Category: Homeschooling

Dynamic Addition and Subtraction

Last week I showed you Static Addition and Subtraction using the bead frames. This week, the kids are demonstrating using exchanges for Dynamic addition and subtraction. Dynamic addition involves carrying, and dynamic subtraction uses the borrowing method. What you’ll see the boys doing is using the exchange method, since one bead on the 10 bar equals 10 beads on the units bar, for example, they can be exchanged for each other, like 10 one dollar bills for one 10 dollar bill. Here is Iain showing his dynamic addition problem that he’s working on:

Pretty straightforward. But Eryk had a slightly trickier subtraction problem, where he had to make an exchange with tens and hundreds, but didn’t have any hundreds to make the exchange with. That forced him to make two exchanges before he could proceed. Check it out:

And he got it! I let my kids check their answers with a calculator when I don’t have time to sit with them and check their work. I figure that they will be using the calculators for quick math sooner rather than later,

Two Math weeks in a row! I promise something different next week.

Math: Simple Static Addition

What is static addition? Quite simply, it is the addition process that does not require carrying. When starting structured mathematics lessons, barring counting, the first and most basic lesson is static addition. The easiest way to teach addition in a concrete fashion is using counting bears, or Cheerios, or M&M’s, or any other small objects with which small groupings can be combined to demonstrate the addition process. A bead frame, or abacus, is another method for doing this. I had never used an abacus before learning Montessori techniques (a licensed degreed math teacher!), and I regret that I waited so long to learn the benefits of using one.  In addition to aiding in the addition process, it also reinforces knowledge of place value. The small Montessori bead frame can be utilized for numbers up to 10,000, but the larger bead frames that we use go up to 1 billion.

The great thing about the bead frames is once you learn how to use them on a small scale, performing operations on a larger scale is just as easy, children can add and subtract numbers with 10 places very quickly and with great ease. Basically, each strand of the bead frame represents each place value, with the top being units, the second strand down representing the tens place, the third down the hundreds place, and so forth. So the number 317 is shown on the bead frame by moving 7 beads on the top row, 1 on the second row, and 3 on the third row. when adding a number, for example, 42, you would simply slide 2 beads over to join the 7 on the units strand, and slide 4 beads over to join the 1 on the tens strand. For a video on presenting the bead frame as a lesson, watch this. Here are the kids in action.

Macy is working with the small bead frame. This was her first lesson, and she picked it up very easily.

Here is a video of Eryk demonstrating static subtraction…

And here’s Iain demonstrating static addition, the only difference is that the beads move the opposite way.

I had the bright idea to put my class set of math practice cards in a gallon ziplock bag to create an erasable marker board for them to work with. These problems are created such that they aren’t going to remember the answers, so they can work the same set of problems (there are 4 pages, 2 each of addition and subtraction) until they have mastered the process. Eryk already has, and has moved on, Iain is still working on his speed and fluidity, and Macy has only just begun the process.

Setting Up A Classroom

You may be debating the necessity of having a dedicated space for a classroom, and rightly so, with so many learning opportunities available either online, or through alternate locations such as museums, libraries, and COOPs. I see a classroom-less homeschool as a real possibility for us at some point in the future. But as my students are still quite young, learning through doing requires supplies, and supplies need a space. The manipulatives required for concrete learning of abstract concepts have to be available, and easily accessible for the kids, as well as simple for them to put back. We have made one of our bedrooms useful as such a place, with workspaces for the kids as well. And though they do enjoy curling up in the window seat when they read, they usually end up bringing their activities out to the living room floor or the dining room table. Here is how we have the classroom organized:

On the left, unpictured, is our Library shelving, then you can see one of the desks designated for art or writing activities. Behind that are the Montessori manipulatives, each shelf a different category; one for Sensorial learning, one for Mathematics, and several of the shorter ones at the top house the large map puzzles for Geography. The very top shelf holds media based learning, DVD courses and the like. Beneath the window seat reading nook, the lacing, snapping, zipping, and tying frames hang. In the closet on the right, there is a shelf for wooden puzzles (an extension of Math and logic), The large science manipulatives, natural world math manipulatives, puzzles, and the imagination station. There is another desk situated on the left wall, and between it and the closet is the writing shelf, with different types of paper, activity books, writing utensils, and grammar activities, including the grammar boxes, and metal insets. Here’s a better look at that desk

which is predominantly used for their art projects. Their art supplies are organized (well, as much as art supplies CAN be organized) in the green corner cabinet, pictured here. Because of it’s proximity, the desk is quite frequently covered in clay and paint. Next, these are what I used to deem circle time activities.

Calendar building, Pouring and tweezing activities, Nomenclature and three part card activities, and some construction activities. On the other side of the doorway is our Library section.

The kids are welcome to read any day for school, but on science days, they have to read science books, on history days, history books, and so on. So our books are organized by subject. Literature, Languages, Math, Art, Sciences, History, Theology, Easy Reading, and Magazines. On their reading days, they have the freedom to select any subject they choose.

Even as the kids outgrow their need for manipulative based learning, we will always have a library. This room will more than likely one day become a bedroom, but for now, it is a place for them to learn and read, build and explore, and grow.

A Lesson in Grammar

If answering the 5 W’s of homeschooling, you already know the who (us, and you if you want!), I shared with you the when, and the why. The where is easy, we learn everywhere! The world is our classroom; our garden, the zoo, the grocery store, library, living room floor, dining room table, hammock in the front yard, tree house… We even have a classroom, and if the occasion calls for it, we can sit in there and learn, though we usually don’t. It’s more of an activity access and storage center, with a couple of work stations for art projects and writing. Tune in next week and I’ll give you a classroom tour.

Today, though, I promised to show you an example of our “What,” as in what do we do. “What curriculum do you use?” is a common question that we field. Answer: I don’t have one. After examining several, they all had holes, none of them covered all I wanted to cover in a method that I wanted things covered, so rather than buy them all to piecemeal, I started off by writing my own preschool curriculum. I discovered the Montessori method of education, and really loved it. So a lot of the examples that I share are going to be Montessori and manipulative based.

These are called Grammar Boxes. This week, the kids received an introductory lesson to sentence diagramming. The boys have been familiar with nouns and verbs compliments of Mad Libs, this lesson reinforced their knowledge, and encouraged them to share their knowledge with their little sister. Macy mastered the articles (orange) and nouns (black)

Here is Eryk matching nouns ending in “f” or “fe” with their plurals ending in “ves”

And here Iain is constructing sentences using verbs (red), articles (orange), and nouns (black).

The Montessori method for teaching parts of speech and sentence construction uses color coded word cards, and a labled hard wood organizational box. The Montessori manipulatives can be expensive, you can make your own, or work without them. The boxes, while helpful for organizing and reinforcing the different categories of the parts of speech, aren’t entirely necessary, the key really is in the word cards and sentence strips. As you can see, my kids have no problem working directly on the floor.

I purchased the sentence strips and word cards from Montessori Printshop. They are well worth the money spent, and are a good middle ground if you want to try to make your own and still have a polished look. Print the cards on card stock, or laminate them to help them last longer. This is a great video on the presentation of grammar in the Montessori method.

A day in the life of a Homeschool family

Once you decide to homeschool, the first thing that you need to decide is what your day is going to look like. A schedule is important, but so is flexibility! Our educational adventure started a little over 8 years ago, and in that time, we’ve always tried to have some sort of schedule, but as life happens, we’ve adjusted our schedule to adapt to our lifestyle. My   schedule needs to change again, but as it stands right now, this is what it looks like:

Daily Schedule
7:00 Wake up! Care for animals
7:30 Chores
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Gardening- Plant of the week
10:30 Check animals, Break
11:00 Lunch
11:30 Cleanup Lunch, Start Dinner
12:00 School activities
1:00 Architecture of the Farm
3:00 Check animals, Break
4:30 Food Project
6:00 Dinner
6:30 Cleanup dinner, showers
Dusk Secure animals, then free time
8:00 Reading and Bed

 

 

School Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Eryk Reading, Writing, Math Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Astronomy History, Games & Puzzles COOP Art, Signing, Spanish, Music
Iain Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Astronomy Art,   Signing, Spanish, Music Reading, Writing, Math COOP History, Games, & Puzzles
Macy Art,   Signing, Spanish, Music History, Games & Puzzles Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Astronomy COOP Reading, Writing, Math

There are two schedules there; first, our daily schedule, then, our school schedule. You’ll notice we do very little “school” work, and that is because during our gardening time, we are learning biology, botany, phytology, environmental sciences, meteorology, herpetology, entomology, and almost every other “ology” you can think of. During our food projects, we get chemistry, fractions, conversions, ratios… plus delicious food! People joke with my kids when they see them out that they have a break, but the truth of the matter is, we don’t take breaks, life is learning! The school rotation ensures that we cover all the bases, but it is truly a very small part of raising a child into a well rounded human.

What do I like about this schedule? Well, it gives us plenty of time to get into our projects, whether planting or brining, mucking out stalls or clipping flight feathers. It also offers a variety of different things to fill our days. What do I not like about it? Well, with my kids always wanting to use the same manipulatives during school time, I decided to try letting them alternate days so that they didn’t have to fight over the bead frame or the microscope.  But I think I’ve lost far more opportunities for them to learn cooperation and sharing, as well as the missed chances for them to teach each other, which I find highly valuable. So I will be working on transitioning them back to a simplified school schedule, where we will all be working in the same vein of study each day.  See? Flexibility, experiment, and learn!

So you may not have calves to bottle feed, or a need for a two hour block of time to repair fences. Fill your schedule with all the things that you need to get done, and involve your children in the process. Learn how to do something new, and teach them how to do it in the process. Next week I’ll give you a peek into our school lessons.

Why Homeschool?

One of the first questions home educating parents get asked is why did you choose homeschooling as opposed to government school. Every person who has broken from the norm has their why; for some, it was a traumatic event in the system that pushed them or their children from it, others, not trauma, but neglect drew them away. There are still others who never even chose to give the system a chance to mold and direct their children. We fall mostly into this category.

It was the act of becoming a teacher that cemented my resolve, and ultimately our family’s decision to not expose our children to the ugliness and culture of ignorance displayed by the up and coming teachers. We all know the phrase, “It takes a village…” I’ve seen the village, lived in the metaphorical village, and quite frankly, I don’t want it anywhere near my children, let alone raising them.  This doesn’t mean, as some believe, that we are raising or educating our children in isolation, on the contrary, we are building a new village! Instead of an individual who’s eyes glaze over when given a math lesson to present (almost every “teacher” I’ve encountered), my kids get math they can see and touch, that has value to them in a concrete sense. Instead of an adult who has to consult a teachers manual before answering a question, we find experts and engage them in conversation, usually learning not only the answers to our questions, but discovering cool tidbits that we wouldn’t have even thought to ask. Instead of being taught grammar and sentence structure by someone who speaks and writes in “text speak,” well, you get the picture…

I don’t know everything. My children know this about me, it takes humility to give your child, who thinks that you do, access to that information. But they get to see me learning, they have my life long learning process as their example. They, in turn, learn every day. There is no summer or Christmas break, there is no weekend; learning happens every day, for all your life.

So can you do this?