Incorporating math practice into your regular schedule doesn’t have to be complicated with these independent math explorations. We all know that practice makes perfect, and that’s especially true when it comes to mathematics. These games will give your children the concrete tools they need to understand math concepts. They’re also great for exploration and practice…
I love living math—so much that I even wrote a book about it: Loving Living Math. It’s special for many reasons, but I’ll focus on one today. Living math offers opportunities for real-life, meaningful, hands-on learning. One of my favorite methods is using math manipulatives to help children understand concepts and think mathematically. In this post,…
Math is so much fun and means so much more to little ones when it concretely builds understanding. So many times, we skip over “the tough stuff” because we think our little people can’t handle it. Below are a few activities I have done with my five-year-old to begin building two of the “tough” concepts – division…
This hands-on, literature-based math activity will help your younger students concretely understand the concept of standard measurement. Target Age Range: K-2 Skills Covered: non-standard measurement, standard measurement, making comparisons, fine motor skills, reading Understanding measurement doesn’t have to be hard for little ones. In fact, teaching it early with concrete materials builds an in-depth understanding that…
These days, it seems like hands-on homeschool is a buzzword of sorts. What’s all the fuss about? Let’s define hands-on first. It’s best to define hands-on first because I think its overall meaning might surprise you. You see, hands-on learning can actually mean several things. Most obvious, hands-on means “touching” things during lessons. For instance,…
Many mommas come upon the Charlotte Mason method at a pivotal time in their children’s growing-up – the time when “school” begins. “We’ll need textbooks. Maybe little chairs and desks.” They start to feel pulled in different directions trying to teach all the different subjects, while school and life quickly feel fragmented. It isn’t long…
Let’s have a rockhound adventure with a sedimentary rocks nature study today! What’s a rockhound you ask? That’s the nickname given to a geologist or the name given to an amateur rock collector. Since I doubt many of us have gone to school to become geologists yet, we are amateurs. If you’ve never collected rocks…
Art and craft supplies for kids and teens seem pretty standard, but I’m excited to introduce you to some unique ideas that will help your children create in new ways. This post contains affiliate links. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of incorporating art into my homeschool. Artist studies and museum visits, of…
As I sat down to plan what to write about this coming year here at Our Journey Westward, I took a peek to see what your favorite posts of 2016 were. As you’ll see below, it’s pretty clear you like living literature and creative teaching ideas. And, since I love those things, too, I’m happy…
I’ve been touting the benefits of living math for quite some time now. Why? Because living math makes sense to kids. It builds concrete understanding of abstract concepts. It touches real-life, giving math meaning and purpose. And, it’s fun! This post contains affiliate links. To make your life (and mine) easier, I decided to pull…
Learning math with play dough geometry is so much fun! Middle and high school students like to play, too, and this series of lessons gives them a great, hands-on overview of beginning geometry. Concrete learning (actually touching, building, and manipulating things) is so important to solidify a real understanding of otherwise abstract concepts. Play dough…
It’s autumn and time to have a little leaf fun with your preschoolers and kindergarteners! The Colors of Autumn in Play Dough After observing the changing colored leaves on trees, let your little ones create their own autumn trees from play dough or clay. You might even use some autumn scented play dough. Perimeter with…
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