Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Math is a problem - What now ?

Earlier this year I shared with you about my approach and philosophy about teaching Math. Today I want to tackle this subject from the angle of what do I do if my student hates math or they are really struggling to grasp a mathematical concept. In preparation for today's post I did a quick Google search Help! My Child Hates Math! and was surprised that it came back with over 21,700,000 results!

One of my earliest memories of teaching a math concept to a struggling student was trying to teach one of my children fractions. It was the third or fourth day and I had pulled every idea out of the bag to help this child understand their work. They were getting frustrated and so was I! After all I thought what is so hard about fractions!!!! In desperation I rang a friend and went over for a cuppa coffee to regain my sanity and shared what had been happening in math class. She calmly called over my children did a quick lesson on fractions to which said child looked over at me and asked "Why didn't you just say that?" Oh boy ...

The greatest lesson I took home with me that day is that if they don't get it the way I teach it ask a friend.  There is no one right way to teach math or any other subject for that matter. We all see the world in our own unique way.

 History and Research on the Teaching of Math This article takes a fascinating look at mathematical learning and teaching over the years and how this impacts our ability to learn math easily. It has helped me be far more relaxed in my approach in doing math with Sir N. Our brain development plays an enormous role in our ability to learn math than we realize. I highly recommend this insightful article if you have a child struggling to cope with math.

Some solutions
  • Step away from the text books for a while and play games
  • Slow down. Sometimes the text book we are using moves along at a pace that may be just a little too fast for some students. Get to know your students learning curve and move at that pace.
  • Use online games to learn math facts. Math facts do not need to be understood to be learned.  This is route learning but plays a very important role in the highschool years.
  • Play card games 
  • Use dominoes to learn math facts. Drill work.
  • Ask a friend to teach a lesson.
  • Ask the child to teach you (I have found this helpful as it helps to clarify their point of misunderstanding)
  • Do practical math application learning. (banking, area, shopping, etc)
  • Ask questions
  • Keep the manipulatives for as long as possible. It's been shown that pushing a student to abandon the use of manipulatives hampers a students progress in later years when doing more complex equations.  Manipulatives are very important in math competency.  Allow the student to drop the use when they are ready. 

On the Net
    TED talks on math
    I have enjoyed TED talks on the subject of math. They have helped me think through my preconceived ideas on teaching and learning math.

    Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers

    "Stop teaching calculating, start teaching math"

    I would love to know your thoughts and how you approach math

    Blessings

    Chareen

    This post is part of the Homeschool Help series brought to you by a group of homeschool Mom's from around the globe.  Do not forget to visit and read their inspirational insight.


    This week
     ---ooOoo---
    Posted by at 5 comments:
    Labels: ,

    Sunday, 22 September 2013

    Who You Are


    May you be as blessed as I was with this video
    Blessings
    Chareen
    Posted by at No comments:
    Labels:

    Saturday, 21 September 2013

    Seed Sowers a gospel planting adventure {Review}


    This past month Sir N and I have had the privilege of meeting some of today's modern heroes in the biographical book Seed Sowers: Gospel Planting Adventures published by Grace and Truth books. This book was compiled and written by a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew Gwen Toliver.

    When Gwen and her family relocated to Wycliffe's Linguistics Center in Dallas, Texas they began meeting dozens of 'retired' missionaries who were still actively serving in many supportive rolls. The thing that struck her was that most of them had never recorded their own incredible stories.

    Gwen thought "What a shame! Most of them possess this amazing wealth of spiritual knowledge and mission field experience that will be lost if it's not recorded for future generations. Only a few had written or told their stories."  Little did she know that over the next two years she would begin a remarkable journey of discovery (or mining gold as Gwen calls it) as she spent time interviewing these 'retired' missionaries. Out of this experience a book was birthed.

     Seed Sowers
    • Format: Paper back / Hardback / Kindle
    • Number of Pages: 180
    • Publisher: WestBow Press
    • Publication Date: 2012
    • ISBN: 978-1-4497-7130-0
    • Author: Gwen Toliver
    This is a beautiful book written for children and is a pleasure to read out loud.  Sir N has begged me to keep reading each day as we have spent time together reading Seed Sowers.  This book is written at around a sixth grade independent reading level, however children as young as six will enjoy the adventures of the missionaries and bible translators in the book.

    Seed Sowers introduces us to the stories of 21 inspiring missionary heroes and the adventures they experienced serving our God in different parts of the world.  At the conclusion of each chapter Gwen has included a short note detailing when the particular translation of the bible was completed and what the missionary is doing now. The book concludes with a comprehensive bibliography sharing when the interviews took place and any extra resources used in compiling the stories.

    The only complaint Sir N has had is that he wished that there were pictures in the book. This is one thing that Gwen wishes she could add to this wonderful book the photographs of the missionaries. Sadly the publisher has said that due to poor quality they can not be added. She has been collecting beautiful photographs and sharing them on the Seed Sowers Website.

    Upon reflection I think it would be a wonderful addition if a world map with an indication of where the stories took place were added to the stories along with present day photographs. It would be amazing to see who these wonderful people are and it would help younger children to appreciate that these are real life hero's who are sharing their stories with us.

    Purchase the book
    • Paper back $12.50
    • Hard Cover   $27.95
    • Kindle  $3.99
    Connect
    • Gwen shares her families full time missionary adventures living and serving with Wycliffe Associates in Texas over at Tolivers to Texas. 
    • Seed Sowers blog. Here Gwen shares more insights from the book, introduces some of the heros from the book and photographs.
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook

    This book gets a 5 star rating and would be an asset on any bookshelf.  It's a wonderful twaddle free read aloud sharing living stories of modern hero's for your children to look up to. 
    All that is good reflects God's Glory. It has been said that the full joyousness of childhood can only be experienced by those who are allowed by their elders to mix heaven freely with earth, and to see angels and heroes where commonplace sinners actually stand. - Karen Andreola
    I agree with this statement and reading about heavens modern hero's in Seed Sowers is just one way to inspire and encourage our children to do great things for the Kingdom.

    Blessings
    Chareen


    Photobucket

    Posted by at 2 comments:
    Labels: , ,
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)