Eilonwy
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Posts posted by Eilonwy
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5 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:
I guess you shouldn't tell her that Novavax is not a "tradtional" vaccine, but a different new tech. Why won't she get J&J? It is not mRNA...
I don’t want to say anything that would discourage him! J&J isn’t available here, unfortunately, just the two mRNA ones.
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1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:
Even if they don't understand how vaccines work and "waiting for a traditional vaccine" is a face-saving measure, I don't even care. If they get ANY vaccine if helps everyone. Between the data coming out of hospitals and more vaccine choices, I really really hope people become less hesitant about vaccines.
I don’t think it is based on solid knowledge at all, but I hope it will make a difference to have more possibilities.
1 hour ago, kbutton said:That makes sense in the context of availability. In the US, we have J and J, which is not an mRNA vaccine. PeterPan lives in the same state and country as me, so I am still curious what the reasoning might be for my context, but thank you for chiming in. I hope it's made available to your relative who's waiting!
We don’t have J&J here, I had forgotten about that one. This reason may not be a factor for people in your area. I really hope J&J or Novamax will become available here, and will help him feel comfortable with vaccination and just go get it done.
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6 hours ago, kbutton said:
What is the reasoning for this vaccine technology being less objectionable? Just curious. When I read about subunit vaccines, they talk about adjuvants and about existing vaccines that people already object to if they are going to object to vaccines.
I have a relative who says they are waiting for Novamax, with the explanation that it is a “traditional” vaccine rather than an experimental mRNA type. AstraZeneca is not available here, and there are only mRNA types. So I do think it will make a difference for a certain group of people who are now hesitant but not absolutely anti-vax. My phone wants to autocorrect anti-vax to anti-vacation and anti-van…
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Adele Geras’ Apricots at Midnight, for a novel, and the Boo and Baa series about Swedish sheep, for picture books.
ETA: Fog Magic by Julia Sauer, about a girl who has a magical land appear in the fog.
And Loiusa May Alcott’s Eight Cousins!
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I think we’ll go until they don’t want to anymore. I read to all of them (12,9 &7) before bed and then sing them a good night song and make sure they are settled.
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Well done to you both!
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12 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:
Do you think it makes sense to make that post part of my place value series?
To me, not exactly, no. I think both place value and operations definitions could come under a common heading of key mental models, or building blocks, or something like that. But if you think of it as a component of place value rather than it’s own thing, then it should go in the place value series anyway.
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2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:
And another post... this thread is inspiring me! Thanks, all.
I think I'll make this part of the "Place Value" series, even though it's kind of not. But it's all integrated in my head, you know?
This looks good and seems very clear to me. I don’t think that examples would make sense without this.
There is one typo I saw where you say “no more and more less.”
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22 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:
Yeah, that's what I meant, really -- that kind of theory. Basically, posts I could link to when I give examples of work my kids do.
Yes, to give more background, the bigger picture, and the more subtle points of how to put a program together.
23 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:Where have you found sudden jumps in difficulty?
That a question with more trading is quite a bit harder than one with more digits but fewer trades. This can be very similar on the surface, say 68+23 vs 68+33. I watch for these more now, but I still make questions that take me by surprise. Or that 4.5x8 is much more intuitive than 8x4.5.
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2 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:2 hours ago, daijobu said:
Honestly I don't need any theory. If a gold medal IMO winner says, "This is how I teach math," then I'm listening.
I think it's less "theory" and more "big picture"?
The sort of theory I think would be helpful to people trying to use your ideas is probably not really theory at all, but rather discussion of things like how do you think about subtraction/ multiplication/ equations/ division/ variables etc., and why, and how you talk about them with students. I don’t think all of these would be obvious from just reading examples & transcripts, but they should be combined with examples & transcripts to illustrate what it looks like in practice.
23 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:I am actually not super fussed about the order of concepts, as long as it's relatively logical. Like, I don't remember if I did division or negative numbers with DD8 first, you know? 😛 I genuinely don't remember. On the other hand, my sense of what's logical is probably not shared by all...
It’s not so much a difference in what is logical as that what is logical is more obvious in hindsight rather than in advance, for people without experience. Like where you’ll hit sudden jumps in difficulty.
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22 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:
You're right about that, too. Would you like a post about subtraction before I move on to specific examples? I was debating what to do first... that, and I need a post on the equals sign, I think, since I try to work on models of those very early as well and have been very pleased with the result. (DD8 is, as you know, solidly working on algebra, so I can evaluate.)
Oh, and I need a post on "shapes" as variables. Hmmm. Quite a lot of theory before I can do useful examples, eh? 😕 But otherwise things kind of don't make sense.
You don’t need more theory before you can do useful examples, I think. Examples that are then discussed as you come to key points would probably be easier to understand. I think you could do examples next and then mix in the related theory in the same post or after.
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On 6/29/2021 at 4:18 PM, Not_a_Number said:
I feel like to explain the lesson, I'd have to explain WHY I'm doing these kinds of lessons and what we did before them, otherwise they just seem... random? I'm not too bothered about what we're doing in them exactly, you see. I'm working on some specific mental models, and lots of things help with those. Really any exposure does.
I agree that they need some context, an introduction to what the goals of the lesson or group of lessons are. This could be something you don’t tell the kids, but adults would need to know more to be able to write effective questions, and to work through them.
Three things that stand out to me from trying a similar approach for the past several months are:1. Experience is key, both for the kids and for myself. I’ve copied lots of your questions, and lots of examples have been great to explore how it works (and what doesn’t work). The puzzles are great, but I don’t get the impression that they are your everyday questions. To gain that experience, we need examples of math questions of this type to try, and later to adapt ourselves, to give everyone the experience of trying out playing with place value.
2. Alongside place value, specific definitions of operations are used and I think these are just as important. I know this isn’t the main point of the thread, but I don’t think it can actually be separated, and this provides most of the ways to develop exposure to place value. It’s also where people might notice the biggest differences from other methods (that I’ve come across).
3. How to respond with useful, constructive follow-up questions to the various ways kids might react is also a challenge, and for this, transcripts of what everyone said would be so useful, to develop strategies. I’d love to see videos, but I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to video your kids.
For me, a mix of theory and questions to try and lesson transcripts would be most helpful, along with a list of what order to develop the concepts in.
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11 hours ago, madteaparty said:
Anyway I know of MEP and I understand Math Mammoth also has explicit explanations. Any other shiny program I’m missing? I will make our way to PreA with AOPS, because I managed that once before with DS, but we do need something in between.
I think I would have used Math Mammoth as a fill-in year if I’d needed it. They have Gr. 6 & 7, in blocks rather than spiral, and reportedly pretty well scaffolded. My oldest just finished BA 5D, but the book rather than a class.
8 hours ago, HomeAgain said:Mortensen - to be able to work in strands, but you need blocks
What is working in strands? Following one topic as needed?
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14 hours ago, HomeAgain said:
Do you think he might benefit from some play with things like tangrams or pentominos?
This gave me the idea of making paper or cardboard unit squares, at least 1 sq.in.in size, and then drawing shape outlines that could be perfectly tiled (rectangles to start, then moving to more complex shapes gradually) that he could fill in with the unit squares. I’m wondering if drawing shapes on graph paper could feel like a special case of “graph paper rectangles” being countable by squares rather than having to build up your own tiling pattern tangram-puzzle style, for someone who doesn’t find area intuitive.
Perimeter is a bit more obvious because the lengths just stay lengths, whereas with area, the lengths change into areas which have a whole different dimension, look, feel and meaning.-
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8 hours ago, JennyD said:
That is great to hear! I asked about this on the middle school board but didn't get any replies. I really like the look of the program but oy, that materials list. OTOH, I have to buy DS16 a super expensive kit for AP chem, and we already have so many science supplies in the house ... Did you find the activities prep onerous or was it manageable? Would love to hear any thoughts you have on the program.
DH did this unit (as with the majority of our homeschool work), and he said that it was manageable to get the materials and get things set up. He got everything for the first 4 chapters for about $60 Canadian on Amazon, though he said he bought cheaper versions than those on the suggested suppliers list, and they weren’t the same quality. He only did those 4 chapters because he does block schedules and that is what fit in the time available. He liked the program, and thought that it was well done. I found it, along with about 6 others I sent him as options, ranging from Waldorf to Ellen McHenry to textbooks. I have a lot more of a chemistry background than he does, and we both thought it was the best fit.
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8 hours ago, stripe said:
The American Chemical Society has this free middle school curriculum
We used this for my Gr. 7 daughter this year and it went really well.
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20 hours ago, Lori D. said:
If really wanting to do Lewis, one possibility is Out of the Silent Planet, the first of Lewis' space trilogy books.
Yes, this seems like the most likely choice for middle school too- I don’t know The Great Divorce, but I can’t really picture Mere Christianity, Screwtape Letters or Till We Have Faces being that relatable for middle schoolers. Out of the Silent Planet seems like it could work, though.
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16 hours ago, Lori D. said:
Tombs of Atuan (LeGuin)
I loved this book when I was around middle school age and recently found it in a little free library and read it again. Just as good! I’d also be interested in hearing more about it.
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9 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:
In my searching for Foerster's, the WTM came up. 🙂
Anyway, back then, options were way more limited compared to today. The transition from 6th grade math to MUS's combo book to Foerster's worked extremely well for him, so I just kept using it. My 8th and last child made the transition through MUS this past school yr. She will be using Foerster's in the fall.
I also got here looking for info on math options, just way more recently! I hadn’t actually thought of using MUS without the blocks, but it sounds like it can be an effective intro to Algebra while making a transition to books needing more maturity. I will have a look at both this and Foersters.
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13 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:
In terms of adapting to, I'm not sure what you mean. We don't use the videos or blocks. I just teach the material.
For adapting to it, I assumed that you did use the blocks and your kids then built everything, so it would take some time for them to get used to the blocks. But if you don’t use those it wouldn’t be as different from what they did before. Thanks for giving some more details on this! It sounds like a useful way to introduce the two topics. What are the biggest advantages you see of the MUS material?
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On 5/29/2021 at 10:41 AM, 8filltheheart said:
I have used MUS's alg and geo as pre-alg and pre-geo with all 8 of my kids. My last kiddo will start Foersters alg 1 in the fall (my 8th time through it.)
I’m interested in hearing more about this. Is this the only time in your sequence that you use MUS? How easy was it to adapt to and how long did it take your kids (typically) to go through each of the MUS courses?
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We haven’t tried Pericles so I don’t know if it would be suitable, but my 12 year old daughter and I have read through two Shakespeare plays in full, splitting the characters between us and then reading all lines by each of “our” characters. It might be possible to simply read the play, if she likes Shakespeare.
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27 minutes ago, stripe said:
I mean, I wouldn’t actually start a little kid with GCSE levels just because they review it. It’s just that there’s a huge review at the start of each chapter, which isn’t included in the material more advanced students are expected to cover.
No, of course not, I was just intrigued that the GCSE levels (British secondary school, roughly) covered it all!
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6 hours ago, stripe said:
Also CIMT/MEP’s GCSE levels start everything “at the very beginning.”
From counting and place value on up? Or maybe there is something even more beginning-ish than that?
Am I doing Read Alouds wrong?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted · Edited by Eilonwy
Beatrix Potter & Winnie the Pooh are reasonably long stories. If your kids will listen to a whole one, they are going for a long time! I read a lot of Beatrix Potter to my oldest. What German books does your family like? Have you tried Mullewapp stories? Snöfried is also fun, but probably more for the 7 year old.
I do a separate story time with my oldest so that I can read more complex stories with her than my younger two would enjoy. They are 13, 9 and 7 now, but we’ve always done read aloud and your 3 are doing great!