Eagle Valley Acres

• Nov. 9, 2007 - LearningTo Let Go

Okay, so my homeschooling weakness is math curriculum's. I was never good at math and so her lies the root of my problem. I was not good, so I so desire my kids to be good at it. I am so prone to just change curriculum's every half year if one part does not seem to be working, I have to let go of this crazy notion that math learning comes from within the pages of a workbook. I struggled again with this this week. My middle boy struggles with math. Color books are to bright for him, Math facts make him cry and so I thought that just using what I use for my oldest would be the ticket. It is not. I sat up way to late last night going over curriculum's and opinions and then went to bed depressed by it all.
Here is my conclusion today. Every math program has such strong recommends and equally strong "not" recommends. There is not one program that fits all students. This wold be fine if I had only one child to teach, but with three I cannot teach three different programs everyday. So as I sat an looked at what we are using and then reviewed all the positive things about it I decided that I need to just take the topics and get creative with how to teach them. It is not what program you use, it is what you choose to do with it that matters.
If he cries and hates math, I have not reached my goals for homeschooling. If however he learns to skip count by playing a board games and fractions by baking and is smiling through it, this is more like what I want our homeschool to look like. Do I have to prove it on paper? well I seem to think so only this is also what I need to let go of.
I cannot continue to spend money on new math programs that always start out fine and then end in tears again. It is not him that has the math problem, it is me. Gulp. This is hard to swallow.
I do not need to find the right video text, workbook or even the right manipulative's. I just need to let go of this notion that if it is in a workbook he must learn it and learn it when it says to.
It sounds simple but it is so hard to let go of how we were schooled isn't it?
So pray for me this week as I stop looking for something different and start trusting him that he will tell me when it is time for him to learn what he needs, and then trusting God with the wisdom to teach him the way it works for him.

• Nov. 10, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

good for you Gabrielle. you are an amazing mom & teacher!

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• Nov. 11, 2007 - Learning to let go!

Posted by LoriD

It is SO hard isn't it? And if it makes you feel any better, Joshua HATED math workbooks all of this life and finally this year he's doing OK with one (as long as that's not the only thing we do). So there is hope. Also literature goes a long way www.livingmath.net has some great fun math literature by subject. Doing fractions with chocolate bars helps a lot too!! LOL

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• Dec. 13, 2007 - My dd struggles in Math, too.

Posted by coffeecravingirl

We have fought our biggest battles over that subject. She is almost 13, and is behind, but is just now starting to catch up, and enjoy it. She even said she likes math, now. We started hs'ing her after 4th grade, and used A Beka. Way too hard, for the both us. Then swithced to Paces. Most of them were okay, but she did not like their math. So, now we are using Math U See, and I LOVE it. She is finally getting into some harder math, and is enjoying it more. (because she is understanding it better) Anyway, I know how it is, when you feel like every change does not make much difference.

Edited by coffeecravingirl on Dec. 13, 2007 at 080825

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Life learning/homeschooling family of three boys! We share our lives with horses, cows, a Bichon, chickens and a colorful assortment of cats. Enjoy your time here on our Blog!