Links that I keep clicking on

I have let this blog sit silent while my family has walked through a grief filled period. I have a few thoughts bouncing around in my head, but my heart just isn't there yet.

In the mean time, here are some links that I have loved visiting

For math (are you tired of me talking about math?)
mathwire.com - so many ideas, so little time
dy-dan - - high school math teacher turned PhD student, no algabra students in this house, but I love reading his ideas

For Science
birdsleuth - - free Homeschool material published by Cornell University. Think about that for a minute, a well respected university acknowledging that homeschooling is a viable option. Click on this link as a way to say "thanks for admitting that I exist Cornell University"

For encouragement
lauraleighparker.com (I know Laura in real life, her blog should be bookmarked on your computer)

In my spare time I am teaching a high school biology class. My students are currently working on landscape design projects. I am thrilled with their ideas.

Are there links that you are loving? Leave a comment.

Math Research Results

During the 2009-2010 school year my eight year old hit a road block in math. Each week the weaknesses of the Saxon program seemed more glaring. The biggest challenge for me was the lack of information for the parent. Saxon offers no alternatives for teaching a given concept. By May we were both discouraged and frustrated.

My goal for this summer was to find a math program that offered the parent multiple suggestions for teaching the same concept. I was also hoping for an unlimited list of ideas for hands on activities. Knowing that that was a rather tall order, plan "B" was to buy the next level of Saxon along with several idea books.

Here is a summary of what I found - - -
idea book - -good luck! Marylin Burns wrote some fun books in the 80's. I was able to find one at a used bookstore. ONE. The one that I found was cute, had great ideas, and is written to students. I bought it, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping to find. Also, I will need more than one idea book to get through the entire school year.

Math programs at the NC homeschool conference were amazingly weak. Here is a quick run down of booths I stopped by:

Teaching Textbooks - all done on the computer, when a wrong answer is given the child is then given the option of skipping the question, parent is not involved at all, no hands on activities

RightStart Math - EXPENSIVE! Requires manipulatives unique to that program, uses an unorthodox approach to math facts (no memorizing)

Math-U-See- weak on calendar, measuring, and telling time; many families use this program, it is fine, but not what I was looking for

I already knew that I was looking for more, not less, so I avoided programs that I knew to be similar to Saxon.

Math on the level - I had not heard of this program before; I was impressed by what I saw. It is initially more expensive than all other programs, but cheaper in the long run. It includes every math concept from kindergarten through Algebra. There are no consumable workbooks, so you can reuse the entire program for multiple children. Each concept had multiple teaching suggestions. There was an entire book devoted to hands on activities. There is a yahoo group that parents use to ask questions, and I am told that the group is quite helpful. I didn't make the purchase this weekend, but I am seriously considering switching to this program next year.

I did buy several books from the Critical Thinking Company. I love their math products. My girls do too. This year they have a new series called 'balance benders'; I highly recommend it.

I also bought a used copy of Saxon 5/4. Why? Fair question. It was cheap. I wanted to have a back up plan. I am pretty sure that I am going to use Math on the level, but the upfront cost does have me dragging my feet.

Math - -join the conversation

As I posted a few months ago, I have been carefully reviewing math in our school. I have enjoyed reading the posts that Sylvia has written (there are three, so be sure to read each one). I have also enjoyed reading the comments that were added by her readers.

At the end of May I am going to sit in on three "how to teach math" sessions at the state homeschool conference. I am looking forward to compiling all of this information and making a final decision about math for next year.

Thanks to those of you who have been a part of the conversation. I certainly benefit from reading your ideas. I am sure that others do too.

reworking math

For the entire month of January we have struggled our way through math. Both girls are on lesson 80, which marks the half way point. My third grader had the same experience last year. I think that the mid-point is the peak of new material. Lessons 1-40 are review from the previous year. Lessons 40-80 gradually increase the amount of new material a student is expected to master. Around lesson 100 the material seems to ease off on the new concepts and borrow more often from previous lessons. As I have said previously, I love math. I want to do all that I can to instill in my children the idea that math is fun. Sometimes that is hard. I forget that they are learning a foreign language. I get frustrated that I need to repeat things so often.

Since January I have been expecting the girls to "gut it out." Math was no longer fun; it was a period of time to be endured. We saw more than a few tears hit the school table. Last weekend I took some time to really evaluate my goals for math. I talked with a friend who is several years ahead of me on this homeschooling journey. She confirmed my thoughts. I need to let go of my "finish the book" mentality. I need to grab hold of a mentality that says, "learn the concept well."

This week I did not attempt to teach the girls math separately. I reviewed each of their lessons and choose a hands on activity for each day that combined aspects from several lessons. This week the girls learned about square roots, collecting and analyzing data, symmetry, congruence, and practiced skip counting. Or, as they might tell you, this week for math we built pyramids, counted skittles, made snowflakes, and sang a few songs.

In addition to purposefully choosing a hands on activity for each math lesson, I allowed the girls to grab any "math resource" they wanted as they worked through their written assignments. They both used the hundreds chart several times. My first grader used linking cubes and coins also. My third grader continues to benefit from the base 10 blocks and used the linking cubes a few times too. I enjoyed watching them chose these items on their own. That is a logic exercise all by itself. (I need to solve this problem, what resource will help me solve this problem?)

Math went much better this week. The girls were more relaxed when they started their worksheets. I have been combing the Rainbow Resources catalogue for a few books to help me as I rework our math time. As I find great resources I will share them with you. Here is a short list to work with . . . . .

donnayoung.org - - lots of great things on this site, for math I like the fact sheets

Liz Robinson:musical mathematics - - skip counting songs from 2's to 9's, great for students on the cusp of memorizing the multiplication table

Math Games - - that is the title of a book that I checked out from the library several years ago, it is what it sounds like, a book of games designed to reinforce math concepts, filled with helpful ideas

Feel free to leave a comment about any math resources that you have found to be helpful. May math look a little more like the pictures at the beginning of this post each day.

Math choices

Clearly, I love Tapestry of Grace. It beautifully pulls together history, literature, art, and geography. However, those subjects are not enough to complete a well rounded school year. I will use the next few posts to tell you what I have chosen to use for our non-tapestry subjects. Let me start with Math.

I have now taken one student through Saxon 1 and 2. Next year I am planning on using Saxon 1 for my first grader and Saxon 3 for my third grader. Homeschooling moms tend to have strong reactions to the use of Saxon Math. Here is my pros and cons list:

Pros	Cons
Straight forward; my husband can easily teach a lesson, even if he hasn't done so in weeks	Each day, if followed exactly, would take a very long time
Through; plenty of practice with basic skills	The daily repetition can be confusing to young students. If I quiz my daughter everyday on the months of the year, by mid-week she has decided that she must be doing something wrong.
Adaptable; when the teacher's guide suggests sorting pattern blocks we sort laundry
Worksheets follow a familiar pattern; students who are reading well can complete a worksheet with little help	Worksheets follow a familiar pattern; I want my children to be able to answer any math questions, not just "Saxon" math questions.
When we complete a year of Saxon I am confident that we have completed math for grade "x"

I am happy enough with the Saxon program that I have worked hard to find solutions to its weaknesses. It is worth mentioning that I love math, and enjoy finding ways to best teach my children this subject.

I have set a one hour time limit on math. To make that work I look at the lesson in reverse. How long will it take my daughter to complete the worksheet? Are there additional worksheets to be completed? Is the lesson introducing a new concept? How did the "meeting book" time go yesterday? Once I have considered those questions I can mentally divide out the hour. We rarely complete more than one section of "the meeting" each day. I have found that over the course of a school year that is fine. Actually, when I was attempting to complete the entire "meeting" each day I found that my daughter struggled more. It became clear to me that she figured she must have been wrong the past three days. Doesn't that make sense? Typically we drill students on material that they are struggling with. She knew that I asked the "plus 9" facts everyday because she needed the practice. A logical jump for her was, "hmm. . . I must be getting those months wrong. Maybe there are 13." When I switched to asking calendar questions once a week she got them right every time. Less time and greater success, that is a good match.

To address the issue of familiar worksheets I use the Mathematical Reasoning workbooks that are published by the Critical Thinking Company. I also print worksheets from several websites. I will add links to those sites soon.

So, that is what I do for Math. This year I will use Saxon 1 with Mathematical Reasoning B and Saxon 3 with Mathematical Reasoning D. Hopefully that combination will work as well next year as it did this year.