Golden Acorn Homeschool

(This is an old picture, but one of my favorites!)

Let’s face it, there are days in every homeschool mama’s life when the washing machine is broken, someone is sick, the  “to do” list is a mile long, or you just need a little break.  But, you feel guilty because you want your kids to be learning something, right?  Well, there are days when *I* feel like that, but maybe I am alone.  ;-)

I have a list of internet resources for days like this when I know we won’t get to our books and do any substantial reading.

My current favorite is Free Rice (www.freerice.com).  This site supports a CM based education by exposing kids to a rich vocabulary, grammar, great artists, and geography.  It even has math (click subjects at the top and see all that is offered)!  Better than that, it donates rice to people in impoverished countries.  So, as your little darlings learn, they are helping someone who is hungry.  My kids compete against themselves to see how much rice they can donate.

Math-U-See (www.mathusee.com) gets my next vote.  We use the Math-U-See curriculum, but even if you don’t, there are FREE resources in the sidebar to make math worksheets, and there is an online drill.  Cole is struggling with the sixes in the multiplication table, so we have been doing a LOT of online drilling.  I can’t say enough good things about the MUS curriculum and website.

Next up is Classics for Kids (www.classicsforkids.com).  We love this site, and it is also CM based since you are learning about, and listening to, music from famous composers.  There are radio programs and quizzes galore!  Soothe the savage (hyper?) beasts in your house with a little music.

Using Ambleside Online?  Then if you don’t know about Librivox (www.librivox.org), you should!  Even if you don’t use AO, you will find lots of audio books of interest.  I can set my kids up on the computer with some headphones and still get a load of laundry done, and dinner started.

My other more recent favorite is Time 4 Learning (www.time4learning.com).  I started using this as a supplement this year to help me stay on top of things and juggle the two kids.  They love it, I love it, and they have learned a ton.  It’s not free, but I think it’s worth it if you can afford it.  We have tried Brain Pop in the past, and the kids just didn’t get into it as well, or take as much from it…although I am sure that is different for each family.

What are your favorite resources?  I am always looking for more!

As we were about to tackle math this morning, the kids requested a snack. Never mind that they *just* ate breakfast! These kids are growing and they have growing appetites. :-) I decided to give them some goldfish crackers and use the snack as a learning opportunity. Mostly for the girls, but even Super-boy got a kick out of doing “Goldfish Math.”

For the girls, I gave them the Math-U-See blocks and some number flash cards along with a bowl of goldfish for each of them. They pulled a card from the pile, or a block, and matched the crackers to the number. If they counted correctly, they got to count again while eating them. Sneaky mommy! All that counting and number recognition disguised as a snack!

Super-boy was taking a test this morning (because we still have two lessons left in Beta!), but he used the crackers to aid his subtraction. It’s easier to “take away” when the taking entails eating a tasty snack!

Just another wacky day, in our wacky school. Have a beautiful Monday everyone.

I have had precious little time to blog lately. Life has been busy, commitments are piling up, and the last thing I seem to have time for is updating this page. C’est la vie.

We are whizzing through our final term of the year, and I am amazed, as always, by what the kids have learned, and are learning. Super-boy is now learning cursive, and we finished our geography book, Paddle-to-the-Sea today. We were both excited to finish the journey with our beloved paddle man, and sad to say goodbye to him. Super-boy has begged me all year to read Paddle more quickly, but I knew that taking our time would be more enjoyable, and it was. I am glad I trusted those smart ladies of Ambleside Online and read it slowly.

I also had some suspicions confirmed recently that Super-boy’s math was a combination of 2nd & 3rd grade skills. I was thumbing through the book “What Your Third Grader Needs to Know” the other day at the library and a LOT of the math skills listed in that book are things we covered this year. Math-U-See Gamma arrived last week (along with Diva’s Primer book) and I was looking through it with excitement. Gamma jumps right into multiplication and division. My son is growing up. *sniffle*

Also, A Child’s History of the World finally decided to show up yesterday after just over 3 weeks! I was getting worried. I am already on Chapter 12. ;-) Next year is going to be great!

And, because the mailman obviously knew that I needed a boost yesterday, he delivered out caterpillars too! We are about to raise a few painted lady butterflies.

I will admit, these guys seems less than enthusiastic, but I wonder if that has anything to do with scanning procedures at the post office. I hope they perk up because I really don’t want to have to order more. I have my fingers crossed that we will be able to raise at least five and learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.

How can I disappoint these cuties??

I came across a homeschooling mom today that suggested that a homeschooler should be teaching math from life experience only, rather than use any curriculum.

I agree that it is invaluable to teach “life” math. You can make almost anything an opportunity to teach math. Cooking, baking, grocery shopping, playing video games, playing almost any game where points are involved. You find math all over this big beautiful world. Percentages, statistics, you name it. But, can a person receive a well-rounded education in mathematics and arithmetic without a curriculum? My answer is no. Of course, radical unschoolers will disagree with me, but the truth is, eventually most kids will use some sort of math curriculum if they want to progress in their learning and studies.

From Webster’s Dictionary on Curriculum:

I chose Math-U-See for a math curriculum for our homeschool. To be honest, I am not a math lover. I understand math, and I wouldn’t even say it’s difficult for me, but if I had a choice of what to do with my time, math would rate very, very low on my scale. Perhaps that is why during my senior year of high school, I had completed my required math credits, and opted out of taking a third credit. Instead, I attended three English classes a day; two literature, and one writing class. ;-)

I wanted to make sure that my kids had a solid foundation in mathematics, and for the concepts to be taught in a hands on approach. I love the manipulatives in Math-U-See, and I love the way the way that each concept builds upon the previous one. There is constant review of what has been learned, but never so much repetition that my son gets bored with what we are doing. He is challenged by learning a new concept, but he never struggles to learn it. It’s as effortless as breathing, really, and even I have a better understanding of simple concepts since we began using this program. Not only that, but it’s in line with a Charlotte Mason style education.

Charlotte taught math in her schools. But like everything else in a CM education, the lessons are to be short, focused and lively. Find and use excellent living books if you can, and help the child see and appreciate the beauty and wonder of math and arithmetic. It should never become a burden to the child.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you use a math curriculum? Do you think learning math from life is adequate for an entire education? Do you feel math curriculum fits in with a Charlotte Mason education?

Inquiring minds want to know…