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Algebra
word problem solver
Before 3rd grade
I wouldn't worry too much about a formal math program. In
hindsight, I think my kids would have been better off and would have
enjoyed math more. Count with them, play games with them, talk
about shapes and read simple math story books. If they want to
learn more you can do it without a boring text. Here's a site that I was introduced to recently that might be fun. We read to
our kids a lot before they ever learn to read themselves, I think
playing with numbers and talking about how we use them everyday is good
preparation for the formal math program. If I had a love of math
and a real knack for it I might never use textbooks but, I'm
chicken. I'm afraid I'd miss something important so, I use text
books, etc. (Though I still try to throw in some fun stuff).
Here are some math programs that I have
either used myself or found interesting enough to list.
Math is not my strength but I have found it to be much more interesting
through home schooling. I would suggest reading about some
Mathemeticians along with your studies. Mathemeticians are People
Too, vol. I and II are
good ones. I bought them recently. Today we read a story
about Leonhard Euler (LAY-o-nard OY-ler) and then tried out some
of the things we read about. We discussed diameter and
circumference, f+v=E+2 in some solids, and learned to make the symbol
for pi. Search the internet for other good
booklists. Penny Gardner's
site has some good lists. Hope these are helpful! I
will be attending the Face
to Face with Greatness Seminar soon where I learn how to
teach Math and Science using classics.
Check back and I may have some new ideas for you then!
NEWER UPDATE:
We've layed the textbooks aside this year and instead have been reading some great math books. My son loves these books! (Remember, the math hater). Here are some of the titles that we've really enjoyed:
The Number Devil,
Math Trek,
Murderous Maths;(our new favorite:)by Kjartan Poskitt from the UK,
Penrose the Cat; by Theone Pappas, (also Googles,...can't remember the name right now),
Algebra Unplugged (older kids might like this one),
In Code-I started this one and my dh took it over. I haven't finished it yet but it was really good. It's about a 16 year old girl in Ireland who won a contest for creating some kind of encrypting code or something. I don't have these books next to me as you can see:).
LIVING MATH!
I've just been reviewing this sight recommended to me by a friend. Looks great! Check it out!
Math-U-See
I just previewed the Algebra video and I LOVED IT! It was so easy
to understand! I watched three other math videos-Standard
Deviants,
Video Text Algebra , and Mortensen Math (uses manipulatives a lot like
the Math-U-See). I vote hands down for Math-U-See. I think
I've finally found the math program for non-math people like me!
I'm excited. Mortensen was pretty easy to understand too, but, it
was playing elevator type music and there was only a human voice and a
bunch of pictures of manipulatives but I think it took second
place. Video text seems expensive and very commercialized.
I would definitely check this out if I were you. (I'm going to go check
the used curriculum sales right now!) UPDATE! My son
really likes it! He said he almost felt like doing two pages of
math! Yippee! My husband told me that he thinks our son is
actually starting to like math.
Uncle Dan's Algebra
I haven't tried this myself but it looks very good. Dan Suttin is a homeschooling dad filling a need for parents who need help teaching Algebra to their kids. He, himself, has 8 kids whom he has, and still is, homeschooling so he has plenty of experience:) Here's a review.
OCTA-TETRA CLUB.
Another product available from Dan is the OCTA_TETRA construction Set. In his own words, "The "OCTA-TETRA Construction Set" is a hands-on, low-tech, geometric
building set for kids 10 years old and on upwards. It teaches 3-D geometry,
design principles, the discovery process, manual dexterity, and more and more." I just looked at the site and I have to tell you, my husband would love this! You really need to look at it to appreciate it. This site is about 3 years old so you can't really order anything from it. I would suggest that you e-mail Uncle Dan to find out more about this set! You can e-mail him from either of the sites I think.
Miquon Math
I myself, really enjoyed Miquon Math and my son who really does well in
math used it. It's used with cuisenare rods and covers all areas
of basic math
from the start. It helped me to think more mathematically.
There's one book toward the end that was too wierd for me and confused
my boys so we moved on. Otherwise I recommend it.
Key to Math
My 11 year old uses Key to Math and is in the Algebra books right
now. They are inexpensive, lots of white space, and simply
explain the concepts. They are booklets. There are sets for
fractions, decimals, percents, measurements, algebra and
geometry. These are often used as supplements to other texts but
we've used them on there own.
Saxon Math
Most home schoolers I know use Saxon but we found it to be boring and
so thorough that it could take forever to finish. Many
adapt it to there children. My youngest just took forever to do
his math and hated it but, I did like the way they taught some of the
concepts and they definitely do a lot of review. There is now a
video called D.I.V.E. (?) to help explain things. I don't think
Saxon sells it, it is sold by
another company. It supposedly makes it much easier to
follow. The texts are pretty expensive but you can always find
them used because so many people use Saxon.
Ray's Arithmetic
I heard about these recently. They are old fashioned (something
like the McGuffy Reader would be). The have mainly word problems
in them. I can't say much more but they were recommended by a
Charlotte Mason fan. They apparently put math into real life
perspective.
Video Text Algebra
I can't do algebra. I never learned it, so, I'm always looking
for something to help. My husband is a math whiz. Don't tell
him I said it, but, he needs practice at being a teacher..therefore, I
started searching the web and found this site. I just got my free
sample video with three lessons to try. It looks very good and it
has good reports from many well known home school "leaders" of the
day. It's worth a look! (I like Math U See better, but it might
suit your family). You can always get the free sample video
and see if you like it. The first part of the video is like an
infomercial..............I'd fast forward a little bit to the real
lessons once you get the main idea of how to use the program.
Jacob's Math Books-
Here's another outstanding math book I discovered recently. What
I like about it is that it has math puzzles and tidbits at the
beginning of the lessons that make you start thinking about math.
I was actually trying to figure some of them out and I'm not normally a
real math-type person. It doesn't have extreme amounts of
problems to work through but just enough. I've only gone through
the first couple of chapters of the Elementary Algebra Book. This
link will give you a good review of all of the Harold Jacob's math
books: Elementary Algebra, Geometry and Mathematics; a Human
Endeavor. My kids haven't been looking at any math books lately
so, I can't tell you what they think at this time.
The Heart of Mathematics-I just bought this book. We are enjoying learning to think mathematically and doing all kinds of math puzzles to stretch our brains! You might like this.