Yes, I know...we're cutting it close! I still have a couple of more things to get to the accountant, then I'm done for this year, but what a job! We all know that it's important to prepare our taxes, even if we don't want to, but explaining why we pay taxes to our kids!?!?! That's equally confusing! I consider it a real job!

So, while I close up our books today, my kids will have the opportunity to learn  about the Canadian Income Tax System! I found this great pdf called 'Understanding Income Tax' for Canadian students! You can view this pdf online or download it for free! There's five units with lessons and learning activities! It's high school level and was designed with them in mind!

You'll also find learning materials in French or English at the Canada Revenue Agency! Of course, there are also a lot of sites from around the world, and a few that I thought would benefit our kids! There's 'Math Skills for Everyday: Filling out Income Tax Forms', 'Understanding Money Pays Off' and 'Sense and Dollars'!

Happy Tax Season!

I think that I probably belong to almost every possible mail group online, and today, I received a excellent head's up about the following FREE resource for mathematics! It's for students from K to Post-Secondary! It's called Mathematics Enrichment or @NRICH! I love sites that provide extra instructional materials like videos! This month's theme is problem solving! Building the logical mind of our children is imperative for their futures and this site wants them to succeed! Did I mention...it's FREE?

NRICH provides rich media content, including games, interactive puzzles, and movies that teach various concepts in math. New content is published each month and there is also an archive of past months. The problems are selected each month to offer a variety of skills at different age levels along with supporting materials such as articles, games, and other resources. You have opportunity to download and use offline, bundles of NRICH resources that help to develop a mathematical idea, and include extra guidance for using the resources! You'll find bundles for every age level dealing with a variety of concepts. The articles section offers information on a range of topics from an introduction to magic squares to thinking about different ways of thinking. The Maths Finder offers visitors a way to find problems by choosing from more than two dozen curriculum topics. Additionally, there is a problem of the week and if you get stuck...there's an "Ask NRICH" web-board that is monitored by a team of mathematicians who are ready to answer your math questions.

Oops! Isn't it amazing how life manages to creep up and force you off in another direction? That's what happened on Friday! The whole weekend really, but I have a few minutes this morning, and hopefully will find some time this afternoon, to share a few fun sites and resources.  It's review time in our household, so many of the sites I'll be directing you to this week, will be for the core subjects!

I found a bunch of great math sites that I wanted to pass along. Have you ever heard of Math Mayhem? It's from LearningPlanet! It's a math review site for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  What makes this different from other similar sites is that here students compete with the scores of other students.

Are you reviewing perimeter and area? This is a very simple review site for perimeter and area.  Just click on either the perimeter or area links for a quick review and then proceed on to different examples to try your hand at calculating either one.  

Older students, like mine, will appreciate this next site called 'Math 10 Pure'! It's a summer school site that was created by Mr. L. Burns, a teacher from Calgary! It's Canadian! Bonus! You'll find notes, videos and practice exams on polynomials, geometry, real numbers and more! A real find for anyone wanting to succeed in their mathematics course! 

And if that's not enough practice, visit Mr. Hoffman's Homepage! He's a math teacher from Saskatchewan, who's created quizzes for everything from decimals to integers, and has provided the answer sheets for us, too! Many in pdf format! This site is suitable for students from grade nine and up! A truly fine resource that will have your kids making the grade!
 

What is Fibonacci? Are you wondering, as I was when I first heard the word, what the heck is 'Fibonacci? It's not a what, but a who! He's a famous mathmatician named Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci! I'll give you a hint as to what he's famous for...

"How many pairs of rabbits can be bred from one pair in a year?

A man has one pair of rabbits at a certain place entirely surrounded by a wall. We wish to know how many pairs will be bred from it in one year, if the nature of these rabbits is such that they breed every month one other pair and begin to breed in the second month after their birth..." ~ Liber abaci (1202)

Did you guess? He's the man responsible for 'number patterns' in mathematics! Try it with a banana, tomato, or cucumber. The total number of seed sections inside will almost always be a Fibonacci number. Fibonacci also wrote a book on doing math in the decimal system. Number patterns! Having fun with number patterns in the natural world or Fun with Fibonacci! This site has lesson plans for you and fun activities for your kids!

These activities and lessons looked like so...much fun that I decided to look for more! Below are a few of the fantastic weblinks I found! Enjoy!

• Fibonacci Activities
• Fibonacci Sequence
• Pattern Activities and Music by Phil Tulga
• The Golden Ratio
• Fibonacci Sequence Unit {pdf}
• Fibonacci and Spirals {pdf}

As you are probably aware, I love when I'm able to find videos or powerpoint presentations, to help with teaching important skills. This next site has some great math powerpoint activities, view them here! BrainPop also has a great presentation! You'll need to sign up for a trial account, if you don't have one!

If you are interested in purchasing an activity book about Fibonacci for your child, visit this link! The activity book is called 'Mathematics Mystery Tour' by Mark Wahl, an elementary school teacher, who has provided a year's worth of Fibonacci explorations and activities, in one great book! Here's a wonderful homeschool article called 'Living Math - Nature's Numbers' by Nicole Harms, about the Fibonacci number sequence.

Okay, so I was wrong!

I thought, no, I assumed that my children would have been taught, at a relatively young age, how to tell time! They attended public school, up until 3 years ago...My daughter knows but the boys are on shaky ground! When we were growing up, we had no choice, there were no digital clocks! Only clocks with two or three hands! BUT the other day, I asked my youngest what time it was and he replied, "I don't know!" My response was, 'What do you mean, 'You don't know'?" Of all the horrors! I remember being proud as punch that I could tell the time! And I was probably in grade one or two!

Well...I intend on introducing my children to time today! I found a great site called 'Just In Time'! This site offers lesson plans, activities and printables! Oh...and once again, it's FREE!

Just In Time

Who says the big gas companies don't care?

 I know of at least one that does! That would be ESSO!

 ESSO is the proud sponsor of ESSO Family Math! The Esso Family Math Project is a community-based program, in Ontario, for families who would like their children to experience success in math. This website includes all of the resources they have developed as well as the information they have learned from families and volunteers. They hope others, like you, will build on their initiatives, feeling free to adopt and/or adapt their program to meet your specific needs.

Okay?! But what do they offer for those of us not lucky enough to live in Ontario? FREE pdf files! Esso Family Math uses everyday materials and math games to help children understand math ideas. Concepts used in the real world such as measurement, estimation and mental math are sometimes difficult for children to grasp during structured classes. Esso Family Math provides a means for parents to reinforce everyday schooling while encouraging their children to have fun as they learn. Parents gain confidence and feel they are better able to help their children enjoy and understand math in a positive environment.

You can purchase the books or you can download them for FREE here! They are also available in FRENCH! Disponible en français! C'est gratuit! And there is also a FREE collection of songs, in mp3 format, to download! And homeschoolers?! We are welcome...check it out!

Hooray for ESSO!

We're building a new home, so yesterday I was exploring the Internet highway looking for decorating ideas and I ran across some fabulous sites about the history of money! Whether you have a lot, a little, want more, need more or have enough, money is part of everyone's life. And surprisingly enough, there's lots of FREE curriculum, available to us.

"He who loses money loses much.  He who loses a friend loses more.  But he who loses faith loses  all." ~ Henry H. Haskins

Currency has come along way! Whether you are interested in American, Canadian, European , African or Australian currency, you'll find some fascinating links like Ron Wise's Banknoteworld! Want to learn more about the making of American money? Visit Nova's Secrets of Making Money!

A great site is the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's 'Online Money Museum'! They've provided free coloring books, math lessons, scavenger hunts for all ages and they even have an audio & visual tour! American money has always been a fascination to me. Growing up, it was always worth more than our colorful Canadian currency! To find out why money has different colors, visit 'The History of Money' unit by the University of Western Ontario!

Do you live in Minneapolis? If so, the Federal Reserve of Minneapolis offers a great money unit (FREE to everyone) and an Essay Contest for residents only! Going to Ottawa? Plan a trip to the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum! Need directions? Too far? Visit online! It's amazing what you'll learn about the history of Canada, just from how our currency has changed over the years! It's our heritage!

You'll find money games, here! Money activities, here! As well as Time, Money and Activities software! Or how about this fun 'Piggy Bank' activity? Learn to use money, here! $Money$ Activity Sheets! Make a day of it! You'll have learned more about math, history, geography, language arts  and social studies than you ever thought you could, just by discussing our favorite topic...MONEY!

And not forgetting that Saint Patrick's Day is this weekend, try out St. Patty's Pot'o' Gold Game!

GeoGebra est un logiciel dynamique de mathématiques réunissant géométrie, algèbre et calcul. Il a été développé dans un but éducatif pour le secondaire par Markus Hohenwarter à l'Université de Salzburg.

D'une part, GeoGebra est un système géométrique dynamique. Vous pouvez élaborer des constructions comprenant des points, des vecteurs, des segments, des droites, des coniques et même des courbes représentatives de fonctions et modifier tout cela interactivement.

Par ailleurs, les équations et coordonnées peuvent être entrées directement. GeoGebra est capable de travailler avec des variables numériques ou vectorielles ainsi qu'avec des points, peut trouver les dérivées et intégrales de fonctions et propose des commandes comme Racine ou Extremum.

Ces deux points de vue sont représentatifs du fonctionnement de GeoGebra: une expression dans la fenêtre "algèbre" correspond à un objet dans la fenêtre "géométrie" et vice versa.

GeoGebra a reçu plusieurs distinctions internationales dont les prix européen et allemand pour les logiciels éducatifs.

(English Version)

Avez-vous besoin de l'information sur les exercices, l'enseignement ou pour les difficultés dans les mathématiques? Oui ? Alors la découverte d'aujourd'hui excitera très ! Si vous cherchez des cahiers pour Mathematiques pour votre troisième au sixième enfant de degré, vous voudrez essayer ce site avant que vous dépensez un autre sou!

Ce livre est destiné pour de rappeler les notions de bases mathématiques du programme de 6ème afin de prendre en compte une connaissance préalblle des élèves et de leurs acquis! Ceci pour mettre en valeur des points forts et repérer les difficultés de chaque élève. Il est composé de 18 chapitres comportant chacun une activité, un cours préconstruit et une série d'exercices.

Aller essayer l'activites gratuit!  Si vous aimez que vous voyez, faire une commande!

Jeu Set et Maths

This morning's site is extremely exciting to announce because it ties one of the most loved, yet difficult subjects to teach, and that's Mathematics. How many times have you heard, 'Why do we have to learn this?', come out of the mouth's of your children? Too many times, if they don't like or get math! Although, the MATC Electronic Bookshelf may be for the older student, don't despair, the Little Bookshelf in the Big Woods is available to help! 

Dartmouth's Math Across the Curriculum is a collaboration of more than 50 faculty members, who integrated mathematics into everything from music and architecture to earth science and engineering. Their interdisciplinary approach is expected to enhance retention and make math more useful to students.

A few of the modules you'll find are the "Pattern, Applications of Calculus in Medicine and Biology," "Integrated Mathematics and Physical Science," and "A Matter of Time" are just a few of the 26 courses developed or enhanced at Dartmouth College as part of the Mathematics Across the Curriculum project funded by the National Science Foundation in 1995.

In addition to courses, this project sponsored the development of many materials, including an interdisciplinary text in math and physics, parts of a text on the math and biology of Lake Victoria, (intended to address the diversity of students taking math), several new modules in statistics and data analysis, and a collection of course readers in mathematics and humanities. All of these materials make interdisciplinary teaching of math more accessible to a national audience.

By 1998, the MATC project had benefited over 2,000 students at Dartmouth, directly involved 178 faculty at Dartmouth and collaborating institutions, created 78 modules, books and videos, and sponsored or cosponsored five workshops serving faculty in mathematics, literature, history, philosophy, art, art history, biology, geology, and engineering.

So in addition to MATC Electronic Bookshelf, you also have the Little Bookshelf in the Big Woods, for your younger students! Its beneficial to your college bound student and extremely useful for the younger student in your life! It sounds like I heard 'Bookmark this Site"!

Ohh, do you like using flashcards for learning Math skills? I found a site many of you probably use, but for those of you 'new' to the world of homeschooling, might want to check out FlashCardMath!

TheMathPage

Have a great day! -- Thea :)