for Kids, a website with experiments, activities and resources of all kinds relating to the nervous system.
  

History

• Don't miss! The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer is a series of four books available as books or audio that cover history from "the earliest nomads" through "the fall of the Soviet Union." Each book becomes increasingly more complex, as the author describes the situations and dynamics that impact people and countries around the world and through time.
• Childhood of Famous Americans (series) — series of books exploring the childhood of a variety of figures in American history. A new, related series is called Childhood of World Figures.
• Kulture International — offers a fantastic selection of performing arts videos and DVDs from around the world.
• " A world of primary resources" can be found at the University of California's Calisphere
• Biographical stories of creative people in history — from Devine Entertainment. Galileo, Einstein, Edison, Bach, Handel, Monet, Degas, Cassatt, and more. Each story is true to the historical facts of the figure's life, and imagines an encounter and mentorship with a young person (age 10–12) at a critical junction in each of their lives. Available from the publisher or from Music for Little People.
• The Picture Book Biography series by David Adler is a good introduction to history for younger children.
• Look up today in history at History.WorldSearch.com.
• Go back in time and view the Bradshaw Foundation's Journey of Mankind genetic map, exploring the peopling of the world over the last 160,000 years. Links on this site include rock art and other ancient-ancient-ancient history.
• For more resources on history and social studies, see our multimedia suggestions!

Art and Art History

• The Art Book
• Try this fun-to-read series of Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia. They are a mix of comics and real works of art.
• Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces, by Henry M. Sayre
• Learning to Look:  A Handbook for the Visual Arts by Joshua C. Taylor
• Lots of great resources can be found at the Homeschool.com Art Resources page.
• Origami turns out to be a highly popular activity amongst some gifted homeschoolers! For something a little different, see Origami Chicken and Other Animals,  Ductigami: The Art of the Tape, or Origami to Astonish and Amuse (for a slightly older crowd).

Field Trips and Travel Tips

• Virtual Field Trips — Virtual tours of places far and wide.
• eFieldTrips — Offers interactive, online "trips" including the opportunity to complete a trip journal, as well as the chance to chat with experts live. Lots of national parks are included here, and the subjects are multidisciplinary but seem to involve a lot of science, nature and history.  
• Hittin' the Road — The Bright Kids @ Home website has all kinds of terrific and useful information for taking your learning on the road (or in a plane, on a boat or a train, etc).
• Taking the kids on a long road trip, or just driving all over town? Check out Diane Flynn Keith's Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games & Activities to Turn Travel Time into Learning Time.
• National Park Service — This may seem obvious, but if you're looking for places to go (in the United States) with your kids where they will learn as well as enjoy themselves, you can find something for everyone here. The NPS has a program at many locations, where kids can use written materials as a guide and earn a badge or certificate certifying them as a "Junior Ranger." many state park systems have summer programs, as well.
• Looking for archaeology- and paleontology-related events around the United States? Try dig's state-by-state guide for an updated listing!
• Taking your gifted child to Europe (or dreaming about it)? A Travel Guide to Scientific Sites of the British Isles: A Guide to the People, Places and Landmarks of Science and The Scientific Traveler: A Guide to the People, Places, and Institutions of Europe may be available as close as your local library!
• A Sightseer's Guide to Engineering — This terrific resource is dedicated to "spotlighting how engineering improves our lives." Click on a U.S. map or do a search by engineering discipline or other category... you'll find information and links to all kinds of engineering-related sites.