For reading we are using the old fashioned McGuffey's readersW and Reading Detective materials from Critical Thinking. McGuffey’s readers still seem to be the best reading material, much richer than anything of the more recent vintage. But McGuffey is also outdated in many ways, most importantly in the cultural sensitivity area; it represents dominant culture’s sentiments at the end of 19th century with all its faults. Reading Detective offers more modern comprehension exercises. These two together combine into an effective structured reading program.
Matteo also must read books of his own choosing for an hour a day.
I’ve loved using SketchupW program from their first version, long before they were acquired by Google. I always thought this was the perfect tool to teach kids basic CAD skills as well as some basic geometric concepts. Earlier in this school year when we decided to homeschool Matteo I decided to incorporate Sketchup into our curriculum. Each Friday we have a Sketchup session and our son loves every minute of it. Google Sketchup is entirely free and it can be downloaded at http://sketchup.google.com . Fortunately there are also excellent books by Bonnie Roskes that can teach your child to love using Sketchup by drawing fantastic objects. There are three levels of instruction: basic, intermediate and advanced. Matteo is currently using the third book of the basic series. To find our more about Bonnie Roskes’s books visit http://www.3dvinci.net/ .
I am finding out that getting back into the groove after a decent holiday break can be a bit difficult.
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