Grit vs. Intelligence for Success, Free Autodesk Software
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, February 08, 2010
==========================================================Vol. 11 No. 9, February 8, 2010, ISSN: 1536-2035
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© 2010, Heather Idoni - www.FamilyClassroom.net
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IN THIS ISSUE:
=================
Notes from Heather
-- Grit vs. Intelligence
Helpful Tip
-- Engineering Software
Winning Website
-- Math Drills
Reader Question
-- Gifted and Miserable
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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Measuring Old-Fashioned "Grit" vs. Intelligence for Success
---
This is a great article on raising your children for success
in life regardless of their I.Q. It assumes (and rightly so,
in my opinion) that "success" should be defined by the ability
to perservere to a desired end and to overcome failure time
and time again; to attain your goals in life.
I especially found it interesting that students who were
commended for their hard work were more inclined to succeed
than those who were praised for being "smart".
I think you'll enjoy reading this article!
http://boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/08/02/the_truth_about_grit/
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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Helpful Tip
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Free for Our Use - Thousands of Dollars Worth of Engineering,
Architecture, Computer-Aided Design and Animation Software!
---
A few issues back Jim McGinn (of www.Homeschool-Guide.com) shared
with us a generous gift from a company called Autodesk. They
are making tens of thousands of dollars worth of commercial software
applications (architecture, engineering, and more) available for use by
homeschooling students!
You can see all they have to offer at this link:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=331041&siteID=123112
This is an incredible opportunity! :-)
From Mr. Tremblay of the Autodesk Community:
"The Autodesk Education Community was started to offer University
students access to the broad array of software applications that
Autodesk offers commercial users.
The goal is to allow students to develop their skill with the tools
of the trade while they were receiving their education. After the
initial success with University students we opened the doors to
secondary students. I noticed that there wasn’t an obvious way for
the Homeschooling community to access these resources, so I requested
that a 'Homeschooler' institution be established and the people that
operate the Education Community graciously set everything up for me.
The Education Community offers twenty-nine software applications
(to date) that range from basic sketching and paint [SketchbookPro]
to University Graduate level Multi-physics analysis applications
[AlgorSimulation Professional]. The most popular applications are
InventorProfessional for Mechanical engineering, Revit Architecture
for, well, architecture, our animation applications Maya and 3DS Max,
and of course AutoCAD. There’s something for everyone interested in
design and engineering and now there are over one million students
registered on the site.
I strongly encourage people to not only learn the applications most
closely suited for the career that they are pursuing but to also
explore other tools. You never know but you just might find that
your future lies in something you weren’t even aware of."
Go to this link for instructions and contact info for Mr. Tremblay:
Engineering Education for Homeschoolers from Autodesk
Once you write to him about your family's interests, he will send
you a special link to register and guide you to where to begin
based on your needs.
Please tell him that Heather Idoni from The Homeschooler's Notebook
sent you his way! :-)
And feel free to copy/paste this information to share with others.
---
Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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Winning Website
==================
Math Drills - http://www.math-drills.com/
This is a great site for parents/teachers who need to give their
children extra practice on specific math skills. Boasting over
6000 free worksheets with answer keys, you'll find worksheets
covering everything from basic number skills and measurement to
geometry and algebra.
Cindy Prechtel, www.HomeschoolingFromTheHeart.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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===============================
Last Issue's Reader Question
===============================
"My son is an only child; he is gifted and kinetic and active.
He is currently in public school and is miserable. We tried
homeschooling last semester and he did okay, but got too lonely
for other kids. Then when he went back to public school this
year the teacher said that he was behind because I did not do
heavy skills based education. I focused more on content and
kinetic activities. Do you have any suggestions for a new
curriculum for kinetic boys?" -- Katie
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Our Readers' Responses
=========================
"I have found copywork and reading to help immensely. I guess I
may just be assuming that he can read. If he can read, have him
read as much as you can get him to. If he's not reading yet, I
can understand how spelling can be difficult for him. If he's
not reading, I would definitely recommend Teach Your Child to Read
in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelamann. My daughter is in 1st
grade. I have her read quietly for at least 1 hour a day and she
does copywork everyday. She'll copy poems, scripture, paragraphs
out of books, word lists, definitions out of a children's dictionary,
or anything else I can think of. I try to change it around each day
so it doesn't get boring. I edit for mistakes and she corrects them
later. My guess is that she copies the equivalent of 1 page a day.
I just started a spelling book with her and I have been amazed at
how she can spell. This has really worked for us –- hopefully you
can find something helpful." -- Bonny
---
"Katie, I believe your son will not thrive in the public school,
but you will probably have to develop your own curriculum since
his needs are somewhat unique. I would suggest that you start
with the areas of his interests and abilities. If he is kept
productively active and busy, he will likely not be so lonely. For
example, if he likes carpentry, let that be his curriculum. He
will have to read instructions and do lots of math and measuring.
Perhaps he can sell his creations at a craft show and interact with
people that way. Scouts or 4-H might be worth checking into; their
projects are very much hands-on, and they include social contact
as well. You can give him school credit for the projects that he
completes.
Other ideas, depending on your location: He could build bird
feeders and raise bird seed in your backyard. Then he could sell
the bird feeders and bird feed, or give them as gifts. If you have
space, he might enjoy raising animals or a vegetable garden. If
he's interested, encourage him to work out or take up an individual
sport such as swimming, biking, or juggling. Playing a musical
instrument would enhance his other areas of learning, and would give
him a meaningful pursuit. He could start a club for an activity
that he enjoys such as marbles, birdwatching, etc.
Make sure that you and your husband do lots of activities with him.
Play games; take walks; do crafts together; go to museums and concerts
-- whatever you have to do provide some comeraderie for him."
-- Mary Beth
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Answer our NEW Question
=========================
"Our small community is having a Kinderfest in April for the Month
of the Military Child. Our small homeschool group on-post was asked
if we wanted to have an 'information table' about homeschooling.
What are some of the top recommendations to post at this information
table for homeschooling?? Any ideas?? Thanks in advance."
-- Jessica in Germany (military spouse)
---
What would you recommend for Jessica's information table?
Please send your email to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
=====================
Ask YOUR Question
=====================
Do you have a question you would like our readers to answer?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if we can help you out in a future issue!
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