Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Favorite Things:

Member-Recommended Links and Learning Materials

Cross-Discipline Multimedia | Math, Logic and Computer Skills | Language Arts | Science | History and Civics | Art and Art History | Field Trips and Travel Tips | Online Courses | Video Games

Cross-Discipline Multimedia

• Boomerang -- kind of 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.
• BrainPOP -- Animated educational site for kids, covers virtually every topic.
• Digital Theatre broadcasts recordings of a variety of live shows from England, including performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company. You can rent or purchase digital copies of these works for approximately the same cost as purchasing or renting a DVD.
• Terrific resource: Free e-books available for online viewing or for download in a multitude of subjects - fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, etc.
• Everything you ever wanted to learn: The Great Courses
  
• HippoCampus -- multimedia lessons and course materials of all kinds, in English and Spanish!
• 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.
• Kidflix Global has available to rent or buy award-winning international films selected for family audiences.
• 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.
• Moving Beyond the Page -- "a comprehensive curriculum that provides gifted educational strategies for all homeschoolers."
  
• 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.
• TED: Ideas Worth Spreading is a fantastic resource for learners of all ages. 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. 
• 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).
• Top Documentary Films lets you watch documentaries onliine for FREE! The selection includes a wide variety of topics and makes an excellent learning resource for all ages.
• WatchNow -- Well-organized site with educational videos of all kinds!

Math, Logic and Computer Skills

• Books
  
  • 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.
  • Go Figure: A Totally Cool Book About Numbers by Johnny Ball -- Fun and interesting information, intriguing illustrations, anecdotes and puzzles for a wide range of age
  • Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians, by Luetta and Wilbert Reimer
  • MathStart -- series of math stories by Stuart J. Murphy that teaches and reinforces math concepts at different levels of ability. Fun for all ages, up through early elementary levels. These are awesome!
    
  • The Barron's Painless and Painless Junior series includes Painless Algebra, Painless Geometry, Painless Fractions, Painless Word Problems, and more. All concepts are explained clearly and in understandable terms. Terrific for the student who claims to 'hate' math.
  • The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger is another enjoyable read.
  • 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
    

• A Kid's Guide to Creating Web Pages for Home and School by Benjamin and Peter Selfridge
  
• An online resource for learning math through science is AIMS Education Foundation, "integrating math and science."
  
• 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!
  
• Algebra Survival Guide: a Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled, by Josh Rappaport
• Brain games, puzzles and logic - lots of terrific links!
• Carrot Sticks --  Online multiplayer math game for grades 1-5!
• Puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles! Conceptis Puzzles: The Art of Logic
  
• Developing Mathematical Talent: A Guide for Challenging and Educating Gifted Students, by Susan Assouline and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik
• For the younger set, Funbrain has math games that will make math entertaining and interactive.
• The History of Mathematics illustrates the invention of counting, calculating and measuring. Discover math's history with this free video series on mathematics.
• See Jim’s Algebra Hints for help with algebra!
• Key Curriculum Press offers a variety of textbooks, software and other materials for exploration of mathematics.
• Learn basic Keyboarding skills!
• Learning and Teaching Math Headquarters has an incredible collection of math links for all kinds of learners.
• Living Math -- Web site and mailing list from homeschooling mom and math expert Julie Brennan.
• New and notable! MangaHigh.com is a fantastic free site offering high quality math games that meet core standards for Intermediate, Middle and High School.
• 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.
  
• Calculus Tutorials on line at MidnightTutor
• Edmark's Mighty Math computer software has gotten very positive reviews from GHF members!
• MOOSE Crossing is a virtual world for kids ages 9-13yo where they can expand their creative writing skills and learn to program computers at the same time.
• Nrich has thousands of our free mathematics enrichment materials (problems, articles and games) for teachers and learners from ages 5 to 19 years. All the resources are designed to develop subject knowledge, problem-solving and mathematical thinking skills.
• NumberNut -- "Enough math can make anyone nutty!"
• 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.
  
• Here are some homemade videos explaining SAT math concepts.
• A lot of families use Singapore Math for placement and materials.
  
• The Calculus Page - from UC Davis, resources for the calculus student
  
• Help your teen learn good decision-making skills with A World of Uncertainty

Language Arts

• Reading and story suggestions (audio & visual)
  • Free audiobooks of all kinds at Books Should Be Free!
  • Calvin and Hobbes — The "instruction manual" for gifted kids.
  • Jim Weiss Storytelling -- Some favorites: Shakespeare for Children, Greek Myths, American Tall Tales. Greathall Productions.
  • Lit2Go is a free, searchable online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. Launches directly into iTunes!
  • Muse Magazine — explores science, history, and the arts. With this and other publications from Carus Publishing (Cricket, Ladybug, Spider, Odyssey, Click, etc.), gifted kids are often ready for them at ages younger than recommended. 
  • Open Library has millions of records available to users, including digital books available FREE to the print-disabled.
  • Here’s a list of publications for kids of all ages.
  • 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 
  
  • If You're Trying to Teach Kids to Write, You've Gotta Have This Book! — That pretty much covers it, doesn't it?
  • Skipping Stones is a nonprofit literary magazine for youth that encourages communication, cooperation, creativity and celebration of cultural and environmental richness.
  • The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill offers resources of all kinds to help with everything you ever wanted to know about writing a paper.
  • Homeschool Writers: Writing Contests and Resources
  • 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.
  • Recommended by our friends at Homefires, here are some Free Writing Resources that may help you and your students:   
    • Fact Monster: Writing Skills - Get simple instructions for how to write everything from a simple sentence to a research paper.   
    •  7 Stages of Writing Assignments - This site provides a textbook description of how to develop your topic, identify your audience, research, organize, write a draft, revise and proofread your work. 
    • WritingFix - This terrific website offers free interactive writing lessons and prompts for all ages and grade levels so that "writing is taught well, not simply assigned." You simply won't believe the variety of engaging lessons and innovative activities to help writers of all ages learn the skills and practice the craft of writing. Bonus! This site offers fun, creative Family Writing Projects that are sure to create heartfelt memories for all. Enjoy
• Poetry
  
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Poetry for Young People — This series of books covers a wide range of poets, with something for just about everyone.
  • Prolific author Jack Prelutsky's  Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme is a fun way to teach young children about poetry.
  • 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..
• Etymology, Spelling & Grammar
  
  • Inspiring! Akeelah and the Bee is a wonderful movie about a girl and a spelling bee, but it's also much more. This family-friendly movie encourages spellers of all ages, 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 many, and gifted children will relate to the characters and to the memnonics they use for learning,
  • Atlas of True Names -- Reveals the etymological roots, or original meanings,
    of the familiar terms on today's maps of the World, Europe, the British Isles and the United States.
  • English from the Roots Up is a program by Joegil K. and Jeanne Lundquist designed to help children understand where words come from based on their roots. Includes flash cards as well as books
  • Etymology for Gifted Students -- Etymology is the study of the history of words. It explains when a word entered a language, from what source, and how its form and meaning has changed over time. It is fun, interesting, and helps to build vocabulary.
  • Grammar Resources for Homeschoolers -- The Homeschool Diner has a listing of links and resources on this subject.
  • We can always count on Hoagies to have great resources. Try Links for the Love of Words...
  • Check out Michael Clay Thompson's Word Within the Word program and other vocabulary building materials.
  • The Barron's Painless and Painless Junior series includes a range of language arts topics, including Grammar, Research Projects, Spelling, Poetry, and Reading Comprehension.
  • Vocabulary from Classical Roots is a thematically organized vocabulary program by Nancy Fifer at all.
  • Vocabulary Building Games -- Vocabulary can be fun!
  • Merriam-Webster Word Games.
    

Science

• Books & Magazines
  
  • Can You Feel the Force? by Richard Hammond — "Putting the fizz back in physics"
  • If your child is interested in archaeology, don't miss dig - the archaeology magazine for kids.
  • Check out Enjoy Your Cells (series), Cells and Things (series), or any of Fran Balkwill's terrific books about cells and DNA for children
  • Some inspiring reading, especially for girls: Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists by Jeannine Atkins, and Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenius Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh and Melissa Sweet
  • Imagination Soup has a variety of links in many subjects. One favorite: Seriously - Engineering for Kids?
  • Anything by Janice Van Cleave — hands-on books of science experiments in a range of disciplines.
  • 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.
  • USGS Education Resources has a wide range of topics and platforms for learning about science.
  • 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.

• Interesting anatomy videos: American 3B Scientific
• Animal Diversity Web is a site put up by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology that will answer all (most? many?) of your child's questions.
• Bill Nye the Science Guy — humorous and informative science web site, videos, and other educational materials.

• Bite-Size Physics offers a fun way to learn about physics "one bite at a time"
• 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.
• Boom! For even more chemistry supplies (not to mention jet engines, radiation protection, caffeine soap, experiment kits and "fun science stuff"!) don't miss United Nuclear Scientific Supplies. While you're there, take a look at their stunning Periodic Table poster.
• Brainy Kids - The Dana Foundation’s online science & neuroscience resources for students, teachers and parents.
• Concept Demonstration: Global Climate Data — This website allows you to plot climate data and temperatures going back over 300 years!
  
• EdHeads has all sorts of interesting educational activities, including cell phone design, virtual hip replacement, weather and simple machines.
• 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.
• Smithsonian’s Evolve or Perish is a great way to learn biology.
• The Exploratorium in San Francisco has information, activities and educational materials on just about any scientific subject that interests you.
• 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.
  
• Genetic Science Learning Center has some interesting material, including this amazing sliding scale that lets you see relative cell sizes. Check it out!
• Geology.com: Everything you ever wanted to know about geology - and more. News, basics, careers, photos, explanations - it's all there.
• Geography Matters is a tremendous resource for geography and all the ways in which it can be applied.
• Home School Astronomy provides resources for when you want to teach astronomy but don't know where to start.
• 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)!
• K-2 Young Explorer Magazine: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngyoungexplorer/
• LivingScience is an email list for discussions about secular living science books for homeschoolers and children of all ages. Topics include "Secular, living science books, websites and documentaries. Secular, living textbooks or curriculum. Free science curriculum. How to secularize non-secular materials. Cool science experiments. Science kit reviews. Kid-friendly, parent-tested science websites. Science fiction. Science resources that overlap with nature study, nature journaling, art, music, math, history, language, poetry, etc."
• Make: Technology on Your Time has a blog, magazine, podcasts, videos, and numerous projects for the gifted young scientist.
• Musically Aligned — Science songs and more; CDs for kids.
• NASA has many educational programs and online activities for kids of all ages. This site has user-friendly information and interactive opportunities to explore many branches of science. NASA's SpacePlace, includes such fun projects as Edible Rocks, an introduction to understanding meteorites.
• National Geographic — web site, videos, magazine... for kids of all ages.
• Check out Neuroscience for Kids, a website with experiments, activities and resources of all kinds relating to the nervous system.
• NobelPrize.org games and simulations are based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements
• The University of Nottingham's Periodic Table of Videos is a must see.
• Phun: the 2D Physics Sandbox - you have to see this to believe it!
• Science News for Kids -- website with articles about the latest in scientific research, written for kids of all ages!
• The Smithsonian National Zoological Park (aka the National Zoo) has a Just for Kids section with games, puzzles, and other educational "goodies."
• The Physics Front provides resources for teaching physics and physical sciences at the K-12  levels.
• 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.
• There are some fun and interesting resources listed on the Science Sparks site.
• 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
• Visible Body: Animation and Illustration
• Windows to the Universe is a terrific site by the National Earth Science Teachers Association with tons of games, links, and the latest science news.
  
• Check it out! This is a group of science sites 4kids: Cosmos4kids, Biology4kids, Chem4kids, Geography4kids, and Physics4kids
• Phylo: The Trading Cards game http://phylogame.org/cards/

History and Civics

• 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.
• "A world of primary resources" can be found at the University of California's Calisphere
• Childhood of Famous Americans (series) — series of books exploring the childhood of a variety of figures in American history. A related series is called Childhood of World Figures.
• CIVIO is an engaging strategy card game that explores the relationship of issues, freedoms, laws, and Supreme Court cases that impacted civil liberties throughout U.S. history.
• Congress 101: How it actually works explains the complex rules and traditions of Washington, DC.
• 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.
• Have Fun with History A resource for students, educators and all lovers of American History
• Some kids learn best from interactive games... Here's one for the younger set: IKnowThat.com has a plethora of subjects, including some fun social studies activities. There are even more USA Games available at Sheppard Software.
• Kulture International — offers a fantastic selection of performing arts videos and DVDs from around the world.
• Our Courts Interactive civics resources on this FREE site envisioned and guided by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
• The Picture Book Biography series by David Adler is a good introduction to history for younger children.
• The Smithsonian has created Our Story: American History Stories and Activities You Can Do Together!
• Teach History is a blog dedicated to educators of Colonial American history that provides information about resources, products and useful multisensory teaching methods.
• 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.
• Trailblazing: Three and a half centuries of Royal Society Publishing is a user-friendly, ‘explore-at-your-own-pace’, virtual journey through science. It showcases sixty fascinating and inspiring articles selected from an archive of more than 60,000 published by the Royal Society between 1665 and 2010. Searchable by historical events or scientific articles.
• National Geographic has a terrific interactive Underground Railroad site!
• For more resources on history and social studies, look at Field Trips and Travel Tips or see our multimedia suggestions!

Art and Art History

• 11 Sites to Create Comics Online
  
• Lots of great resources can be found at the Homeschool.com Art Resources page.
• Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces, by Henry M. Sayre
• 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.
• Learning to Look:  A Handbook for the Visual Arts by Joshua C. Taylor
• 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).
• The Art Book

Field Trips and Travel Tips

• California Interactive History Museum: California Legacy Trails
• 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.
• Looking for archaeology- and paleontology-related events around the United States? Try dig's state-by-state guide for an updated listing!
• 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).
  
• When you can't get there in person, try finding a penpal: Homeschool Penpal Exchange or Home School Pen Pal for Kids
• 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.
• Visit some British learning resources at Schoolnet in the UK.
• 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.
• Boston Interactive History: The Freedom Trail
• 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!
• Virtual Field Trips — Virtual tours of places far and wide.

Online Courses

• Camp Summit for the Gifted, Talented and Creative — for gifted children and teens from ages 9 through 14.
• Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) — identifies academically talented students and provides innovative programs to support the development of their optimal educational potential.
• Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) -- E-learning courses for gifted students.
• Education Soaring — educational center for children, parents and educators; summer program for gifted children.
• Everything you ever wanted to learn: The Great Courses
• Harvard Open Courses: Open Learning Initiative -- Free Harvard extension school courses.
• HippoCampus -- multimedia lessons and course materials of all kinds, in English and Spanish!
• Institute for Educational Advancement — serves gifted and talented students by providing educational programs, services, and resources that target their unique needs. Runs the Yunasa camp, a weeklong summer program for highly gifted children between the ages of 10-14.
• 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.
• Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) — national academic talent search and educational programming for students with exceptionally high academic ability. Includes summer camps in bicoastal locations.
• Khan Academy -- “Learn almost anything for free.”
• Mentis Online — online enrichment courses for gifted kids in grades 3-6
• MIT OpenCourseware -- Free lecture notes, videos and exams from MIT.
• Moving Beyond the Page -- "a comprehensive curriculum that provides gifted educational strategies for all homeschoolers."
• Northwestern University Center for Talent Development — testing, information about specialized curricula, enrichment programs, and accelerated courses of study; summer programs.
• Online G3 -- Accelerated humanities classes for gifted students.
• Open Culture -- Lots of great free cultural and educational media.
• Satori Camp — a summer program for gifted students aged 12-18, provides their first taste of college while experiencing a "journey towards their own personal enlightenment."
• Stanford University Online High School -- Fully accredited, diploma granting, online independent school serving grades 7-12
• Summer Institute for the Gifted  — academic summer program for grades K-11.
• 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.
• 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).
• University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Academic Talent Development Program — summer programs for gifted students in grades K-11.
• Voyagers — a homeschooling resource center based in Massachusetts. Provides resources and support to homeschooling families in northeast USA. Offers a summer camp program.

Video Games

DS Games

• Age of Empires: Mythologies (covers mythologies from Greek, Norse, Egyptian)
• Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins (Geography, logic, problem solving)
• Animal Genius (fun facts about animals)*
• Big Brain Academy (kind of covers everything)
• Brain Age (logic puzzles for any age)
• Brain Age II (more puzzles)
• Brain Quest K-2 (covers base curriculum)
• Brain Quest 3-4 (covers base curriculum)*
• Brain Quest 5-6 (covers base curriculum)
• Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Reinforces reading and writing)
• Cooking Mama (like it sounds, you learn a lot about cooking)
• Dawn of Discovery (cultures, civilization, explorers)
• Dinosaur King (teaches a lot about the dinosaurs as kids play adventure game)*
• Gardening Mama (the science of growing things)
• Gravity! (Spacial reasoning puzzles)
• Hands-on Tangrams (puzzles,language)
• Math Blaster in the Prime Adenture (math)
• Monster Lab (science - especially anatomy)
• Mon Coach Personnel (teaches basic Spanish)
• My SAT Coach with the Princeton Review (SAT prep, or just to learn what you've forgotten in a fun way)
• My Virtual Tutor: Reading Kindergarten to 1st Grade (reading basics)
• My Word Coach (spelling training)
• Personal Trainer: Math (math)
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village (adventure game that encourages reading and logic)
• Professor Layton's Diabolical Box (logic puzzles)*
• Quest Trio (great for spacial reasoning)
• Quick Yoga Training (yoga basics)
• Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (puzzles, geography, logic)
• Smart Boy's Gameroom (for broad age group)
• Smart Kid's: Gameclub (for preschool stuff)
• Wonder Pets: Save the Animals (great animal information)
  

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