June 21st Wrap Up - It's Officially Winter

Beautiful sunny days, but very cold cloudless nights; this is how our winter was heralded in this year.  The sunshine has lifted our spirits considerably, though.  We've found seats by sunny windows to perch ourselves during the day, then we snuggle up in dressing gowns and under quilts in the evening.

It felt like we slowed down a little this week, probably because the children worked a little more independent of me and I could potter around the house a bit more.  I've been organising bookshelves and preparing used books to sell on.

At home ...

Outside, in the garden, I've not worked at all this week.  I need to remedy that next week and get the staging shelves set up in the greenhouse so I can finally use it to start my greens.  Oh yes, and I need to order my asparagus plants!!

 It took two full days to get this kit greenhouse assembled.
Now the staging shelves need to be put up and we can use it!

Our hens are at the end of their moult and I'm really hoping they'll start laying again soon.  It's been tricky rationing eggs.  I know I needed to store up at least 4doz more than I had put away for this winter.

Socially speaking ...

The week started with a full day of dance competitions on Sunday.  Maestro was involved in four routines and Mariposa in one.  They didn't collect any firsts, but both received 2nd placings, and a 3rd.

Funny girl.  

New false eyelashes required for competition.

Mariposa has been the centre of attention regarding extra activities this week.  Her horseriding lesson went extremely well.  She was invited back to learn a few other horsecare skills on Thursday night, involving feeding and rugging up for colder nights.  Her teacher also asked if she'd like to come back and be a helper to beginner students during term break.  Of course, when asked to come and work with horses, Mariposa is most willing, so she's clocked up about 6 hrs at the riding school there this week.

Such a lovely sunny day for riding!

In our homeschool ...

Maths seemed to be one main focus this week.  Mariposa continued practicing her long division based on the strategy we set up last week. (I'm so glad she has that visual to help her.  It's made it so much easier!!)  Maestro is learning more about quadratic equations, working through Algebra 2.  The dvd episodes are a little longer in explanation, and I like to watch them with Maestro to make sure I understand the same method.

The other main focus has been our reading.  Maestro has finished off Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and has now gone straight on to read The Red Baron by Manfred Van Richtofen.    Mariposa is reading Black Beauty, with her read-aloud being Freedom Train.  I'm finding the latter quite interesting, especially as a book I'm reading, called The Runaway Quilt, is on a related topic.

Our science lessons have been most inconsistent this week.  Maestro's been working through his Chemistry book, learning about ionic and covalent compounds.  He didn't get to do his experiment this week, so we'll be doing that first thing next week.

Mariposa will begin working on her TOPS Electricity (Sonlight's Science E) module next week.  I had planned to start this week, but with her doing extra horseriding activities, we couldn't schedule enough time in.

Next week is actually our last week for the term, then we'll take a two week break.  The weather promises to be as sunny as it was this week gone, so that will be great to keep the motivation up and propel us into our break with enthusiasm to organise some things around the home (that being the gardening mainly).

Until next time!

Catherine

Teaching Long Division

The time has come again to teach ...

LONG DIVISION!  

Now here's a math topic which usually brings on the groans from not only student, but teacher/parent alike.

How do you teach your child to do this?  I have my 'hands on' Mariposa learning to do long division, with double-digit divisors. Gulp!  Yep, I was procrastinating this during the week, but found some ideas on other blogs and pinterest.  Here's how we went:

We're still using Singapore Maths for our math curriculum.  The Home Instructor Guide (HIG) is great for offering information on how to teach the process.  Sometimes there are some games suggested, but not this time.  We have a whole lot of words, including definitions we've not really used before.  Lots of fun new material!

After doing the background reading, I came up with a plan on what we need to put into Mariposa's Math Notebook.  A resource I found over at HoJos Teaching Adventures helped give a visual and meme.  It's certainly a meme that sticks: Does McDonald's Serve Burgers?   I printed of the pdf page from HoJos link and then used this to help Mariposa create a page in her maths journal.   Our burger is made like a flip book, so you can lift the flap and read the process information.

That was a fun revision activity.  Now to teach how to divide with double digit divisors (love that tongue twister, hey?!)  I helped her write out the goals and slowly went over the process with the example as shown:

Mariposa then coloured in her work, writing over the same equation part in like colours.  Eg: red for dividend, etc.

The next step was to let her try some of the problems on her own to help concrete the concept before packing up for the day.  We'll probably spend a good portion of next week going over this and doing more practice problems before moving on.

I think that took a good 45mins today, with all that creative notebooking done there too.  I know I'll be asking about how to do long division whenever we see those golden arches again on a road trip.  Hopefully the concept sticks.  :)

Until next time,

Catherine

(The Late) Mar 8th Weekly Wrap Up

Hello again everyone!  Don't the days just go by so quickly when you're having fun, hey?!

We've had a long weekend with some fun pottering about and outings, so I got a little distracted from the blogging again, but I'm back now!  (smiles!)

Well .. we've been enjoying some of this extra warm weather that's been here in Melbourne for just over a week.  Today was just a bit too hot, though .. 37degC here.  Thankfully it's cooling off and only 30degC now (at 9:30pm).

We have a new arrival in the chicken run.  Little 'Freeman' hatched last Sunday.  Unfortunately not all the other little hatchlings made it, but we're still waiting on two more eggs ... so we'll see!

In our homeschool ...

We've had a few topics finishing off for both the children.  

In maths, Maestro began and completed the trigonometry part of his Geometry work, which has completed MUS Geometry.  The next level would be MUS Algebra II, but I'm thinking of first taking a slight diversion to reading String, Straight-edge, & Shadow: The Story of Geometry by Julia E.Diggins.  It will be a good break for Maestro on completion of Geometry, and also a nice book to share with Mariposa as she begins her geometry exercises in her Singapore Maths book after completing decimals (especially all those word problems!!)

In history, Mariposa is still slowly working her way through Carry On, Mr Bowditch with me.  We've had Papa join in with this and he's really enjoying the story.  We've had talk of acquiring a sextant .. but I'm not so sure about that one! :)
Maestro's been learning about the Agricultural and Industrial revolutions. He's starting Oliver Twist (and I think I'll have to download the unabridged version from Audible so I can catch up with him!)

An introduction to atoms and the periodic table started Maestro off into his science module last week. We've been playing with this site called 'Build an Atom', where we can test our understanding of how atoms work. (Yes, I'm relearning all this with him!)

This simple video from BrainPOP gives a summary on atomic structure with a quiz at the end.


Socially speaking ...

We've had another relatively quiet week, except for an outing on Sunday.  The children went to visit with friends whilst Papa and I took a trip into the city to preview a film called Performance.  I received the invitation   c/- the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which was lovely.   :)  This was a very moving film, and definitely one for those who enjoy the finer details of music, but more so about the dynamics of friendships in such a close knit group.  


That's about it for now.  I'll have some more to share at the end of this week, with another excursion lined up for Friday (yay!)

Until next time,

Catherine

Mar 1st Weekly Wrap Up

Autumn is definitely making it's appearance known.  Our car has had to go in for repairs, so on my walk back home I was enjoying the cooler morning, noticing the beginnings of leaf fall along the pavement.

Another sure sign of a change in the season is that the hens have begun their moulting. The chook run had a scattering of feathers everywhere the other day; it got me a little concerned hoping that a cat hadn't tried harassing the girls, but they were all safe and accounted for.   It's funny how both the black frizzles have started by losing their feathers under the chin first.

Moulting also means fewer eggs, so I'm going to start putting as many away as possible ready for winter.  Sorry neighbours, that's it for this season!

Let's take a quick look at what's happened this week.

In our homeschool ...

Maths for Maestro is a continuation of ways to prove triangles, and he'll finish this week's work with a review page of all that's been covered so far in this MUS Geometry book. Only a few more lessons and he'll have finished this book .. but that could take a couple of weeks still.  Mariposa's been practicing dividing decimals.  The use of large grid graph paper has been a wonderful help!

Our science lessons have revolved about safety and survival for Mariposa.  She's almost ready to read the first aid section, so I'm planning on pulling out some bandages so we can practice some simple techniques for making a sling and a splint.   Maestro's continued through with his early physics work and worked on friction.

We are reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch together, as well as completing the readers What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin and Phoebe the Spy with Mariposa.   Maestro's been learning about the Russian revolution, and has started reading The Trumpeter of Krakow which is set in Medieval Poland.

Mariposa has continued with her horseriding and is preparing for her Level 2 certificate now.  She's started learning about all the various horse colours, but after some discussion with the teacher, she now knows she needs to do a lot more research than she first thought.  A very creative picture presentation has begun.  I don't know if Mariposa's decided on making it into a poster or booklet yet, but I'm so glad she's just jumped right into this researching.  I've not had to give her any writing projects this week at all as this has been plenty for her to do.

Socially speaking ...

We've actually had a much quieter week!  No outings this week, except for those visits to nearby friends which the children have organised.  Eg: Mariposa's taking a walk with the dog with another homeschooler now and should be back by lunchtime.

A few friends have been discussing getting a girls sewing circle organised, so we're hoping to start that next term.  Meanwhile, I've scheduled an initial gathering for the middle of March where the girls can try out some flower arranging (similar to what I've done with Mariposa in 2011).  We just need to organise an alternative activity for the boys.

At home ...

Our broody hen we had back in December 2012 didn't end up hatching any eggs because they were 'duds'. She obviously wasn't happy about not having any little ones to raise as she's started sitting again.  I've ordered some incubated fertile eggs to pop under her, which Mum has graciously offered to bring over for me (thanks Mum!)  Once they arrive this afternoon, we'll put them under Miss Broody.  We should have chicks again soon!

The vegies are growing nicely in the pots too.  I went out and picked a nice bunch of silverbeet to cook up with some tomatoes for our breakfast.  Mmmm!

Also .. have to tell you quickly that we've started using water kefir!  It's been great for Mariposa's eczema.  I'll do a separate post on that soon as I've found out lots of information and had a month to try out favourite techniques.

I hope you all had a great week and have a lovely weekend.

Until next time,
Catherine

Dec 9 weekly wrap-up

I enjoyed filling in the calendar page this afternoon, writing in everything that happened AFTER the event.  I know! It's supposed to be the opposite way around, so I remember what's coming up.  Ah well! :)

The year's winding up and I've had several music students finish up their lessons for the year.  Most of my afternoons are freeing up, and with no more dance lessons for the children, we're enjoying a more relaxed routine.

We're also winding up with our bookwork.  Only two more weeks to go and we'll have a break over summer!

In our homeschool ...

Mariposa has finished another Singapore Maths book.  Instead of starting the next book, we're enjoying reading Mathematicians Are People Too, and learnt about Thales.  She really enjoyed the story of the donkey who didn't want to carry a heavy load across the river, and how Thales trained it to change it's behaviour.

Maestro has moved to some early Physics concepts in Apologia's Physical Science.  It's the first time he's used these formulae, but he's enjoying the change in topic.

Both of the children have worked on their spelling and improving really well.  I'd been a little lax with Maestro's spelling, but have pulled him back in with Mariposa's lessons (ie: they both work on the same list) using IEW's Phonetic Zoo.  The word list is not at all 'babyish', but based on learning the phonetic rule and recognising base words with their suffixes. Even though he is a really good speller already, I want him to keep up the practice and stay familiar with the rules. I'm so impressed with the improvement Mariposa's made with her spelling over this year (she's had to struggle with reading problems).  She's really done well with All About Spelling, and now Phonetic Zoo is challenging her that little bit more.  Here's a sample of all the words she's now able spell correctly:

This sample is from the Teacher Notes sample

found in pdf HERE.

We're still working through the same read-alouds: Johnny Tremain and Iron Peacock.  I'm hoping we'll finish these during next week.

We've also been doing some great lessons with Papa about goal setting.  I'll have to write up a separate post about that, so be sure to check that out soon.

Socially speaking ...

We enjoyed a lovely visit with a friend on Monday; ALL of Monday. It was an early morning start to make lunch up to take with us, and then we didn't get home until dinner time.

Wednesday night was coffee out with the local homeschooling mums.  I ended up chatting a lot with a lady I didn't know too well, but who shares similar ideas of growing her own produce, teaching her children sewing, cooking, building ... a lovely night spent sharing stories and ideas. :)

Then on Friday afternoon, the children went to stay overnight with friends whilst Papa and I went out.  We were given some complimentary tickets to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In the home ...

It's been about the cherries!  I worked my way through all of them very carefully, so they're all washed, picked and now bottled (if not yet eaten fresh!)  The cherry pie made during the week was such a success that I've had to promise to make it again soon. Seven jars of cherries are now cooling off as we speak, and I can hear the random 'click' of the seal taking hold in the lids.



Our tighter budget was a success with our grocery shopping.  During the week I came across a great blog called The Fun, Cheap or Free Queen.  She has a very simple, workable idea for tracking spending weekly.  It was most helpful, so I hope to make it a success through the rest of the month.

You will also notice, if you've visited here before, that I've been playing with my blog page (again!).  I want to fix the header up some more, but that'll be when I get some time to figure it all out.

Hoping you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Until next post,

Catherine

Read more Weekly Wrap-Ups at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
and It's a Wrap at Hammock Tracks

Does math have to get boring during the teen years?

It's time for another "Homeschool High School Carnival" topic.  I'm excited!  I really enjoy maths, but I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means.  I just like playing with numbers and trying to make sense of it.

I also enjoy teaching my children math, especially if it's about pulling together manipulatives or finding a really interesting story that involves a math concept.  If the children don't understand a concept, I run through all the saved links I have on teaching through living books ... and then do the same when they DO understand the concept so they can see it applied to other situations.

The topic for discussion is:

Math in High School.... What does your highschoolers math program look like?  What influenced your choices/selection?

Our High School math program has taken a few turns over the past two years.  Maestro finished the Singapore Math primary series, then we moved to the New Syllabus Math.  The way it was set out was very different, and I had to spend a fair bit of time explaining the work to him.  We started off with some pretty interesting problem solving, which then lead us to Pascal's Triangle and the Fibonacci sequence.  We'd never covered this before, so I found some things to take us along that path a bit. You can see what I did on this previous post: What's All This About Fibonacci? 

Somewhere further along in the book, Maestro expressed some frustration about not being able to work through the material alone.  This is when we decided to try out a program called Math-U-See, where there are instructional dvds (intended for the teacher), and manipulatives not too unlike what we've already used.  He started in Pre-Algebra and swiftly worked through that and Algebra I, then into Geometry.  It's worked because he likes to be independent and can work at a reasonably fast pace.  If he grasps the new concept after working on the first page of problems, he goes straight to the review pages, which goes through all work done to that point, and including some of the new material.

If you'd like to see this wonderful video, please go HERE.

So far, this has been working for us.  However, I want to make it a little more interesting as we head into our next couple of years of homeschooling.  I want to have both the children start keeping math journals, similar to this and this.  These ideas came to my attention a little while ago and I thought it was so well done, I'd wished I'd done it sooner.  They'll keep a notebook and write down what they know about already, but then also take notes on what they need to master with my help.  They can then draw a diagram, or make a little flap book (for example), or something creative to show HOW they would solve the problem.  We already have a math dictionary, but they're not using it.  So .. why not start making their own?  This should end up being a great resource, especially if they homeschool THEIR children.

So, I'm guessing you can tell that I want to make sure the children know the material well, but I still want to give them a broad path of experiences with math so they see it as fun, as ways of explaining the world around them, and applied in a variety of situations in the real world.

What else have we been using?  There are a variety of things here, so I'll make a list.

• We have a small collection of dvds from The Teaching Company (also known as The Great Courses).   We have started to watch The Joy of Mathematics, and also have a copy of Algebra I from a friend.  

• Life of Fred books were quickly read through to Algebra, but again, Maestro is happy to continue using Math-U-See instead.  I mention these books as some others may find they are something that could be useful in their homeschool.  They do go through to Calculus, but we didn't use them that far.

• As an additional resource to play with Geometry programming, I purchased the Geometer's Sketchpad.  (If this interests you, check the Homeschool Co-op for their occassional special purchase price.)

• Some saved You Tube examples of math in real life, along with those with a great sense of humour, to inspire some creativity.  I especially enjoy this one about Doodling in Math Class:

and the beautiful video called "Nature by Numbers" on Vimeo.  Actually, I've saved a heap of similar videos and all sorts of links on my Pinterest Maths page (wow .. I'm LOVING Pinterest and how it leads you to so many shared ideas!)

There are many options open to making math fun right through the upper levels, but I know it's still my job to help keep that fire burning by presenting new ideas.  The most difficult part is finding the time to do the homework and then figuring out where and when to use it.  At the moment I'm using post-it notes to scrawl down the webpage address and what to check out there, then sticking them onto the math page Maestro will find it relevant to.  I've also started bookmarking the pages into an internet folder that's just for him.  I'll probably get this right by the time he's finished high school and well into tertiary studies, but at least I'm able to have some fun with him on this now.  It's the only way I can, since he's so independent!

Please jump over to the Carnival, being hosted by Fisher Academy International, on December 3rd, 2012.  Other homeschoolers will add their wealth of knowledge too .. which I'm looking forward to!  I need as much inspiration as I can get!!!

Until next post!

Catherine

Last week's Weekly Wrapup

We're enjoying the warmer weather and getting out in the backyard so much more.  Lots of projects are happening depending on time requirements, who's available to help and what materials we already have on hand.

In the garden, I have a new gate ready for my sectioned off vegie patch.  It was a find at the tip's recycling centre and does need a new coat of paint, but it's up and the wire fencing will be done afterwards.  The vegies will have to all be container plants until all this area is completed and ready to be used properly.  Containers have had to be the main style of gardening since we got our little dog, Midgy, anyway, as he LOVES digging.  All my asparagus is now gone (sob!), so will need replanting ... but this fenced off area will solve all that.

The chook run will be shortened so we can gain back some of that wire fencing to use for the veggie patch.

We've disassembled the pergola in an unused area and are relocating it to become a pergola on the back of the house. What is currently just a window will become a sliding door, and steps down still need to be put in.  This side of our house faces north, so we're going to grow a passionfruit vine over it which will give us shade in Summer .. and lovely fruit!


On the homeschool front, we've got several topics going on all at once.

Maestro's working through Geometry with MUS.  We're learning all the different types of lines through a circle at the moment.  While Mariposa is finishing working through one of her Singapore Maths level 4 books and is doing review.  I'm debating about making a 'summary' book with her using Interactive Maths Journals.  When I visited Runde's blog, I got very excited about how to put this journal together ... very CM, and 'WHY didn't I think of this earlier?'   Please do go and have a look at how she runs her math classes.  She's very inspiring!

History has us almost covering similar topics.  Maestro is using Pandia Press for Early Modern History.  The reading requirement was The Witch at Blackbird Pond, which we've just finished reading a month ago.  We've now started the Iron Peacock and really enjoying it.  The vocabulary is sensational, and we could keep stopping to check each word out, but we read it through to the end and then pick a few to check.
Mariposa and I have just started reading  Johnny Tremain (one chapter in) and will continue with it this week.

One day a week, Mariposa is still doing her horseriding lesson.  She spends up to 3hrs there on that day, with 1hr on riding.  She's currently working very hard to pass Level One Certificate and has spent hours finding the information to put into a scrap book journal.  I'm loving that she's very dedicated and putting in so much effort for a good result.

Meanwhile, Maestro's spending most of his spare time with dance rehearsals.  He's been selected for a special group dance which required an extra 6hrs training on weekends.  The result is a very tired, and extremely HUNGRY boy, but he's enjoying the challenge.

I'm also working on a little crafty project as a gift to my singing student.  I'll show the end result tomorrow. :)

Until next post!
Catherine

Planning's over, let's get to work!

Another year of homeschooling has officially begun. All the books came out, along with the new schedule I drew up, and we were putting it all to the test.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well the day ran, and how well the children took to the idea of running to a schedule. We still had some adhoc things happening in the day, such as giving the dog a good grooming, some shopping during our lunch break, and a phone call from Papa to share notes about how he was going on his First Aid course. 


Our morning started with the usually routine and chores. Mariposa was then keen to get the maths done, but I suggested we try with the Spelling and Language Arts today to see how it would work. Maestro ended up needing some help tuning a new melodic minor scale during his violin practice, so I had to help him out with that on the piano, leaving Mariposa to finish off for herself.

Then we came to Maestro's Sonlight Read-aloud. We're reading "A Single Shard", and Mariposa wanted to hear the story also. This meant her computer time got bumped to later on.

A break (where Mariposa decided Midgy, the dog, should have his grooming done), and a cup of tea for me.

Then back again with Maestro reading his science (Apologia General .. still finishing last few modules before starting Apologia Physical), and Mariposa did her maths.

Maestro then took up his Wordly Wise whilst Mariposa and I read another chapter of "The Apprentice".

Checking back with Maestro, I looked over the history reading he needed to do for Sonlight, as well as his reader, and checked he could go ahead. He spent this time reading a number of chapters from Story of the World. Mariposa then took up her Science; we're still finishing using the NOEO Chemistry I. Today was all about experiments related to states of matter.

NOEO Science - comes with experiment packages

collecting gas from bi-carb and vinegar

gas created as tablet reacts with water

liquid and solid: cornflour mixed with water
getting the 'punch test'

With her science completed, she then did her computer time. This was a program from EdAlive that is to build word skills. I bought these discs many years ago, but they weren't being used. Mariposa also doesn't have the natural attraction to the computer that Maestro has, so this helping her develop some more of those skills.  I also have Times Alive ready for her to use, received from a TOS Review last year, and Typing Tournament which she tried out last week.

Lunch time .. and a quick shopping trip for me. Thankfully the store is only 5mins up the road. I really need to do another stocktake of our fridge and pantry, but that'll have to be later. At least I have enough to make a few day's worth of meals.

After lunch, Maestro took up his Maths. We'd started to try out Math-U-See's Pre-Algebra, so he continued with that today. He's grasping these lessons pretty quickly, so it won't be long until he's completed this and then I hope to take him back to the Singapore Maths (NSM level 1).

Watching Mr Demi explain how to convert
Celsius to Fahrenheit.

More reading for Maestro (Sonlight reader to be read: The Samurai's Tale) and Australian history for Mariposa (learning about Abel Tasman).

We decided to take 10 mins for another breather, then sat down to learn about some Composers. I know I said we'd start with Bach, but the book I had ordered from Christianbooks had arrived: A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers. I read the first chapter on early music, which lead us to Gregorian Chants. I've requested some cds from the library to use as samples, and I'll check for a few other resources online during the week.

Yes, a VERY full day ... but we did it! We had from 3pm to 6pm free from bookwork (and I then did some household chores). Maestro's ballet started at 6:15pm, which was the only other activity this afternoon.

Trying to adhere to this schedule has meant:

* I didn't spend more than 15mins on the computer myself this morning.

* I actually managed to get more housework done than anticipated.

* Both children got through their work quickly and really looked forward to that free time that was coming up at 3pm.

* Tonight, we're all suitably tired, but satisfied that we'd all done a good job.  Now that this has been posted, I'm curling up in bed with a good read myself. :)

Thank you for dropping by!

A week of wet weather

Looking over the pictures I put in my last post, I can't believe we were actually enjoying a very warm day at the beach.  Since that change came through, it's been COLD! and wet, all week.

Never mind, because there are some sunny days predicted in the next few days.

The good things this week brought was:

Mangoes!  A bulk supply c/- a friend, which is steadily being devoured.  

I'll start freezing some soon, as they're gradually all getting ripe now.

Mariposa's received her Certificate of Recognition 

for participating in the library's writing competition.

Maestro's been having a go at Math-U-See Pre-Algebra.  There are some gaps that he hasn't covered before, but a lot of it has been revision.  We're putting MUS on trial in our house, and so far Maestro is liking it.  We'll have a better idea of how it 'fits' after a couple more weeks.  

(We're still using Singapore Maths for Mariposa.)

I've ordered 'The Girlhood Companion' for Mariposa, which arrived this week.  She has been trying so hard to be a lovely helper here, and making some special mother/daughter time reading and learning new recipes, etc. will be much fun.  I'm thinking that the monthly Tea Cozy Club may be a good option to try, also, especially if the writings, recipes and crafts are of the same high standard.

Maestro has started making his own website.  

I know ... how did he learn to do that?!  I don't know how to do that!  

All it takes is a friend who already knows and a curious mind to soak up the information apparently.  

He's including podcasts, polls, and a whole lot of other music/technology experiments.

We were also full-swing back into homeschool lessons, dance lessons (only 2 more weeks until the concert!), Papa back to work and my music teaching.  All the good things to keep us busy and our minds off the wet weather.

I hope you've all had a good week!

What's all this about Fibonacci?

Maestro has moved from the Primary series of Singapore Maths books to the High School series New Syllabus Mathematics. Wow, what a huge step up! Compared with the Primary books, we're having to move at a slower pace now. We don't have a parent's or Home Instructor's Guide, so I need to sit with Maestro and work through this with him.

The problems are very creative, too. There's been a lot of extra problem solving from the outset. Some of the questions are fun, and we'll work on them together. Others are tricky and border on us getting frustrated, so we have to leave them and just move on. (There are no 'working out' diagrams in the answers!)

Hmmm! Did I chose the wrong maths program for Maestro's High School years? I'm hoping not, and as I look ahead into future chapters, I realise that I remember a lot of my High School work.

BUT .. first we have to wade our way through Chapter 3; Number Sequences and Problem Solving. Right there, in the first few pages of that chapter, we're learning about Triangular Numbers, the Fibonacci Sequence and Pascal's Triangle. Hold on; back up! "What's this Fibonacci, Mum? I really don't get it! The triangle stuff seems to make sense, but I don't understand what it means with that Fibonacci sequence."

It's true, I haven't really discussed this with my children before. We've talked about patterns that occur in nature as a generalisation, but not as a mathematical discovery. The New Syllabus Mathematics book only gives a 1/2 page pointed explanation, which assumes that the teacher would fill in a lot of the information, or the child has had some form of introduction to this material before.

We do need to back a bit, and I'm going to opt for some living maths books again. Mariposa will be able to read these with us, and we can also take not of our findings in nature studies.

Here are some books I have ordered, and going by the Amazon reviews, they'll be great additions to our library:

 Blockhead, The Life of Fibonacci
This book is aimed at years 3 to 5, giving a light-hearted introduction to Fibonacci's life.
Some lovely reviews and sample pages, as well as a video presentation, are available via Amazon here.








Growing Patterns
Again, aimed at upper primary grades, but looking at the patterns in nature with some clear photographs.  It looks like a simple book, but again, sometimes that's the best way to invite exploration.
Reviews and samples at Amazon here.

Fibonacci Fun
Aimed at grades 4 - 8, this is an activity book we can use on occasion to keep practicing what we'll be learning.
Review at Amazon here.








Add to those resources some websites, and I think we'll have the makings of some good grounding material.

• Dr Ron Knott's Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Sequence - was the first site I found on my google search.  It's full of information which I found fascinating, plus some great activity suggestions.

• Thinkquest - this explores the Fibonacci sequence in quite some depth, moving also into Binet's formula, the Fibonacci spiral and the Golden Ratio.  To start using this site, click on 'The Series' in the left sidebar, then use the arrows under the main part of the screen to move along in sequence.  If you hit the 'A' and 'P' icons, you'll see the animations and proofs.

• Brantcan's Fibonacci - gives more of a scientific lean to the study.  To be honest, I need to read through this page more thoroughly, as he talks about sound waves as well.  Fascinating, but I need to get my head around it.  I've marked this webpage in case Maestro really gets the gist of it and wants to explore more.  Additional links and free downloads also available at the bottom of the page.

Looking ahead in Maestro's maths book, I see that some more creative problem solving is going to be happening, so I'm going to read up and make sure I'm well prepared.  I like that we're investigating what develops the curiosity of a mathematician,  and that enquiry is encouraged, but I also think that I'll enjoy a rest from all these mental gymnastics when we hit Fractions and Decimals again!

edited to add:

If you are looking for more information re: Singapore Maths for the high school, there is the choice of doing New Elementary Mathematics, Discovery Mathematics or New Syllabus Mathematics.

Cathy Duffy gives a review of NEM that may be helpful HERE.

Or, check out  Singapore Maths for information on their various books HERE.

Second term into the year

A three week break and we're back to another term of scheduled activities and learning. Our Autumn break was marked with significant gatherings, and lots of time together as a family to enjoy conversations and outings. We now look ahead to some quieter days as a general rule, but we're also leading up to that time of the year where emphasis is on dance competitions (for Maestro only, this year).

We had started using Winterpromise's 'Animal and their Worlds' for Mariposa at the beginning of the year. The books are certainly lovely, but much of the content was very much like what she'd already covered in Sonlight's Science 3. I don't want to 'put off' anyone wanting to try Winterpromise. It was just unfortunate that it wasn't a good fit for her this time. We are continuing to finish off using the readers, and have held on to the "One Small Square" books, as these are just excellent.

So, Mariposa will now move into learning more Australian geography and history. I've been collecting some books for her and will share them as we go. We started off looking at Aboriginal life, and a trip to the Melbourne Museum to see artifacts was a wonderful experience. We also saw a puppet play, showing one of the Dreamtime stories enacted, which was very interesting.

On other subject matters for Mariposa, she's continuing with her Singapore Maths (level 3), All About Spelling, LLATL (yellow), along with various books from Winterpromise and Sonlight. She is also working through Sonlight's Science 2 schedule very quickly. As predicted, it's a little easier than work done previously, but we're compensating by letting her do most of the work independently, and at a rate of a week's scheduled work in two days.


Maestro has settled very well into Sonlight's Core G (previously known as Core 6). There's a marked difference from Core F. Core F was a very full core; it could also be that he's used to the routine. Considering we only had 3 full days to dedicate to bookwork last term, he's keeping up the pace extremely well.

Maths is about to be stepped up a level. Once Maestro completes a couple more sections of Singapore Maths Primary 6B, he'll be starting the high school books. We couldn't get this completed last term because of time doing the bow and arrow workshops, but it'll be done in the next two weeks.

Language Arts is a collection of various books. We've got Worldly Wise 6 on the go, along with LLATL (tan). Add to the mix a new curriculum we started in the last couple of weeks ... and it's working so well for him! (I'll be writing up a review for this soon.) Maestro started using the Michael Clay Thomas Language Arts program, and he's taken to it very well. It looks as though we'll be passing up the LLATL for him at the rate he's going, as this new curriculum is moving at a pace that's much better suited to his learning style.

Apologia General Science has also been a huge success. He works through a module over a two week period, so we're well on target for getting through this level by the end of the year. We've also now acquired a dvd of the BBC program "The Story of Science", which has drawn the whole family in.

So, I'll work on getting some more reviews and other information up on this blog soon, especially with regard to the new things we're doing. I'll have a little more time to write now that we're more home-based again.

We've spent summer learning times tables facts

I wonder if other parents have experienced the same as us? We had taught one child their times tables facts, written them out in drill fashion and tested regularly, only to find that after a time many of those facts have been forgotten. I was getting worried when Maestro's growth spurt seemed to cause this 'forgetfulness', so we were strategising about ways to help him regain what he'd learnt. These are basics he really needs to know, instead of spending time counting out his numbers to find a multiplication fact.

We also have Mariposa now beginning to memorise her times tables. She's been learning the 'how' times tables work, and has already started memorising her 10s, 5s and 2s, but will be focusing on putting more of them to memory in her maths books in 2011.

Then I was given opportunity to have the children try a product which got us all very excited.  It ticked all the boxes: taught the facts, easy to use, fun, interactive, and proof of progress.  It's meant that learning those times tables has been a fun activity over our summer break.

We've been using Times Alive, downloaded from City Creek Press.  The children have found that getting on and doing just one times table fact in a day was never enough.  On average, 3 were learnt each day, which showed me that memorising times tables obviously was no longer a chore but fun activity.



Here's how it works:

Each time table fact you choose to select has a story.  As the story is being told, the child views an animation where the numbers are characterised.  Then, you see a catchy little music video, and even I find that I'm singing the traditional tunes to the new mathematical lyrics.  For example, Mariposa learnt 3x3 to the tune of 'Three Blind Mice'.

A quick quiz then has the child interacting with the software, and giving a recall test and results for parents to view progress. If you are in need of an actual report, parents can access information on lessons completed on a given date, quiz scores and the time taken to complete that lesson.

I would encourage parents to have a look at the samples are available to view online HERE, or better still, see and hear a full You Tube review:



You may order from this page, with the choice of an instant download for Mac or PC ($44.95US).  Other products, including cd-rom, cds, books and cue cards, are also available.
The product is available for use by all family members, which makes this a very economical and effective product to purchase.  Yes, I do highly recommend it!! It's meant success in this family (smiles!)

NB - I received full use of this downloaded product for the purpose of review. There is no other compensation and the opinions are my own. Thank you to TOS and City Creek Press for the use of this product. If you'd like to read further reviews on this product, please click HERE.