October 17, 2008 - Living Math Update - Fractions
I've been doing well with my living math resolution. Each week we put aside the Singapore Math textbook/workbook for at least one day and do math games instead. I cannot express how much Sprite's motivation has improved with this change! She adores the games and begs to do them again and again. Our last venture into math games was a result of cooking. While making cookie dough I realized that Sprite's understanding of fractions was almost nil. I made a mental note, and looked in my Family Math book the next day.
Using directions from the fractions chapter, we started work on a Fraction Kit. Then the next day we played very simple games with the kit. Using a special fraction die that we made, we took turns picking up the amount we'd rolled. The winner was the first to get to one whole.
I was utterly amazed at how quickly Sprite caught on. Before I even had a chance to explain things like 2/8ths are the same as 1/4, she was switching out the pieces herself to make equivalent values and saying, "I only need 1/16th more!" Wow. That was so amazingly easy. And fun!
I tried to throw her for a loop by then playing the game with subtraction -- we each start with one whole try to get to zero. No stumping her was possible! She grasped it fully. I asked her why. She said, "I can look at the pieces and see how they are the same or different." She is a very visual-spatial child, and I now realize how spending fifteen minutes making a fraction kit and playing games was so much more productive than using the textbook would've been.
No, we were not scheduled to learn about fractions this week. But we needed to know about them to make cookies. And that's living math -- using math in real situations in a hands-on way. I hope that next time we bake together that these concepts will carry over.
Comments
October 18, 2008 - This is what I love about homeschooling
Posted by KarinKath @ PassportAcademy.com
I love that you can change up your curriculum or lesson plan AT ANY TIME to better suit your child. I also have the Family Math Book and cannot wait to dig in when my boys. I find so many wonderful resources out there. I'd really need to homeschool 7 days a week for 10 hours a day to really use it. Still, its great to have so many choices.
Thanks for sharing your homeschool journey. I really enjoy reading what you are doing with Sprite and its nice to get glimpses of what is going on in other homeschoolers homes (especially in China) as it can feel pretty isolating at times---even though we do get out and do things with others and participate in our local homeschool support group.
October 18, 2008 - Family Math
Posted by Anonymous
I whole-heartedly agree with your approach to math. We have always had one day as math game day and it does boost the morale and the learning. We played the pizza game to learn fractions and they still today use lots of conversions to torment me on Friday pizza night. They say things like, "Hey, he got 2/16ths more than I did, that's not fair!" I guess you have to be there. :)
We started playing dominos a long time ago with the boys and they struggled with how to score for a long time. I realized yesterday playing dominos that they are not only able to score now but they are thinking ahead and using logic as we play. Games teach the skills as well as "how" to think.
Keep it up.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
October 18, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Wonderful idea!
October 18, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
oops... forgot to sign my previous comment...
Makita
4twinklingstars.blogspot.com
October 18, 2008 - Math Games
Posted by basketflat
Where did you find the math games? Or did you make them up yourself. That's a great idea to make it living math.
October 18, 2008 - thanks
Posted by Onduli
thanks for posting this..... such a good reminder for me since my guy learns the best this way.
October 19, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Prncsstefy
That is a brilliant idea! I'm going to have to borrow that one.
October 20, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by westward
Yay for this fun activity! I'm always amazed at how much more my children agree to their "normal" math lessons when they know the living math is coming at some point(s) in the week.
October 20, 2008 - Another fraction game that worked with my son
Posted by Christinethecurious
Dear Jimmie,
Good for you to respond so quickly to Sprite's need for a fraction game!
Back before my oldest could tell time, we had a lot of frustrating times when he had to wait for me to come do something with him, and he didn't know how long it would take. I tried to teach him time with a Miquon game, but it wound up teaching fractions instead.
The game is to make a large clockface that the student can play with, paper plate sized, but flat. Then to cut out several circles of stiff paper, or foam the same size but different colors. Then cut them into fourths, thirds, halves, twelfths and sixths. They can be laid on the clock face to see where we get phrases like half past and quarter to.
My son is not iffy on time anymore (the kitchen timer proved to help with this pretty well, better than the clock itself) but the best thing from playing with the pieces was when he held up a quarter piece with a twelfth laying on it, and a half piece with a sixth laying on it and told me that they had a similar pattern. 12 is a nice number for playing with fractions because it can go into the halves/quarters, or thirds. Also, you can teach degrees from it, 90 degrees is like 12 to 3 O'clock, 12 to 4 120 degrees etc.
We also played with how to make circles out of different pie shapes, for instance a half plus a quarter plus a sixth plus an eighth.
I used my scrapbooking/quilting stuff to get the pieces neat.
It's almost time to pull out those pieces again for my next boy!
-Christine
October 21, 2008 - Where can I find it?
Posted by knitpick
I'd love to look into the Family Math book...can you point me in the right direction to purchase it? THANKS!
November 6, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by franbles99
I read this one a while back and keep meaning to pop by and tell you what a fantastic idea this is! I am so glad you shared it with us. I need every practical thing going for my older son.
Sarah
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