“We LOVE Logo (Adventures)… it has been a wonderful part of our homeschooling. I have been spreading the word among my homeschool friends, too, because it is an area where there is a need for ‘curriculum’ and most of us are not equipped to teach these skills.” — Christine Michaud, a military wife.
Many homeschool families have used this curriculum. See what others are saying about it!
A well-educated child is one who loves to explore, investigate, and create. It’s that sort of mind-set that inventors of the Logo computer language at MIT sought to foster. Using our Logo-based homeschool curriculum, kids have a blast creating geometric drawings, creating simple animations, and combining those skills to create a “board game” and an animated greeting card.
While having fun bossing the turtle on the screen around, the kids are learning logic painlessly. Sound like good brain exercise? You bet! The kids command a tiny robot turtle carrying a pen and a bucket. They tell it where to go on the page, giving commands like “forward 50” (go forward 50 turtle steps). The turtle draws lines as commanded and dumps colors. For animations, the turtle assumes a variety of shapes.
Not only is Logo great for teaching reasoning to young kids, but it has all the bells and whistles of a robust programming language, including parallel processing. So it’s a natural for teaching game programming. Skills learned on it transfer easily to other languages. In fact there are many computer professionals out there who got started by learning Logo. To find one, just ask around! My curriculum uses Logo as formulated in MicroWorlds software, now for Windows only. Logo Adventures is planned for learning once a week for one hour.
Here’s what’s in Logo Adventures:
13 drawing lessons covering:
- Simple lines and squares
- Stop signs and E’s
- Clocks,
- Tessellations: figures that fit together like floor tiles
- Drawings and collages too.
13 animations lessons covering:
- A silly story about a giant scared by a small person
- A simple board game, “Yellow Brick Road”
- A crowded park scene
- A bouncing ball that draws a clown face
- An animated birthday card, full of shooting stars
There is also a troubleshooting appendix and an answer key. See the Table of Contents.See a sample chapter.
Features :
– Uses the Logo computer language, developed just for kids at MIT
– Teaches fun programming with drawing and animation projects
– Does not use variables, so tailored for kids under age 12
– Takes one year–or less, depending on the student
– Tailored for homeschooling, using self-study book & answer key
How do we make these games? Here’s some code from an animation: setsh [skater1 skater2 skater3] seth 90 repeat 100 [fd 1 wait .01]
Besides the book, the second component of the Logo Adventures curriculum is the software disk for MicroWorlds. Purchasers of this book will receive instruction on how to purchase a disk or download at more than 50 percent off.
What about tech support?
- I have tutorials to get you started on the Support page.
- Check the appendix on troubleshooting and the HTML guide in the back of the book.
- Look at my FAQ on the Support page.
- If all that fails, email me with your question at info “at” motherboardbooks.com. I answer emails as soon as I can, normally within a day.
What are others saying about this curriculum?
“Many families have used and loved Logo Adventures. Logo Adventures was designed to be used as weekly lessons. However, my children enjoy this so much that they are already on Lesson 8 … we have only had this program for 2 weeks! They are learning so much more than I could have imagined (hello Geometry!) The best part is: they are ASKING to do this, ON THEIR OWN!” –Victoria C., http://blog.denschool.com/logo-adventures-review-giveaway/
“My son has so enjoyed Logo Adventures. I cannot get him to stop on most days. He is eating it up with much success. I love the fact that he can do this on his own since he is 11 years old. Thanks again for making learning fun!” — Nora Huggins, Indialantic FL
“This is probably my favorite product out of all of the products that I reviewed through the TOS Homeschool Crew. Computers & Technology, no one doubts, is one thing that our kids should learn for their futures – and Motherboard Books will give your kids a headstart! …Josiah used Logo Adventures with MicroWorlds EX software and has learned so much about what computers need as input to be programmable. Josiah said, ‘My favorite part was that you could make it repeat it (the pattern you create) like 100 times!!’ “This set is a great combination of teaching material and fantastic software. I personally am so impressed by this set, that I will be purchasing the next level, when he is done with this one!” –Zindra Nelson, Mt. Vernon, WA, reviewing Logo Adventures at Homeschooling4Life
“It’s safe to say my kids are currently somewhat obsessed with Phyllis Wheeler’s Logo Adventures, available from Motherboard Books. I had never heard of the Logo computer language, invented years ago at MIT to teach children problem solving….
“The lessons challenge your child to think, sometimes by reading the commands and trying to figure out how the final design will look, sometimes by looking at a figure and writing code to make it appear… “Logo Adventures contains 26 lessons that will take your child from the basics to creating fireworks and shooting stars. It teaches computer programming and logic in a fun and entertaining fashion.” –Dawn Camp of Atlanta, GA, reviewing Logo Adventures at My Home Sweet Home
“OK. I admit it. Logo Adventures isn’t exactly what I expected. Every time I reached for a product to review, Logo Adventures ended up on the bottom of the stack. Why? These words on the first page, in bold: “This book is designed for a younger child to work together with an adult.” Translation: I have to figure it out first–definitely a disadvantage to busy moms struggling to keep up with the rest of their children’s schoolwork. “But was I ever wrong! Logo Adventures is a wonderful introduction to real computer programming for 8 to12-year-olds. Anybody can do this–even moms. I hunkered down, opened the first lesson, and found that the material is presented in fun, easy steps with plenty of repetition…”
“This is a great curriculum for the computer-loving kids in your homeschool.” — Susan K. Marlow, writing for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine We LOVE Logo (Adventures)… it has been a wonderful part of our homeschooling. I have been spreading the word among my homeschool friends, too, because it is an area where there is a need for ‘curriculum’ and most of us are not equipped to teach these skills.” — Christine Michaud, a military wife (Seoul, Korea, and Washington, DC) and homeschool mom
“…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. “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:
- Logo Adventures, programming for children 8-12
- Very understandable and easy to follow
- Self-paced program
- Uses MIT-created software
Overall: thumbsup” — Meredith Duke of Austin, TX, reviewing Logo Adventures at Heaven Bound
“My son has so enjoyed Logo Adventures. I cannot get him to stop on most days. He is eating it up with much success. I love the fact that he can do this on his own since he is 11 years old. Thanks again for making learning fun!” –Nora Huggins of Indialantic, FL
“We are using both Computer Science Pure and Simple and Logo Adventures. Both my children love them! Thank you for the great books and all that you do.” –Debbie of Wilmington, DE
“Geared towards younger children, Logo Adventures is the perfect way to get your eight- to twelve-year-old into the world of programming. Easy-to-read text, fun programs, and lots of review make this a great curriculum.” –Elliott Robinson, age 17, reviewer for www.HomeschoolChristian.com.
“My son truly loved your curriculum, and honestly, it is his favorite subject by far! Something tells me we’ll have to upgrade our computer before too long if he keeps it up! LOL I want to THANK YOU for taking the time to write these wonderful books! I have and will continue to recommend your wonderful program to homeschoolers, because it’s fantastic! ” –Tracy Quebral, Amherst, NY
“About a month ago I was praying for something new and exciting for my fifth grader who is homeschooling for the first time this year. I was struggling to make “school” fun so as to ease the transition from his previous school. I wanted him to feel like we have neat things “happening” here too. Seriously, in a dream I recalled my college Logo programming experiences and I woke up wondering, “Whatever happened to the Logo language? Kids would love Logo.” (The only time I had ever seen it used was while student teaching in a school in England .)
“…Now that we own Microworlds and your easy-to-read and follow lessons, I think I have found the answer to my prayers. It is really a blessing as my son is so quick with electronics, as most children are, but has always struggled in school. We do not own or encourage video games so it is great to hear him saying, “Well now I can write my own, Mom!” –Jeanette H.
“From the very first lesson, we found this program to be well organized and easy-to-understand. … My (12-year-old) son was able to work through the lessons with very little help from me. … My son completed several lessons in one week. … My son LOVED learning Logo! In fact, even if he didn’t do any of the other lessons in the book, the exposure to MicroWorlds and the Logo language makes this book worth the price. …
“I can’t say enough about the MicroWorlds component – if your child is even remotely interested in programming/video games, this is the best way to give them a feel for what it is like to develop their own programs. The lessons for all of the topics are presented so well that most students can work through the course independently. I eagerly look forward to reviewing future products from Motherboard Books!” — Cindy Prechtel, Editor, Homeschool Reviews for You (from HomeschoolingFromTheHeart.com )
“Computer Science Pure and Simple for Homeschoolers is an excellent introduction to three of the most common ways that people interact with computers: office skills, computer programming, and website design… Computer Science Pure and Simple for Homeschoolers gets kids working immediately taking what they read and applying it. The instructional detail is just right, not over explaining and thereby confusing, nor skipping steps that may be intuitive to more experienced computer users.” — Beverly Krueger for Eclectic Homeschool Online, an online magazine for homeschoolers, http://eho.org
“…A decent introduction to how to use some of the applications on your computer, what programming is and how to design a web page, making it worthy of your consideration. … The choice of MicroWorlds Logo programming is a good one. These sections will guide you through the basic steps of starting to program and give you a good basis for understanding what programming is.”– Theresa M. Schultz-Jones in Practical Homeschooling Magazine
To use this book, you will need to make an additional purchase of software from the software maker, usable with Windows only. Your software download purchase price of $29.70 is a 70 percent savings from the $99 retail price, for buyers of Motherboard Books curriculum. When you receive your book, you will find instructions for retrieving a coupon code. The code will give you the discounted price on a software download for Mac or Windows from the software maker. If you require a CD, you’ll pay $45 including shipping to anywhere in the Continental US.
Choose the MicroWorlds software edition at Amazon.com to make your purchase. Or choose the Terrapin Logo edition.