Mommyfaithe Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 It is because it is like the lima beans in the mixed veggies...you just can't sneak them in!!! I can sneak in literature by reading them good books...I can sneak in phonics and grammar by READING THEM GOOD BOOKS! I can sneak in art, by you guessed it....reading them good books.. History, science, ...yep...good books. Music can be listened to in the car...in the house...at concerts... Again, i can seak it in so that it is just life as usual. I can sneak in science projects or lessons with my garden, or baking....or a great experimnt kit... BUT MATH!!! UGH!!!! Oh the D-R-U-D-G-E-R-Y!!!!! show me three...now two more...there ...that makes five....ad nauseum! I do not know how to sneak math in...nor get my kids to memorize their facts....we could use living math books.....or games....or manipulatives until i get nuts...but they just KNOW it is math....and spit it out! Oh boy! And well, math is important....like eating your veggies.... So, how can I sneak it in??? and still have them excel???? Any ideas...or sneaky math strategies??? Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aly Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 You are clearly a veteran homeschooler so I am reluctant to pas son "advice". Obviously you can sneak in a certain amount but, if yours are anything like mine, they spot it a mile off. I simply start every day with 45-60 minutes of math, ni exceptions. After that, life is very free-flowing,m but I am not sure if you can gain the skills and fluenct, without going through the grind. (If anyone knows how, I'd be keen to try!) We do Singapore Math and have found it great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishmommy Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Math mammoth has been our solution. My ds has fussed MUCH less with MM, than with any other program. I have decided that the approach was what was frustrating for him. The spiral method almost did him in, and me as well. I'm sure you've used lots of different curriculums over the years. In the end, I totally agree with you, no sneaking in the upper level maths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 ....we could use living math books.....or games....or manipulatives until i get nuts...but they just KNOW it is math....and spit it out! Faithe Gee, I think you covered all the options there.... There's the whole use math in baking and cooking thing. My oldest ds will take a Mathworks book into his room and do math in his freetime. If books and games are out of the picture then...:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Math games, puzzles and living math books! I have this theory that we kill all the fun of math by making kids do arithmetic for years and years, and then by the time they get to the fun stuff... they've already decided that math is boring and they hate it. That makes me sad, because math is awesome! So maybe back off on the rote arithmetic (and keep sneaking that in by playing games), and work on some of the fun stuff. Penrose the Mathematical Cat, The Number Devil, Math for Smarty Pants, and the Murderous Maths books have all been HUGE hits in our house. There are lots of card tricks that are math-based too! My son plays math solitaire with a deck of playing cards each morning while he waits for me to work with him. Oh, and we have this old deck of Evan-Moor calculator activity cards with puzzles that you work out on a calculator and then turn it upside down to make a word. My oldest loved those when she was younger! They say "grades 3-6" on the box. There are also loads of math jokes out there (and I think my teenager must know them all, because she seems to have a math or science joke for pretty much every topic...). You can probably google lists of them! Explaining some of them to my son so he can "get" the joke has created some wonderful discussions! We've also watched the Teaching Company ""Joy of Thinking: The Beauty of Classical Mathematical Ideas." I know it sounds boring, but it's basically just all about math puzzles and mysteries. The first video is slow, but it picks up after that. My kids have all enjoyed it, starting in about 4th/5th grade. Anyway, hope this helps a bit. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 really...it is not the program.... I have done pretty much all of them throughout the years...and it is not the program...it is not mastery vs. spiral....it is not conceptual verses fact memorization...it is just MATH. My kids do not like it...It is not interesting or applicable to their little lives no matter WHAT I do, except pay them...LOL...and I do pay them ....sometimes...a penny a problem...a dime for a word problem! I beg, cajole, whine, force, pretend to play with them, make all kinds of manipulatives, make up funny word problems....but no matter what I do...I can't disguise it. It reminds me of the story of the little boy who hated kreplach. Once upon a time there was a little boy who hated kreplach. Every time he saw a piece of kreplach in the soup he screamed, "Aaaaah, kreplach!" So his mother decided to teach him not to be afraid of kreplach. She took him into the kitchen and rolled out some dough. "Just like a pancake," she said. "Just like a panckae," said the little boy. Then she took a piece of meat and rolled it into a ball. "Just like a meatball," she said. "Just like a meatball," said the little boy. Then she rolled up the meat in the dough and held it up. "Just like a dumpling," she said. "Just like a dumpling," said the little boy. Then she dropped it into the soup and put it in front of the little boy, and he screamed, "Aaaaah, kreplach!" So, for my little boys...it is AAAAAAHHHH MATH! :svengo: Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Math games, puzzles and living math books! I have this theory that we kill all the fun of math by making kids do arithmetic for years and years, and then by the time they get to the fun stuff... they've already decided that math is boring and they hate it. That makes me sad, because math is awesome! So maybe back off on the rote arithmetic (and keep sneaking that in by playing games), and work on some of the fun stuff. Penrose the Mathematical Cat, The Number Devil, Math for Smarty Pants, and the Murderous Maths books have all been HUGE hits in our house. There are lots of card tricks that are math-based too! My son plays math solitaire with a deck of playing cards each morning while he waits for me to work with him. Oh, and we have this old deck of Evan-Moor calculator activity cards with puzzles that you work out on a calculator and then turn it upside down to make a word. My oldest loved those when she was younger! They say "grades 3-6" on the box. There are also loads of math jokes out there (and I think my teenager must know them all, because she seems to have a math or science joke for pretty much every topic...). You can probably google lists of them! Explaining some of them to my son so he can "get" the joke has created some wonderful discussions! We've also watched the Teaching Company ""Joy of Thinking: The Beauty of Classical Mathematical Ideas." I know it sounds boring, but it's basically just all about math puzzles and mysteries. The first video is slow, but it picks up after that. My kids have all enjoyed it, starting in about 4th/5th grade. Anyway, hope this helps a bit. :) Thanks Sharon, This helps a lot. I just wish we could make math a little more fun than taking castor oil....sigh Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 When my oldest was in K or 1st I would try to sneak math in by rolling a ball back and forth and counting 1, 2, 3.............when he said, "We're doing school, huh, mom?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Maybe it is the program. I too use and love CLE for both dc after trying many other maths , but I know it is not the best for everyone. We like a combo of RS&Singapore for younger and CLE&Singapore for older. This works , no more tears and they have their facts down. In fact I don't know how a child wouldn't have their facts memorized if they use CLE . With all the drill , even my special needs 1st grader knows most of his facts very well. I agree with pp . Maybe more math games would make it more enjoyable . But do you have time for that? I only have four dc (7 & under) and I hardly ever have time for math games , even for science&history . Anyway, math is math and like it or not , they have to do it . I prefer if they enjoy it but if they don't that's too bad :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 What kinds of games do you try to play with them? Does your family play games in general? We own and play a lot of games at our house, and I don't really point out the educational value of some of them to my little guy. (Well, maybe 'Sum Swamp gives that one away :tongue_smilie:) We often play a game or two in the evening. Have you tried Aggravation, Yahtzee, Sorry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 See I find math and science no problem to fit in our day (now grammar or spelling or ugghhh history is a different story). Have you seen this thread- math lab There are so many times we use math all day long. Here are some other good threads- http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79861&highlight=math http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230382&highlight=math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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