For the highschooler, math will look very differently than that of a middle schooler.  The math masters should be read ( or at least researched) so the student is aware of their discoveries.  There are many good high school math texts that will offer a student a good math foundation for college.

I should probably admit here that math is where I part company with many classical homeschoolers.  To many parents, math needs to taught in a rigorous  manner.  This is equated to a math textbook.  A textbook that is heavy on drill.  I have wished often that my children were made to be math lovers, children who worked well  with drill and flashcards.  Unfortunately, my children were not made this way.  I don't think that my children are in the minority.   The more egroups that I am on,  I am seeing that there are many children that cannot handle a rigorous math program.

I do not believe that young children should be taught in rigorous mode until they are at the age for jr. high.  This is the time for rigor.  Elementary is the time for exploration and discovery.  I believe that this falls into the the definition of  classical education.  I know I use this definition a lot  but this has become my plumbline  for all subjects.  The subject or topic should show all that is beautiful, true, and good.   Math can, indeed, be full of beauty.   To my way of thinking, the 'drill 'n' kill method  does exactly that;  it kills  the beauty of math.

I am a huge proponent of living math and I think this fits in very well with a classical education for a young child  (Gr.5 and under.)   I  believe that a child can have a good math education and still be shown its beauty without the use of a textbook/workbook.  I am attempting this with my youngest.  I am not using curriculum with her, rather we play games, read math storybooks, do hands on activities that show the various math concepts.

Some of these hands on activities could be baking, sewing, carpentry work, and gardening.  Gardening is a wonderful way to teach math. There are many concepts  that can be taught while planting flowers and vegetables, and still  maintain that sense of beauty and goodness.  

Math is needed even before you even get out to the garden.   Your child could help you figure out how many kinds of plants and seeds you need.  You can also  set a flower budget  and have your child  pick out  what is needed so that it meets your budget.   Estimating is also practiced when figuring out  how many plants or boxes of seed you need for your garden plot.  Your child  could graph out  where you want the plants to go.  She could do a graph to scale to help in the placement of the plants.  Measuring is accomplished when placing the seeds or plants so far apart, as well as how deep the seeds need to go in the dirt.  Patterns can also be taught  through placing various colours or kinds of flowers.  Even the basics of counting and skip counting are taught when planting seeds or flowers.   

There is no better way to show the beauty of math than from doing it hands on in activities like gardening.   This is where real learning comes in.  It is all well and good to know your math facts from flashcard drill, but if you can't put that knowledge to work in life situations then it is all for naught.  I know that many people would disagree with me but I think, for the early years, living math fits in very well with the definition of classical education.  Check back with me in five years,  when my youngest will be eleven and I will tell you if I am right or not.  

Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies, homeschooling  her 3 children (9,8,6)  and attempting to give them a classical education.  You can read more at her blog.

Posted in classical, 0 comments, Link
Leave a Comment