Posted by Cindy on July 19, 2011
I love to incorporate more than one subject at a time when possible. It not only saves time, but makes connections that are so important for children to understand.
Making measurement notes.
Last week, we were blessed with a dry snow that led to lots of snow drifts. I sent the kids on their merry way with a clipboard and measuring tools in hand. Their job was to find and measure as many snow drifts and icicles as possible, noting measurements on a scrap piece of paper.
Measuring icicles on the van.
Measuring icicles on the watering trough.
Measuring a small snow drift near the house so mom could get a picture from her cozy perch inside.
Preschoolers and dogs enjoy helping, too!
After a warm cup of hot chocolate, I pulled out these two notebooking pages from the
Snow and Ice NaturExplorers study. (For the record, the pages within the unit are in color. I was out of color ink, so copied them in gray scale.)
On The Measure of Snow, they took their snow drift measurements and created a graph to display the information. My daughter began with a line graph, then changed her mind to watercolor a bar graph. Thus the eraser marks!
On Interesting Icicles, I had them order their measurements from shortest to longest and draw a picture of an icicle up-close. My oldest had to create her own graph from the icicle information, too.
They LOVE this kind of math – hands-on, active, meaningful, real. And, I didn’t have one complaint as they joyfully learned about and practiced accurate measuring, ordering mixed/decimal numbers, and completing/creating graphs. Ah, a fun time of math and nature study, indeed. (And I didn’t have to get out in the cold to boot!)
Posted by Cindy on
A yearly visit to the local pumpkin patch with our church’s family ministry is a highlight this time of year. And a great nature study outing, too!
As a homeschool teacher, I don’t let my kids often get away with only carving their pumpkins! Although, since we’ve been so busy this season, I did let them get away with only carving them just this once. What do I usually make them do? Fun math and science/nature study, of course!
- Measure the circumference
- Calculate the diameter and radius using only the circumference measurement
- Weigh the pumpkins
- Compare weights
- Measure heights and widths
- Measure the volume
- Estimate the amount of seed
- Count the seeds
- Examine and open the seeds
- Observe the difference between the inner and outer pumpkin shell
- Measure the thickness of the shell
- Examine the stem
- Look for signs to see where the pumpkin touched the ground
- Follow a recipe to make roasted pumpkin seeds
If you have any questions about how to do any of the math tasks I’ve suggested, just ask! They’re all very easy really.
This is a wonderful activity to supplement the NaturExplorers study of Fruits and Nuts this season!
Posted by Cindy on May 23, 2011
I just finished the manuscript for Homeschooling Gifted Kids and sent it to the publisher! WooHoo!! How about a giveaway to celebrate?
Remember when I told you Prufrock Press (my publisher) is partnering with me for a living math giveaway? Well, today’s your lucky day because I’m going to offer ONE wonderful logic book to TWO lucky winners!
My son, Caleb, and I have used and loved both of these books. Don’t think I’m giving away my copies because they rest on my bookshelf waiting for Eli. 
The winners will get their very own brand-new copies!
Primarily Logic by Judy Leimbach is a fantastic book full of analogies, syllogisms, if-then statements, all-none statements and deductive reasoning for 2nd-4th graders. My son loved the fun worksheet challenges and I loved that each page provided plenty of examples and practice. I also appreciated the step-by-step approach to understanding each type of logic.
Logic Safari (Book 2) by Bonnie Risby is written for 3rd and 4th graders. It’s full of excellent logic matrix puzzles that Caleb (and Mahayla) simply devoured. We love these! This series is available in three different books that are appropriate for 1st-6th grades.
Check out all the logic products Prufrock Press sells at very reasonable prices!
You have until Friday, May 27th to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one of the books!
If your children are older than 2nd-4th grades, don’t worry. I’ll be giving away two more books very soon which are appropriate for 5-8th graders!
Posted by Cindy on May 1, 2011
Congratulations to Wendi, winner of Hands-On Geometry from Prufrock Press! Please stay tuned, I have FOUR more (wonderful) books to giveaway over the next several weeks!
Posted by Cindy on April 25, 2011
What do you get when you put living math, artist study and history lessons together into a workbook of ready-to-go lessons? Time-Travel Math by Amy Bernstein! Caleb and I have had so much fun with this new living geometry adventure book for 4th and 5th graders which we received for review from Prufrock Press.
With stories along the vein of The Magic Tree House books, you and the characters, Harriet and Thomas, are whisked back in time to figure out wonderfully in-depth geometry mysteries. Meet Leonardo Da Vinci, M.C. Escher and Ancient Egyptian architect, Imhotep, through three very exciting and unique stories/math units.
At the beginning of each unit, you are introduced to the characters and their probing questions through an original story that is provided for you right inside the workbook. (In other words, you don’t have to check out anything from the library!) By the end of the day’s reading, there is an activity to complete using reproducible work pages. Each of the three units includes 6-8 lessons, meaning everyday you learn a little more through the story and complete a new math activity. The lessons took us about 30-45 minutes per day, including reading.
- In the first unit, Harriet and Thomas (and you) meet Leonardo Da Vinci and help him learn how to draw proportionately accurate drawings. Throughout the lessons, your student will measure, compare ratios, complete charts, find averages, complete models and draw proportions.
- In the second unit, meet M.C. Esher as you (and Harriet and Thomas) help him figure out the concept of tessellations. Your child will have the opportunity to discover symmetry, draw and measure angles, learn about plane figures and polygons, and create a variety of tessellations.
- The third unit takes you to Ancient Egypt where you help Imhotep, an architect of pyramids, work through his building frustrations. Lessons topics include making perfect squares, angles, directions, circumference, using grids, finding the area of rectangles, triangles and 3-D shapes.
Besides work pages, each lesson also includes abstract questions to take your little math whizzes deeper if you like. Additionally – and one of my favorite parts – a very hands-on extension project is suggested at the end of each unit to culminate the learning into “real” final products. Your child will be challenged to create a to-scale map, sew a simple quilt and design a balanced mobile of 3-D shapes.
I can’t explain clearly enough how unique and intriguing these lessons are. Even though there is math work to do within the lessons, it’s well integrated to go along with the story and teaches serious geometry in a mostly painless way. (Math is never completely painless for Caleb!) The suggested age level is 4th-5th grade, but I think many 6th and 7th grade students would get a lot from the lessons, too.
Learn more and view a preview of the book here.
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Great News!
Prufrock Press is partnering with me for a wonderful (and huge) living math giveaway!
Keep your eyes open over the next couple of months as I’ll be giving away a total of FIVE of my favorite living math and logic books from Prufrock Press!! You read that right. They have sent five of their top-notch books, all of which I have used and loved, for me to use as giveaways for YOU!
****And today starts the living math party with the first giveaway!****
Do you remember when I reviewed Hands-On Geometry last year? Well, it remains my favorite out-of-the-box book for teaching 4-8 graders about creating 2-dimensional figures with the use of a compass and straight edge. It’s perfect for use as a math “unit”, completing the lessons over the course of a few weeks, or as a supplement to add lessons into your regular math plan occasionally. I just know you’ll love it!
For your chance to win, comment on this post by midnight, April 29th.
If you’d like an additional chance to win, “like” Shining Dawn Books on Facebook. Why? I wrote Loving Living Math through Shining Dawn Books, which will help you learn to incorporate living math into your homeschool. You also never know when we might be offering a Loving Living Math giveaway on Facebook! For the additional entry, either comment here that you liked me on Facebook or comment directly on Facebook so that I’ll know you are entering the Hands-On Geometry giveaway.
