One plus One is.....

Mathematics is not my forte. My husband loves math, excels at math...but alas he has to work.....so I'm teaching it, well sort of.

In the Beginning

Simple pre-school math is very easy to teach. When you are setting the table at night, the four year old will count on his fingers how many plates to put on the table, how many cups, how many forks etc. They soon grow a little older and you tell him, "We have six boys and two girls, how many plates do we need?" Beginning math is easy to teach and parents usually teach it without realizing it, just like speaking, colors, etc.

We have enjoyed the Saxon math series for the younger kids. We did purchase the Saxon K math program and do use it because the pre school and kindergarten age child is always asking to "do math." It is very simple, not very time consuming and a great tool for the parent and child to learn learning styles and to get in a rhythm of "school." It is a great time to have one on one time with the younger children especially when your older children demand so much of your time.

The Saxon math 1-3 are wonderful, scripted math lessons teaching everything from the basic 1+1, calendaring, patterns and money to geometry, multiplication and division. With my first I was very "follow the book" but after going through it I have relaxed with my younger ones. Not only do I now know how to teach it, but the younger children were usually listening in as I taught the older children so they know most of what is coming next.

With each lesson comes a front and back work sheet. We do the first side together during the lesson and then sometime before the next math lesson the child is to complete the other side without help. (Of course we read the words when the child has trouble reading.) We have had much success with this formula and won't change until the formula no longer works for that child.

Upper Levels

Saxon math continues up through high school. We have yet to experience all the joys that higher math will bring. We do not use Saxon as outlined in the book. Like any good curriculum we use it as a tool, not the rule. Each night I take the completed assignment for that day and correct it and make the next days assignment. I base what problems they will do the next day from the problems they got wrong the assignment before. The lesson usually has 20-30 problems and I don't assign them all. I throw in some review problems and problems they continue to be weak on. And of course the problems that go with the lesson for that day. I usually have my children do 10-15 math problems a day, plus all the practice problems. If my kids are on top of things they can have their assignment done in less than 20 minutes.

We do take the tests and about twice or three times a week I give them a timed math sheet, although I rarely time them. Of course every now and then we need to stop the lessons to review or go over something that is constantly missed or not understood completely. But that is the beauty of homeschooling. There is no set timeline that a sixth grader needs to have geometry down. If he doesn't get it, we stop, review and go over it until it is understood.

D.I.V.E and Saxon

For the older children we use DIVE on the computer. (Click here or here & please do your own search for good pricing) This is a program that basically teaches the day's lesson "whiteboard" style on the computer.

"D.I.V.E which stands for Digital Interactive Video Education, is a revolutionary product which utilizes recently developed software and hardware technology to create math and science lectures on a computer whiteboard that looks and sounds like a real classroom." so says this web page.

I would agree with this statement except for one thing, doesn't sound like a classroom. There is no background chatter, books dropping, or school bells ringing, but there is a teacher's voice that is heard explaining the lesson while drawing on the screen of the computer. My kids have liked having someone explain their math lesson that understands what is going on (I didn't do a very good job). They also like the pause, rewind, fast forward features on the program. If they don't get it, rewind. They can also go back to previous lessons and have the lesson taught over. I have assigned previous lessons when a refresher is needed. So far I have been thrilled with the results and will be purchasing more in the future.

But with all that I have an ace in my pocket; my husband. When things get tough they go to dear old dad for help. Thank goodness for him!

Mathematically Correct is an excellent website that reviews different math programs.

Stores that sell Math products.

Helaman's Academy mini unit on Math

Math resources on the web.

Last updated: November, 2006

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