Math Options – Facebook Live

Posted on

After our camping trip, I found I had no time for the weekly Facebook Live event. Sorry I missed my weekly rendez-vous live with you all last week. So this week I spent over 20 minutes talking live. The topic? Math options.

Math Mammoth

Our favorite math curriculum, Math Mammoth.

Love it or hate it, math is essential. I happen to love it. My kids like math. Like reading, the more you do it, the more you love it. Continue reading »


Math Manipulatives

Posted on

Math manipulatives do not have to break the bank. In fact, one could use beans as counters. But it’s so nice to have blocks, tiles, teddy bears, cubes, interconnecting cubes and other such math visual aids.

Recently, I realized my first grader was a little overwhelmed by first grade. Not terribly so, not to tears, but just enough to cause behavioral issues. Children misbehave when they are either bored or overwhelmed. This first grader was overwhelmed by some of the abstract concepts and bored by some easier ones.

Boy and girl arranged colorful tiles in patterns

Tiles arranged in different patterns.

Although I believe school should be made attractive to children, I am not the kind of homeschooling mom who believes in entertaining the children in order to make them learn. We use songs to memorize concepts up to a point. Learning is hard work and it prepares the children for the hard work they will have to put forth as adults. So I don’t make things “easy and fun” too much. But I pay attention to their frustration level. Continue reading »