Karen sn Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Dd is 11yo and we are working toward Life of Fred Fractions. And if all goes well with that I would like to progress through the series. Then do Lial's College Math for fun. (And I mean that - it looks fun). I like Michele's Math. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/mmathmenu.htm I want dd to be able to compute simple math in her head and so I have allowed us to progress slowly through formal math. She has her own way for solving certain problems and I have enjoyed watching this in action. In fact, I have shown her how to carry while adding (much as I did not want to because I think it helps *on paper* when adding many double digits numbers - it saves time) but she has her own way of adding these - takes longer *on paper* but allows for better ability to do it in head. (Totally off topic-but does anyone have a website that shows how to do this addition without carrying? I once saw it on TV...years ago and would love to see it again). I want her to understand and memorize the multiplication table because I think quick recall will save time in advanced math. So, in my mind basic elementary math is: Strong ability to manage money, count back change (We'll be doing Financial Peace Jr ala Dave Ramsey in the next few weeks). Strong foundation in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division Introduction to fractions and decimals Roman Numerals Charts and graphs Solid understanding of measurements/conversions - both English and Metric Estimation, rounding numbers What else can I throw in here? Do you have any good websites you'd like to share? I've been searching like mad for good measurement and graphing sites - no luck. If you've done Life of Fred - what did you really need to know before starting with Fractions? If you've read this far, THANKS! ETA: found this link through Michele's Math http://www.themathpage.com/ARITH/arithmetic.htm Edited February 14, 2009 by Karen sn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 DD had fractions and decimals before LoF. She started in a Waldorf school and we have continued their curriculum, which means lots of oral work and no textbooks or workbooks. We did Life Of Fred Fractions last year in fifth grade, (unfortunately dd didn't like it so we didn't buy Decimals). IMHO, the only thing on your list that is absolutely required before LoF Fractions is the strong foundation in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and the intro to fractions. The rest is icing on the cake. Dd thought the story was "stupid." Ds liked it a lot better Then we did Math Doesn't Suck (I don't like the title either.) It is just like LoF but "girl talk" instead of a story. It covered fractions, decimals, percents, and introduces "x". There is a second book which we haven't done yet. She said she liked it best of the three. It does say right in it, that it is meant to augment a regular text and doesn't have enough practice problems on its own. Dd(12) is now doing Lial's BCM. (I hate to tell you this but she doesn't think its fun either. She's a Kinesthetic learner and the only thing she has liked to do with Lial's is the Patty Paper we added to geometry. I really don't have any idea of how to make high school math kinesthetic!!!) I thought it would be a good review and introduce her to a more traditional book before algebra. I'm glad I did because it has thrown her totally off and she looks at me with a total blank when she has to add fractions! Which she has been doing orally since 4th grade. I don't think Lial's would have had enough explanation if she hadn't had it before, so I would recommend the rest of your list before Lial's and add in exponents and prime factorization (they appear in the fractions chapter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Strong foundation in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division Introduction to fractions and decimals Charts and graphs Estimation, rounding numbers These are it. This is the basics of math. If you add time, then the rest of your list is that group of "things we put in math books because the involve numbers." Sure some of this you can't do unless the above is strong, and you can practice your math skills while doing these things, but they aren't really basic math. Strong ability to manage money, count back change (We'll be doing Financial Peace Jr ala Dave Ramsey in the next few weeks).Roman Numerals Solid understanding of measurements/conversions - both English and Metric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'd add some geometry (finding and working with area, perimeter, volume, types of angles.) Also, if you're talking about K all the way up to 6th, some beginning algebraic thinking (simple, 1-step algebraic equations shouldn't 'throw' a 6th grader), and some beginning statistics (average, mean, mode and their applications). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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