Ahh, mathematics… blech…well, at least personally. But that’s the theme for this week. Instead of sharing what math programs we used in our 13 years of homeschooling, or various math curricula available out there, or some nifty math trick (which I don’t know), I’ll focus on the fun aspect of having to adapt curricula when you have only one student (esp. math, it seems).

Invariably, you will come across a graphing problem that expect a classroom of students (or a family with several children). “Graph the class’ favorite color.” If Dad was at work, then it was green for me and red for my class. Not exactly a good way to visualize how graphing works. This is where adapting comes in handy and you get to become creative. Do you have a collection of drinking cups from different restaurants (we do)—graph the colors (use the primary color you see when you see the cup and ignore the logo, etc.). If you are close to a relatively busy street, set up your blanket under a tree and tally car colors you see, then graph the colors...maybe set a specific time, a half hour or an hour for watching cars. (If the child is younger, maybe 15 minutes.) Or this could be done while driving around doing errands; have the child tally the car colors he/she can see. Not only will it serve for your math after you get home, but it keeps the child busy while you are driving.

You might come across a problem that asks you to divide the class in groups to illustrate fractions. Maybe brown-eyes, blue eyes, and hazel eyes. Again, you have to be creative and think of other things that could be used instead of classmates. You could have the middle school child call friends and ask them their eye color. Or when he/she goes to church (Sunday School, Bible Study, etc.) or to a play date, and do the same. If you’ve got a friendly child, you could allow them to ask people they meet at the grocery store as you do the shopping (having them ask the people you pass in the aisles).

Another example would be estimation. Having the class estimate numbers of something (how many liters a container holds), then testing the estimates by actual measurements. So often this kind of experiment in mathematics is more fun when a group of children are doing it. (Adults may get closer to the mark due to their experience and it can deflate a child’s confidence in their own abilities if mom or dad are constantly getting it “right” or getting closer to the answer than they are.) If you belong to a homeschool support group and want to invest in some M&M'S® and a jar with a lid, you can have a contest. Don’t drag it out for weeks though, have the children work on their estimations and then count out the goodies. I’d suggest using  various items of differing sizes, at least three. Consider using marbles and even several inexpensive plastic horses or cars (winner can take them home). Using both uniform things (M&M'S® or marbles) and irregular shaped objects helps to show that different shapes, as well as sizes (marbles & M&M'S®), help to determine how much a container can hold. Do the M&M'S® last as the grand finale!

A lesson in measurement can also be difficult to do when the math book asks the class to measure each other with differing units of measurement (inches, centimeters, yards, meters, etc.), then convert the measurements into the other system. This can be made fun by allowing the child to choose different things in the house to compare with his/her height or even his/her width (e.g. doors & windows for height, a couch for width), but even so, a child enjoys working with a group of children, too. And it is a good way to compare the accuracy of each system if the things compared (like other children) are similar heights. You may need to resort to bringing a cloth tape measure or two or three to play dates and have some “organized fun.” I’ve seen a snippet of a PBS show where the class decided to measure their classroom width using one of the children lying down on the floor as a unit of measurement, so that may be another way to engage your child—name the measurement a “Joey unit” or a “Claire unit.” A chest of drawers may be 1 Claire wide (or 48 inches or 4 feet or 121.92 centimeters or 1.2192 meters in length), whereas a loveseat might be 1 Joey wide (or 66 inches or 5.5 feet or 167.64 centimeters or 1.6764 meters).

We do have to adapt some curriculum (not just math) to the one-student classroom. Sometimes it can be done in our own home with no other children involved and sometimes we have to seek out alternative places to do these kind of exercises. Either way it can still be made to be fun for your student. It may not always be easy to come up with alternative ways to accomplish the problem before you, but if you give it some thought, you can be creative. If you have trouble adapting the material you are using, ask others who are homeschooling only one to get their input. If you don’t know any in your area, please feel free to join us at HOOville—an online message board specifically for those who are educating one student. You will always find support and help there from those who are in the same boat as you are!

Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, TX with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike, Donna's mother, Charlotte, and their dog, Lucia. Donna and Glenn have been homeschooling their son since the beginning of his education. Mike completed his homeschooling in the fall of 2008. Donna is an artist and has always enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschooling Only One in 2003, after discovering that there were many other families homeschooling only one child. Her website is devoted to those with only one student in their homeschool, with listings of online resources. You can find these free resources, including a message board for those who HOO, on her website at  http://donnac.com and read her blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC

copyright © 2009 Donna Conner ~~ All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of author, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles where the title and author are listed.

Posted in hsingonlyone, 0 comments, Link
Leave a Comment