Home schooling

• The Well Trained Mind, a review by the mother of a gifted homeschooler

Movies

• The Incredibles, The Bee Season, The Hulk and Pi (the movie): or, do Gifted Artists Hate the Gifted, or what?
• The Three Lives of Thomasina Stars the same girl who played Jane and the boy who played Michael in the film Mary Poppins. We love listening to the people's accents, the glimpses into rural life in those days. And, of course, the animals, domesticated and wild.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind Hmmm. This was one of my favorite movies when first released. The director's cut, which seems to be all that is available, is SOOOOO LONG. And the parts that I had enjoyed most seem to be -- gone. Maybe this one just doesn't work all that well on an old 19" tv. Kid thought it was kind of annoying and confusing but insisted on watching it all the way through. Really interesting how that Richard Dreyfuss character just slips through onto the spaceship and the government scientists just let him go. Guess that was a different, more trusting era ... Also interesting how the mother of the adorable little boy who'd been taken by the space aliens managed to cross deserts and scale cliffs with tears constantly in (but never dripping from) her eyes and her handbag firmly on her shoulder. The 9 year old finally asked, "So what's in there that she needs so badly anyway?"

A teenager reviews ...

We've owned an Eye Toy since they first came out
It comes with a camera that you plug into your PlayStation. The camera makes it possible for the face and body of the person playing the game to be incorporated into the game. One of the best things about the Eye Toy is that it requires the kids playing the games to move around to play. And the games themselves are involving. Fantastic for a rainy day.