How We Homeschool: Math
UPDATE: We have since changed to Math with Confidence, and this is hands-down my number one math recommendation for homeschool families these days! I love the way Math with Confidence lays out lessons in a fun, organized fashion and offers modern approaches, while still cultivating a love of numbers and math in our children. I’ll try to write a post with more info about it soon!
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ORIGINAL POST:
There are many different options out there for math curriculum - we found one right at the very beginning and have stuck with it!
Prior to age 6, I don’t do any formal Math instruction with my children. Of course, they pick up things along the way - we might count steps as we walk up and down a staircase or count toys as throw them back into the toy bin. They play board games with us and learn to count dice, or count cups of flour as we dump them into the mixing bowl for cookie dough. But nothing intentional or formal.
(The one exception is my daughter with an October birthday. We started her Kindergarten year when she was 5 1/2, almost 6, and in her mind, “Kindergarten” needed to include Math. So for those first couple months until she turned 6, we played the game "Tiny Polka Dot” every day for her Math lesson.)
At age 6, we start with the Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic Series. These books are available from Simply Charlotte Mason, and lay out Math as Charlotte Mason wanted it taught (she was an educator in the late 1800s/early 1900s).
It’s mostly oral in the first year or so, which is perfect for young learners. Book 1 goes through each number from 1 - 20, then through each set of 10 - 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, ending at 100. They use coins, popsicle sticks, buttons, to gain a solid math foundation as they orally answer questions like, “If Susan bakes 12 chocolate chip cookies and 10 oatmeal raisin, how many does she have in all?”
Book 2 and 3 continue with math and division and other more advanced topics.
I’ve been astonished by the way my daughters truly grasp numbers and math in a way I never did, and I think it’s thanks to this curriculum.
I do 4 lessons a week with each of my children (the ones 6 and older). Usually it takes 15-25 minutes each day.
You can view a free sample on the Simply Charlotte Mason web site. I didn’t get the bundle of manipulatives (we just gathered those at home) but I do have the gridded whiteboard and gridded notebook.
Beyond that, we don’t do much beyond those everyday life things - baking and board games and shopping with allowance money.
I do own Wild Math, and I think it’s a lovely idea, but I haven’t been able to make it work in our schedule.
According to their web site, “Wild Math® takes math outdoors where it is naturally hands-on, engages all of the senses, and includes plenty of movement.” I would recommend it if you have a child of any age who needs to find some delight in Math, or if you have a 5 year old who needs to do Math for their homeschool charter but isn’t ready for a formal curriculum.