Help! My Child’s Behind in Math
I’ve shared my enthusiasm for Learn Math Fast as a means of learning math facts, but it’s also a great method for kids who are behind grade level in math. I asked the author to guest post on the subject and I was thrilled when she agreed. I have Volume I of Learn Math Fast (a $45 value) to give away by April 1st. Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below and best wishes!
by JK Mergens
Homeschooling your child can be a beautiful journey full of magical moments, but for some, teaching math isn’t one of them.
Many families have told me how they have tried nearly every math curriculum out there. They’ve tried manipulatives, worksheets, DVDs, online programs, and nothing has worked for their struggling, older child. The clock is ticking; high school is only a couple years away. What are parents to do when they discover their 7th grader is barely passing 3rd grade math? How can they possibly make up 5 years of math by next year? How do you convince a 12-year-old boy that he needs to read a first grade math book, adorned with cartoon animals and big, puffy letters? When you feel your child needs to start over from the beginning and actually learn math, instead of guessing or counting on their fingers, you should try the Learn Math Fast System.
The Learn Math Fast System has a unique approach to explaining math–one that is working for hundreds of homeschooling families across America.
The system consists of four paperback books and one geometry kit. It is designed to be read from page one, which starts with first grade math, all the way through to the end of book four, getting your child caught up to eighth grade math in about a year.
How is this possible? The Learn Math Fast System focuses on the most important concepts in math and cuts out all the filler and fluff. The math facts are taught using a systematic approach to ensure that all gaps are filled in, giving students a solid foundation along with an understanding of higher math.
It doesn’t matter if mom and dad are rusty in math, the Learn Math Fast System assumes the reader is new to each concept. All answers include full solutions, so you aren’t left wondering how to get the right answer. And if you need additional help, you can contact the author via email anytime.
If you like the fun, casual math in the Life of Fred books, the high school preparedness of Saxon math, and the success of Singapore Math, then you will love the Learn Math Fast System. It can successfully prepare your child for high school math in about a year, with a fun, casual program.
The Motivating Power of Encouragement
A few weeks ago, a woman I had exchanged a couple of emails with, wrote that despite having hours of work to do, she had gotten caught up in reading a sample of my book, So You’re Not Wonder Woman, instead. She told me everything she loved about what she had read thus far and wrote, “You’re a great writer.”
At the time I received her email, I was meeting someone for lunch (a happy occasion), but it was all I could do to stop bawling. This dear lady had no idea that I had been wondering if I was wasting my time writing in a digital world that seems to have more writers than readers. We have corresponded quite a bit since then and she has become a treasure to me.
My new friend isn’t just an encouragement to me as a writer, however. She’s an encouragement to me as a homeschooler and a Christian woman. How many times have I missed an opportunity to encourage a fellow home educator? Bloggers get more positive feedback than homeschoolers do. Our work is so trying at times, so vitally important, yet it goes mostly unnoticed. While I pray that whatever I write on this blog will be an encouragement to others, how much more effective can I be by giving genuine praise to a fellow blogger, tweeter, homeschooler, or sister in Christ?
My new friend had no idea that taking a few minutes to send me an email would motivate me to keep doing what God has called me to do. Please join me in utilizing the motivational power of encouragement by:
- Commenting on a blog post you loved
- Leaving a review for a book or product you appreciate
- Replying to a tweet of someone you don’t know, but you’d like to bless
- Telling a fellow homeschooler how you see her excelling
- Sharing with your husband and kids the great qualities you see in them
Encouragement is like lifting someone up on your shoulders so they can do the work God has called them to do.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Want more encouragement? Check out these great links:
P.S. I’d love to encourage you! Are you frustrated or just want someone to read what you write? Comment or shoot me an email and you’ll have some encouragement coming your way!
Keep ‘Em Hungry So They Can Learn
I think I learned more about changing behavior in my undergraduate psych lab training rats than I did in graduate school. We had the daunting task of teaching an animal that can’t speak (besides a squeak!) how to play basketball with a marble. As you look to your homeschool future, your task may seem just as difficult.
Before we did any rat training, we took one very crucial step that we often neglect in our homeschooling: we kept them hungry.
Well-fed rats aren’t motivated to do anything because they’re already being rewarded with what they want most. Rats that are a little hungry (not weak with starvation) are very attentive to anything that earns them a food pellet. The hungry rat that I trained with my partner very quickly learned to press a bar, peek through a window, swing on a trapeze, and yes, play basketball with a marble–all with no lectures.
Children that can communicate with us should be capable of learning a great deal more, but often they don’t. Why? They aren’t hungry.
Why Kids Aren’t Hungry to Learn
Today’s children are being fed a steady diet of things more rewarding than learning. Reading, painting, discovering, experimenting, acting, writing, computing, solving, and creating are naturally rewarding activities. But these treats can’t compare with the taste of electronics. If you’re meticulous about keeping your kids away from screen time, good for you! But if you’re an average American family, your kids still may be full on the rewards of a prosperous lifestyle. Toys, games, trips, treats, and entertainment aren’t just for special occasions anymore. Even if you refrain from giving your children too much, you may have relatives who fill the gap.
In a year, an average first-grader buys or receives 70 new toys.
A rat who isn’t hungry won’t be bothered to press a bar for a food pellet and a child who isn’t hungry to learn won’t be bothered to read.
How Can We Keep ‘Em Hungry?
I live in the same keep-em-fed world you do and I’m constantly looking for strategies to keep my kids hungry to learn. Here are a few that I use or would like to:
- Limit screen time. This has been my biggest challenge in a house full of boys. Lately the challenge has been having friends call or come over and want to play games and I cave. My plan is to let their friends know when games are off-limits.
- Limit gifts. When you can’t think of anything to buy your child (been there!), they have too much. I have made some attempts in this area, but want to be even more vocal about requesting time with people they love. Time learning together is a double gift!
- Say no. Deprivation makes the reward all the sweeter. Saying no is a good idea even when the request is positive. Rewards that are given constantly lose their power to motivate behavior.
- Make them earn rewards. If kids have free access to lots of stimulating, fun activities that have little educational value, motivation disappears. Educational games should be used as dessert, not the main course.
- Offer less appealing alternatives. Allowing my reluctant reader to choose between reading and worksheets has helped him develop a great reading habit. Use the choice between undesirable chores or busy work and the subject you want your child to focus on to keep her hungry.
- Let them get bored. Just like few people know what it’s like to be really hungry anymore, few of us are familiar with real boredom. To find stomach hunger, you may have to go without food for hours (or days!). To help your kids find true boredom, you may have to go without screens, noise, toys, or outside playmates. Consider making a day of your homeschool week a day of fasting from all these “fast-food treats” so you can rediscover how delicious learning really is. I’m definitely considering it.
they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. (Jeremiah 5:27b-28).
I’ll be honest. I have some fat rats at home. I think my belly is protruding, too! Do you have any other ideas on how I can keep my kids hungry to learn? Just a quick caveat. I think it would be easy to leave our little rugrats weak from starvation, too. A little fun and game time gives kids the energy they need to get serious about studying.
Why You Shouldn’t Homeschool Year Round
The question homeschoolers are asking each other at the beginning of summer is, “Do you homeschool year round?”
I usually have a tough time answering that question. If you ask me if I’ve intended to homeschool through the summer, the answer would be a resounding YES! Have I actually homeschooled during the summer? Hm. Sort of?
As I approach yet another summer with great intentions, I am convinced that continuing our schooling all year isn’t going to motivate my kids or me. So I won’t do it!
Homeschoolers who take a break in the summer months do it for a variety of reasons. Kids and moms need a break. It’s hard to focus when the beautiful weather beckons. Vacations and numerous activities can interrupt the flow of schooling. Neighborhood friends, cousins, and even some dads are off work in the summer. It can be beneficial to be on the same schedule as the schools for social and practical reasons.
But that’s not why I say you shouldn’t homeschool year round. You shouldn’t homeschool year round if you want to be a motivated homeschooler. One of the principles of motivation is that we only want to do things we know we can do. In order to know we can do something, there has to be a point at which we know the task is complete. That’s one reason housework is so demotivating: it never feels done! If we create a perpetual homeschool, your children are denied the opportunity to be successful in completing their learning. Their education can become a never-ending assembly line of work that will bore them (and you).
So how can you and your kids continue to learn every month of the year without losing the joy of it?
- Choose a last day of school and celebrate it. Have a special meal or treat. Consider giving out certificates or awards noting your child’s achievements. You might want to invite your spouse, extended family, or other homeschoolers to participate in your celebration.
- Rest. Have at least a week where you and your students can relax, recharge, and regroup for another session of learning. Don’t even think about “school.” You should consider resting after each unit of school (see below).
- Break the school year into units. Schools do this to maintain motivation and so should we. The four seasons work great for this, but you could have shorter units of time, too. In another post, I’ll share how to use units of time to increase your productivity significantly. By the way, this unit approach works for housework, too. If we have a list of chores to be done on a given day and we finish it, we are DONE with housework for the day and can move on to something else (even if there’s more to do).
- Change things up. This is the best strategy for maintaining motivation if you are learning every month. If you use a more formal approach to teaching, consider doing unit studies or unschooling during one of your school seasons. Avoid the trap of thinking you have to use a curriculum or approach all year. Use it for a season and then try something else.
- Spend a season doing the things you wish you had time for. The subjects you put off, the topics you want to explore, the classes you’d like the kids to take–use one season to do only these things. I think of the homeschooling mother of five I met who died while her children were still young. What did she wish she had made more time for? I bet it wasn’t math workbooks.
- Learn what you want to learn for a season. Make time to read, sew, scrapbook, take a class, get in shape. Tell your kids what you’re learning and share your passion for it. Involve them in what you’re doing and the division between me-time and teaching time will disappear. We can’t expect our kids to love learning if we don’t model it.
- Set achievable goals for each teaching season. My problem in the summer has been imagining I can get more done than is feasible. Give your kids (and yourself) a standard that you can reach with only a little stretching. If you’re goal-oriented all year, take a season to let go of the expectations. See what God has in store for you and your kids every day instead.
This summer, I am not going to homeschool. I am going to have fun learning with my kids. How about you?
Welcome! I pray that you will leave here motivated to get school done (while still having fun). Because that's also my goal as a busy mom of six, I'm committed to updating this blog weekly. Thanks for sharing the resources here with others and motivating me with comments. You're a blessing!
Dr. Melanie Wilson
