I have resigned myself to the fact that I am going to have to master the subject of math. Isn't that a horrible thing for a homeschool mom to say? I can hear the tongues starting to wag. "How can she think that she's qualified to teach her kids how to do math, if she isn't that good at it herself?"
Hello? I learned how to do math, I just didn't like it, except for some parts of it that were more interesting than others. I just don't rattle off every fact and figure when a math related question comes up in conversation, they make calculators for that sort of thing. I enjoy topics like History, English, Science, and topics that aren't so cut and dry . Stuff you can talk about.
Okay, math is not exactly my favorite subject, but I would like for my kids to enjoy it, so they don't loathe it the way I do. Perhaps loathe is too strong of a word?
I know how important it is so, I really want my kids to have a good solid foundation in math, so they won't have any doubts or trouble later.
We use a program called Math U See. I really like it and more importantly the kids really learn from it. It has DVD lessons, teacher book, student textbook and test book and of course manipulatives. The program is levelled, and does not spiral, like most other math programs. That means that they learn all of one area before they move on to the next. So in some grades they won't necessarily score as high on standardized tests because they have not been taught to the test. This program is for the benefit of the students mastery, not the testing community. I prefer to go with what works best for my kids.
Another thing I like about the program, is once the student knows it, you just move to the next lesson, you don't have to keep doing worksheet after worksheet, and bore the kid to tears.
I look for my Sarah and my Noah to whiz through this sort of program quickly. They are naturally good at math, and enjoy it. It has such a straight forward progression, it makes it easy to grasp and move on to the next concept.
It does require some parent preparation time, about 30 mins per lesson per kid. That can be time consuming. Especially if the kids progress quickly.
Math U See
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Another family who loves MUS
Here is a great interactive site for learning factor trees:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_202_g_3_t_1.html
Ramblings and Realizations of a busy, yet extremely dedicated homeschool mom of five hmmmmm . . . six oops twins seven children. In the seldom quiet moments I do have to reflect on my days, I begin to compose my thoughts and ideas for future lessons that can be learned, and the best way to accomplish the set goals we have for each individual child. In this reflection I see a depth and logic that I feel can be best accomplished in the homeschool setting.
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- Jane
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2 comments:
Thanks for the link to my MUS article. Also, do you really spend 30 minutes preparing per lesson per child? yikes! I don't prepare at all. I just watch the lesson with the kids and do some hands on manipulatives with my kids if needed. Sometimes, they like to watch it again and again which I let them do. Depending on the concept, I do it on the dry erase board and have my kids do problems on it too. My oldest is almost done with Gamma so maybe I'll have more prep work as they get older. I love the shortcuts and different ways that Steve Demme teaches that I never learned myself. Sometimes, my Gamma son does a problem instantaneously in his head and I wonder how he came up with the correct answer so quickly, so I have him explain it to me. I love Math u See!
Thanks for your comment. My two younger ones I spend the most time preparing for, just because, they always catch me off guard with some strange question, and sometimes they progress thru more than one lesson quickly.
Also, I didn't want to say there was very little prep time, and someone be disappointed later, if it required more time for them. Sometimes it just depends on the child and the setting. I have five, so it can get a bit challenging at times.
My oldest, Jacob, was in public school, so his math was not where it should be. So I have had to bounce back and forth from Gamma and Delta to get him to where he is comfortable. He should really be in Epsilon, but, that is another story. My second oldest, Sarah is very quickly progressing thru Beta, she is very independent where math is concerned. My two youngest are in Alpha and one of them is a hands on learner, so we sometimes use chalk outside and draw the math problems on the driveway, Whatever works. The MUS program is really awesome. The kids really like it.
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