Math can be tricky to learn, to like, and to teach. For some of us, it's love and first sight. But for many, it's not so easy.
What Curriculum Do We Use for Math in our Homeschool?
We have used many different things over the years, but one we've really liked over the past year is Reflex for memorizing math facts. I want my kids to be able to quickly calculate basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Reflex has been a fun addition! It's an online game, but it limits how far they can progress in a certain period of time and I appreciate that. There's a 'sister' program called Frax to help with fractions too. It's on our docket to try this year.
The Good and the Beautiful has been a staple in our home for a very long time. As I have learned more about heart education, which I love, I have used TGTB in a less scripted and scheduled way. We've enjoyed opening it up and finding a lesson that looks fun this past year, then discovering how to do it. Allowing my children to choose their math lessons has been surprisingly exciting for them and has empowered them to discover more, engage with the material, and find more joy as they complete the worksheets.
Bedtime Math was recommended to me by The Mindful Heart. It's a good one to invite Dad to help with. It's a little silly, but it's has practical application for us and my reluctant-math-kids laugh while using it which is a plus!
Learn Math Fast was a wonderful discovery for us just this past year! My oldest daughter has really liked it and her math skills have grown while using it.
If you have a kiddo who loves art, they may like this book for math. My little artist gives it 5 stars!
What Makes Math Joyful for Our Family?
Definitely not curriculum. {I know, I really just said it}
But really, it's not the curriculum.
If there was a subject that could make me crazy and mean and my kids in tears, it would be this one. It has been this one. As I've worked to remind myself that my child's math level isn't a reflection of how amazing they are or how effective I am, things have revolutionized into something pretty beautiful.
If you'd like to learn more about teach math with heart education in mind, visit Libraries of Hope, then click the tab that says Mother's University, then Math (or just click on #10 Math here in my post for a direct link to it.)
Now, let me share something that has made math really joyful for us!
We traded in our formal curriculum and worksheets for....
A Homeschool Math Project
...but I didn't call it that until we visited about it at the end. #momtricks
I have a daughter who loves to cook. Math and cooking are friends. There's a lot of math in cooking. She doesn't love math. But when I combine the two, life is good for us all!
Considering this gave me a great idea: we could have her (and then each of our other kids) rotate with meal planning. We gave her the challenge of planning the meals for an entire month. To equip her, we also gave her the monthly grocery budget. She already had her own bank account and debit card so that made it easy.
Like, we really gave it to her. We transferring the money into her bank account.
Once her plan for a week was complete, we went shopping.
She used her menu plan to make her list, then used her list while shopping. She handled all of checkout and paid for the food. She also oversaw the execution of her plan and ensured the meals were ready on time.
I climbed the mountain with her, but she did all the work.
The Final Product
She loved it!
And we all enjoyed some delicious food.
She learned so much! The highlights for her were:
"I realized I cannot choose something that takes a long time to make for breakfast on busy mornings."
"I was really excited at first and wanted to buy all the yummy and fun things, but it took the budget too fast, so I had to put those things back." "I'm a lot more thankful for all that you do; meal planning and preparing is a lot of work! But it's so fun too!"
When I asked how she used math, she said:
"Most recipes don't make enough for our family, so I had to check to see if there would be enough and then double most of the recipes. Sometimes I just had to do 1.5 times recipes. I had to have some help with the math sometimes, but I'm glad I could learn how to do it."
"I kept track of the money and made sure I didn't spend too much." (The natural consequence for spending too much: either putting things back or using rice and beans from the pantry, because that's all that I made available for her to use without purchasing.)
"I also had to think about time and how much time it would take me to make things."
"Cutting dough evenly to make pretty designs or creating patterns with frostings on cakes....that's math!"
Free Meal Planning, Budget, and Calendar Printable for Homeschool Math Project
You can create something beautiful for your family too! We have done the initial step for you and we're excited to share it.
You certainly have my blessing and invitation to use only what works for your family. Notice I created a cursive-y one and a plain text. My thought was initially that my boy wouldn't want the cursive one. Maybe your kids have similar requests. Adapt it to work for your crew and remember-as always-to have fun!
10 Additional Ways to Enjoy Homeschool Math
Thinking outside of the box for math may be where your power lies to get your kids engaged and willing to try or try again. I hope these ideas will help spark your curiosity and creativity!
board games
cooking
sewing
building/woodworking
budgeting/managing money
calculating distances and travel time for an upcoming trip
sorting items, like fruits in a drawer in the fridge and veggies in a separate drawer
patterns
puzzles
nature study (patterns, symmetry)
Remember, it's okay to have fun and math at the same time.
Always Sharing...Not Comparing
Please share your experiences with us! We love to hear how you use the ideas we share here to make them amazing for your own family.
Remember, failures can be shared here too. Failure is a powerful teaching tool. I hope if you feel like you've failed, that you'll try, try again. We'll cheer you on!
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