rdolphingirl Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 My 8 yr old special needs ds has motor issues, and handwriting is very difficult for him, and he is only writing on about a 5yr old level now. He is doing ETC online, so is using the keyboard some already, but I am interested in getting him started on something to learn touch typing. Preferably before he gets solidly set into bad hunt and peck habits. While I can type fairly well myself, I didn't learn at his age so what I used (an old Mavis Beacon) isn't any help here. While I want something simple, fun, and "kid friendly" I really am hoping theres something out there that isn't full of cartoon, silly, stuff like soooo many of the other kiddy programs I have seen these days. Any suggestions would be appreciated, a CD-ROM would be best, but something online would work too. Thanks in advance, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 My children have enjoyed Typing Instructor deluxe. Right now it is on sale at Amazon for $9 instead of $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Thanks, looks like it might do. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 The typing tutor I want is...get ready...Typing of the Dead! Yes, you too can learn how to type and rid the streets of hordes of zombies! I don't know how your 8 year old would do with it but I know my daughter would love it. Unfortunately it looks expensive at Amazon but if it seems like something your son would like you might be able to hunt down a better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Hmm .... :eek: ... that is certainly not what I was looking for ... Thanks for posting though. We are pretty conservative, and completely christian, guess I should have mentioned that .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 A great place to start would be BBC Dance Mat Typing - it's free online. My kids loved it. After they'd gotten all they could out of that program, we moved on to Typing Instructor for Kids - same program as Deluxe, but with more kid-oriented games. Excellent - they're all fairly proficient typists now, even the 9yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 type to learn was successfully used by my first graders when I taught PS. simple, straightforward with a few games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momofeat Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 I like Typing Skills by Diana Hanbury. I know the disabilities you mentioned were related to motor skills, but if dyslexia is also a problem, Typing Skills is ideal. It is not a computer program, though. Instead, it is in a flip-chart format, and the letters are taught in alphabetical order. This is much easier for children to remember than asking them to memorize letters according to row. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 We also used Dance Mat Typing. Yes, it is "cartoony", but it's very much a typing program, beginning with "home row" keys and progressing from there. Kids are rewarded with a "song & dance" after completing each section. They also have a typing test at the end of the program (with printable certificate) so dc can see how fast/accurate their typing skills are. Great way to compete against yourself and map out your (dc) improvements. And it's free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankcassiesmom Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 BCC Dance Mat Typing fans here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 type to learn was successfully used by my first graders when I taught PS. simple, straightforward with a few games. While this looks promising ... I sure can't afford it! ... unless you know of some way to get it cheaper? ... seems to be set up for schools only .... I have looked at the BBC Dance Mat site, and I'm afraid I do not like it much ... Typing Skills by Diana Hanbury : looks too teacher intensive? ... but might get there, thanks for the suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 While this looks promising ... I sure can't afford it! ... unless you know of some way to get it cheaper? ... seems to be set up for schools only .... I have looked at the BBC Dance Mat site, and I'm afraid I do not like it much ... Typing Skills by Diana Hanbury : looks too teacher intensive? ... but might get there, thanks for the suggestion! Take a look at the Typing Instructor for Kids. Amazon has it for $11.99; could well be even cheaper elsewhere. The center of the program is "Typer Island" - games include Vikings, castles, Egyptians, fishing, sharks - even my girls thought it great fun. No violence or Scottish goats. :D And completely hands-off on my part. I gave them the disc, never told them how often they had to use it or anything, and they learned to type in no time flat. Voilà ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 Take a look at the Typing Instructor for Kids. Amazon has it for $11.99; could well be even cheaper elsewhere. The center of the program is "Typer Island" - games include Vikings, castles, Egyptians, fishing, sharks - even my girls thought it great fun. No violence or Scottish goats. :D And completely hands-off on my part. I gave them the disc, never told them how often they had to use it or anything, and they learned to type in no time flat. Voilà ! Hmm ... how old are your children? ... Hands off is a real selling point here, as theres only ONE of me, and THREE of them! ... No violence is great too ..:tongue_smilie: Also, is it cartoony? ... or at least semi-real life kinda style? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jclinton Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Keyboard Town Pals - they sell it as a CD Rom on Amazon however the publisher is: http://www.keyboardtownpals.com/ It's around $40 can be CD Rom or web based. It really does work. I don't know how an 8 year old would feel about it. My dd 9 hated it but ds 7 loved it. It uses puppets - and is written specifically for kids to learn where keys are on the keyboard. HTH, JoAnne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 That one looks interesting .... however my ds in question here can't spell (yet) as he is basically an early 1st grader ... so words in an hour just isn't practical yet .... also I would like to avoid spending that much on this right now ... will remember this one if more traditional ones fail though. Also kinda thinking it would be nice to start typing with my older ds, he is 11, also special needs ... pretty sure hes an Aspie. He can spell pretty well, and his handwriting is good, however I am wondering if writing would be easier for him if he learned to type. He isn't good at all about even narrating back what hes heard or read ... *sigh* ... Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jclinton Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 That one looks interesting .... however my ds in question here can't spell (yet) as he is basically an early 1st grader ... so words in an hour just isn't practical yet .... also I would like to avoid spending that much on this right now ... will remember this one if more traditional ones fail though. Also kinda thinking it would be nice to start typing with my older ds, he is 11, also special needs ... pretty sure hes an Aspie. He can spell pretty well, and his handwriting is good, however I am wondering if writing would be easier for him if he learned to type. He isn't good at all about even narrating back what hes heard or read ... *sigh* ... Thanks!! The keyboardtownpals don't require them to spell yet. It is just simply where the keys are on the keyboard. I get the price thing. Also I have an Aspie too - she hated the program. Loved SpongeBob typing though... I hated it but she can type. Also - YES typing makes writing MUCH easier with SN kids. HTH, JoAnne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 Thanks!! While I am about 99.9999999% sure my middle ds will NEED typing to reach his full potential for written expressive language use ... I hadn't thought of the older one benefiting from it this way until tonight. If I had understood the value of narrating back better a few years ago he might be in better shape there, however once again hindsight is much clearer then foresight ;) (alas that be a whole 'nother subject I am afraid!) Guess I am really looking for something that will work for them both (if thats possible) ... not too "babyish" or over stimulating for my 11yr old, but not over the 8yr old's head too far either. Also thought I might mention that this will likely be put onto their computer not mine, so could be for either Windows (XP SP1) or Linux as that comp is dual booted :D (I can download on it, just don't have it hooked up to net normally) However if my best option ends up being something web-based it would need to be Vista & Windows7 friendly. Thanks to all who have posted so far ... I appreciate the suggestions :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Hmm .... :eek: ... that is certainly not what I was looking for ... Thanks for posting though. We are pretty conservative, and completely christian, guess I should have mentioned that .... LOL! Sorry. I'm Christian too but nto so conservative...:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kckamy Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 (edited) I plan to have my 10 year old use Typing Instructor Deluxe this summer because I already own it; my older children used it several years ago. This link was sent out to my homeschool group last year: http://keyboardclassroom.com/page/show/home. I have watched the demos and it looks really good. Is anyone familiar with Keyboard Classroom? It looks like the finger guides can be purchased separately now. Edited April 2, 2010 by kckamy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 Hmm ... how old are your children? ... Hands off is a real selling point here, as theres only ONE of me, and THREE of them! ... No violence is great too ..:tongue_smilie:Also, is it cartoony? ... or at least semi-real life kinda style? Thanks!! I also have three kids - they're now 11.5 (twins) and 9, but they started a bit over a year ago? The 11yos still use it and don't find it babyish. It is drawn, not real people, but it's not cartoony à la Sponge Bob or even Dance Mat. It has the Island theme - there's a redheaded boy and a parrot that guide you to the different games. Some of the games: A Viking boat race - you put in how many wpm your target is, and if you type the words as fast as your target, your boat wins. No people, just the boats on a a river. Cliffhanger - similar in concept to the boat race, but you're a rock climber (this one's fairly realistic looking) Typer shark - (a version of this is free on Yahoo if you want to check it out, but the typing speeds are all to fast for beginners) - You're diving and sharks are in the water. Type the words on the sharks fast enough and you're safe - again, you set the typing speed. TombTyper - go into a Egyptian maze and you have to type your way to the treasure. Apparently there are some monsters that go away if you type the word over their head, and you get to the mummy's sarcophagus to get to the next level. Wild Bill's - Like TyperShark but with less "danger" - farm animals come across the screen and you type the words on them to get points. Fishing game - Type the words on the fish in the stream to catch them. There are other games, but those are my kids' favorite ones. There are enough to choose from that if one doesn't float their boat there are others. All the games are for speed increase - before that there's a whole program to teach the keys (starting with home row) and get your speed up to where you can play the games. My kids say there's no particular "theme" to the lessons themselves, but you pass tests to get to the next level, and at the end you "capture the castle" - I'm not really clear on the details because they always just did this on their own - they sure weren't bored with it because they wanted to play quite often (of course, we don't have other video or computer games, so the novelty factor was high). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 (edited) Talking Fingers is fun and teaches typing. It's a bit expensive but it doubles up as a phonics and spelling program:D Not sure if it's too kiddy. My 11yr. old uses it. I was surprised because I thought he would think it babyish but he didn't. Yahoo! Edited April 2, 2010 by Homeschooling6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdolphingirl Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 matroyshka, Thank you so much for the detailed response! I think I am leaning toward this one right now ... it sounds like what I am looking for. My boys are VERY limited on what they allowed to do on the computer (mostly its watching educational videos (no TV here), or doing school type games) so any access to a game is exciting to them also ;) Talking Fingers (if I found the same one? .. your link isn't right) also looks good, but is more $$ then I am looking to spend right now. Same with keyboardclassroom, just a bit high in the $$ area for me right now. I've found a couple free downloadable ones online, has anyone ever seen or used either of these ? Kiran's Typing Tutor Kids Typing Skills Thanks again for the replies ... there seems to be quite a bit out there ... Since I am moving in about 2 weeks, I will be waiting to order until after I am settled in there, but I think I will go with the Typing Instructor for Kids ..... unless of course I find something I like better before then ... :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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