Here are a few other resources for free books:
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Textbooks free for Kindle!
A Yahoo! Group that I belong to just started a discussion about free books for the Kindle. Besides the places I've pointed out, I found these:
CK-12 Textbooks - AP level texts for Science and Math at Amazon
The organization that is behind the program is CK-12. CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. Using an open-content, web-based collaborative model termed the "FlexBook," CK-12 intends to pioneer the generation and distribution of high quality educational content that will serve both as core text as well as provide an adaptive environment for learning.
Check it out!
CK-12 Textbooks - AP level texts for Science and Math at Amazon
The organization that is behind the program is CK-12. CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. Using an open-content, web-based collaborative model termed the "FlexBook," CK-12 intends to pioneer the generation and distribution of high quality educational content that will serve both as core text as well as provide an adaptive environment for learning.
Check it out!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Technology meets the Classical Literature List
I'm currently composing a list of classical literature for my homeschool. I'm using a wide variety of sources, including the Accelerated Achievement curriculum CD, The Latin Centered Curriculum
by Andrew Campbell, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum
by Laura Berquist, The Well Trained Mind
by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessi Wise, the curriculum lists from Ambleside as well as suggestions from Books to Build On
by E.D. Hurst and book lists from Creation to Present: A Catholic World History Resource by Marsha Neill.
What I am doing, really, is finding out what books are available for download for the Kindle
. We got one because one of our children has a vision difficulty. The Kindle allows you to increase both the font size and line spacing on the screen. It also has a text to speech option with a headphone jack. Probably the best feature for me is the fact that you can move the cursor to ANY word on the screen and it brings up the definition from the built-in dictionary in the header or footer, allowing you to keep reading instead of having to put down the book to look up the words.
The Kindle has been an object of contention lately because everyone is enjoying using it. Really, I didn't think I would like it, but I, too, am one of the contenders. My emerging reader is using it to look up words in the dictionary and have it read the definitions to her. My super speller is having fun using the Kindle for word games like Word Smith or Word Up (like solitaire Scrabble). My husband takes it with him to Adoration to read a book he has downloaded. I am using it to keep up with my book club reading. The Little Women book club books are all pre-1920, therefore public domain. So, using the browser in the Kindle (new test feature), I can go to Project Gutenberg and download directly from the website to the Kindle.
I have some pros and cons for anyone considering a Kindle for their homeschool.
Pros:
Cons:
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I will. I am considering an iPad as well, since it is multi-functioning. I have had Apple products in the past and found their "ease of use" almost condescending. I come from a Unix, command-line world, folks. I'm always suspicious of things that are "too easy". Now, that being said, I am all for making things accessible for the kids. I just don't want to have to port everything to Apple and I'm not a fan of mixed platforms. When I was in the desktop support field (20 years ago), mixed platforms were my biggest nightmare. But, I'm willing to give it a try since things have changed tremendously since then.
by Andrew Campbell, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist, The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessi Wise, the curriculum lists from Ambleside as well as suggestions from Books to Build On by E.D. Hurst and book lists from Creation to Present: A Catholic World History Resource by Marsha Neill. What I am doing, really, is finding out what books are available for download for the Kindle
. We got one because one of our children has a vision difficulty. The Kindle allows you to increase both the font size and line spacing on the screen. It also has a text to speech option with a headphone jack. Probably the best feature for me is the fact that you can move the cursor to ANY word on the screen and it brings up the definition from the built-in dictionary in the header or footer, allowing you to keep reading instead of having to put down the book to look up the words. The Kindle has been an object of contention lately because everyone is enjoying using it. Really, I didn't think I would like it, but I, too, am one of the contenders. My emerging reader is using it to look up words in the dictionary and have it read the definitions to her. My super speller is having fun using the Kindle for word games like Word Smith or Word Up (like solitaire Scrabble). My husband takes it with him to Adoration to read a book he has downloaded. I am using it to keep up with my book club reading. The Little Women book club books are all pre-1920, therefore public domain. So, using the browser in the Kindle (new test feature), I can go to Project Gutenberg and download directly from the website to the Kindle.
I have some pros and cons for anyone considering a Kindle for their homeschool.
Pros:
- Reasonable cost at $139. It's the cost of 10-20 books I would have normally bought in paperback, ones that are freely available already.
- Very user friendly - my 7 year old figured it out in 5 minutes
- Great for visually impaired individuals - text-to-speech and the ability to adjust font size and line spacing
- Holds mp3's so if you like to listen to music while reading, you may do so
- Very easy to organize books. We have them organized by reader. Each user has a book folder. It uses real pointers, so that there is a pointer from each person's folder to the bookso multiple readers may have the book in their folder at the same time.
- Web browser allows for easy download
- Downloads a variety of content (mobi, mp3, doc, pdf) via the USB cable
- Downloads a variety of content via users' kindle account (you email the file to your kindle account and the file is downloaded the next time the Kindle connects to a wireless network)
- Kindle downloads are cheaper than the actual paper books and always backed up on your account online
- The eInk technology is very readable in sunlight and I simply bought a clamp on book light for reading at night while nursing the baby.
Cons:
- It has a web browser, which can't be turned off or moderated (no content filtering allowed)
- Can't download mp3's via the web
- Haven't found a good protective cover that allows me to use the text keyboard easily. We've resorted to just using a neoprene sleeve while not in use (and most of the time it's not in the sleeve).
- You can't share books among Kindles. Not a problem for us since we only have one but we may find it troublesome in the future.
- .pdf files are hard to adjust to fit the screen. All the content from Accelerated Achievement is .pdf, so I've had to download originals from Project Gutenberg to make them more accessible and easy to use.
- If drop it, we're done for...
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I will. I am considering an iPad as well, since it is multi-functioning. I have had Apple products in the past and found their "ease of use" almost condescending. I come from a Unix, command-line world, folks. I'm always suspicious of things that are "too easy". Now, that being said, I am all for making things accessible for the kids. I just don't want to have to port everything to Apple and I'm not a fan of mixed platforms. When I was in the desktop support field (20 years ago), mixed platforms were my biggest nightmare. But, I'm willing to give it a try since things have changed tremendously since then.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Cooperative Fun Learning
Here's a fun way to keep two age groups busy...
First - the back story. My 3 year old son is superhero obsessed. So much so that my pediatrician jokingly asked me if he owns more than one shirt. The 3 year old was wearing his Superman Underoo shirt, AGAIN. I explained, that no, he has four Superman Underoo shirts along with two batman Underoo shirts and two Spiderman Underoo shirts. Most of them are hand-me-downs from his older brothers, but some are new. Literally, that is all he would wear if I let him. We've come to an agreement that he CAN'T wear a superhero shirt to church, but otherwise he can wear them. He's now fond of wearing the Superman shirt under a button-down shirt so he can be just like Superman OR wear a turtleneck under the Superman Underoo.
My 11 year old daughter loves to draw. One day, I needed both of them busy and SHE came up with this idea. She drew a picture of random Batman images, including Robin, words in bubble letters like Zap and Pow all while the 3 year old told her what he wanted on the picture he wanted to paint. She outlined them in Sharpie marker, then she colored them in with watercolor pastels. She gave the picture to the 3 year old with a brush and water and he had a custom Superhero coloring page.
You could make a coloring book as a gift, if you are looking for a way for the older kids to gift the little ones. You could also use watercolor colored pencils. I've even heard you could make dots using washable markers. What a nice way to get a big kid helping a little one!
This kept them busy for a good hour, with the big 11 year old helping all the way.
First - the back story. My 3 year old son is superhero obsessed. So much so that my pediatrician jokingly asked me if he owns more than one shirt. The 3 year old was wearing his Superman Underoo shirt, AGAIN. I explained, that no, he has four Superman Underoo shirts along with two batman Underoo shirts and two Spiderman Underoo shirts. Most of them are hand-me-downs from his older brothers, but some are new. Literally, that is all he would wear if I let him. We've come to an agreement that he CAN'T wear a superhero shirt to church, but otherwise he can wear them. He's now fond of wearing the Superman shirt under a button-down shirt so he can be just like Superman OR wear a turtleneck under the Superman Underoo.
My 11 year old daughter loves to draw. One day, I needed both of them busy and SHE came up with this idea. She drew a picture of random Batman images, including Robin, words in bubble letters like Zap and Pow all while the 3 year old told her what he wanted on the picture he wanted to paint. She outlined them in Sharpie marker, then she colored them in with watercolor pastels. She gave the picture to the 3 year old with a brush and water and he had a custom Superhero coloring page.
You could make a coloring book as a gift, if you are looking for a way for the older kids to gift the little ones. You could also use watercolor colored pencils. I've even heard you could make dots using washable markers. What a nice way to get a big kid helping a little one!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Replacement Book for Boy's Book Club
One of the mom's in our Boy's Medieval Book Club suggested a great replacement for The Mabinogian for our last book. She and her son just read Men of Iron by Howard Pyle. I've started reading it and LOVE the fact that Myles' religion plays the primary role in his decision making. It's the kind of book 10-12 year old boys need to read. I've also read that it is a very good depiction of the training a squire received. I'll provide a full book report when I finish.
Check List for Auditory Processing Problems
I promised I would include a checklist for Auditory Processing Problems. I poked around and found one from The Listening Program website. It's exactly the same checklist our OT clinic used. I've placed X's next to the items of concern with my target child. It is on those items I will be judging their progress. Here it is:
X 1. Difficulty paying attention
X 2. Poor short-term memory
X 3. Poor reading comprehension
X 4. Difficulties spelling
X 5. Low academic/job performance
X 6. Difficulty starting and/or completing projects
X 7. Easily distracted in presence of background noise
8. Is oversensitive to certain sounds
X 9. Misunderstands directions or instructions
X 10. Confuses similar sounding words
11. Difficulty understanding jokes/puns/humor
X 12. Frequently asks “huh” or “what”
X 13. Difficulty discriminating sounds
14. Flat and monotonous voice quality
15. Speech lacks fluency and rhythm
X 16. Difficulty sounding out words
X 17. Mispronounces words
X 18. Difficulty summarizing a story/expressing thoughts
X 19. Hyperactivity
20. Has poor posture, including slouching or slumping
21. Has coordination problems
X 22. Difficulty with organization and planning
23. Is overwhelmed with sensory information
24. Confusion of right and left and/or location and direction
25. Lack of tactfulness
26. Poor social skills
X 27. Feels overburdened with everyday tasks
28. Low stress/frustration tolerance
29. Difficulty reading non-verbal communication
30. Poor self-image or low self-confidence
X 1. Difficulty paying attention
X 2. Poor short-term memory
X 3. Poor reading comprehension
X 4. Difficulties spelling
X 5. Low academic/job performance
X 6. Difficulty starting and/or completing projects
X 7. Easily distracted in presence of background noise
8. Is oversensitive to certain sounds
X 9. Misunderstands directions or instructions
X 10. Confuses similar sounding words
11. Difficulty understanding jokes/puns/humor
X 12. Frequently asks “huh” or “what”
X 13. Difficulty discriminating sounds
14. Flat and monotonous voice quality
15. Speech lacks fluency and rhythm
X 16. Difficulty sounding out words
X 17. Mispronounces words
X 18. Difficulty summarizing a story/expressing thoughts
X 19. Hyperactivity
20. Has poor posture, including slouching or slumping
21. Has coordination problems
X 22. Difficulty with organization and planning
23. Is overwhelmed with sensory information
24. Confusion of right and left and/or location and direction
25. Lack of tactfulness
26. Poor social skills
X 27. Feels overburdened with everyday tasks
28. Low stress/frustration tolerance
29. Difficulty reading non-verbal communication
30. Poor self-image or low self-confidence
Theraputic Listening and Auditory Processing Problems
Sorry for the long absence. Life with six kids, three book clubs, Spelling Team, choir, preparation for First Confession, American Heritage Girls, Boy Scouts and homeschooling has kept me plenty busy. I'm happy to say we are on track with our school work (week 14) and we are looking forward to our school break during Christmas.
Now, on to the topic at hand. Katherine Bowman, a Speech and Language Pathologist has this to say about Auditory Processing Disorder:
I believe that one of my children is experiencing auditory processing problems. Said child has difficulty hearing certain sounds in words (phonetic awareness) as well as reproducing certain words. Mispronunciation is a common indicator of this problem. It also will manifest itself in their ability to spell and read. Attention issues, due to auditory distraction, can show up as well.
I used this program as part of an Occupational Therapy program with my oldest two. My son's inability to see properly affected all his senses. It heightened his sensitivities such that he was having a hard time functioning in the world. Everything was too loud, too smelly, too itchy-scratchy-twisted-wrinkled-hurt. My daughter has a food sensitivity that was affecting her as well. She probably didn't need the therapy, but she wasn't going to let him do anything without her
The logic behind the program seemed sound to me, so we decided to make the tremendous investment and use it. We saw results right away. It was astounding, but like all OT and Vision Therapy programs, it took diligence. The child needed to listen to the program at least half an hour a day, five days a week for eight weeks.
The program we used was The Listening Program- Guidebook and 8 CDs
. We also invested in some top-the-line headphones. The right headphones are important because the specially-created compact discs produce sounds at a high frequency that many headphones can't carry to the user.
So, we've started this program with my 7 and 5 year old children and I've convinced my 12 year old to try it again, too. He was all to happy to include in his school day a half hour of time to play with Legos!
I'll post bi-weekly with results. When I have time, I will post some common indicators, used in our OT center's evaluation process to determine if a child has Auditory Processing issues.
Now, on to the topic at hand. Katherine Bowman, a Speech and Language Pathologist has this to say about Auditory Processing Disorder:
An auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD) is a disorder in “how” auditory information is processed in the brain. It can be thought of as a “listening disorder” not a hearing disorder. The problem is in the brain – not in the ear.
Symptoms
The symptoms of APD are extremely varied, however, some of the most common are:
Symptoms of APD can actually be seen in infancy, however, they usually become noticed at about age 18-24 months.
- Children who say “huh” or “what” frequently
- Children who don’t look or respond when their name is called
- Children who give slow or delayed responses to people talking to them
- Children who mispronounce typical word sounds
- Children who have difficulty following oral directions
- Children who misunderstand what is asked or said to them …these children usually answer off topic or don’t answer at all.
- Children who are easily distracted or become confused especially when there is background noise
- Children who avoid loud noises (cover their ears) even around common household noises
- Children who show delays in acquiring language
- Children who evidence difficulty learning phonics, reading and spelling
APD can not be formally diagnosed by an audiologist until age 7 years, when the auditory system has maturated (fully developed). However, by age 5 speech-language pathologists, audiologists and/or psychologists can administer a sound based screening test along with auditory based language tests and determine if the child is “at risk” or “showing signs of APD.”
I believe that one of my children is experiencing auditory processing problems. Said child has difficulty hearing certain sounds in words (phonetic awareness) as well as reproducing certain words. Mispronunciation is a common indicator of this problem. It also will manifest itself in their ability to spell and read. Attention issues, due to auditory distraction, can show up as well.
I used this program as part of an Occupational Therapy program with my oldest two. My son's inability to see properly affected all his senses. It heightened his sensitivities such that he was having a hard time functioning in the world. Everything was too loud, too smelly, too itchy-scratchy-twisted-wrinkled-hurt. My daughter has a food sensitivity that was affecting her as well. She probably didn't need the therapy, but she wasn't going to let him do anything without her
The logic behind the program seemed sound to me, so we decided to make the tremendous investment and use it. We saw results right away. It was astounding, but like all OT and Vision Therapy programs, it took diligence. The child needed to listen to the program at least half an hour a day, five days a week for eight weeks.
The program we used was The Listening Program- Guidebook and 8 CDs
. We also invested in some top-the-line headphones. The right headphones are important because the specially-created compact discs produce sounds at a high frequency that many headphones can't carry to the user.So, we've started this program with my 7 and 5 year old children and I've convinced my 12 year old to try it again, too. He was all to happy to include in his school day a half hour of time to play with Legos!
I'll post bi-weekly with results. When I have time, I will post some common indicators, used in our OT center's evaluation process to determine if a child has Auditory Processing issues.
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