More Math Games

Raise your hand if you like doing math in your jammies.  Ahem.

Today's math was a variation on the Around the Circle addition game.  I taped numbers to the floor and we practiced multiplication facts.  He hoped, skipped, stepped his way through twenty minutes of drills.  Well, maybe more like 15 but it seemed like 20.  Just sayin'.

At one point my son wanted to make up his own games with the numbers on the floor.  I followed along.  Hey, as long as we're thinking about numbers, it's progress, right?

His favorite was "Twister Math."  I would call out a sum and his body parts would touch numbers that added up to that sum.

 The baby enjoyed refining his pincer grasp cleaning up.

Competitive Math Games (without batteries)

Even though Comm. Central is on Christmas break, the Majors are still doing math, handwriting and a few other fun things. Complaining to my husband that I wanted our son to work harder in math, my dear man said, "Can you figure out a way to make it feel like a competition to him?"   I am not a competitive soul - I don't understand the need for competition.  I'm here to tell you this worked for us.

Draw a huge circle, put numbers around it and one inside (see below).  Then add around the circle.  For example, 7+18=25, 7+12 =19, etc. Time yourself and try to be faster each time.  I gave him a minute each round.  Then put a different number in the center.  I think this will work too for subtraction, multiplication or division.  Today we only worked on addition.

Once he finished going around the circle, I told him how many seconds remained.  For even more math, he told me how many seconds it took him to complete the task.  We did it again to see if he could beat his time.  (On more than one occasion, he lost several seconds arguing with me about the correct answer…)  Below is the tally sheet.  You can see after the third try on his 8s he was fatigued, taking over a minute to complete the circle.  I had him to (change speeds) write three words in cursive then back to math.   This proved to be enough of a distraction to make it the best round of 8s.  I didn't want to end on a frustrating note.

The idea for this game came from Strayer Upton Practical Arithmetics, book one (originally published in 1934).  We've borrowed books one and two from a friend and my understanding is book one is for third grade and book two is for fourth.  I really like their emphasis on figuring in your head and the many, many, many practical word problems.

 Here is another addition game.

 I'd love to hear your ideas for making math competitive - or at least fun.

-Julie

Reformation Trivia

My husband turns 40 this year.  His birthday is near Halloween and for several years he has talked of throwing a "Reformation Day" Party.  Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at Wittenburg on October 31, 1517. (Cue Munsters theme song - thank you Comm. Central memory songs!)

This year we're making it happen.  It's an adult-only Reformation-education style party.  He's dressing as Monk Martin and I'm his bride, Katie, a former nun.

Today I was researching a bit for the party and decided it would be beneficial if I read through the 95 Theses.

Near the end of the document, #92, caught my attention: Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ's people, "Peace, peace," where in there is no peace.

The phrase "Peace, peace," where in there is no peace rang in my ears.  I could hear the voice of my son reciting memory work from Comm. Central but I couldn't remember which piece it was.  I asked omniscient Google who told me it is actually from the Bible, in Jeremiah 6:14 & 8:11.

But we haven't memorized that passage from Jeremiah.  Where was it from?!!

Anyone remember?

See if this jogs your memory:

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace ­ but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

The question remains, "Was Patrick Henry quoting Jeremiah or Luther?"

I suppose it doesn't really matter, I just thought it was cool to make the connection.  Without Comm. Central, I would not have been able to put the two together.

Happy to see fruit of my labor,
Julie

Kon-Tiki {rafting adventure across the Pacific}

My husband read this book review on Kon-Tiki then reserved a copy of it from the library.

It's a true story of how six men traveled 2,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean in 1947 on a raft made of balsa wood to prove a theory that Polynesians migrated from Peru.

I was hooked after reading this paragraph from the reviewer:

Kon-Tiki is not a monotonous log or diary of a voyage; it is an amazing adventure. It is not a typical living geography book, though it does describe in vivid detail the people and terrain of Peru, the ocean currents, the South Pacific islands and their respective inhabitants and culture. It encompasses a vast array of other subjects: history for one, with its interesting description of the world after World War II, the technology, industry, and interests of the young men who survived the brutal realities of that war; worthy literature, as Heyerdahl masterfully employs excellent language to tell his tale with admirable literary flair; anthropology, as he enthusiastically justifies his pet project to prove a theory about the relationship of the Peruvian Indians to the Polynesians is contagious enough to awaken interest in that field; even government as he negotiates and pulls strings to get the project underway.

Because I am a mother of two boys, I'm thinking of buying a copy of this book for them to read again and again.  You can buy a mass-market paperback for $5.  I'm not an expert at gauging reading levels, but I would put this one on a high-school level.  For my fourth-grader, I will pick passages for him to read - specifically surrounding the crew's observations of marine life.  Already I have read several passages to him aloud.  It's not that the story line or words would be too hard for him to read, I think he would be lost on some of the details (that I find engaging!)

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can watch a one-hour documentary [from 1950] free. In 2013, Hollywood made another version.  I've not seen either because I want to finish the book first.

What books are you reading?
-Julie

Lego Robotics 6 week course

*If interested, contact Heather, ASAP*

Engineering for Kids Homeschool Class
Ages 8-14
Fridays 8-9:30 at The Bible Church of Little Rock October 4, 11, 18 and November 1, 8, 15
Cost is $125 per student with small discount for additional siblings.

This is a 6 week course in Robotics using Lego robots and learning how to design, construct and program the robots.

www.engineeringforkids.net/centralar

Cash or check due at first class. Please sign up by calling Heather Muckleroy at 817-694-2828 or email her at muckleroyfamily@gmail.com

Deadline to sign up is Monday, September 30, 2013.  Hurry!

Vocabulary Words

A friend gave us this set of wooden Montessori letters {awesome}.  But this activity could be used with the fridge magnets that most of us have.  Using manipulatives help us be excited about learning to spell, rather than just copying long lists of words.

The list above is from the Wordly Wise workbook, recommended to me by homeschooling guru Tamara Sims.  You can buy it on Amazon or check it out at Mardel.  Flipping through the books, trying to decide which level was best for us, I hardly recognized any of the words for level 12.  Here's hoping his vocabulary is strengthened beyond Momma's before he graduates Majors Academy.

-Julie

Frontier Days for Homeschoolers

The Historic Washington State Park interpretive staff will provide a special experience for homeschool groups on October 4. Students will experience Frontier Days as the 19th century pioneers would have experienced it. Programming will be designed to correlate with state curriculum requirements. Sign up early for this hands-on adventure! Contact the park for further details and reservations.

Date: October 4, 2013

Time: 9 am - 4 pm

Admission: $5.50 plus tax

Phone: (870) 983-2684

Email: HistoricWashington@arkansas.com

Website: www.HistoricWashingtonStatePark.com

Baby During School Hours

You'll often find him contained here.
-Julie

Letters from Egypt & other Charlotte Mason Recommendations

This morning we started reading aloud Letters from Egypt.  In 1879, Mary Whately wrote to friends and family in England about her experiences in Egypt.  She ties in Scripture references as well as Egyptian culture and customs.  After reading the first letter, I'm hooked!  And thinking that it would be a fill the "family read-aloud-before-bed" criteria.

If Letters from Egypt interests you, another from the Charlotte Mason website that we ordered for this year's enjoyment was Ancient Egypt and her Neighbors.

 From the website: A fascinating narrative of life in Ancient Egypt intertwined with captivating stories of the other civilizations that existed alongside her—neighbors far and near. Makes the ancient world come alive! (Grades 1–6)

Lastly, for grades 1-3, Boy of the Pyramids might grab your attention.

  -Julie

Does Your Child Struggle?

If you read one article this week, this one will encourage your struggling learner.  Or, cause you to view struggling differntly.

Struggle Means Learning: Difference in Eastern and Western Cultures.

-Julie