Sloyd: Warming the Intellect

No, not Slide nor Sled, even if it IS snowing at your house... apparently they got 4" in Portland!?!

Sloyd. 
Incorporating Paper Sloyd as schoolwork provides great warm-up exercises in strengthening intellectual habits all year round (I've tried it!!). Who would have thought? Paper folding! It can also be great fun and spur one on to make some cool stuff.  Read on and you'll see what I mean.

I learned about Sloyd through Charlotte Mason some time back, but never was sufficiently inspired to do more than schedule it until this summer while attending a workshop by my friend BobbyJo in Minnesota. At that time, I had recently been considering it again, though I can't remember why... maybe due to my friend Richele and its relation to Mathematics or maybe convos with yet another friend Tammy? Either way, for better or worse, I resolved to begin our adventures in Paper Folding the subsequent schoolyear (last fall).


Of course, we didn't start during the first term; that would have been So Very Drastic. :) This term however, we started at the very beginning (which is a very good place to start) in Paper Sloyd for Primary Grades. Even for the elder students who have no experience, Sloyd has it's benefits, though we must keep moving in order to keep attention and not insult pride or patience. We started with the basics as presented in this book. Working in order, we've finished the first nine projects over the last several weeks.

My littles have been especially SUPER excited about each project they can make as-is or adapt for gifts for their siblings and friends' special occasions! Two days after creating the envelope, we had a birthday! Not incidentally, that sister received more than one special note wrapped in a handmade envelope/wall hanger this year. :)


All of us have had to work into this new venue. I had to learn to be clear and careful in GIVING instructions. We have all had to work to maintain a friendly and relaxed atmosphere (struggle on, perfectionists!). The kids have had to make an effort not to get overwhelmed or frustrated while listening and concentrating in a group context with various skill levels represented. We have seen great progress in all of these after the first few projects! Yay!

Every project boasts a series of instructions to be followed including drawing lines, cutting, folding, etc. The comeliness of the final product is in direct correlation to how carefully each instruction is carried out. At every point, each step depends upon the previous step being done exactly. Students must pay attention and concentrate all the way through the verbal instructions. They must follow those same instructions thoroughly and accurately or their project will be wrong or turn out looking 'junky'. 


Here's the low down...

• A perfect product is not the immediate goal (though I would be concerned if they cared not at all, but that hasn't been a problem with mine). My main objective is that the students take care to listen, concentrate and follow instructions thoroughly and accurately. If desired, they may later redo a project that they feel turned out poorly because of lack of skill or as a result of some inadvertent mistake (see below).
• Instructions are succinct on purpose. The student has to audibly process the instructions in order to follow through. I repeat the instructions aloud twice (w/ demo for my year one student when there's any potential confusion). Ahead of time, I emphatically encourage them to *think* before asking a question. It's much easier to ask a question than to think. If they can't seem to figure it out, they may wait and watch how someone else interprets the information (though obviously, I'd rather they figure it out for themselves).
• Everyone must respect others' need for concentration and NOT talk during the process unless asking a necessary question. It's also easy to get frustrated and have an outburst upon making a mistake - great for practicing self-control. (I encourage them that this is a learning process, to look for a way to make up for their mistake, and continue if possible. See next point)
• Disallowing re-do's mid-project obliges the student to experience natural consequences (a less than stellar final result). I have given second chances once or twice in order for my littlest to not feel overwhelmedly discouraged. One difficulty is, allowing one student to 'start over' because they're not happy with their cut or have folded wrong, requires the rest of the group to wait while they catch up. Or, I have to keep track of where two different sets are in the instructions line-up. Asking them to carry on (sometimes it's easy to make amends for mistakes by adjusting the measurements of the initial project size by trimming off a mistake), finish the project and re-do it if desired AFTER they know all of the instructions, seems to have been an acceptable consequence in most cases. This might be explained ahead of time to ward off an emotional blow up mid-project.

Teacher Tips: 
Of vital importance for parents and educators → DO: Initiate & Direct, DO NOT: Control or Dominate.

Pre-work reminders...

• Make sure to have materials ready - mine are kept in a basket and collected at the end (scissors, rulers, hole punches, glue sticks, etc.).
• Have everyone clear their space of everything except scissors, ruler and a sharpened pencil.
• Remind everyone that this is a time for listening, concentrating and working quietly. "We want to be quiet so that others can do the same." 
• Remind them that you will be repeating each of the instructions several times. For that reason also, we will listen carefully and think before asking questions. We might wait and see if watching what our neighbor does will help us to understand."
• Remind everyone that this is practice. "It's okay if we make a mistake. We'll do our best and get better with practice. If we do make a mistake, we'll keep going if possible. If it's not possible to fix it, we'll keep listening and following along to all of the instructions until they are finished and we can start over."

We've been talking about this on the AO Forum, check that out here and here.

The optional topic for discussion during February for the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is: Some Unconsidered Aspects of Intellectual Training. This post is my contribution to that discussion. If you would like to participate, see this post for more information! All CM inspired posts are welcome.

Wanna Share?! 

If you do blog specifically about Paper Sloyd, please come back and link with us so we can see and learn from you!!

MEP. A math story.

This post has been written in response to some questions on the AO forum regarding our process with MEP maths, particularly how to start students in the middle years, or how we've skipped years when needed. I've added some of my general thoughts about teaching math as well. But, you are formally excused from the table if this is excruciatingly boring fare for your palate. You don't even have to feel bad. Just click away. ;)


So. Here goes...

Another realm open to Intellect has an uninviting name, and travelling therein is difficult, what with steep faces of rock to climb and deep ravines to cross. The Principality of Mathematics is a mountainous land, but the air is very fine and health-giving, though some people find it too rare for their breathing. It differs from most mountainous countries in this, that you cannot lose your way, and that every step taken is on firm ground.    v4p39

Once upon a time, we came to a definitive crossroads in our math story. One boy continued to struggle as he always had, and at the very same time, we ran plum out of math books. While I'm not a big fan of curriculum hopping, if it were ever to come to pass, this was the time. Should I stick with the same ol' or go with something new? If something new, should I go with a non-curricular approach, popular at the time with some of my friends, or with a more traditional math program? Hmmmm. Have you ever asked those questions?

Though my boys could *do* math, I realized that there was a serious lack of understanding of the concepts. This was not necessarily the fault of MUS, but most likely due to the fact that I was not really teaching them math. I didn't know how to teach math. With that said, I really don't think your average later elementary kid is just going to 'pick up' on math on his own. Yes, there are kids who like math and catch on quickly, and can work independently, and can make their way through the elementary years without much trouble. This was me years ago and now this is my second-born. Fast forward, start high school math with more abstract concepts, and if one still lacks a deeper understanding, it is by no means easy anymore.

So, we found as we were working through Math-U-See, on the whole, they could do the lessons that were asked of them, but they didn't really understand what they were doing. Read more MEP transition nitty gritty here.

Enter MEP. It was practically love at first sight.

First of all, the entire curriculum is available for free online for one's perusal. That's convenient. It's all in electronic format. That's convenient. And it's the best math curriculum I've ever seen. That's really convenient!

You see, somehow I had never realized that math could be a living subject. MEP takes complex concepts and breaks them down to the point that most are introduced as far back as YEAR ONE, and are continually touched on and subsequently built upon by lots of roundabout ways, concrete activities, and real-to-life approaches, throughout every year, so that at some point, one just kind of already seems to know how to measure volume and solve for an unknown factor, etc. without really ever having had to struggle to learn it. Well, that's been our experience, anyway, with those children with whom I have used MEP from the beginning.

Trouble was, with my older boys, I didn't know how or where to start. You see, it has been said that MEP is difficult to accelerate because of it's richness. Well, it is that same richness that makes it difficult to know where to begin. When all along your other math program hasn't introduced those building block concepts, how far back do you have to go to fill in the holes? You cannot start a fifth grader back at Y1 simply so that he gets the whole scaffolding thing. Because the fifth grader knows LOTS of it already, he needs some foundation repair, that's all. Foundation repair is more difficult when you have an existing structure, you know. However, that's whats we needs. SO, where do we begin then? We are not going to pour a whole new foundation. We're just going to patch up. And that means, we'll fix problems as we come to them. We want math to be challenging without being frustrating.

For us, this meant, I needed to start the boys about a year behind where I thought they should be in MEP. Get this, NOT where they should have been according to MEP standardized levels. They were approximately 2-3 years behind that schedule. Students taught with MEP are in standardized schools and are started at 5 years old and are given an entire schoolyear to work steadily through each year of the curriculum. In standardized schools students don't have the luxury of skipping up a year or working on a personalized plan. They do MEPy__ because they are __ years old, and are in __th grade. Period. Not so, with my childrens. Almost everything around here is custom built. Including the garden gate and my closet shelves. Custom can sometimes mean makeshift. But not always. In the case of educational plans for my eldest children, they are almost always makeshift because often I have no idea what I'm doing. I learn from them, and hopefully the second batch will turn out better as a result. :)

So, we put them back in MEPy4. With daily one-on-one lesson time, one child picked up quickly and was actually up to speed within that year, I believe. The other, who had been struggling with MUS, now struggled with MEP. It's not magic, after all. Math struggles seemed to run in his veins (he's now built up an immunity!). But, math is a subject that needs teaching. And in 30min/day per lesson, we made the transition. I admit that MEP requires teacher time. But as a homeschooling mom, that's what I'm here for, right? :) Now, wait a second, I totally get the whole 'I have lots of kids though!' thing. I am not saying it's easy. It's not. I was sort of rebellious at first. But I'm SO glad we stuck through.

I had my struggler take a term to do a Life of Fred book. We plowed on with MEP. There were days. Let me tell you there were days. Little by little we worked through the new concepts and the new way of looking at math. I resigned myself to the idea that he might always be a year behind his younger brother. And he would probably never love math. Some people are built for math and others are not. That's absolutely okay. But, they must be disciplined to DO math, to take the time, even if it isn't their strong point. And we learned this.

We are so made that truth, absolute and certain truth, is a perfect joy to us; and that is the joy that mathematics afford. Also, there is great joy in standing by, as it were, and watching our own thought work out an intricate problem.   v4p63

Last year, miracles happened. Or it finally clicked. Whatever. In AmblesideOnline's y7, Javen was in y6 and Cullen in y7. Everything was going fine. Most days. Except for my anxiety that they would only finish junior high math in high school. Uh, slight problem. WAY back when I was researching MEP, I came on a homeschool conversion chart. I don't know who made it, or how true it is, but it says, that since MEP years 7 & 8 have a lot of repetition, they might be skipped. I was pretty much banking on it. So, when we got to the end of that year, I hesitatingly went forward and put them both straight into y9. It worked. And guess what?! I'm not sure when the pivot turned but, struggler, struggles no more.

Can I hear a big “Hallelujah”, please? :)

SO. whether or not MEP was meant to do just that, we've found that it is possible. I think it is a workaround for kids who don't start off in MEP, and I would still recommend going through the years in order, at the regular speed. I think that's best. But, if you didn't start way back at the beginning as did my younger children, there is still hope!

Now. An important note.
I have seen success with my boys and now with my younger kids using MEP, not because it is a miracle math curriculum. Though I am quite infatuated with it. :) I am confident our success is because of time spent every. single. day. with. each. student., working through the lessons, not verbatim mind you, but usually covering 50-80% of the lesson plan. I have learned the hard way, that I must take the time to check their work (this is how to check for comprehension), and go over problem areas (this is how to ensure mastery). As I postulated at the beginning of this post, for 90% of kids, it isn't going to be enough to send them off to teach themselves math. And though it is a significant chunk of my time, at the end of the day, I really believe it to be worth it! :)

I hope this has been helpful!
Please feel free to add your thoughts and experiences in the comments! ;)

MEP Y9 Maths without a printer? {well, almost}

While it is possible to teach MEP maths without a printer, I must admit that, doing it completely without a printer is ever so slightly challenging. Technically however, it can be done. I'm going to show how we prefer to do it, with only a minimum of printing, and how we could almost do without.

What we do:
Though at first it seemed to me that I was skimping on MEP by only printing out SOME of the materials; I got over it. Quick. And now that I've adjusted, I have seen that MEP is none the worse for almost entirely electronic implementation. AND I'm SUPER glad that I've saved myself (and the environment!) over the years from using SO much ink & paper! For every MEP year, I print* the Student Practice Books. I look at my kindle* or computer screen for the Teacher's Lesson Plans & other files. {If I had been certain that I was going to use MEP with ALL my kids EVERY year, maybe I would have gone and printed them all...? Probably not. I AM skimpy with my printer ink and paper and I don't like having TONS of printed off materials to try and keep track of with lots of kids doing lots of years. AND it would have been REALLY expensive if I'd taken ALL those files to the printer.} 


:: 
If you do NOT have a printer, the practice book is really the ONLY thing you MUST print if you also own a kindle/iPad or computer. This could be sent to the print shoppe.
Obviously, if you LOVE paper and have unlimited ink and such, or hate electronics in general... you could print it ALL. 
In which case, you should STOP reading this post.
::

What you need for MEP - Year 9:
Note: The upper years of MEP, beginning in y7, are a little different than the lower years in that, the curriculum is arranged topically (seems a little more mastery-ish than the previous spiral-ish approach). It may seem like it is more printing, but if it is more, I think it's only slightly more.
Also, there are three tracks in the upper years, Standard, Academic and Express. Each track increases in the amount/difficulty of the student's work, which also translates to the amount of problems and pages finished per lesson/booklet.

Student(s):
1 Practice Book per student (PRINT!* technically, students could do this off of a kindle screen, writing out all of their work and answers in their exercise books, though imo, this would be rather difficult, and unnecessarily exasperating...) For us in y9, this turns out to be, one little mini-booklet over a week or two*, for a grand total of 18 books per year. When printing booklet style, each practice book is only about 6-8 double sided sheets of paper.
1 Exercise Book per student (purchase whichever size notebook, preferably with graph paper)

Teacher:
Teacher Lesson Plan/LP** (Kindle/iPad or Computer or PRINT!* - I print this & write planning notes, I ONLY print the Academic pages, as that's the track we're using)
Overhead Sheets/OS** (Kindle/iPad or Computer, IF you use these)
Activity Sheets/Answers/ACT1,2** (Kindle/iPad or Computer, IF you use these)
Practice Book Answers/PBA** (Kindle/iPad or Computer)
Mental Practice/MT** (Kindle/iPad or Computer)
Revision Test/REV** (you could have students copy down the questions, OR do them orally OR PRINT! - if you use them as traditional tests)
Extra Exercises/EX** (I don't use these, but you could do the same as above)
Teacher's Notes/TN** (I look this over at the beginning of a new math section, there'd be no reason to print, imo)
For the younger years: 
Copy Masters/CM** (Kindle/iPad or Computer or PRINT if you don't have a dry erase board, these work really well for working out the problems with the students.)

(**denotes the abbreviations used in actual .pdf file names downloaded from MEP website)

Here's how I do MEP maths EVER-SO-EASILY-Electronically!!
On our computer, I keep a file on the desktop called >> MEP. There I have >> Y2 – LP & CM files, >> Y3 LP & CM files and >> a folder for Y9 materials, which contains >> LP, OS, ACT, PBA**, etc. .pdf files for the Y9 book we're in. 
Note: That will make a LOT more sense to those of you who have already looked over the MEP materials or have previously worked through one of the upper years of MEP.

At math time, I open up the MEP folder on my computer, and open ALL the files in it. LPs & CMs for y2 & y3, and ALL those files in the y9 folder (listed above). If everyone does math, there are about 12 .pdfs open on my computer at the beginning of math time. I follow the lesson plan for the given child's year, and as I finish using each .pdf resource listed in the lesson, I close it. When everything is closed, we're done! :)




Previously, I kept a dry erase board handy or a notepad to work out the example problems. But we discovered something recently that we're having a LOT of fun with... We write right onto the screen of my laptop when using the overhead sheets and the activities!! :) We use fine tipped wet-erase markers that wipe right off with a wet tissue when we're finished! Saves even more paper! And it's fun. ;) The kindle fire screen is also glass, so the same could be done there! 

:: PLEASE NOTE:: 

Computer/kindle screens made with permeable materials will STAIN!! 

Please check your device BEFORE writing on it!!

* MEP maths is a complete curriculum available online for free. It has been implemented in schools in Europe and many homeschoolers have successfully adapted it for use with their students.
* When printing materials, I find it WAY more economical - and only slightly if ever annoying to the student when doing measuring exercises - to print them booklet style as opposed to the full sheet size (which prints 2 pages per sheet of printer paper, in order to fold the pages that can be then opened/read as a booklet, not to be confused with multiple pages option which just prints 2 consecutive pages side by side, per sheet of paper).
* Transfer the .pdf files to your kindle via USB.  ** See above for the key to abbreviations of specific files.

Helpful Links:
MEP - Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching website
Queen of getting started with MEP for homeschool, imo: Jeanne @ A Peaceful Day!
MEP thread on the AmblesideOnline forum (must be a member to read & post)

story of math

Leave it to BBC to produce a really cool math (tv?) series and then I found it online for free! woohoo!  My kids are not overly fascinated by math, but this video really made it come to life for them.  So, I would think that math-y kids will REALLY like this video!  I'd recommend it especially for kids in the Y4 of MEP as we are working with different base numbers which is shown in real life near the beginning of the video.

It is called the History of Mathematics, and while we've only gotten through the first 2 parts (our internet is quite sluggish), I too am looking forward to finishing the series. While what I've seen is VERY good, I haven't previewed the entire thing yet, so be careful with tender eyes.  They do a good job with matching beautiful videography with engaging music.  We are liking it.  Here's the first one:

Have a peep at the other videos here.

(follow the previous link, at the end of part one of the video, 

it automatically launches into part 2 - 4)

MEP organization... in pictures

Our math organization in pictures... :)


We use MEP.  We like MEP.  That is, those of us that like math like MEP...
and thankfully, most of us around here like math.

MEP is available to homeschoolers, and we can access all the MEP lessons, teacher's books, overhead masters, manipulatives (number cards and lines) online for FREE.  However, in order to use the curriculum, it must needs be printed.  In this post, I'm going to show you how I did that.  And how we keep our math things in order.  :)   If you would like to have a feel for how we do math, you can hop over to this post at Jeanne's ohpeacefulday!  we do very much the same thing.

[If you don't use MEP, this post will be very boring.  You have permission to skip to the end.
your welcome.]

On the computer...

1) First of all I have a folder on my computer named MEP (very intuitive, yes?)
2) Inside that folder are more folders... Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, etc.  (yes, I downloaded them all at once)  Some of the files used to be password protected, but the password was accessible by e-mail. 
3) Inside those folders are folders titled... Practice book, Lesson Plans, Copymasters, and Spanish (MEP has years 1-3 in Spanish!  woohoo!)
4) In each of those folders are the pdf files that correspond for that year's math.

This way I can find what I want very quickly (even offline) when I have to print off the next section.

Getting ready for Year One...

1) I print off the Practice book first.  This is the book that the student actually looks at for her lesson.  For year one I print the pages full size* and put them in a binder.  For my boys in year four I actually print them as half sheets of paper to save paper and ink (more on how to do that in a moment).  There are 175 pages if you print off the whole thing at once.  Double sided that would be almost 90 sheets of paper.  I only print one pdf file section at a time, 15 double sided pages.

(note the pages from the files are size A4... 
that means you should check the 

option when printing that says fit to printable 
area or adjust the page/paper 

size settings if you print to normal letter size paper - 8.5x11)

2) Next I print off the Lesson Plans.  These ones I do print in booklet style to save paper and ink.  [How to print booklet option: After I click the print button, in my printer settings I look for the option that says Page Handling or Page Layout (or something similar to that) and I choose booklet printing (not to be confused with multiple pages per sheet which will print the pages side by side not like a booklet).
(258 pages divided by 4 per sheet = 65 pages)

I make sure that the page size is set to A4 and the paper size to whatever paper I'm printing to.  My printer handles the rest.  I can fold them in half and have a little book... but I cut mine down the center and have it spiral bound like this: 

You'll notice it's crooked... yeah, my printer was having issues. VERY troublesome.

3) I print off the Copy Masters that correspond with the lessons I'm teaching.  You could print ALL of these off at the same time or in sections like I do the Lesson Plans.  It is nice because they have divided the lessons up in the same way for Practice Book, Lesson Plans and Copy Masters.  I print them off booklet style again but I don't spiral bind these I leave them loose leaf and tuck them inside the Lesson plan book to hold the place.  I don't use them all... but they have been SUPER helpful and it is worth it to have them handy... (150 pages divided by 4 per sheet = about 37 pages)









4) Lastly,  there are the posters.  You will need Posters 1-10 during the first half of the year one book.  I was printing them off as I came to them which was rather disruptive to the lesson.  It is easier to have them printed off ahead of time and stored in plastic sheet protectors like this: 



Of course, there are a lot of MEP users who just pull them up on the computer screen and look at them.  That might work for you too.  I prefer to have them printed.






5) Here are our math things.  I collect crayola marker caps from the markers that have dried up, poker chips, little stuff that we can use as counters like pop lids, bottle caps, etc.  I also have a handful of dice and some peanut butter jar lids for sorting.  I printed off the MEP number & shape cards and keep those in one of those snack size zip locs...  All of this goes in the little orange basket that we pull out each day at math time.  Also seen above kept in a sheet protector are the number lines.  I keep one copy in the notebook and I give one to Bria to keep in her notebook.  We use the number line quite often.

For a comprehensive discussion on the compatibility of MEP and CM read Jeanne's post here.
Jeanne has another post that blows this one out of the water for an intro to MEP.  It's pretty long and has EVERYTHING you'll ever want to know... I'm just showing the different steps for getting organized that I've used which pretty much line up exactly with what she's already noted.

Here's the link to the yahoo group for MEP homeschool users

HAH!  My friend Phyllis just gave me an award!  She's so nice.  Don'tcha think?  Well, I'm posting it here... I'm kinda unsure about the whole award thing.  Not that I am ungrateful.  I am not.  Well, you can read more about all that HERE.

An Evolution of Math Drill

Learning basic math facts has been a bittersweet experience in our family. I'm sure many people can sympathize! While one of my kids really enjoys math, another does not. I have come to realize that much of their individual success or failure with math has had to do with how well they know their basic math facts. I never knew just how important this is! I'll explain why it is indeed so important, and how drilling math facts can be of help in this area.

photo by rolve

IF you know your addition facts, then subtraction is WAY easier and vice versa. Having the facts on the tip of your tongue cuts down on time spent on math considerably.

Imagine if as an adult you need to do the problem 876-284, and you have to get out your base 10 blocks for each simple operation. 6-4=2, find the six block, the four block - good. Now, 7-8... oh, get the blocks out again...7 is less than 8, so I'll have to borrow from the 8 hundreds space, which makes that 8-8=0, okay, get the blocks out then 7-2=5...Yes. This must be frustrating even for the kids! Knowledge is power!

IF you have your multiplication tables down, not only will you spend less time doing bigger multiplication problems, but division will be much less intimidating as well. The better you have the facts down, the more you can do in your head, the quicker the whole thing goes! Sometimes it's not really that math is hard, but that it takes too much time... more time than we want to spend on it!

photo by januszek

SO... Realizing how important it is to learn these facts, we could see no other option but to put other things aside and just concentrate for some time on mastering those necessary evils. Thankfully, my husband took charge of this area spending time with the kids and their flashcards! I recommend using fun math games throughout that reinforce the math concepts being memorized/mastered. If your child has memorized the facts without drill, way to GO! The following advice is for those having some trouble with memorizing basic math facts.

Here's how the use of math drill might evolve over a longer period of time:

Step one: Let the kids have some time for the facts to set in naturally, through experience and play. Don't drill. Though, for certain kids who WANT to drill at this age... by all means, drill!

When our kids were first learning their math facts, we didn't drill at all. We just kept it light hearted. Counting objects, adding some, taking some away, etc. We let them be entirely dependent on their math blocks and visual aids. This lasted at least until the boys were about 8 years old, around 2nd grade or so.

Step two: When they have had ample exposure to the natural method, and you are ready to have them start buckling down and memorizing, start with short and simple. Go through the facts orally, or use addition flashcards here, here, or make your own. Find multiplication flashcards here, here, or again, make your own. Start by letting them build the problem with their blocks if they don't know the answer right off. Or, if they don't answer it within 5-10 seconds, before their face falls, quickly tell them the answer. Have them repeat it after you. "Five and five makes ten." Don't use the timer at this point (unless you have a very competitive child who likes to compete with their own time - I have one of these). Spend 10min on this 2-3 times a week.

By the time our kids had gone over all the facts, when they knew a good number of them if they had all the time in the world to think, we started drilling with flashcards. We kept it short and simple. For 5 minutes, or 2-3x through the +3s for example and that's it for the day. We did this while continuing on with our math curriculum. When I felt they had a pretty good handle on the facts I took a break from this.

photo by iprole

Step three: If in the course of time, the kids still are not fluid with their basic math fact recall (mine were not), you might choose to spend some time really cementing the facts before moving on. This might include separating time a week or more where the only math you do is drills. Print off some drill sheets and start timing them. Perhaps you won't tell them you are timing them if they would be intimidated by that. In that case, you'd just keep the information for yourself in order to see their problem areas and progress. Use the information (repeated trouble with the +7s for instance) to know which facts to work on. Go back to the flashcards or find a fun game to play to reinforce those missing facts. See my links below for drill sheet links and a downloadable record sheet.

We had finished Beta (Multiple-digit addition and subtraction and other topics) and recently started on Gamma (Single and multiple-digit multiplication and other topics ) when I realized, the boys were slow with their +6, +7 and +8 facts. They were having to count on fingers or get out their math blocks for these simple operations. It was taking too much time, and they were getting frustrated. I realized that it was essential that they master these facts before moving a step further in their curriculum. So, we stopped everything and decided to drill.

Here's how we did it:

We made reusable drill sheets: I found drill sheets online at donnayoung.org (in those days she didn't have so many level options available!) I made the sheets reusable by printing Drill Sheet A on one side and Drill Sheet B on the other side of a sheet of card stock, then had it laminated. The boys used overhead markers (less smeary than dry erase). When they were finished, I just rinsed the sheets off under the faucet (no paper towel mess).

We started out having the boys fill in the sheets taking as much time as they needed. After a week of this, I started timing them secretly, but I didn't tell them their times, and just kept the records for myself. I also kept track of the date, drill sheet used and number of problems missed. Download a copy of my record sheet here. They started catching on, and wanted to know their times and soon it became a great game. I intentionally never pitted them against each other, that would have been disheartening for the one boy. I would correct their sheets (or better yet, have them correct their own work) and they would make corrections. Often they would do this later in the day as they were about done after the drill itself.

After a couple weeks of this, they had their math facts down! Because we were doing this as remedial work, we actually did addition, subtraction and the x0, x1, x2, x5 at the same time but on a separate laminated drill sheets. In retrospect, I would advise doing a little bit of drill all along the way from earlier on through maintenence long after the facts are mastered. I would definitely recommend the use of LOTS of supplemental math games reinforcing the same concepts. We didn't. We just left it with that.

Step four: Once the kids have gained proficiency with their facts, decide on a day of the week or once every other week to pull out the drill sheets just for fun. Have them try to beat their old record. Keep it light and fun. This takes about 5-10 min.

Step five: Use online games throughout the whole process for timed drill practice to increase speed and accuracy... if they are anything like my boys, they'll have so much fun playing, they'll forget they are even doing math!

So, while it may be possible that lots of math can be learned using only fun and games, I believe there are some parts that require discipline and serious study. Basic math facts are so important that I think it worthwhile spending the extra time and effort to get them down.

**Please let me know if this information has been helpful by leaving a comment. :)

Timed Drills...Living Math?

After my two oldest boys had spent an entire year struggling to get down their addition and subtraction facts, we spent a month or two doing no other math than timed drills in order to cement those facts before moving on in our Math-u-See book. It helped a lot!

In particular the drills helped my eldest son (then 8-9ish?) not to rely so much on counting with his fingers. There was absolutely no time pressure, unless they wanted to try to beat their old time. I just used the information for my own use. I kept track of the date, the drill sheet used, the time in which they finished the sheet, and number of problems missed. I had 4 drill sheets that I rotated, they had different combination of problems. I didn't tell them their time, unless they begged for it ;) But I did have them go back and do corrections. I must add here, that despite the increase in speed and accuracy on their basic math facts, the drill practice did nothing for their love of math. This lasted for awhile and then we went on in the MUS book. (As a side note, I do think it would also be helpful to pull out the drill sheets once every other week or so just to keep fresh.)

For my BOYS who are by nature competitive, the use of timed drills has been very helpful.

Secondly, just recently actually, I am seeing the benefit of timed drills once again. They are now 10.5 & 11.5, and participating in theamericanmathchallenge.com contest week, which has a combination of non-timed drills as well as timed drills in the format of a race against other students for the most questions answered correctly within a set time. It has given life to my boys' previously practically non-existent interest in practicing math... once again because of the competition factor. They have seriously spent many hours over the last week and a half doing math!! This is amazing considering one of my boys wrote the following last week:

"I hate math. I can read. I can spell. I can build. I can lern everything esily, but not math. Math is not fun, it is not interesting."

Because of the online contest he is suddenly doing VERY well at math. He is attempting problems he's never even done before and excelling! (I put him at the level he should be for his age, though he is a year behind to keep the boys together in their curriculum... so he's doing next year's math in the contest!) Yesterday, he actually called himself a 'human calculator'. So it seems that the timed drills handled properly can actually raise confidence levels (for him, I put absolutely NO pressure and really didn't propose for him to participate in the contest, I only offered the option to his brother who likes math, soon however, after watching his brother, he too was lured in :).

So, timed math drills have earned a place in our home, even though I wouldn't have thought it possible! :)

My opinion: I am leaning more and more towards supplementing our math learning with 'living math' activities. At the same time, I think that cementing the basic math facts is so VERY necessary that even if it requires nothing but drill (may it never be so! ;) they ought to gain proficiency in quick access to these memorized facts. Timed drills may not be overly 'living', but for the boys because of the competition factor timed drills have worked quickly, efficiently and beautifully. However, for some kids it might not work at all! For some the pressure of the time, or the fear of not doing well might inhibit success. In fact, if it would have worked for my kiddos to cement the facts purely through playing games, I would have loved it! But game or no game, they knew and resented that they were having to do math! :) I am super thankful for whoever posted the link on the living math forum to this math website, just when we were needing an extra boost in math motivation! I'll have to let you know how my up and coming daughter does when she gets to that age... she may not even need reinforcement of the basic facts if she keeps up at the pace she's going now! ;)

Well, there you have it! That sums up my research ala fisheracademy :) heheheh.

QUESTIONS:
What is your experience with timed math drills? How do you use timed drills in your family?
What success or difficulty have you seen? What other methods do you use to cement those basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts? Would you classify timed drills as living or non-living math activities?

Living Math - part one

This is the first post in my Living Math series.

In part one, I'll start out with our math history :) This will give you a little insight to our struggles and why we are turning to more living math methods! Then, I'll list some living math ideas that are working for us, and where we're headed. And last, I have a bunch of links I've found in my research of the topic, that I'd like to have handy and hopefully they'll help someone else out too. And then someday, I'm going to post again on the books that have really helped my boys - this is spoken in true faith :) ...they WILL be helped!

...this is my oldest (several years ago) doing math the painful way!

Our story:
One of my boys is seriously coming to deeply despise math. I have come to terms with the fact that math will never be his strong area. But I will not settle with the excuse that he has to hate it! Now, I didn't care much for math either growing up... too time consuming. So, I know that not everyone will like math, though if you're like me, maybe you will like it more later on when you see the practical use for it. The real problem is the effect it is having on his outlook on learning in general. I've heard him or his brother say things like, 'Oh, he's just not that smart...' And that simply cannot be! We have tried a few things over the years. I'm not in a position to try every curriculum out there, but we've seen some stuff. Everything I buy I have to mail or bring down in a suitcase which about triples its price. SO... for the last 3 years, we have been using MUS (which I actually really like). But the fact is, I don't want to try everything, I just want one thing that will work. Now, that should be easy, right?

--We used Miquon and it was from what I could see similar to Singapore... yikes. Teacher intensive. That was tearful for both of us (I might add though, the lady at the homeschool convention who recommended it to me really liked it! ;). We tried MEP for approximately 3 weeks... WAY too much work for me! I have too many kids for that! I did like that math, had it not been so intensive, I probably would've kept with it. I have experience with Saxon as well, too many problems! I knew that wouldn't go over well in our house!--

I have two boys, the younger of which is really quick to catch on, he is good at memorizing facts... you might say he's naturally mathematical. On the other hand his alter ego is represented in my oldest boy (older by 12mos). The main thing my struggler has a problem with, is simply memorization of facts. I thought it was a problem with curriculum. Matter of fact, I even had them both redo a year (this wasn't totally fair for the one boy who was doing fine, but since he didn't really seem to care, it worked). But for my oldest, math has always been a struggle. Since day one. ALL the math facts have been hard for my boy. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and now Division have all been the same. He knows it one day, and then I am not kidding, forgets it the very next day. It IS astounding. However, we are realizing that it IS there... somewhere... deep. way deep, deep down in there. He has this mindset problem. He thinks he can't do it, and by golly, when he's thinking that way, no matter the consequence, no matter how long he tries, he can't do it!

So. In the last year we have begun to incorporate some Living Math into our studies. This means fun math, really. Real life math. I'm doing this to try to remedy the fact that my boy HATES math and seriously is beginning to think poorly of himself because of this problem area. I want him to see the other side of math, that math can be enjoyable... and that mathematicians are people too... even if he isn't ever one of them!! ;)

We will get into that in the next post :)

Stay tuned :)