SOFTWARE IDEAS
from the Homeschooler's Notebook
Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families

Here are some terrific ideas submitted to the HOMESCHOOLER'S NOTEBOOK about software that can be helpful for your student on their homeschooling journey! (To subscribe to the Homeschooler's Notebook and get these kinds of great ideas direct to your mailbox, click here and just hit "send" and you will be subscribed!)

Editor's Disclaimer: Not every parent will choose each of these software items for their children. That's fine. The nice thing about homeschooling is the ability of making choices for YOUR SCHOOL!

From Randy: We've had good success with Oregon Trail, and our daughter also used to like the Carmen Sandiego series (though you can win that game without really retaining a lot of information). Oregon Trail 2 is full of "big ideas" about the real difficulties faced by the pioneers, and includes enough multicultural aspects to raise some important questions for discussion. Any software that involves students in more than "shoot-em-up" action opens up important teaching points. The Sim City and Sim Tower games have gotten our daughter more involved in budgeting and planning, and even "The Sims" has been a way for her to explore social dynamics, career questions, and decorating skills. In the Myst series she has had to develop her logical/mathematical intelligence for problem solving and reasoning. The software is only the vehicle, and the teaching and learning remain in the domain of the parent and student, no matter what you use. Good luck to all!

From Lucie: Our middlers like the Carmen Sandiego of all types, they like her Think Quick Challenge game which is multi-subject.

From Danielle: My 7th grader is very much into puzzles and language, so she enjoys the CD-Roms: Pandora's Box, Victorian Mansion, and Smart Start Spanish. She's probably outgrown the Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, but likes helping her kindergarten sibling with it. Online she frequents several sign language sites where she is challenged as she learns. She also did the daily lessons in Spanish and French from a site that no longer exists called Parlo.com. Hope this helps. Good luck!

From Kathy M: My boys and I like the two following games.  In Gizmos and Gadgets, you are given a blueprint to build a car or plane - there are fifteen items total to build and they get more difficult.  You get the parts from a factory, answering or completing various puzzles (such as circuits or gears) to get the parts.  When you have all the parts, you build your model and race against "the bad guy."  The catch is, some parts are better than others (i.e. tire size, engine size, body and shape) and you need to build a decent model to win.  A more recent game is The Incredible Machine. In this game you are given something to accomplish, i.e., "get the mouse to eat the cheese."  You are given various items to use, including pulleys, generators, switches, balls, antigravity pads. You actually build a contraption and test it.  

From Katherine: My daughter, 13, likes Civilization.  A friend of hers downloaded it on her computer a few years ago, and she never seems to tire of it. She has learned things that she didn't know she was learning until later when something comes up in a History lesson.  I have looked in stores for this game, because she needs the CD in order to do some of the things, but have not found it anywhere. Another game I got her on last week was Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?  She has been playing it on the web site.

From E.L.: I like the Davidson games for my freshman daughter.  She used the Pre-Algebra last year.  This year we have started the Geometry Blaster.  They also have an Algebra program.  For younger students they have Math Blaster, Reading Blaster and Grammar Games. We also used those in the lower grades. They have different levels so it doesn't matter if your student is a beginner, has an intermediate knowledge, or advanced knowledge. These have all helped to reinforce our class work.

From Robyn: My son has recently discovered a game called Civilization II.  (I guess there is a Civilization I somewhere.) In this game, you start early in history and control many variables to aim toward an intended outcome.  It's interesting to watch him experiment with choosing governments, philosophies, scientific knowledge, alliances...and to see what the outcome is.  For instance, he may choose whether his government will be a democracy, a republic, despotism, etc.   He may choose to encourage his scientists to study gravity, or experiment with metals.  All of this leads to certain outcomes. While it doesn't follow the real historical timeline, it shows how things might have been if different choices were made and leads to a greater understanding of how choices, discoveries, etc. impact the future. The Cluefinders games are great for older elementary and middle school.  There's one for each grade up through 6th, and also a math one...and maybe others.  I think they are a little advanced, so it wouldn't hurt to purchase the games that are a year or so "younger" than your child's current grade as well.  These games cover a broad spectrum and kids can actually acquire concepts with these, not just drills. Also, the Math Blaster games go up even into the Algebra levels and beyond.  They make good practice drills. GeoSafari is good, and of course, all the Carmen Sandiego games.  Along the lines of Civilization, I would recommend some of the Sim games.  They are great for logical and creative thinking.  Building cities, managing resources, economic development. These games do not necessarily "support" the curriculum, but stimulate REAL thinking about the world. 

From Deborah: Middle School Excelerator - Great buy, you get 4 CD's for about $17-$20 including Pre-Algebra and Algebra (both math CD's have lessons and exercises to support the lessons), Chronicle Encyclopedia of History which is EXCELLENT it is an Encyclopedia and has two games for quizzing your student and getting them searching the CD for information, and DK Encyclopedia of Nature which is EXCELLENT also and has the same features as the History CD Highly Recommended! (by the way they also have "Excelerator" CD packs for Toddler to High School, some of which are on my want list for the near future but I do not have them yet.):
Captain Bible: Dome of Darkness ages 7-Adult
GeoSafari - all titles are great and more than one person can play at a time.
DK The Ultimate Human Body and all other DK titles for the computer!  DK has outstanding stuff in hardback book and for the Computer, its our favorite!
Carmen San Diego - We like everything they make: including Carmen Math Detective, Carmen Word Detective, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Where in the USA is Carmen San Diego?, Where in Time is Carmen San Diego?  (We also have their board games) Grammar Games is great for Language Skills (as is Carmen Word Detective above)
Word Attack 3 - Great Vocabulary Builder!! also can count for spelling! Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! - She is the greatest for this, we have an old level and it is great, you don't need the newest level to get great typing skills, save money and get a old one if you can. Logical Journey of the Zoombinis, - Logic and FUN!!
Dr. Brain - Logic and FUN! Gizmos and Gadgets - Logic and FUN! Hope this helps and gets you started!

All four of my kids (grades 3,4,10,11) use Spell-It Deluxe for spelling. It's a little hokey for high schoolers,  but it makes a subject that the older ones hates a little more tolerable.  DK's Castle CD has been helpful when studying the Middle Ages. The guys have found AlgebraSmart helpful too. My younger ones enjoy the Jump Start CD's and I feel they provide a painless review.

From Teresa: My daughter is in 5th grade and enjoys the following: Mission T.H.I.N.K. by the Learning Company - this concentrates on thinking and problem solving skills. New Way Things Work by DK Interactive Learning - this shows how things work and who invented them. Oregon Trail, Amazon Trail, Carmen Sandiego Word Detective. For those with girls I'd recommend The American Girls Premiere by the Learning Company - you create and produce your own plays. For those that love horses, Let's Ride by Valusoft is a game that teaches about riding and horses. Both my daughters enjoy this game.

From Bette: I've used the School House Rock CD's (lots of different activities, including printouts and crafts), and two games called Word Munchers and Math Munchers. School Zone Publishing Company also sells a line of CD ROM/workbook sets. I usually find them at Target or WalMart. Another set of programs I really like, though not computer games, are from Highlights for Children. They are called 'Which Way, USA?'(about the US) and 'Top Secret'(about different countries around the world). They combine social studies with geography through the use of cards, puzzles, maps, math, deductive thinking, etc. You can cover many areas here. It takes about a 1-2 weeks for my kids to complete each one (a page or two each day), and you can keep the completed unit for future reference. You must get a subscription for these. They are kind of pricey, but are completely self contained, so the kids can work on their own while you catch your breath!

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION:

To subscribe to the Homeschooler's Notebook - Encouragement and Advice for Homeschool Families click here and then just send the blank message. You should get a welcome letter right away! By the way, I hate spam and figure you probably do as well. For this reason, I do NOT sell or give or rent my e-mail addresses to ANYONE! I respect YOUR privacy!