Math Problems

I've been planning for next year's curricula and we have a Math Problem: none of us likes the curricula we've been using.

In the beginning, I began John Mark on Math-U-See, which he loved and I loved and life was good. The problem was that Math-U-See is very non-traditional (not "fuzzy"- just non-traditional). When John Mark got old enough to actually start solving real problems (multi-step multiplication, division and fractions), his father, Mr. Math Engineer, said, "That's not how you do math!" So to preserve family harmony and allow Father to "talk math" with Son, I continued to let the younger kids use Math-U-See until they hit they hit the that point, and then we switched to the classic, no-frills, well-known Saxon Math. And over the years, the kids and I have begun to dislike it more and more.

Now, in all fairness, I know there are many families who use Saxon and love it, and Saxon definitely has a proven track record of success. But what good is a "successful" curricula if it's teaching my kids to hate math? I am not a math whiz by any stretch of the imagination, but even I can see that there are often simpler appropriate algorithms than the ones Saxon uses. In addition, Saxon uses an "incremental" approach, so the student only does a few problems in each lesson that teach the new concept and everything else in a lesson is review. For my kids, this means that they sometimes don't get enough practice on the new concepts, and there's lots of "busy" work with all that review. Math has become a trial for all of us and I just cannot take another year of Saxon. What to do?

I don't have all the answers yet, but I went ahead and switched John Mark mid-year to Videotext Algebra. We haven't been using it for too long, but he is enjoying it much more than the Saxon. He watches a short video segment, reviews the concepts in his workbook, and completes either the even or the odd problems. Videotext uses a "mastery" approach, which means that all the problems in a lesson deal with the new concept, and subsequent lessons build on top of this one. I suppose that's what I learned as a child because it just feels a lot more natural to me. If John Mark gets his problems right, he doesn't have to do the other half of them. If he isn't quite clear on the concept, we work through the ones he missed and he does the other half. The next day, he takes a quiz on the previous day's material and if he does well, he moves on to the next lesson. So far, so good, and we are both much happier (which is a really good thing because the down-side of Videotext is that it is rather pricey). Videotext also combines Algebra I and Algebra II, without breaking them up for Geometry, which comes next in the series. Since John Mark is talking about becoming an engineer like his dad, he has begun to work with me on planning his high school curricula, and part of the appeal of this curriculum is that he will be able to make up some time and complete Algebra II by the end of his Freshman year.

My plan for Becca is to switch her to Teaching Textbooks next year. Teaching Textbooks is what math ought to be! The curriculum consists of the student worktexts (which could be used by themselves) and a set of CDs that work through the lesson step-by-step. After the student reads the lesson in the text, he has the option of going ahead and completing the problems, or he can view the lesson on CD. Then he completes the lesson problems and grades his work. For any problems that were missed, the student can go to the solution CD, which shows how to work through every problem step-by-step! I spent about an hour yesterday afternoon playing with the sample lessons on the website. The books and the CDs are funny, engaging and very kid-friendly. This is the first curricula which was written specifically to met the needs of homeschooled students, who often work independently when they get to higher grades. Currently, the levels available are 7th grade, pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, and Geometry. They will have 6th grade math available soon, and I hope that they will continue their product line into at least pre-calculus. For now, Chalkdust Math follows a similar format and covers upper-level math through college algebra.

I am so encouraged at the thought of having my kids enjoy math again! I still haven't decided exactly what to do about Philip and Ben for next year, but the search continues!

First Spring Weekend

Spring is finally here, and just in the nick of time! My kids' jeans are all two inches too short and have holes in the knees, our school workbooks are all worn and dogeared, and the endless days of cold, gray weather were making us all tired and irritable. Time for a new season!

The weather this weekend was perfect spring weather: sunny and not too hot, not too cold. On Friday, I told the kids if they got their housework done early, I'd pull all the summer clothes out for them. I've trained them well, and they get very excited over hand-me-downs and last year's yard sale finds.

On Friday evening, Grandma and Grandpa came in for a visit. We built a campfire in the backyard to roast hotdogs and S'mores for dinner. The night was just cool enough to enjoy a fire, and it was pleasant to listen to the night sounds and smell the wild onions on the breeze (you can tell that I've never had a manicured yard when I've learned to enjoy the smell of wild onions!)

On Saturday, John made brunch, Becca and Philip opened late birthday presents, and then Grandma and Becca went shopping while John and his dad began working on a few of the numerous projects that have piled up while John has been in Texas. The little boys organized their toy shed for the summer and then spent the rest of the day running around the yard and playing with the new soccer ball and goal from Uncle Mike and Aunt Laurie. *I* went to my first yard sale of the season and found eight books for the kids. A satisfying yard sale experience for me involves clothes for me or books for the kids, so this was a great way to start the season!

After church today, John began tilling the garden while I went to Praise Team rehearsal. Tonight, Praise & Worship and a potluck. (I like potlucks!) Our first spring weekend has been a really good one.

A Quiet Weekend

It's Very Quiet. The main noisemakers in the family, Scoutdad and Scouts 1, 2 and 3 are all camping this weekend, leaving me, Sister and Lil' Scout Wannabe at home to enjoy the quiet. Sister and I will enjoy the weekend, watching chick flicks and maybe get some scrapbooking in. We will give Lil' Scout Wannabe the remote and a stack of DVDs, and we might also bring out the Forbidden Toys (the ones that stay put up in the closet after Mama steps on their tiny parts one too many times). The Scouting Four, however, will be freezing their patooshkies off out in the wild somewhere. (This means, of course, that Scoutdad might bring Scouts 2 and 3 home sometime tomorrow, if they turn out to be Scout Weenies like their mother.) I made a big ol' pot of our favorite Sausage and Kale Soup, and we'll feed Lil' Scout PB&J sandwiches since he is a Soup Snob and will only eat "Grandpa's Soup" (potato soup). Tomorrow, we will eat pancakes and bacon and popcorn and soup, scrapbook all day and watch Chick Flicks and HGTV. It's gonna be a good weekend.

WFMW: What to Tell a TattleTale

For today's Works For Me Wednesday, I'd like to share a wonderful character-building resource.

As all homeschool moms know, "Spring Cleaning" means sorting through the past year’s piles of papers, notebooks, "artwork", essays, portfolios, and lots of books. Recently I was digging through some of these piles when I ran across a book I hadn’t seen in quite a while. It was written by fellow homeschool mom Pam Forster, and this short booklet had the interesting title of The Brother-Offended Checklist: What to Tell a Tattletale. I have five tattletalers in my home, so I was intrigued! I opened the book and began to read:

“Mom-my! He took my truck!”
How we deal with an “offended brother” is important.
As parents, we can encourage our child to become a talebearer, or we can help him learn to deal with offenses and offenders in the way God has outlined for us.
We can teach him to speak honestly and humbly with the person who offended him, or we can encourage him to gossip and to involve others in his complaints.
We can urge him to graciously overlook minor faults and offenses, or we can allow him to become a proud and petty judge of other’s weaknesses and sins.
We can help him learn to trust God and His delegated authorities, or we can allow him to harbor grudges and bitterness when he believes that justice has not been exercised.
Teaching our children to obey God’s instructions when facing their own sins and the sins of others will affect their relationships for the rest of their lives. It will help them become better spouses, better parents, better friends, better church members.”

Ouch! There’s no doubt that my children are tattletales from time to time…but as an adult, I struggle with the very same behaviors! Tattletales grow up and continue telling their tales of woe and injustice to anyone who will listen. It may surprise you to find that in the Bible, God addresses the heart of the “offended brother” as often as he addresses the one who has offended.

As parents, we struggle to teach our children how to love each other and forgive each other so that as adults, they can follow God’s instruction to “live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). But tattling isn’t just for kids! God must have known what a huge temptation it is to want to tell on everyone who has hurt us, because the Bible is filled with instruction not only for those who are the offenders, but also for those who are the “offended brothers." So how should we respond when someone has offended us? The Brother Offended Checklist summarizes what the Bible has to say:

Don’t be in a hurry to tell someone else. “Do not go hastily to court…Debate your case with your neighbor himself” (Prov 25:8-9)

Remove the plank from your own eye first (Matt 7:1) The following questions can help you discover your “plank”: Are you being easily provoked? Are you thinking of yourself first? Are you repaying evil with evil? “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5)

Be a peacemaker. Are you being patient? Are you trying to avoid a quarrel? Are you overcoming evil with good? “It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife” (Prov 20:3)

Go to the person who hurt you. “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you”. (Matt 8:15)

If the offender repents, forgive him. “Forgive other people just as God forgave you” (Eph 4:32)

If the offender does not repent, go back to him with witnesses. “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along” (Matt. 18:16)

Do not rejoice in the other person’s wrongdoing. “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth” (I Cor.13:6)

If the offender still does not repent, go to the authority. “If he refuses to listen, tell it to the church” Matt 18:17

God knows our hearts, and He knows how hard it can be to get along at times! But He also expects that those who profess to love Him follow the example He set through His son Jesus. When we follow God’s “checklist” for loving each other, we become a church which pleases Him, and one which He is eager to bless.

You can find The Brother-Offended Checklist as well as many other wonderful character-building books and products at Doorposts.

Homeschooling High Schoolers

Tonight I went to our local homeschool support group meeting to hear some other moms share how they handled high school transcripts, testing, scholarship applications, and all the other things involved in getting our homeschooled children into college. It was a very helpful meeting, but the thing that most struck me most is that for a college-bound homeschooled student, the SAT/ACT score is of utmost importance. Start preparing early!

HSLDA has a wealth of great information available on high school planning, as well as a very professional-looking sample transcript. Although I can't offer too much personal experience with transcripts yet, I have been impressed with the new record-keeping software our family began using this year, Homeschool Minder.

In other homeschooling news, The Carnival of Homeschooling has some really interesting posts this week. A few of them especially caught my eye since they deal with college (the topic of the day around here) and history (my favorite subject!)

Barbara Frank also noted that last week, Paul Harvey put a plug in for homeschooling when he observed that top-flight colleges such as Michigan and MIT are now agressively recruiting homeschoolers. Now that's encouraging!

Week in Review

Warning: this is a "Grandma Post", i.e. containing information that only Grandma will find interesting! If you proceed, consider yourself duly warned:-)

It was a good week, in spite of the fact that John was in Texas AGAIN! Here are the highlights:

On Wednesday: I arranged for a WWII veteran from our church to come and talk to my history classes at co-op. He was a radio operator in the C-47 cargo planes that flew over Europe, dropping paratroopers, gliders and supplies over battle lines. His crew dropped gliders over Normandy (after D-Day) and supplies to Allied troops at the Battle of the Bulge. The kids wanted to know things like, "Did you see any concentration camps?" and "Did you get to sail on a battleship?" He patiently answered all of their questions, and he brought pictures, French and German ration coupons, and other memorabilia from his scrapbook. He also brought German and French money he had brought home from the war, and let each of the kids choose one for themselves! You would have thought he was passing out $50 bills by the excitement in the room. I am glad they had an opportunity to experience history through the eyes of someone who was there. Our WWII veterans won't be around much longer.

Thursday: After Ladies Bible Study, I took the kids to see a community theater school matinee. One of the benefits of a small town is that we knew half the cast :-). Because piano lessons were canceled due to our broken piano, I decided to run errands: the mall (I've been waiting for Clinique Bonus Week, and I got the cutest floral powder box and a puff with a pink bow in my bonus gift!); an impromptu visit to the Opthamalogist for all five children since Philip LOST his glasses on Monday (John Mark got glasses this time, for reading, schoolwork and piano); haircuts for Ben and John Mark; a stop by the ceramics store to plan a project for 4-H; a trip to Kohl's to use my 30% off coupon; and a stop by Walmart (of course). It was a long day.

Friday: Worked on 4-H demonstration speeches for Area competition all day- and Dad came home!!!

Saturday: Becca and I worked the consignment sale clean-up- what a job! Becca worked as well as any of the women there, earning high praise from the lady in charge. John planned to take the boys fishing, only to find that the starter went out on his car, necessitating a trip to the auto-parts store instead. But here's the highlight of the day:

John and I had a crazy time running back and forth to three different rooms to see them each compete. They did a fabulous job on their presentations and we had a family grand champion sweep! They'll be competing at State in July, but for now, we are all very glad this is over!

Tomorrow, we have CARE group at our house, and we might just have a picnic to celebrate the longer days and the beautiful spring weather. Have a great Sunday!

Book & Movie Meme

Found at Karen's:

Put an asterisk next to all the books whose movies you've seen. Bold the ones you've read.

1. Heidi (Johanna Spyri)

2. Pride and Predjudice (Austen)*

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)*

4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)*

5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)*

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)*

7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)*

8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)*

9. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)*

10. Anne of Avonlea (L.M. Montgomery)*

11.The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

12. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)*

13. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

14. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)*

15. Chariots of Fire (Clarence E. Macartney)

16. 1984 (Orwell)

17. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)*

18. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

19. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

20. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

21. Quo Vadis (Sienkiewicz)*

22. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo)

23. The Robe (Douglas)

24. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

25. The Story of A Soul (St. Therese)

I don't know who began this meme, but I was interested to find that numbers 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 21 are in my "Favorite Books of All Time" list. Numbers 5, 6 and 7 are in my "Favorite Movies of All Time" list.

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Random Things In My Life That I've Been Too Busy To Blog About

1. My husband's birthday was March 3. He's 39, and this fascinating fact has been the subject of many conversations among our children.

2. My trip with the Children's Chorus to the State Music Educators Convention. I'll have to blog about that sometime...

3. Engineering Day at the local college. John Mark won 3rd place in the Edible Car competition and Philip won 3rd place in the Aluminum Foil Boat Competition. John Mark spent an entire school day building a bridge for the Bridge Competition, but since his mother does not count bridge design as one of her talents and his father was in Texas, he ended up not entering his bridge. (After viewing the other entries, we realize he should have entered his bridge!)

4. The Children's Clothing Consignment Sale. I actually signed up to work this year, hoping that if I shop early, I'll have better luck finding some modest clothing for my growing girl. We did find some good deals; I'll find out after I work my "shift" if the trade-off was worth it.

5. The Crocuses have bloomed and the Hyacinths are coming up, giving me the hope I need to persevere through 4 more weeks of AWANA, 7 more weeks of co-op, 9 more weeks of chorus, and 10 more weeks of school.

6. John in Texas. Again. And again. And again. This will be going on for a while. The kids made him a card before he left last Monday morning. On it, Becca begged, "Remember Me!"

7. The big kids went to Winterfest in Gatlinburg and had a wonderful time in the snow. The rest of us tried out the new IHOP for breakfast that same snowy Saturday morning. Mmmm!

8. John sick. Very sick. Rebecca sick. Nathanael sick. Ben sick. Philip sick. John Mark sick. Rebecca sick. Nathanael sick. John sick.... I am very glad that everyone is well again!

9. Church Game Night: lots of fun too! Rebecca invited her friend Lauren, so my friend Marcia (Lauren's mom) showed up unexpectedly and was my partner since John was sick.

10. I was "in charge" of the 4-H Fundraiser... it did not go well. Sigh. Not enough time to plan, and the people I needed were out of the office for days. What a mess!

11. I finished two ENORMOUS books: The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. Must-reads for anyone who enjoys WWII history! I have promised myself to catch up on laundry before starting any new books. It's not going well, especially since my front-loading computerized washing machine keeps stopping mid-cycle with an error signal, meaning a service call. Sigh again.

12. Something on the piano broke, right in the middle of practicing for the spring recital. Piano Guy coming on Monday to fix it (I hope!)

13. Very upset with our bank, who has merged with another bank and is requiring us to change account numbers. This creates all kind of hassles, since we have lots of stuff tied to our checking account. All we got for the trouble was a free box of very ugly new checks. I got mad every time I looked at them, until I actually used one and found out that at least they sent ones with carbons. I like carbons.

Ok, so now you see why I haven't been blogging very much... I spared you a month of this :-) But spring is on the way, and you just can't stay in doldrums when this sight greets you in the most surprising places:

It Gets Easier

Today, I offer a simple word of encouragement for all the moms who have ever tried to go grocery shopping with one in the infant seat, one in the cart, and one- or more- tagging along behind (you hope!) Here's the word: It gets easier. Sometimes, in the midst of runny noses, dirty diapers, mashed peas and Elmo, it just helps to know simple things like that.

I was reminded of this recently while shopping at Walmart one morning. I was alone, since I now have built-in babysitting and can enjoy little luxuries such as wandering the aisles of the grocery store all by myself. (How I have waited for such a time as this!) While perusing the canned vegetables, I happened to pass a young mother of two. She wears a tangerine sweatsuit and a ponytail, and she holds an unhappy toddler in one arm while she shoves the cart along with the other. A 3-year-old girl with a pink jacket and a sticky face clings to the side of the cart, and Grandma follows close behind. I smile inside because I have Been There, Done That.

Soon, the 3-year-old begins begging for the new Dora Lunch Box inside the cart, presumably a gift from Grandma, because the first thing that every baby learns after "mom means milk" and dad means "Party!" is "Grandma means Pushover!" Which is all well and good... most of the time. In this case, mom hands child the lunchbox, which child begins swinging wildly, endangering her fellow shoppers as well as several displays full of canned goods. Mom warns child to stop, and child does not stop. The moment of truth: does this mom's word mean anything- or not? The child and I are both wondering what will happen. This drama is much more interesting than my search for Great Northern Beans, so I am hanging around to see what happens. Besides, they are blocking the beans.

Mom is serious. She takes the lunch box away and calmly explains that child will not get the lunchbox again if such behavior continues. Child throws self on floor in a screaming fit. Mom walks away, leaving Grandma to rationalize with child. I know from experience that 99% of the time, Grandma is great to have around; at times like this... not so much. I silently cheer mom on, hoping she knows that if she doesn't win this one, she'll have a screaming fit on her hands at Walmart again next week, with or without Grandma. (Rule #1: Never negotiate with terrorists.) When we pass again three aisles down, child is sniffling beside the cart and Grandma looks harried... but the Dora lunch box is still in the cart. Go, mom!! I smile at her, but she does not know I have Been There, Done That, and she does not care. She is exhausted, but she has won.

I want to tell her that it gets easier, that these days will soon pass and one day, she will again get to leave the house- or just go to the bathroom- by herself. She will soon be dealing with a whole different set of issues: algebra, the hairbrush that is constantly disappearing from her bathroom, and negotiations over slumber parties and telephone time. I want to tell her that if she sticks to her guns, the day will come when she will actually enjoy taking her children to Walmart. But right now, the mother does not care about all these things. Her life is diapers and Dora and sippee cups. So we pass in the aisle, me and my quiet basket of canned goods and she with her sniffling, cheerio-dropping entourage. It gets easier, I think, but for now... it is enough that she has won.

Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Things About Philip

1. Philip is my third child and the second of four sons, meaning that he is destined to share his firstborn brother's room throughout his childhood years (to their mutual dismay).

2. Philip also has a very enthusiastic elder sister who has doted on her baby brother from the beginning. From her, he has learned to play Barbie dolls, draw pictures, coordinate clothes, eat lipgloss... I trust that somehow, some way, these things will come in handy at some point in his life.

3. Philip was born with a terrifically hard head that made labor quite the experience. His hard head has served him well, however. He can shake off knocks and bangs that would knock anyone else silly.

4. Philip was born overflowing with personality. I called him "Philip-Sunshine" when he was a baby because he was always so happy.

5. Philip has a great sense of humor, which his very-funny father is helping him to refine. (This has meant many knock-knock jokes over the past few years.)

6. Philip is a creator of stories and a dreamer of dreams. He can immediately create an entire drama with a bare smidgen of information. (Unfortunately, this talent does not always serve him well!)

7. Philip has a tender heart that longs for God. When he was eight, he began asking about being a Christian. He kept at it for a year until last summer, John agreed that he could be baptized. Philip gave the sweetest profession of faith at his baptism!

8. Philip has a knack for being in the right place at the right time- and in the wrong place at the wrong time. If anything at all is going on, you can depend on Philip being right in the middle of it. (The local newspaper has published several photos of Philip over the years... because he is always where the action is!)

9. Philip is the child most like his father- looks, personality, the whole kit n' kaboodle. This is the child that Grandma was talking about when she threatened my husband years ago, "One day you're going to have a son just like you!"

10. Philip is fearless and a daredevil. (See #9, Most like his Father and #8 Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.) He will be at least 18 before we let him loose with a car. He will conquer the world if he doesn't maim himself first- or worse!

11. Philip loves to build, draw and create. He has made some ingenious inventions with his erector set. He says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up.

12. Philip is a wonderful conversationalist and companion. Many adult friends have shared with me the the entertaining conversations he has had with them.

13. One week ago today, Philip turned ten! Happy Birthday to my happy, creative and much-loved son!