Sherry Hagen

Hi folks,

I have a friend who both homeschools and unschools. She has a 10 year
old who hates math and is using a textbook. Do you have any
suggestions for user friendly math books.

Sherry

[email protected]

In a message dated 3/7/01 9:20:16 AM Mountain Standard Time, oilmagic@...
writes:


I have a friend who both homeschools and unschools.  


You cannot possibly, is my opinion.

<<.  She has a 10 year
old who hates math and is using a textbook.   Do you have any
suggestions for user friendly math books.>>

If she uses a textbook or makes her kids use even user-friendly math books,
she's not unschooling and to pretend or believe otherwise will be a big rock
in the road for her getting to real unschooling and (MAYBE) arranging life so
that her 10 year old doesn't hate math from now on.  

Sandra (who might at first glance here seem to be unhelpful, but suggesting
other math programs will only enable and prolong...)

Jon and Rue Kream

Maybe she doesn't hate math. Maybe she hates being forced to do math. A
book can only be user friendly to someone who WANTS to read it.

Can someone who says that they unschool most subjects, but not (insert
subject here) explain this thinking to me?

-Rue
-----Original Message-----
From: Sherry Hagen [mailto:oilmagic@...]
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 11:19 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] help with math


Hi folks,

I have a friend who both homeschools and unschools. She has a 10 year
old who hates math and is using a textbook. Do you have any
suggestions for user friendly math books.

Sherry


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Lenise A. Plas

What does everyone use to help with math?  Any games?  I want to get Yahtzee because they love it and we've just gotten the dominoes out and played concentration addition.  Any suggestions would be helpful. 
 
Blessings, Lenise
 

Vaughnde L Edwards

Sherry,
I had the same problem. I solved that by not requiring any math workbooks
at all. What we have been doing is learning math (shhh, don't tell) by
playing games. Yahtzee works wonderfully for addition and multiplication
skills, Uno and racko are also good. There is a website that was showing
bingo math that you could download into the computer, but I think we are
going to make our own. IT is so easy...make a template for a bingo card
on your write program whatever that is and then print that template out.
in the squares, put numbers that will correspond with what the announcer
says. Example=N 6x6 so would be answer 36 in the square. You can make
these up out of poster board, construction papers, etc and use beans,
beads, pennies, etc to put over the squares. It can be a project that
both parent and child create and its fun. You can do addition bingo,
subtraction, bingo, multiplication bingo, division bingo, etc. You can
also teach fractions by cooking...using cooking skills for fractions
helps the child learn actual math and have fun at the same time! (and it
also has practical applications). Another suggestion is to use Monopoly
or life or other games that also promote math skills. One I like is Math
Games and Activities from around the world (The Sycamore Tree 14.95),
Amazing Math with your kids (sycamore tree 14.95) and Money Dominoes (the
sycamore tree 10.25). I have not used these last three, but I am planning
on buying them. Some kids just simply hate worksheets and repition...and
this is one way to help them enjoy math without feeling like they are
being bogged down.
Jessica


On Wed, 07 Mar 2001 10:19:25 -0600 Sherry Hagen <oilmagic@...> writes:
> Hi folks,
>
> I have a friend who both homeschools and unschools. She has a 10
> year
> old who hates math and is using a textbook. Do you have any
> suggestions for user friendly math books.
>
> Sherry
>
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
>
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> Unsubscribe: [email protected]
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>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Jessica Edwards aka
Vaughnde Edwards
Stampin' Bookworm
http://www.stampinbookworm.eboard.com

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In a message dated 3/7/01 12:17:57 PM, lenisep@... writes:

<< What does everyone use to help with math? Any games? I want to get
Yahtzee because they love it and we've just gotten the dominoes out and
played concentration addition. Any suggestions would be helpful.
>>

Card games.
Video games (Mario stuff, any pattern games (math isn't just numbers),
Harvest Moon)
Bazaar (a board game sort of from Discovery Toys)

allowance
other uses of cash to buy real things

building, measuring, sharing, counting things

I don't "use" things--what I'm listing is things I have noticed my kids go
"aha!" about, but I didn't "use them" for that purpose.

Horses before carts. If they gallop through the world, they'll pick stuff up
and store it. If you look in the cart and see 'empty' and try to push the
cart to the next "fact" dragging the horse along backwards, that's not
unschooling. let them run.

[email protected]

In a message dated 03/07/2001 4:20:15 PM !!!First Boot!!!, oilmagic@...
writes:


.  She has a 10 year
old who hates math and is using a textbook.   Do you have any
suggestions for user friendly math books.

Sherry





What is she doing and what would she like to do?

Lots of fun math-related books out there.

Nance

Julie

Hi Lenise
I don't use anythng.  The kids, however, use the world around them.  They go to the shops, count their pocket money again and again.  My second daughter,  who unlike my first, was never asked or forced to do any workbooks, actully loves doing them.  She gets dressed up in a school uniform we got from a charity shop and plays school.  Her big sister gives her worksheets to do.  That happens once in a while, but moslty, she plays, and play invovles logic, and strategy, and geometry and systematic thinking.  THey build dens, use lego and K'nex, count as high as they can, measure each others body parts, measure how fast they are growing, keep time to music, design patterns, construct models out of paper, share things out between them, etc. My 10 year old now likes to ask about square roots and imaginary numbers and other things just because they are interesting to her.  An important point is that it doesn't actually matter what they learn as long as they are doing what THEY want to do.  I don't like the idea of watching what my children do in order to tick off imaginary boxes about their achievements.  I was recently at a freind's house, a friend whose children go to school, and was looking at the literature about maths that the school sent home to parents about what the children would be doing this year in maths.    It was so pathetic and narrow minded and there was little more than the erroneous idea that maths is all about adding up and taking away.  My children's understanding of mathematical concepts is way ahead of what these teachers expected of their pupils, but probably way behind what they would be expected to perform, ie, to recite their time tables or some such nonsense.  It is, I suppose another example of how unschooling works, even when the academic goals are considered.  But, of course, none of us should decide what our childrens' goals are for them.  If they want to learn math, they will, if they don't, they will still be able to function in a world full of calculators.
 
Peace
Julie
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2001 7:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] help with math

What does everyone use to help with math?  Any games?  I want to get Yahtzee because they love it and we've just gotten the dominoes out and played concentration addition.  Any suggestions would be helpful. 
 
Blessings, Lenise
 


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In a message dated 03/07/2001 4:20:15 PM !!!First Boot!!!, oilmagic@...
writes:


Do you have any
suggestions for user friendly math books.

Sherry






Just browsing around our living room and thought I would send off these
titles:

The Number Devil -- a fun book about a boy who "hates math" in school and has
these dreams in which The Number Devil takes him on mathematical adventures
(less arithmetic, more math, as the devil explains) and he has some fun with
it.  

The Man Who Counted -- the travels and adventures of a Man Who Counts -- he
figures out math/logic puzzles as he travels through the Middle East visiting
camel herders and kings and others and settling disputes or solving problems
in their lives.

We are also currently browsing in The Cartoon Guide to Physics -- not too
math heavy but a fun intro.  This is a good series of books -- they have a
Cartoon Guide to History, etc. -- and might be a way to blend a couple of
areas.  And I am reading (and sharing with my son) a book called Chaos --
explaining the science of chaos, as if a Mom doesn't know what that is -- but
it is very readable and my son and I have looked at the examples (weather
systems and waterwheels so far) and they involve some math.

We also have a few CDs that the kids use -- the Math Blaster series for
practice/drill type things, Geometry Blaster is actually fun, Math in the
Real World -- a rock band travels around and has to figure out math-related
situations, Rollercoaster Tycoon -- you build a theme park, Thinking Things,
etc.  There are tons of fun CDs out and you just about can't avoid using some
sort of math.

Then, of course, board games -- backgammon, chess, Pokemon (yes, Pokemon),
Powerpuff Girls (ugh -- but my 6 yo daughter likes it!), card games -- they
both like poker, Monopoly, whatever you family likes.

The Math Shark -- a hand-held gizmo for math practice.  Any number of games
the kids download from online -- silly but there's some content in some of
them.  The calculator -- my daughter likes it but then I can't find it when I
want to work!

Anyway, that's what is in my living room.  Guess I better straighten up a
little! :)

Nance

R Meyers

I found a great book yesterday at the library book sale........its called Mathematics for Everyday Use. Its old but pretty cool.  I has different math concepts spelled out but then it has sections for using math in real life.  For example there is a section on bills & budgets and shows how to make a budget, how to balance a checkbook, etc... then there is one for investments showing how to figure out percentages for earnings and then a tax section plus many more but it all has to do with how we REALLY use math, unlike problem after problem in some book........it may end up being the only math book I use!
Rachel

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My 8 year old likes to help me balance my checkbook.

Mary Ellen
alarm clock - n. a device for waking up people
who don't have small children.

Valerie Stewart

My 8 year old likes to help me balance my checkbook.

Mary Ellen

**My kids just like to help me empty the checking account. Is that math?

Valerie in Tacoma

A. Yates

I wish my eight yr old would do mine! It never balances!!!!
Hmmmmmmmm.....
:)
Ann

megates@... wrote:

> My 8 year old likes to help me balance my checkbook.
>
> Mary Ellen
> alarm clock - n. a device for waking up people
> who don't have small children.
>
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Vaughnde L Edwards

I don't know but I do know this one...you gotta be firm when you know you
are waaaaay low on funds! Especially if you only get paid once a
month...phooey!
Jessica


On Thu, 8 Mar 2001 15:12:22 -0800 " Valerie Stewart" <vlos@...>
writes:
>
> My 8 year old likes to help me balance my checkbook.
>
> Mary Ellen
>
> **My kids just like to help me empty the checking account. Is that
> math?
>
> Valerie in Tacoma
>
> Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
> Check it all out at: http://www.unschooling.com
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> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Jessica Edwards aka
Vaughnde Edwards
Stampin' Bookworm
http://www.stampinbookworm.eboard.com

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--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Vaughnde L Edwards
<stampinbookworm@j...> wrote:
> I don't know but I do know this one...you gotta be firm when you
know you
> are waaaaay low on funds! Especially if you only get paid once a
> month...phooey!
> Jessica


**I agree 100% **-

Marianne - who still has 10 days to go to dh pay day and $20 left!!!!

Johanna

Been there done that more times than I can count. It also teaches you preparation skills.another life lesson.
Johanna
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 10:05 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] Re: help with math

--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., Vaughnde L Edwards
<stampinbookworm@j...> wrote:
> I don't know but I do know this one...you gotta be firm when you
know you
> are waaaaay low on funds! Especially if you only get paid once a
> month...phooey!
> Jessica


**I agree 100% **-

Marianne - who still has 10 days to go to dh pay day and $20 left!!!!



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Bobbie

--- SandraDodd@... wrote:

> allowance
> other uses of cash to buy real things
>
I thought this might be something nice to share on
those lines. My ds is only 5 but he of course "worked"
with me when I manned my sis's store in the mall. He
felt he was earning his money by helping pick up after
around the place, especially after his crafts and
stuff. Anyway, he would get 2 dollars everyday that he
came to work with me and he was saving up for a
marionette puppet in a store upstairs that was 15
dollars. He would everyday subtract how much he had
made so far and try to figure out how much he had
left, then ask me how many more dayz it would take. He
saved it up and bought what he wanted and he hardly
ever plays with it but it is special cuz he did it
himself. Now when him or his sister gets some pocket
change from me he advises her "save it, Aspen, cuz
then tomorrow you could get two more quarters and then
two more and two more and you can save it up to buy
something you want." It's cute. :)


> Horses before carts. If they gallop through the
> world, they'll pick stuff up
> and store it. If you look in the cart and see
> 'empty' and try to push the
> cart to the next "fact" dragging the horse along
> backwards, that's not
> unschooling. let them run.
>

And THAT is a beautiful illustration, Sandra. I think
I'll quote you there, if you don't mind.

-Bobbie


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In a message dated 3/11/2001 11:19:57 AM Pacific Standard Time,
insomniaaks@... writes:


> Horses before carts.  If they gallop through the
> world, they'll pick stuff up
> and store it.  If you look in the cart and see
> 'empty' and try to push the
> cart to the next "fact" dragging the horse along
> backwards, that's not
> unschooling.  let them run.
>

And THAT is a beautiful illustration, Sandra. I think
I'll quote you there, if you don't mind.


I'd be honored.  Thanks.

Sandra