Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Favorite Things - Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

Favorite Things:

Member-Recommended Links and Learning Materials

Multiple Subject Resources

Annenberg Learner: resources across the curriculum
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.
C.G.P. Grey - Complex things explained.
CoolMath-Games has free online and mobile games to learn math, reading, spelling, geography and more.
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.
Khan Academy - Videos on every topic.
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.
MERLOT or Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. Discipline communities in many different subjects, collections of learning materials and learning exercises in a wide range of subjects.
Mr. Nussbaum: A thousand sites in one! Educational games and apps on a variety of topics.
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.
Smithsonian Magazine offers videos on history, science, nature, the arts and culture
Standard Deviants -- This highly entertaining video series covering many subjects is geared toward the middle and high school levels
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.
TED-Ed - Great educational videos
Thinkfinity - Provides a variety of resources, interactives and lesson plans.
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!

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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
Coding:
- Scratch – Create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art while learning mathematical and computational ideas, critical thinking, systematic reasoning, and how to work collaboratively..
- LEGO Mindstorms – Learn to build programs that control robots that can perform a variety of tasks.
- Alice – Object-oriented programming in an interactive, 3D environment.
- Phrogram – Built on .Net, this programming languages gives kids a real taste for writing code using plain language.
- Stanford School of Engineering – Stanford offers a number of free, online courses that self-motivated students can use to learn actual programming languages
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."
Algebra Survival Guide: a Conversational Guide for the Thoroughly Befuddled, by Josh Rappaport
Brain games, puzzles and logic - lots of terrific links!
Bright Storm’s YouTube channel includes hundreds of videos for Algebra I, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Precalculus, and Calculus, as well as some SAT and ACT prep videos.
Carrot Sticks -- Online multiplayer math game for grades 1-5!
Puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles! Conceptis Puzzles: The Art of Logic
CosmoQuest: The place where you map other worlds, explore the universe, & contribute to science.
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.
There’s nothing boring about statistics! Check out Gapminder, for a fact-based world.
The History of Mathematics illustrates the invention of counting, calculating and measuring. Discover math's history with this free video series on mathematics.
Crewton Ramone’s House of Math videos.
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.
MangaHigh.com is a fantastic free site offering high quality math games that meet core standards for Intermediate, Middle and High School.
Math Class With Mr. V features more than 300 videos made by a mathematics teacher teaching lessons on basic mathematics, geometry, and algebra.
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!"
Numberphile is a neat YouTube channel about fun number facts.
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.
Ten Marks offers mathematics tutorial videos.The topics include lessons on units of measurement, decimals, fractions, probability, area and perimeter, and factoring.
The Calculus Page - from UC Davis, resources for the calculus student
TheVi Hart blog is a fabulous and fun way to learn math in context and at many levels!
Help your teen learn good decision-making skills with A World of Uncertainty
WowMath.org includes more than six hundred videos covering topics in Algebra and Calculus.
Yay Math! videos capture a teacher, his whiteboard and some feedback from students. Topics include Algebra and Geometry.

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Language Arts

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.
- The Poetry Society - Poetry resources of all kinds
- 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.
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.
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 winningAmerican 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.
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.
Reading suggestions (graphic reading: classic fiction and mythology)
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.
- Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies! Interactive website for writing and debate.
- 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.

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Learning a New Language

Multiple languages:
- Pimsleur Approach provides many resources for learning a variety of languages.
- Rosetta Stone offers language instruction in 30+ languages
Chinese:
- Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Chart with Audio
French:
- Audio and video lessons for learning basic French
Japanese:
- Learn Japanese with TextFugu
Spanish:
- Lingolex Learning Spanish website
- BBC Spanish Learning
- Dictionary (Spanish – English)
- 123TeachMe has a verb conjugator and more
- Study Spanish Tutorials

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Science

Books & Magazines about Science
- Can You Feel the Force? by Richard Hammond — "Putting the fizz back in physics"
- 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.
- 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.

Anatomy, Biology and Genetics
- Interesting anatomy videos: American 3B Scientific
- Anatomy Arcade offers games and interactives.
- Anatomy HQ: Comprehensive anatomy resource.
- BioDigital Human offers interactive 3D models of human anatomy. You can turn on and off different views according to which body systems you want to view.
- Biodigital’s Systems YouTube Channel has a variety of 3D animated videos on anatomy and surgery.
- Build-A-Body allows students to build the human body using interactive elements system by system.
- Cell Biology
- Cell Organelles and Their Functions
- Discovery Health: Cells and Tissues
- eSkeletons 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.
- Genetic Science Learning Center has some interesting material, including this amazing sliding scale that lets you see relative cell sizes. Check it out!
- Get Body Smart - An online textbook about human anatomy and physiology
- Healthline Body Maps learn about the different parts of the human body by peeling away layers to look at different levels.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Vital Signs: Understanding Cardiovascular Diseases – A virtual gallery teaching about heart disease.
- InnerBody provides charts, diagrams, animations, graphics and descriptions about human anatomy.
- Life Sciences activities for kids
- Anatomy videos from Medline.
- Open Heart Surgery Simulation
- Science for Kids
- TED-Ed Lessons Worth Sharing
- Lots of virtual surgery and dissection links at Toad Haven.
- Virtual Eye Dissection and Eye Anatomy
- Visible Body: Animation and Illustration
- Zygote Body allows users to explore human body in details using 3D images.
Archaeology and Paleontology
- dig - The archaeology magazine for kids.
- Smithsonian National Museum of National History Dinosaur Dig – An interactive virtual paleontological dig for dinosaur bones.
- Smithsonian National Museum of National History Dinosaur Tour – A virtual tour of dinosaur fossils.
Astronomy and Physics
- Bite-Size Physics offers a fun way to learn about physics "one bite at a time"
- The Build a Trebuchet Challenge lets you custom-build a trebuchet taking in distance, accuracy and power.
- ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education.
- DeepSkyVideos - Exploring deep space - one video at a time. Including videos about the famous Messier Catalogue and access to world-class telescopes.
- 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.
- Home School Astronomy provides resources for when you want to teach astronomy but don't know where to start.
- The Hubble Deep Field Academy
- MinutePhysics video clips: “Simply put: cool physics and other sweet science.”
- 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.
- The Particle Adventure is an interactive game that deals with the fundamentals of matter and force.
- Phun: the 2D Physics Sandbox - you have to see this to believe it!
- Physclips has some fantastic physics animations, film clips, interactive tutorials, and supporting pages.
- 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.
- The physics of pizza tossing
- Sixty Symbols has curious and quirky videos about the symbols used in physics and astronomy.
- A Virtual Journey into the Universe – Explore our solar system with a variety of interactive tools (no jokes about what lies in the interior of Uranus).
Chemistry
- Rader’s Chem4Kids has information on matter, atoms, elements, the periodic table, reactions, and biochemistry.
- The University of Nottingham's Periodic Table of Videos is a must see.
- Periodic Videos - All things chemistry.
- Serendip’s interactive links have everything you ever wanted to know about chemistry.
- Test Tube offers behind-the-scenes in the world of science. Also features extra footage and outtakes from periodicvideos and sixtysymbols.
- 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.
DIY/Maker
- The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits looks like a fun place to learn.
- 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
- Make: Technology on Your Time has a blog, magazine, podcasts, videos, and numerous projects for the gifted young scientist.
- The Maker Mom blog has tons of maker fun for families.
Ecology, Geology, Physical Geography and Environmental Science
- 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.
- Concept Demonstration: Global Climate Data — This website allows you to plot climate data and temperatures going back over 300 years!
- 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.
- National Geographic — web site, videos, magazine... for kids of all ages.
- Nature Education Channel provides information, discussions and current events from around the world of science.
- The Smithsonian National Zoological Park (aka the National Zoo) has a Just for Kids section with games, puzzles, and other educational "goodies."
- QGIS is a free, open-source GIS platform.
- USGS Education Resources has a wide range of topics and platforms for learning.
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society Life-Size Blue Whale – Feel what it’s like to swim alongside a blue whale.
- What is Geocaching?
- Weather Underground's interactive WunderMap enables users to “go back and forth in time” to study all kinds of weather information, including temperatures, radar, webcams, ski reports, dedicated services for fires, tornadoes, hurricanes and more.
Neuroscience
- Brainy Kids - The Dana Foundation’s online science & neuroscience resources for students, teachers and parents.
- Free educational tools for cognitive neuroscience at GoCognitive.net
- Check out Neuroscience for Kids, a website with experiments, activities and resources of all kinds relating to the nervous system.

General Science (links that cover multiple areas)
- Backstage Science takes you "backstage" at some of the UK's most amazing science facilities. They include space telescopes, powerful lasers and football-field sized experiments.
- Bill Nye the Science Guy — humorous and informative science web site, videos, and other educational materials.
- EdHeads has all sorts of interesting educational activities, including cell phone design, virtual hip replacement, weather and simple machines.
- The Exploratorium in San Francisco has information, activities and educational materials on just about any scientific subject that interests you.
- Free online science games for elementary aged students.
- How to Teach Science -- website with a variety of fun and interesting materials (some are free).
- LabTV has tons of videos on science and research.
- The LiveScience site has articles, images and videos on a broad range of topics. Well worth a look!
- 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."
- Musically Aligned — Science songs and more; CDs for kids.
- NobelPrize.org games and simulations are based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements.
- The American Museum of Natural History Ology site has tons of great science information and activities for kids!
- PhET: Free online physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math simulations
- Phylo: The Trading Cards game http://phylogame.org/cards/
- Science News for Kids -- website with articles about the latest in scientific research, written for kids of all ages!
- 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.
- Want to learn to build a search engine? Or program a robotic car? Udacity offers university-level science and technology courses online.
- The UPenn Animation Library provides nearly 200 video animations and explanations of injuries, diseases, and body systems.
- 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
- Veritasium - The science video blog from atoms to astrophysics!
- Videos at NSF - National Science Foundation produces original video content on news and discoveries in science and technology. Don’t miss Chalk Talk!
- 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

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History, Civics, Geography and Economics

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.
EyeWitness to History provides a ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present - through the eyes of those who lived it
For more resources on history and social studies, look at Field Trips and Travel Tips or see our multimedia suggestions!
Games for Change — Catalyzing social impact through digital games.
Have Fun with History A resource for students, educators and all lovers of American History
Columbia University’s History of the World since 1500CE
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.
Kidipedia: History for Kids
Kulture International — offers a fantastic selection of performing arts videos and DVDs from around the world.
Resources for Learning History through your own Family Tree
Mission US: A revolutionary way to learn history through free interactive games.
Maps, maps, maps! National Geographic has a huge selection.
Get some historical perspective: Look up events in the New York Times archives, from 1851-present.
Old Maps Online — This database is has both a timeline to specify a time period and a map to search particular regions.
If you're studying Ancient Rome, don't miss Orbis, the Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago – Enjoy 360-degree views of galleries showcasing Egyptian, Assyrian, Mesopotamian and Persian cultures
Our Courts Interactive civics resources on this FREE site envisioned and guided by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
The Smithsonian has created Our Story: American History Stories and Activities You Can Do Together!
The Picture Book Biography series by David Adler is a good introduction to history for younger children.
Rare Book Room – A virtual library that allows you to not only view but read hundreds of rare and historical copies of books, from Shakespeare to Galileo.
Smithsonian National Museum of National History Virtual Tour – Take a virtual walking tour of the entire Smithsonian National Museum of National History.
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.
Storytelling with Maps: Use ArcGIS and Web maps to tell your story.
Supreme Court Tour – A 360-degree exploration of the U.S. Supreme Court building.
Teach History is a blog dedicated to educators of Colonial American history that provides information about resources, products and useful multisensory teaching methods.
TeachSpatial: Resources for spatial teaching and learning.
Epic time-lapse map of Europe
The Time Map of World History.
Test your knowledge of topography and geography in these maps of the world games.
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.
UAE Interact Virtual Museum – A virtual museum exploring the history of the United Arab Emirates through ancient artifacts like stoneware, jewelry, weapons, tools and coins.
US Capitol Virtual Tour – Virtual tour of the US Capitol, with clickable areas to learn more about the building’s history.
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court and listen to them in action: The audio recordings of all oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court of the United States are available to the public at the end of each argument week.
National Geographic has a terrific interactive Underground Railroad site!
Virtual Museum of Iraq – Discover the history of Iraq through eight museum halls full of artifacts.
The Virtual Museum of Traditional Japanese Arts – Wander down virtual hallways to explore traditional Japanese arts, from fine arts to martial arts.
Where in the World? A Google Earth puzzle that challenges you to figure out where the picture was taken.
Worldology has interactive maps of the people, nations and events that have shaped our world.

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Museums, Art, and Art History

11 Sites to Create Comics Online
Art Babble, a video website designed and maintained by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, provides a place for people to learn about the creation of art, artists, and collections through quality video productions.
The Art Book
The Art Project powered by Google features interior tours of seventeen world famous art museums.
Lots of great resources can be found at the Homeschool.com Art Resources page.
Free Art Lessons by ArtyFactory
Cave Paintings to Picasso: The Inside Scoop on 50 Art Masterpieces, by Henry M. Sayre
ChildArt Magazine is a quarterly magazine designed and written expressly for 8- to 12-year-old children to promote and nourish creativity and critical thinking.
Frissiras Museum – A virtual art gallery from Athens, Greece that allows you to explore paintings by clicking through their entire collection.
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
Louvre Virtual Tour – Virtual tour of the world-famous Louvre museum in Paris.
MOOM, the Museum of Online Museums, is a list of museums that offer online exhibitions.
Mount St. Helens 360 – See how the volcano Mount St. Helens changed in the three-year span between 2003 and 2006 with these 360-degree panoramas.
Mount Vernon Virtual Mansion Tour – Virtual tour of George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon.
Museums Around the World
National Gallery of Art: Kids’ Pagehas a wide variety of art-related activities for all ages.
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).
Picturing America is an interactive gallery of artwork related to events, people, and themes in American history.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has a great collection of multimedia, interactive features about art and artists.
Smarthistory features images of notable works of art as well as videos lessons, VoiceThread lessons, and audio lessons about eras and themes in art history.
Take a virtual tour of Museum on Natural History in New York, hosted by children’s book author Brian Selznick.
The World Digital Library hosts nearly 5,000 primary documents and images from collections around the world

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Field Trips and Travel Tips

7 Wonders Panoramas – 360-degree views of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Arounder Virtual Tour of the Moon – 360-degree panoramic views of the moon, courtesy of the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. (Many other Earth locations also available on arounder.com.)
California Interactive History Museum
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.
Boston Interactive History: The Freedom Trail
Google Earth – Explore the geography of both land and sea (free download).
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
Journey to Antarctica via an interactive map
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.
Taj Mahal Virtual Tour – Virtual tour of the Taj Mahal, featuring 360-degree panoramas.
Tour of Colonial Williamsburg – A virtual tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
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.
Virtual Tour of Rio de Janeiro – An amazing 3-D aerial virtual tour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Online Programs

GHF Online - Providing outstanding and engaging online courses tailored to the needs of gifted and twice-exceptional students.
Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) -- E-learning courses for gifted students.
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!
iTunes University has a wide variety of materials available for all levels of education.
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.
Khan Academy -- “Learn almost anything for free.”
MIT OpenCourseware -- Free lecture notes, videos and exams from MIT.
Using Minecraft as part of a lesson plan or curriculum. Also check here.
Moving Beyond the Page -- "a comprehensive curriculum that provides gifted educational strategies for all homeschoolers."
Online G3 -- Accelerated humanities classes for gifted students.
Open Culture -- Lots of great free cultural and educational media.
Open Yale Courses -- Free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University.
Stanford University Online High School -- Fully accredited, diploma granting, online independent school serving grades 7-12
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.

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Camps and Residential Programs

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.
Epsilon Camp — A summer camp for the exceptionally and profoundly gifted, age 8 to under 11 years, who love math.
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.
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.
Northwestern University Center for Talent Development — testing, information about specialized curricula, enrichment programs, and accelerated courses of study; summer programs.
PG Retreat has a gathering for families with profoundly gifted children.
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."
Summer Institute for the Gifted — academic summer program for grades K-11.
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.

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Video Channels

Backstage Science takes you "backstage" at some of the UK's most amazing science facilities. They include space telescopes, powerful lasers and football-field sized experiments.
Bozeman Biology - Great science videos.
Bright Storm’s YouTube channel includes hundreds of videos for Algebra I, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Precalculus, and Calculus, as well as some SAT and ACT prep videos.
C.G.P. Grey - Complex things explained.
DeepSkyVideos - Exploring deep space - one video at a time. Including videos about the famous Messier Catalogue and access to world-class telescopes.
Khan Academy - Videos on every topic.
KidsTV123 - Kids videos and MP3s for the littler kids
LabTV has tons of videos on science and research.
Magic School Bus videos on YouTube
The Maker Mom - Projects you can do on your own!
Math Class With Mr. V features more than 300 videos made by a mathematics teacher teaching lessons on basic mathematics, geometry, and algebra.
Minute Physics covers “cool physics and other sweet science.”
Numberphile is a neat YouTube channel about fun number facts.
Periodic Videos - All things chemistry.
Sixty Symbols - Cool videos about physics and astronomy.
Smithsonian Magazine offers videos on history, science, nature, the arts and culture
TED-Ed - Great educational videos
Ten Marks offers mathematics tutorial videos.The topics include lessons on units of measurement, decimals, fractions, probability, area and perimeter, and factoring.
Test Tube offers behind-the-scenes in the world of science. Also features extra footage and outtakes from periodicvideos and sixtysymbols.
WowMath.org includes more than six hundred videos covering topics in Algebra and Calculus.
Veritasium - The science video blog from atoms to astrophysics!
Vi Hart - Mathemusician extraordinaire.
Videos at NSF - National Science Foundation produces original video content on news and discoveries in science and technology. Don’t miss Chalk Talk!
Yay Math! videos capture a teacher, his whiteboard and some feedback from students. Topics include Algebra and Geometry.

Contests and Activities

The National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities provides information to assist in making decisions regarding participation in a wide variety of program opportunities.

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Member-Recommended Links and Learning Materials

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