Jump to content

Menu

oakmom

Members
  • Posts

    192
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by oakmom

  1. I like the explanation in the Pre-Algebra for Visual Learners demo video. Here's a link: http://www.mugginsmath.com/store.asp The program is near the bottom.
  2. As an alternative to Kumon, is there a Mathnasium Learning Center in your area?
  3. We haven't used it, but how about The Art of Porblem Solving? http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Classes/AoPS_C_About.php
  4. I just ordered Giggle Facts. I can let you know if I like it when I receive it. Here's a review: http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/giggle_facts.php
  5. I haven't used it, but i just read a great review about Giggle Math games: http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/giggle_facts.php
  6. I don't usually use a formal math program with my children until they are about 8 or 9, but we do a lot of math informally. We do Miquon math and Singapore math if they are interested. We play a lot of games and read a lot of math books from the living math site mentioned by another poster. These books send us on a lot of mathematical discussions.For example, at that age my kids loved The Number Devil. Often our dinner conversation is mathematical in nature. My children are all thriving mathematically with this approach. For full disclosure, I have a degree in math education and run a couple of math learning centers. I think that it is amazing what mathematical topics young children can be interested in if you follow their lead.
  7. I think it's great to know multiple ways to wolve the same problem. This is why we like to use a variety of resources for our math curriculum.
  8. My daughter was very frustrated and in tears trying to learn long division, so we skipped it and cam back to it a year later. I figured it wasn't worth the tears or ruining her otherwise great attitude about math. After her break from long division, I showed her short division. Then we trasnitioned into long division with no problem. She is a very strong math student. Every child is different. My son immediately cought on to long division.
  9. Not a CD, but a free internet source...we love Pandora.com and they have loads of Christmas music.
  10. Excellence Through Classics sell a thmatic unit to go with d’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths, but it looks like fill in the blank type questions rather than cut and paste. I'm not sure as I haven't used it, but they have sample pages on their site. Here's a link: http://www.etclassics.org/materials.html
  11. At first, I thought your pet peeve was when someone says "what?" This is my husbands pet peeve. It drives him crazy when I say "what?" I grew up in a family who said "what?" when they wanted something repeated but my husband prefers "pardon?"
  12. I once watched a video lecture (Teaching the Classics?) which claimed that students learn more vocabulary from listening to stories than from reading because they hear the word pronounced correctly in context instead of skimming over the parts that they don't understand. I do believe that this is true because my son, who is now (finally!) becoming a reader at age 9, has listened to many, many audio stories has a fantastic, broad vocabulary. He uses words that I don't use. I have made an effort to have all of my children listen to more audiobooks, which they really enjoy. I don't really have to make them listen, I just have to make a point to have them available by checking them out from the library regularly. And we also love audible.com. We listen to audiobooks in the car and at home. I'd rather use our time to do this than use a formal vocabulary program and I think it may be more effective, although we may consider a formal vocabuary program in the future.
  13. My kids called my grandma GG (prounounced Gee Gee) for great grandma. I loved that.
  14. Klutz also has some similar books called Paper Fashions, Paper Fashions Fancy, and Paper Fashions Fantasy. My daughter saw these and the book store and would love them!
  15. Not a baby doll... but my kids like Groovy Girls because it is easy to change their clothes. I found with the baby dolls that my kids got frustrated trying to dress them and I would end up having to do it for them. Groovy Girl clothes have a lot of velcro.
  16. We tried them, but don't use them anymore. I found it wasn't worth the stress I was putting my children through by timing them. We found playing the card game War and other games to to be much more effective and enjoyable. Here are the rules to War: http://letsplaymath.wordpress.com/2006/12/29/the-game-that-is-worth-1000-worksheets/
  17. Our family runs things similarly. Until age 6, everything is optional. At age six, starting phonics (if they haven't chose to start yet) is required. At age seven, a formal math program is required (if they haven't chose to start yet). We cover a lot of ground informally and my children usually choose to start their formal programs early, but if they change their mind and want more play time while they are young, I am fine with that. I have found that with my children, if I back off and follow their lead, they usually come back and want more learning. Of course, I was much more relaxed about knowing it would all be fine and that my children would not grow up to be illiterate with my fourth child than I was with my first.
  18. I agree! We love this bread. Here's a link to a video about it:
  19. I also love the chorebuster site. I find things are more likely to get done if I delegate most chores to the kids. Chorebuster lets me assign certain chores to certain kids or leave it random. It also lets me give my younger children a lighter workload. The kids don't feel so overwhelmed when I break their cleaning jobs into small part -- like clean messiest bedroom drawer, organize bedroom closet, vacuum bedroom -- all on different days, rather than just clean bedroom. I can choose how often chores need to get done (and adjust as needed) and be reminded to do things that are not done very often like change the furnace filter. And best of all it's free!
  20. I would take a different approach and suggest to him that he not try to memorize the steps to math problems but really understand the process. I never memorized the steps, but have no problem with math algorithms, because I can, for example, change a mixed number into a fraction by thinking about what it means to do so. If my children can not recall the steps to a mathematical algorithm, I would consider the possibility that they do not really understand the procedure and try to it explain it to them in a concrete way with pictures or manipulatives.
  21. My kids enjoy and learn a lot from Mark Kistler's Online Art Lessons. http://www.draw3d.com/OnlineVideo.html These are available at a good price from the Homeschool Buyers' Co-op.
  22. I got an idea from someone here last year that was a big hit for my kids. I put some mini marshmallow, chocolate chips, Golden Grahams cereal (or Teddy Grahams), toothpicks and tealight candles in a little baggie and the kids made smores. They thought it was a lot of fun.
×
×
  • Create New...