He started with basic LEGOS as most boys do. First with small sets, assembled mostly by a parent. Soon he was able to do them on his own. Larger sets came and they too were built solo. Now, at age 7, he's graduated to LEGO Mindstorms - which sync to the computer, are programmable, etc. [...]
While I firmly believe that almost any parent can get their child started on piano lessons via the copious free instruction on YouTube...for a few reasons that approach just didn't work out in our household. Basically my wife and I just had higher priorities like math, reading, chess, computers, art, etc. and have thus been [...]
Through the first three academic quarters of this year (about 8 months), these are some, but not all(!), of the books our son John (age 7.42 now) has read. Brace yourself... 2nd Quarter: The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum (Around the World in 80 Mysteries) (Carole Marsh Mysteries) - 126 pg The Mystery at the [...]
Too many of the technological breakthroughs trumpeted in the education field today are for *group learning environments*. Smartboards, Piazza, Blackboard, packaged software... And most educational websites are designed for and marketed to classrooms and over-funded school districts. I would even, to a lesser extent, throw in all the free online lectures proliferating out there as [...]
If every future artist were forced to say....*master painting* first, then we'd disillusion untold numbers of future brilliant photographers, sculptors, musicians, dancers, graphic designers, filmmakers, etc. who didn't really care for brushstrokes and canvas. But on a smaller scale, this is precisely what educational institutions do with mathematics. School children the world over tragically equate [...]
Recall I just bought a Sony Tablet to assist in the education of my children. There are innumerable apps out there and I'm really just starting to try them out. Here's a video of a few that I have thus far found worthwhile. And please pardon the shaky footage as it wasn't easy holding the [...]
Today John delivered his report for his American History Club: In large group learning environments they simply don't have the time (or patience!) for kids to practice oral presentation. My son is only 7 and I think he's stood up and delivered more times already than I have in my entire life! This was a [...]
You may have seen this guy on TV or on the web: He makes a big show out of squaring and multiplying large numbers in his head. I had seen Arthur Benjamin several times and was dismissive of his shtick because I, as a rather accomplished mathlete, had never before needed to be able to [...]
We live in the wealthiest age, by a moonshot, in history. We eat mountains of food, scrape the leftovers in the trash, children have their own bedrooms, families have multiple cars, thermostats are set at 70 degrees, powerful computers are cheap, pocket-size, and mobile,... But one of the downsides is that all these goodies have [...]
That young man - Magnus Carlsen - is now 21 years old and has been the best chess player on Earth since he was 19. You can watch him beat 10 players simultaneously, while PLAYING BLIND, here. Many people have labeled him *lazy* and a *natural*....but is that possible? Of course it's not. Magnus just [...]
