Toward the end of last year, I mentioned to my husband that I was finding it hard to explain some of the Maths to our eldest. Yes, he was only 10 at the time but was doing Grade 5 Singapore Maths. Some of the concepts in this course are not taught until Year 7 in Australia.
The biggest issue was that Maths has never been a favourite area of mine and I did not think I was the best teacher of it. I can explain it "my way" but don’t have the expertise to explain a problem from a different perspective or with any depth of understanding. I was looking into getting a DVD course with a Mathematician explaining all the concepts. Many have used Math-U-See with success. In the meantime, a great special came up for an online course in Australia. We decided to give that a try for a year, research other options and then make a decision this year.
Adam doing Mathletics on the TV computer. It has improved his speed drills.
Of course, we didn’t get far into the year when our trip to the USA came along. One of the families we visited had children a similar age to some of ours. Their dad had been teaching the children Maths for several years and had a good routine going. Yeah sure, this dad is a rocket scientist but it was helpful to see someone else doing this.
When we got back from the US, Andrew said that he would take the oldest two for Maths. I tried not to apply too much pressure and leave the decision with him. Needless to say, I was so relieved when he offered – it was a load off my mind! They start at 6.30am in the morning and do three mornings a week with Dad.
Zac presses on one morning and finished his work by 11am
Sometimes, they decide to keep working from that point on and get their work finished by an early time in the day. Other times, they take a break from 7.15 until 9am. They still have bible devotions and other things to do in their morning routine but they are at leisure to determine how all of that happens before 9am.
I have enjoyed that development as well. They are becoming more responsible for how they manage their time and make choices based on day to day happenings.
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