Saturday, February 18, 2012

Math, making it real!

Some students find math difficult; even to the point of developing math anxiety.  Sometimes it is because the topic really is difficult, like long division. Sometimes it is because the math they are studying on the paper, or online, seems to have little relationship to the world they see around them.

My daughter hates to study geometry and balks at the very mention of the word, yet will gladly incorporate geometry principles when she is drawing things she sees in the world around her. She dislikes fractions, but loves to use recipes. Decimals and percent give her fits when she is studying it as a subject, but she can tell you how to figure a tip in a restaurant in her head.

My daughter dislikes the theoretical study of math but when you put that math in a real world application she has no problem applying the theoretical to the reality. If I can remember that when math lessons are presented then it would go a long way to getting my daughter to learn the math lessons.

If your child has trouble with the theoretical lesson, step away from the theoretical and make it real. Show them how many quarters a half a dollar is, or how many cups go into a gallon pitcher. Point out angles and lines and tangents in real world settings. Make math real and you might just make it really easy for your child!

Friday, February 3, 2012

How do I get organized?

For some homeschoolers it is very difficult to get organized. Things that make it harder to get organized include number of children, ages of children, special circumstances such as learning disabilities, and one’s own organizational skills.

I only have one child, but I am a somewhat disorganized person, and my daughter has ADHD, which contributes to the chaos around our house. I have found that having an online homeschool curriculum that plans lessons for me, and keeps the grades and completion records for each lesson, quiz, and chapter test works great for general school record keeping.

Some people use the box method, where the work for each student for the day is included in a box or file folder. I can’t really use this method because each day is a new day for us. One day we might finish everything I had planned for the day, the next we might accomplish nothing I had planned for school.

I have found that keeping a schedule book like a day planner, with a week and a month view helps me know when and where we need to be. It also works as a record keeping system of sorts, since I can use it to cross reference why no school was recorded on a day, or when we attended an event that I would consider a field trip.

Each family is different, and being honest with yourself about your organizational abilities, and your child’s ability to stick to a schedule will help you choose the right organizational method for your family.