Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Friday, November 12, 2010
Money Worksheets
This is a good site for generating money worksheets. Different currencies are available.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Good Math Link
Check out this site for math practice. Note: Area and Perimeter is under Geometry instead of Measurement.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Math Curriculum
I'm trying to continue my overview of the resources and curriculum that we're using for the different subject areas. It's taking me a while, and I apologize!
The purchased curriculum that I use is Bob Jones and I supplement with Jump math. I find that Bob Jones is definitely the most thorough and the one that best suits my children. I did not select it because of it's Christian content. I selected it because:
1) it's visually appealing (colourful, bright, lots of images, etc...)
2) it covers all areas of the Ontario curriculum and prepares learners for the next year
3) often goes beyond the grade expectations, and finally,
4) reinforces past learned material
On almost every page of Bob Jones Math is a word problem and although the child may be working on fact families, let's say, the book also includes questions from past lessons (other strands) to help reinforce learning. It's not enough to cover a topic once and then move on. In math especially, students often forget their skills when they're not usually them daily. Not only do kids need to understand the concepts and relationships, but they need to be able to do them fast. The more proficient they become, the more confident they will be with higher level thinking.
I can't say that I'm thrilled with Jump math. In the words of my mother, who's a retired primary school teacher (educated in the British system), "it's ridiculous!" It does have it's purpose, especially when combined with another source. I don't believe that it should be used on it's own. It simply does not cover all areas and doesn't use a variety of strategies.
We also use a number of other resources and manipulatives. Here are just a few of the manipulatives that we use:
Base Ten Blocks. I would not do without these!
We use these cheap plastic toys from the dollar store as counters and other manipulatives. An inexpensive tool.
We've had a few different clocks (including homemade which serves a purpose), but this is by far the best. I like that the time also shows up in digital format at the bottom and that the child can select AM or PM. It also has a handy stand on the back so it doesn't have to be hung up or lay flat on the table.
The kids love the play money. This set was a bit expensive, but after much searching and not being able to find a set with a good number of coins and bills, I settled on this one.
Flashcards. I don't use them often but the kids like to play with them and test each other. They see how fast they can say their facts.
A variety of different manipulatives.
Number stamps. These were given to us by a friend and although I wouldn't have purchased them myself, they've been a lot of fun. Great for encouraging them to make up equations.
The great thing about homeschool math is that we just keep going. We don't stop when the kids finish a grade level. It's a continuum. That's why, when people ask me now what grade the kids are in, I have to stop and think, what the "proper" answer is, not what grade level I'm doing in each subject area. My guys are starting to get very confused! It's great. They're moving at their own pace and that's what matters.
The purchased curriculum that I use is Bob Jones and I supplement with Jump math. I find that Bob Jones is definitely the most thorough and the one that best suits my children. I did not select it because of it's Christian content. I selected it because:
1) it's visually appealing (colourful, bright, lots of images, etc...)
2) it covers all areas of the Ontario curriculum and prepares learners for the next year
3) often goes beyond the grade expectations, and finally,
4) reinforces past learned material
On almost every page of Bob Jones Math is a word problem and although the child may be working on fact families, let's say, the book also includes questions from past lessons (other strands) to help reinforce learning. It's not enough to cover a topic once and then move on. In math especially, students often forget their skills when they're not usually them daily. Not only do kids need to understand the concepts and relationships, but they need to be able to do them fast. The more proficient they become, the more confident they will be with higher level thinking.
I can't say that I'm thrilled with Jump math. In the words of my mother, who's a retired primary school teacher (educated in the British system), "it's ridiculous!" It does have it's purpose, especially when combined with another source. I don't believe that it should be used on it's own. It simply does not cover all areas and doesn't use a variety of strategies.
We also use a number of other resources and manipulatives. Here are just a few of the manipulatives that we use:
Base Ten Blocks. I would not do without these!
We use these cheap plastic toys from the dollar store as counters and other manipulatives. An inexpensive tool.
We've had a few different clocks (including homemade which serves a purpose), but this is by far the best. I like that the time also shows up in digital format at the bottom and that the child can select AM or PM. It also has a handy stand on the back so it doesn't have to be hung up or lay flat on the table.
The kids love the play money. This set was a bit expensive, but after much searching and not being able to find a set with a good number of coins and bills, I settled on this one.
Flashcards. I don't use them often but the kids like to play with them and test each other. They see how fast they can say their facts.
A variety of different manipulatives.
Number stamps. These were given to us by a friend and although I wouldn't have purchased them myself, they've been a lot of fun. Great for encouraging them to make up equations.
The great thing about homeschool math is that we just keep going. We don't stop when the kids finish a grade level. It's a continuum. That's why, when people ask me now what grade the kids are in, I have to stop and think, what the "proper" answer is, not what grade level I'm doing in each subject area. My guys are starting to get very confused! It's great. They're moving at their own pace and that's what matters.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
What a great week!
So we finally have our basement reno 95% done. It is so nice to have the extra space and I am so enjoying having a workspace for the kids where we can keep all of our learning supplies without my feeling like they have taken over the house!
Tuesday was a very enjoyable day. After gymnastics we did some odds and ends and then headed up to Kerry's to make some collages with some other friends. Kerry had examples that her mom (an artist) had done in University and they were fabulous. I think the examples really inspired the kids to create. I was amazed at how focused they were. They really got into it and put a lot of thought into the textures that they were using. My guys loved seeing the finished effect of them being spray painted white. Of course highlights of the afternoon were playing outside in the playhouse and on the play structure. It was a gorgeous day out.
So Wednesday was one of those learning days that didn't go as well as I had hoped. Mason was not eager to work on his reading lesson. It was a real struggle so we gave up and moved on to math which went very well. He is one of the few kids I know that learns better later in the day. This is not my preference! After some reading and math we went to the Doctor where Mickey got her stitches out and it went relatively well. We then rushed to the library to pick up a stack of books waiting for me. Lunch was eaten somewhere along the way and then we were off to swimming lessons. Having the hour long lesson is making a big difference. I'm loving the homeschool swimming lessons. What happened after swimming is a bit of a blur but I do know there was a lot of time spent on marking Gr. 8 Science assignments.
Today was a fantastic day for learning. I have no idea what was different but I wish every day looked like today. We started the day with some art which the kids LOVED. In their sketchbooks they worked on the first lesson in "Drawing with Children". Mason's (fine motor) hand eye coordination is really quite remarkable. I really must help him develop this further. We then played the game "TENS", or at least Mason and I did. Mickey just used the triangles to make up new shapes. We then created underwater paintings with oil pastels and water colours. They had so much fun with this. Next I was on a mission. I had discovered yesterday when looking at the homeschool address book that another member lives in our neighbourhood, so off we went for a walk to scope them out!! So when I came to the house that had 3 teenage girls with a mom and dad in the driveway and some sort of catapult device shooting off water balloons down their very long and hilly driveway, I knew that we had found them. We went up and introduced ourselves and made promises to get together soon. When we got back Mason had his much needed play time with Mickey and then we went back to our learning. He took off with his reading. I know people are skeptical about the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" but it has been AMAZING for him. He did super today and to really raise his confidence we went back to some early Bob books and he just breezed through them. He was giddy! This did wonders for them. Then we moved on to his word box and worked through at least 50 words and put them into three piles - easy, hard and somewhere in between. This process really motivated him. Great, great day!
Tuesday was a very enjoyable day. After gymnastics we did some odds and ends and then headed up to Kerry's to make some collages with some other friends. Kerry had examples that her mom (an artist) had done in University and they were fabulous. I think the examples really inspired the kids to create. I was amazed at how focused they were. They really got into it and put a lot of thought into the textures that they were using. My guys loved seeing the finished effect of them being spray painted white. Of course highlights of the afternoon were playing outside in the playhouse and on the play structure. It was a gorgeous day out.
So Wednesday was one of those learning days that didn't go as well as I had hoped. Mason was not eager to work on his reading lesson. It was a real struggle so we gave up and moved on to math which went very well. He is one of the few kids I know that learns better later in the day. This is not my preference! After some reading and math we went to the Doctor where Mickey got her stitches out and it went relatively well. We then rushed to the library to pick up a stack of books waiting for me. Lunch was eaten somewhere along the way and then we were off to swimming lessons. Having the hour long lesson is making a big difference. I'm loving the homeschool swimming lessons. What happened after swimming is a bit of a blur but I do know there was a lot of time spent on marking Gr. 8 Science assignments.
Today was a fantastic day for learning. I have no idea what was different but I wish every day looked like today. We started the day with some art which the kids LOVED. In their sketchbooks they worked on the first lesson in "Drawing with Children". Mason's (fine motor) hand eye coordination is really quite remarkable. I really must help him develop this further. We then played the game "TENS", or at least Mason and I did. Mickey just used the triangles to make up new shapes. We then created underwater paintings with oil pastels and water colours. They had so much fun with this. Next I was on a mission. I had discovered yesterday when looking at the homeschool address book that another member lives in our neighbourhood, so off we went for a walk to scope them out!! So when I came to the house that had 3 teenage girls with a mom and dad in the driveway and some sort of catapult device shooting off water balloons down their very long and hilly driveway, I knew that we had found them. We went up and introduced ourselves and made promises to get together soon. When we got back Mason had his much needed play time with Mickey and then we went back to our learning. He took off with his reading. I know people are skeptical about the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" but it has been AMAZING for him. He did super today and to really raise his confidence we went back to some early Bob books and he just breezed through them. He was giddy! This did wonders for them. Then we moved on to his word box and worked through at least 50 words and put them into three piles - easy, hard and somewhere in between. This process really motivated him. Great, great day!
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