Hi Tangentspur,

We're car folk over here! We have used cars to teach everything form math to science to history to art and of course reading. Here are some ideas:

Get him a subscription to Top Gear magazine. The articles and photos are beautiful, technically interesting and quite funny. If you let him have screen time, there are Top Gear snippets on youtube and full episodes available through Amazon Instant Video. Again, fun and technically satisfying. (DS7 was The Stig for Halloween. It was hilarous.) Edit to add - some of the Top Gear video humor stuff can be a little potty-humor-ish. And they occasionally use a mild swear words. You might want to screen a little to see if it's within your comfort zone.

Take you car nut to car places. We are regulars at the high end auto dealers in the area. And don't forget the "exotic car resellers" - i.e., the people who sell used Ferraris, etc. Most of the places now recognize DS and know he will take a thousand pictures, but never touch their cars without permission. As a result, he often gets to sit in them, see their engines, occasionally start them up. He has been inside literally millions of dollars worth of cars!! And - he knows their stats, price (in pounds, euros and dollars - learning math through currency conversion!), special design features, aerodynamics, you name it.

Is there a race track near you? Going to the races is fun and exciting. And if you go on practice and qualifying days, the mechanics often have time to chat with kids (and kid-like grownups) about the cars. Usually - especially at bigger races - these guys have degrees in engineering and can really talk in depth. And they generally love to talk to kids when they have the time - especially when they spot a little boy who is clearly deeply in love with their machines.

At the library, check out grownup car books. We have spent hours studying coffee table books about the history of Lamborghini and Ferrari, etc. DS also loves car repair manuals you can check out (look for "Chilton's" in the library's card catalog).

There are lots of auto shows this time of year. They often have engines and other car parts mounted on displays that people can manipulate, study, etc. NOW I know why they call it a "V"8 engine! They also have racing simulators that are often free or very inexpensive. Race Monaco in an Aventador!!

As these gifted kids do regularly switch/abandon topics, we are always aware that the "car" phase could end. But it's been going strong for two years now and has been a very, very fun and fruitful source of enrichment for our little guy. I hope you have fun with it, too!

Sue

Last edited by suevv; 12/03/14 10:28 AM.