Today we worked on regrouping using Math-U-See manipulatives. We used just the 100s, 10s, and unit pieces. I drew a large grid for spaces for each of the numerals, and used problems in our Brainquest workbook. We added the units together, trading them out for tens if we had more than 10, then placing that ten above the two other rows, just as you would when writing it out. Then we did the same with the tens bars, pulling out groups of ten tens and then placing the new 100 plate above the 100s place of our rows. We then wrote out what we did in the workbook. Subtracting with regrouping was a little different. We took away the number of units in the second row from the units in the top row, and moved the remaining units to the bottom (answer) row. If there weren't enough units in the top row, we converted a tens bar into 10 units cubes and put them in that upper right square. We then subtracted how many we had un the middle right square and put the remaining units cubes in...
People who don't homeschool often don't realize there is often very little "home" in homeschooling. We spend a lot of time going and doing. This week we've explored a wetland, gone to see a play, spent hours at gymnastics, gone to a history museum, gone to the library twice, and run to a kid's consignment store to clear out toys. Then when we are home, much of the time is spent on the computer, viewing and interacting with the world. With all that going and doing, plus the high energy of sun and heat, and the lack of our during-the-school-year weekly enrichment program, my kids are actually suffering. They are having trouble sleeping and getting sick. I gave them supplements, rubbed my anxious gymnast's shoulders nightly, instituted nightly epsom salt baths (it does help), and talked about feelings. But it hit me today: the problem is all the going. We've forgotten to ground in home. Grounding in home makes us feel safe, and it's one of the gifts...
My nearly-five-year-old son is really, really into Pokemon. He's the kind of learner who goes deeply into something for a long time. When he was a baby, he loved bears. And bugs. As a toddler he discovered trains, and we learned a lot about Thomas' world and real trains. Then it was super heroes, and the world of good and bad, helping people, and team work. His latest obsession is Pokemon. As an eclectic homeschooling mom, I am fascinated to discover what he learns about the world through Pokemon. Lots of online sources will tell you how Pokemon the card game teaches statistics and algebra, but my son is just learning to read, so that level of the Pocket Monster world is not part of ours yet. But by engaging with and encouraging his interest, I see myriad layers of learning going on. Math Pokemon creatures are often combinations of real life creatures, like Bulbasaur, who is a cartoon dinosaur with a bulb on his back. As he evolves, the bulb sprouts into a bud and then an...
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