We worked on projects all weekend long. Ben finished his garden bed and now is about to start another. Yes, another! I worked on my own project, but am far from finished, though at least I have a direction. There is at least one trip to Lowes every weekend, but often there is more than 1 trip in 1 day. With all these projects it feels like we can’t ever catch up on the ordinary things. For example, all the laundry is done, but sitting in a huge pile outside our bedroom. And I mean huge, people, HUGE! I just need one day alone to get all the ordinary house things out of the way and another day just for email (so sorry if you are awaiting a reply). Golly gee, will I ever catch up?!
On another note, since you were so helpful on my previous post (I am looking at all your suggestions for the yellow dress). I am looking at Singapore Math or Right Start to use for our homeschooling math program. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on those? I would love to hear them or learn about what program you may use if you are schooling at home.
my mom used saxon math with us. good luck with the homeschooling. i'll be starting that in a few years.
Hi Hi,
I'm a Singaporean, born and bred here.
So i grew up learning math with the Singapore Math programme.
I'd say that helped to build a strong math foundation for me, even up till now.i'm 24 this year!
However, being a preschool teacher myself, i'd recommend combining it with some practical, hands-on method in helping your girls acquire and remember the concepts better.
just a penny of my advice. hope that helps! 🙂
Hey Ruby.. not sure what you thought abt the mustard maeve anthro dress.. but email me please i tried it on today and shoved a pillow up there and its still a GREAT fit.. i was thinking do you have any anthro dresses that you no longer love? we could do a swap instead of you buying from me.. just an idea :o) I am size 4 anthro btw size 2 in some things.. i think we are the same size from emails before about the anthro silver spots shirt dress.. i still adore that dress so much! Good on you with more plant boxes.. do you water them every day? we had one last year and one garden section and i found it so hard to remember to water every single day! with 3 kids under 5 !
karlacola- can you email me pics of the dress? it looks a bit too mustardy for me, but maybe close ups of the dress will help! i can't really tell from online pics.
My mom homeschooled my 2 sisters and i from 1-8th grade and we had A Beka math and then some other math workbooks and honestly the more hands on you are teaching them, the easier it is to understand.
allison
there is ALWAYS more than one trip. i can't wait to see your garden. i am always so inspired by it. we are so behind on planting our vegetables this year…
We have five homeschooled children 3-16yrs. We love Math-U-See. It really is wonderful.
I love your blog, it just makes me happy. I have four kiddos the youngest just turned 5 and the oldest is 10. We use Math U See and love it. I was using two different programs for my two oldest as they have vastly different learning styles but we switched two years ago and Math U See works for the three older. We will see as my 5 year old starts this year with formal math although she has learned so much listening to the older kiddos.
Hey :)Im a second grade teacher at a private school. My neighbor homeschools her children and gifted me a few singapore math books that she was no longer using. I incorporated it into the classroom and the students seem to really like them, but I would agree with the other commenters when they suggest adding on more hands on activities.
My students really truly learn & absorb material when its presented through hands-on, tangible experiences, which is especially true when it comes to something as abstract as math can be. Since you're super creative, that'll probably be easy for you and really fun for your little ladies 🙂
good luck 🙂
Hi! I found you because of your wonderful tent project. My little one and I are making one for our summer reading special place!
I really like MEP math. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm
It's a solid program with lots of activities and it builds confidence. Last year we did Section 1a with our Kindergardener and she loved it! Two nice things: the program continues through upper level math, and it's free! Always a nice bonus 🙂
Good luck on your journey!
hello- we have been using saxon math and really like it. there are tons of manipulatives for the early years. my daughter always felt like we were playing! i really like that they learn a new skill each day, but that the worksheets don't focus only on that day's work, but also reviews all previous skills- so nothing is forgotten. with both of my daughters combined, i've now experienced kindergarten- algebra 2 with saxon. i don't know the strengths of the two you've mentioned, but all 3 are discussed in the book- the well trained mind by susan wise bauer (my ultimate guide). blessings on all your preparations!
i wish the laundry would wash themselves, fold themselves and put themselves away.
hey… a girl can dream can't she?
hello this is going to sound creepy but love lurking at your blog…dont have one of my own so I lurk at others. Ive been using Math u see with my now 5th grader since he was 5 and we love it. Its just like the title says “math u can see” so it makes it easier for the children to grasp it. The author Steve Demme was a school teacher at some point…might still be dont know. But he shows them tricks and shortcuts to solving math problems that I even use now. His videos are easy to follow and short (about 5 minutes per lesson). They watch the video with you and do the lesson. Eventually they can watch the video on their own and do the lessons with very minimal supervision. So theres my two cents..God bless you and your family! Sheila
We also use Saxon. It is repetitive which I like, considering my daughter, like many girls, does not prefer math. I also believe children learn better with repetition(classical) You have to be careful with Saxon though; in the early books there is almost too much to do each day-it can overwhelm you if you let it. We skip many of the review exercises(once I feel she has the concept) each lesson because of that.
We use and love Math-U-See. I know others who have tried a lot of programs and eventually end up and stay with Math-U-See. I think Singapore Math is a distinct and unique way of math and quite different from other programs.
SINGAPORE ALL THE WAY!!!! Teaches kids to think :). I'm a teacher at a private school in Manhattan and LOVE LOVE LOVE this curriculum.
We tried Math U See & it totally did NOT work for us. We're on the next-to-last lesson of RightStart B now, with my 5 year old (we started when she was 4) and it is amazing. I LOVE it. Heavy emphasis on 'mental math' & actually learning HOW things work instead of just memorization. She can add two 2-digit numbers in her head really easily, and do 4-5+ digit numbers adding them together. I would very highly recommend it.
Sure Ruby will do today.. its not too mustard,, dark yellow though for sure.. i will get pics a bit later.. did not sleep till 4:30am with 3 little kids in my bed last night… my husband is on night shift and someone broke in last week here in Australia.. i am too freaked at night to sleep!
Singapore Math! We used it in our elementary school in Nashville, TN this year and it is awesome!
I looked at using Singapore for my five year old next year, but then talked to a mom who was working the curriculum booth and she confessed that's the one area where she's not sticking with the curriculum program… she's using math u see with her kids (one of the reasons being it gives her time to focus on her babies). After viewing the demo dvd they gave me, I was convinced to give it a try this year. (I also love Saxon, but not for littles… most likely, we'll switch over to that in middle school.)
Ok, RightStart and Singapore are both great programs. We used RightStart A with Lia this year and I thought it was really great. I learned a lot from it and Lia learned a lot too, but she wasn't really enthusiastic about it. Right now we are using Miquon and Math Mammoth (similar to Singapore but the teaching is printed directly on the worksheet) and RightStart games and whatever other math activities I feel like throwing in. The thing about RightStart is it is really teacher-intensive and I could see you getting overwhelmed with the 4 young kids. I like the flexibility I have now to do Math Mammoth on days where I'm juggling the baby while teaching. We do Miquon and play games on days when the baby is asleep or occupied. If you feel like you will be able to set aside time each day for RightStart, I think it is a great choice. Miquon is a great way to add more hands on to Singapore. Have fun choosing!
I give a hearty thumbs up to Singapore Math! The program is fantastic at giving kids a solid understand of math and amazing problem solving skills. You may need to supplement with math fact practice (time tests, flashcards, games) as the text moves very quickly. My kids always needed more practice. There are two websites I use extensively to supplement our math in our homeschool:
http://www.mathfactcafe.com/
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/
Have you given Saxon a look? I've used Saxon too. Actually I switch back and forth between Saxon and Singapore. I love both for different reasons. One thing I love about Saxon is that lessons are clearly laid out and simple do with your child. Open the books and bam, you're ready to go. With Singapore I was having to “make up” my own lessons everyday, deciding where to stop and what kind of supplementary materials to use. But be sure to supplement word problem with Saxon, problem solving isn't Saxon's strong suit.
I am using Math Mammoth with my girls this year and so far we are really liking it. Simple enough (sometimes the manipulatives get overwhelming) but makes math feel simple and it's downloadable so you can print as many copies as you need. Very nice since my girls are currently working at the same math level. I've tried Singapore and we didn't like it. I have too much of a headache to explain that but, we just didn't 🙂
Also math mammoth is very reasonably priced and is created by a SAHM as far as I can tell. I like helping the little guy 🙂
Good luck with the homeschooling. Miquon is a great way to add more hands on to Singapore. Have fun choosing!
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