Tangrams

At my job, as part of the critical thinking portion of the math program, we have the kids do something similar to tangrams (they actually use pattern blocks).  I think it's a great and fun thinking tool.  Here's some history on tangram puzzles.  Tangram  puzzles really work out your mind and force you to think in different ways.  After someone mentioned on Facebook that their child was working with pattern blocks, I was motivated to give tangrams a try myself.  We did some puzzles online but we were getting rather frustrated so I went in search of a tangram set--something we could touch and move around with our fingers.  I discovered Classic Tangoes, a quality game with lots of puzzle cards (and solutions).  It comes in a very compact case and we really have a good time figuring out the puzzles--or at least trying.  Most of the time, we give up and "cheat" but even after we look at the solution, we're always fascinated by how the puzzle is solved.  Heck, even putting the pieces back in the case is a challenge.  

Another game I discovered is the Think Fun Block (interestingly enough, this game is used at my job too).  I didn't buy it but it's on my wish list. I love these games that are challenging and not electronic!  And I'm very excited because here is a great way to learn about math that feels just like playing.

I will print out some simple tangram block templates for Z2 now that I think about it . . . he always wants to play with the tangrams but doesn't know how.  He really enjoys puzzles and this is a great way to get him involved!

Photo Credit

Already learning . . .

I took the huge risk of purchasing the Right Start math curriculum for almost $200.  I wanted something that would be fun, interactive and hands-on while providing a rock-solid mathematics foundations.  It's extremely important to me that the boys develop a deep understanding of math--not just learning what to do and doing it.  I what them to really comprehend why they are doing things.  I think the program is wonderful in that regard but I find it tedious and dry.  Except for the games, there really is nothing fun about it and the materials are really drab.  

I understood it was a risk.  At this point, I kind of wish I had gone with the Math-u-See program like I was going to initially.  But I'm not purchasing anything else for this school year.  I have spent about $275 on curricula this year: Right Start and All About Spelling and that's my limit.  I would rather spend money on museums or classes than on curricula.

So, I'm going to make do with the Right Start math for this year, look into doing Math Mammoth (the free worksheets) and continue to use the School Zone Math 1-2 book I purchased some time ago.  

I'm not sure about purchasing math curricula in the future.  I may give Math-u-See a try but that's really about it.  I have decided to read (and perhaps purchase) Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics to help me become more confident as a math teacher.  I will probably cobble together my own curriculum using many resources.  We really don't have money to waste and so I will have to be more self-sufficient in regards to curricula.   

He Counted to 100!

We were sitting at the table having our dinner this evening and Z1 decided to count to 100. He asked me to help him when he got stuck. I was expecting that when he got to 40, he'd start to falter but no, he just kept right on to 50 then 60 then 70 then 80 then 90 then 100!!!! I was so excited and proud and so was he. What a pleasant surprise! His push to count to 100 was totally self-motivated. I pushed him to get to 30 but he basically did the rest. I have a 100s chart that I placed on his wall underneath his calendar and he regularly sits there and counts. His abacus that I got for his birthday that he had religiously neglected? All of a sudden, he's counting to 100 with it. I'm really thrilled and working on figuring out the next step.

Today, we carved pumpkins which was a lot fun but I see that his fine motor skills are still developing. I hope to find ways to help him along so that way he can start to write to 100 too. Then, I will look into him taking classes to learn the soroban method of arithmetic (I found this company that offers to teach it and went in for a demonstration--I was very impressed).

Counting by 5's

I haven't posted in a while . . .

For the past few weeks, we've been working on addition. I've been trying to give Z1 a number of methods he can use to solve addition equations. Once we've mastered addition, we're going to move on to counting by 2's, 5's and 10's. I'm especially interested in the counting by 5's because once he can do that comfortably, we can move on in our learning about telling time on an analog clock. Right now, he can tell you the time on the hour.

Yesterday, we took a wonderful hiking trip with some of our closest homeschooling friends. The drive was about 45 minutes and while we were driving, School House Rock was playing. Our friends had bought the box set on Ebay. Talk about a blast from the past. Well, I heard this song:


It's the very same song which taught me to count by 5's. Luckily, Z1 loves it and so we'll be playing it a lot. He also likes Zero, My Hero. I can't believe how well done School House Rock is and I'm excited that someone has brought these wonderful learning songs back into my consciousness.