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My son loves PC games. I mean, he just LOVES them. He especially loves the military games that have all the military aircraft, hovercraft, etc. He’s also very interested in all things military – mainly the vehicles and aircraft. He studies military aircraft – literally. He purchased a book not too long ago about the vehicles/aircraft that the Special Forces use. He can tell you all the details and specifics of what helicopter carries how many people, when it’s been used in battle/wars, etc. He drowns himself in the military! At one point he wanted to join the military (never decided which branch) and that’s all he talked about for YEARS!! Let me say that he’s now 10 years old and he was seriously talking about the military for the past 6 years (I’m not kidding). At any rate, about a year or two ago he started talking about programming video games – military games in particular. In fact, he has several composition books of drawings, ideas, layouts, etc. of the games he’s planning to make. While it’s sometimes hard to get him to write a book report, he will sit down for quite awhile and write in his Super Top Secret Video Game Books. He’ll ask me to draw him pictures of aircraft he wants to use along with their details/specs. Seeing such determination and passion in my son, I was determined to get him started in the right direction so that he can start his programming career. You know how we homeschooling moms are! I did a lot of research and found the best fit for our needs: Motherboard Books. There are a few options to choose from, but since my son was 9 (about to be 10 at the time), I wanted to start him on something that he could do on his own (well, mostly on his own). We started with the program: Logo Adventures. It’s designed for children between the ages of 8 and 12 and it uses an MIT software program called MicroWorlds. Phyllis Wheeler, the mama behind Motherboard Books, has done a tremendous job of breaking down the concepts of programming into steps that are easy to follow and understand. I program in Lotus Notes for my work and it’s difficult sometimes for me to understand what I’m doing. However, with MicroWorlds and Phyllis’ instructions, it’s a joy!! My son really enjoys programming. He’s been learning how to draw shapes, move the “turtle” forward and backward, turn him around using angles and position him differently on the page. Logo Adventures has 13 drawing lessons covering: ö Simple lines and squares ö Stop signs and E's ö Clocks, ö Tessellations: figures that fit together like floor tiles ö Drawings and collages too. In addition, it has 13 animations lessons covering: ö A silly story about a giant scared by a small person ö A simple board game, " ö A crowded park scene ö A bouncing ball that draws a clown face ö An animated birthday card, full of shooting stars There are times he gets frustrated because he doesn’t understand, so I’ll step in and help direct him, but for the most part he really enjoys and understands what he’s doing (on his own). I’ll also test him occasionally to make sure he understands what he’s learning. For those things that he’s having a hard time on, we go back through them until he gets the concept down and can move forward again on his own. If your child is interested in learning how to program then Logo Adventures is a great place to start. I would highly recommend it for your child. It’s definitely been a winning experience for my son (who plans to start his own gaming company that he’ll pass down to his children and grandchildren). Those are his dreams and ambitions! Who am I to stand in his way? Check out Motherboard Books. You won’t be disappointed! In summary: ö Logo Adventures, programming for children 8-12 ö Cost: $89.98 for MicroWorlds 2.0 (unless you have Windows Vista or a newer Macintosh, then you have to purchase MicroWorlds EX and it costs $128.99). ö Very understandable and easy to follow ö Self-paced program ö Uses MIT-created software ö Overall: |
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