Momling Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I've found my 8 yr old daughter responds *really* well to books whose authors have a sense of humor. Her favorite books ever are Mythlopedia and Take me back, but these aren't really curriculum... She thinks Minimus is hilarious and Galore Park Jr. History has some silly cartoons that she likes. I've got Life of Fred Fractions and MCT ready to go for next year, but can you think of anything else? Anything to look forward to as she gets older? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Mr Q science has some humor thrown in. There's quite a bit of text between the jokes, but it does help some. You can look at the entire Life Science online for free: http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 Mr Q science has some humor thrown in. There's quite a bit of text between the jokes, but it does help some. You can look at the entire Life Science online for free: http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm Excellent! I was actually thinking that we might do biology next year... the silly jokes and cartoons are perfect! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Ellen McHenry's chemistry programs also have some humor thrown in. Not curricula, but the Horrible History/Science/Geography and Murderous Maths books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Yo! Sacramento and Yo! Millard Fillmore, for learning state capitals and presidents. Vocabulary Cartoons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffinmom Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 :lurk5: Interested in these suggestions. My ds7 really responds to humor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneNickerson Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a funny book that teaches the importance of letters and numbers. Lots of funny puns and literary terms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Yes, I second Phantom Tollbooth, and for writing curriculum, IEW comes to mind. Andrew Pudewa is very funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Oh, you're singing my dd's song! I was definitely going to suggest Life of Fred and MCT. Ellen McHenry's The Brain, like her chemistry, has humor in it. Can't speak to her other offerings. Dd has loved these. Latin Prep is quirky, too. We've just started with it but she said "hey, this is kind of funny, like Fred!" Not curriculum, but she loves the "Cartoon Guide to.." whatever. She's used the Physics one this year and ran off with the Environment and Genetics when they got here (supposed to be for next year!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I thought of Horrible Histories and Murderous Math books too. My daughter and I are also currently on a treasure hunt for ungrammatical and misspelled signs and posters around town and on the internet. We also love to read the entries for the "Dark and Stormy Night" yearly contest (the idea is to write the first sentence of an imaginary novel in as ludicrous a manner as possible; edit first yourself since some are more suggestive than others). Tom Lehrer's song "Elements" is a riot; I also wondered whether the Lyrical Science songs would be fun for your daughter now or in a few years. Another fun thing with music: there are three CDs, although the first is be far the best, which set famous bits of classical music to silly lyrics. I think the name is Beethoven's Wig. My daughter adored those and wore out the discs with listening at around your child's age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catiejoy Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 We used Guesthollow for biology and she had quite a few quirky and fun suggestions- like Mysterious You Burp, etc. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Don't Forget To Write! by 826 Valencia. It's loaded with fun, creative ideas. http://www.826valencia.org/store/shop_dont_forget.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Don't Forget To Write! by 826 Valencia. It's loaded with fun, creative ideas. Have you used this? Are there samples? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 We also love to read the entries for the "Dark and Stormy Night" yearly contest (the idea is to write the first sentence of an imaginary novel in as ludicrous a manner as possible; edit first yourself since some are more suggestive than others). Thanks for the reminder about this site. I needed a laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Have you used this? Are there samples? :bigear: I learned about Don't Forget to Write here when I inquired about curriculum to supplement IEW. My 5th grader is in her first year and while it's very beneficial, she needed and wanted more in the way of doing the actual writing. I wanted something that would be fun and have ample room for creativity and this has been great. If you need something structured that is going to tell the kids what to do or emphasizes a particular something, this isn't for you.:) I couldn't find any samples online, but it's a collection of descriptions of the successful writing workshops they conduct. The first one is called "Writing For Pets" and in it they describe writing for animals, then the kids do it, then they bring in pets to listen to what they've written. Here's what they tell them about cats (with a disclaimer that they don't know if any of this is true, but it inspires great writing). Cats: Cats like literature more than any other species, and they enjoy it on several levels. Mostly, they enjoy napping on it. But they also enjoy being read to, especially if they can sit in your lap. They're sophisticated listeners who understand irony and dark humor. Lemony Snicket-type stories are ideal. They also like fanciful tales and stories about dictators. Most of all, cats like reading about themselves. Nothing will make your cat happier than an essay on her best qualities. Cats also enjoy writing. PUt your cat on the keyboard and just see what she produces! They go on to describe writing preferences of dogs, birds, fish, vermin and pests, and pet mice/hamsters/guinea pigs. Because we have a cat that's been in charge of the place since he joined the family when he was a week old, daughter decided to do a dictator cat story last week. I tweaked the assignment and had her research the format of Wikipedia biographies and write it in that style. Some topics include handouts they give the kids. I think we'll be using some for The Journal of Parafictitious Scientific Inquiry before the year is out.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I'll add, since another thread reminded me of it, Typing of the Dead! It's a typing tutor that has you racing to type phrases or risk having your brain eaten by zombies. It's something of a classic. :) Granted, you may need a kid that's got a geeky sense of humour to really enjoy it but I intend to buy it when and if I ever see it at a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 I thought of Horrible Histories and Murderous Math books too. I was going to suggest those as great jumping-off places for history and math as well :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 It's not really curriculum, but I can recommend a couple books. Goonie Bird Green #1 is a hilarious story about a girl who uses her creativity & imagination in telling stories of her life. There are some great "jumping off points" in it for learning what makes a good story and what every story needs. Sir Cumference series - these are a great way to introduce math vocabulary and begin building a foundation on some concepts such as circumference, radius, diameter, area, perimeter... HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Jacob's Algebra has cartoons in each lesson. And Spectrum Chemistry has odd little quirky stuff thrown in - like a pic of a cute kitty, w/ a caption underneath that says something along the lines of, here's a picture that will make you feel warm and fuzzy about chemistry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairytalemama Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Check to see if there are any Bill Nye the Science Guy DVDs at your library. I think they're intended for 4th grade and up, but my daughter loves them. He is a pretty funny guy. :smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I just got "Take Me Back" (DK Publishing) a few weeks ago. It's written with a good sense of humor... and spans from the beginning of history right up to current day (last entry is "War on Terror"). I would have to say I'm not thrilled with the binding of the book though (very cheap) and at least 2 of the pages got messed up as they were inserted into the book.... I won't use this as a spine, per say... but I will use it to supplement. I know my son will love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Yfor writing curriculum, IEW comes to mind. Andrew Pudewa is very funny. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I agree about IEW. My kiddos think Mr. Pudewa is hysterical! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 We liked the quirkiness of "Visualize World Geography". I'll second "Yo, Millard Fillmore" for learning the presidents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 I knew you guys would have some great ideas! Thank you! Thank you for everything! I'd forgotten about the horrible histories... And I've always skipped over the Ellen McHenry stuff. But you've made me re-think that one. I took a look at some samples and now can't wait to use all of it! Luckily there's plenty of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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