I started my daughter's fourth grade
year with a gradual increase in work. She started with enthusiasm.
Then, we hit a brick wall. Math was not happening. Not without hours
of whining & glares & foot stomping. By the end of the day we
were both exhausted and miserable. It bled into other subjects and
she finally just would not do school work at all, not without a
fight. My husband, an outside observer, made a suggestion based on
sound logic: it's time for Winter Break and it should probably be at
least a month. His logic? She started school in August, a month
before public schools started, and she was probably tired and worn
out. So was I. Here we are a month later, all of us much more relaxed
and happy again. In this breathing space I have been trying to figure
out what went wrong and how to adjust to prevent the same issues.
My daughter is very creative. She looks
at the world in the wide view- she sees everything at once. Math
requires step by step organization and order. A conversation with my
daughter's specialist helped clarify that my daughter, very right-brained, has numerous indications that left-brain focusing is
not her strong point. So how do I build on her strengths and let her
strengths improve the areas she struggles?
When our homeschool adventure started, I
used verbal and physical math as lessons- taking her scooter and
riding out geometric shapes while verbally stating measurements and
learning how to calculate perimeter, for example. Or playing games
that require using math for scorekeeping or as part of game strategy.
Or verbalizing our grocery budget and doing the math involved in
shopping: telling the difference in cost between similar items,
staying within the budget, and using actual money during
transactions. She excelled at this, and still handles real life math
wonderfully. But without written records, her dad and the county
reviewers were less confident that she was actually learning math.
So, I started a more
intensive written math component for fourth grade. And it blew up in
my face.
A cousin of mine reminded me that my
grandfather did even high level mathematics in his head. This is a
point in time I wish my dad was still alive. He was a mathematician
and a very good teacher. He did not agree with the way math has
become to be taught in lower education (he had a lot of concerns for
how unprepared his students at the University were for real math, or
any college level work, actually.) I had briefly done some research
into old methods of teaching math. I am now delving into more
detailed research as I need more ideas. I am going to try to figure
out a tutor, but the cost is prohibitive at this point. I do feel she
needs to approach math in a way that makes sense to her.
So, I am going to go back to focusing
on creative math, but, for record-keeping sake, devote one day per
week on some kind of written or otherwise provable math. Hopefully,
that can keep her progressing while reducing the struggle that was
impairing all her other lessons.
I have started my daughter on the
Junior Ranger passport book. While we likely won't get a chance to
visit most of the National Parks, she can do the research online and
I can have her learn geography, history, and any other area that can
be covered, like science or art or music or even math. Mini- unit
studies per National Park!
This is what I love about
homeschooling- really participating in my child's education, learning
on the go myself, and the flexibility to really adjust with our
family's needs.
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