Living Math Questions
Posted by Cindy on January 15, 2008
Wow, it seems like my Living Math post struck a nerve. Are there that many math-haters out there? 
I think more questions have come in regarding the idea of living math than just about anything else I’ve ever written. One person asked a question that pretty much encompasses all the other questions, so I’ll use hers and try to post something that makes sense. I’ll be happy to continue answering questions if you think of any more.
And even if I wanted to say I didn’t think high school subjects like algebra and geometry were useful, I’d probably be fooling myself. Not to mention, those courses are required for college-bound students. At this point, I have no idea if my children are college-bound or not, but I want them to have the knowledge necessary to take college-bound courses if that’s where the Lord leads them. Even if they continue on to online schools instead of a traditional four year school, these courses will be necessary. It would be a shame to say I only want them to know the math basics or the real-life stuff and then regret it later. It’s much harder to catch up on difficult math concepts than it is to systematically teach them over the years.
That being said, I DON’T find it necessary to do every problem in a math textbook. Nor do I even find it necessary to do every lesson. In the beginning of the year, there were many lessons that were too easy and only review that Mahayla didn’t need. We skipped all those lessons. Still, as the concepts are newer to her, I don’t hesitate to skip over a lesson that she “gets” already.
With Saxon, I’ve said many times that it would drive *me* crazy to do everything they expect in one lesson – and I know the math! Most days, our Saxon lessons consist of reading the teaching section and doing the problems that go with the new concepts. If Mahayla has questions about the new topic, we go over it before she moves on the the practice problems section. She may choose either odd or even problems to complete and we check them immediately to see if any were wrong. I go over any wrong ones to reteach anything she’s struggling with and she has to correct her mistakes.
Sometimes we do the mental math. Most of the time not, though. I do my own mental math and/or flashcards and/or timed facts tests with her a few times a week.
Rarely do I even give her the tests. I figure each day’s lesson is a test in and of itself, right?
We do Saxon about three times a week. Do I worry that we won’t finish the book by the end of the school year? No. Much of what is taught this year will be reviewed in Saxon 7/6, so what I miss will be gone over again. If not, I’ll catch it next year and we’ll just spend a little extra time learning something we missed. Last year, using the same math “plan”, we only got through about 1/2 or better of Saxon 5/4. When giving her the online placement test this summer, she almost tested out of 8/7! Believe me, she’s not a math whiz either. I wouldn’t say it’s blood, sweat and tears most days, but there are some.
When we aren’t doing Saxon, we’re doing the living math that I was talking about – problem solving, literature lessons, real-life stuff, logic puzzlers, board/card games, manipulative lessons, and even computer games. There are also days when we’ll just go to the white board and do problem after problem of double-digit multiplication or something else she might be struggling with on a regular basis.
Very honestly, I don’t have a thought-out plan for the living math days. I’ll usually find something as I’m planning for the week’s lessons. I DO have lots of resources to pull from and lots of favorite sights saved. There is no rhyme or reason. I find something I like and that’s the assignment. Sometimes I’ll find something that she needs work on and develop a lesson around it. For instance, I had her go through the sale ads one day and find the best deals on a grocery list I made. I’ll also just browse the math literature section at the library and then develop a lesson from a book I check out. (Most of the time I can find an online lesson for the book.)
I’m going to try to give you some examples of each of the things I’ve talked about above:
Mind Benders, Mega-Fun Card-Game Math, Problem Play and Problem Parade, Logic Posters, Problems & Puzzles (all that I’ve picked up at used curriculum sales cheap. I just pick up cheapies when I run across them.) For other ideas and links see my previous post called Math Resources.
Online games and fun lesson links:
Create a Graph – http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx
Math Playground – http://www.mathplayground.com/
Probability Simulation – http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/interactive/programsindex.htm
The Golf of Mexico – http://villainyinc.thinkport.org/mission1/index.asp?small
Virtual Manipulatives – http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Integer Bars – http://arcytech.org/java/integers/practice.html
Rainforest Math – http://www.rainforestmaths.com/
Valentine’s Day Math – http://www.googolpower.com/content/free-learning-resources/seasonal-math/valentines-day
Birthday Math – http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212041/Birthday/Birthday.html
Aunty Math – http://www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/aunty/index.html
Googol Math – http://www.googolpower.com/content/free-learning-resources/games
Wise Pockets – http://www.umsl.edu/~wpockets/schoolhouse/lessons/lessons.html
NCTM – http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons.aspx
Puzzlers Paradise – http://www.puzzlersparadise.com/page1042.html
Problem solving examples – “There are chickens and pigs in the barnyard. Someone told you there are 22 legs. How many chickens and pigs are there?” Or, “John has four pairs of pants – one blue, one green, one yellow and one red. He has five shirts – one white, one yellow, one purple, one orange and one red. How many different outfits can he make?” Problem solving is anything that encourages kids to draw pictures, create graphs, or act the problem out in order to answer it. Simple word problems that only require an equation to answer are examples of problem solving as well. You know, the NC Math lessons incorporate a lot of problem solving ideas!
Literature lessons – basically, I find a good math book from the library and plan a lesson around it or go to the internet to see if a lesson already exsists.
Real-life stuff – converting recipe measurements, figuring the price of an item when the ad says 30% off, balancing her allowance debts and credits, taking a loan from her brother and figuring interest, helping to plan the layout of our vegetable garden
Logic puzzlers – Mind Benders and anything I run across that’s similar
Board/card games - SET, Monopoly, Life, Money Matters, Sequence, Connect Four, S’math, Yahtzee, Dutch Blitz, River Crossing, Rush Hour, most card games
Manipulative lessons – I might get out the fraction circles and just give oral problems for her to figure. I might get out the pattern blocks and ask her to create tessellations then record the tessellation on paper. I might have her create patterns with linking cubes that her brother has to complete.
I know you’re stuggling with math and that can be pure torture. I hope some of these ideas will at least give a break from some of the monotony of Saxon. Sometimes a person just hates math and there isn’t much you’re going to do to make it a joyous subject. Pressing along, while adding some fun and exciting lessons to the mix is my best advice.
As far as planning living lessons being too much prep, well, yes, it does take more time than pulling out the Saxon book, but it’s worth it for Mahayla and Caleb. They can hang in there better with the workbook lessons when they know tomorrow might hold a varied and more interesting day of math.
Another thought, how about having two math times a day? Yes, I said two! An early morning, fresh-minded computation lesson that might come from Saxon, then a later morning or afternoon “fun” lesson that she has to look forward to. Very important – I wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes per session.
Hi Cindy!
I miss you so! My dear daughter still has her ups and downs with math. This post is what I needed to be reminded of – give her what she NEEDS for life, not what a publisher has decided to print in their math curriculum. I began the year with the idea of one living math day per week and sadly have gotten sucked into the hole of “gotta finish the book by year’s end!” Ugh. She and I are both in tears at times. Thanks again, for the encouragement and teaching this teacher what is really important.