Week 3

It has been a great week!  The kids are getting used to the work load and the schedule.  We are happy to have full and busy days.  It is satisfying to see progress being made.  I love watching/helping the kids to learn and grow.  I'm learning and growing right with them. 

I'm learning to be more patient as a math teacher.  That is the hardest subject for me to teach and the kids to learn.  Savannah needs lots of repitition.  She could do five problems in a row correctly, and then suddenly on the sixth problem completely forget how to do it (ADD?).  Today we figured out it is easier for her to focus if she writes her problems out on the whiteboard.  I also do lots of sample problems on the whiteboard, as well as doing problems using manipulatives (apples and pencils this week).  She is getting very good at thinking through math problems, even though occasionally her brain falls out.  I'm am pleased with the progress she is making. 

Have I mentioned yet how awesome Math Mammoth is?  It's awesome.

Charlotte is my over-analyzer.  She will act like she doesn't know a simple concept, but it is actually her just over-analyzing it for the sake of clarity in her mind.  I did the same thing when I was little.  Both girls are a joy to teach though!

Charlotte got her wish for more work.  I ordered R&S phonics 1 for her, even though it is really just busy work.  She likes it.  I also ordered Climbing to Good English 2, which I think I will save for next year or for when she is finished with the phonics workbooks.  If you are looking for a workbook English, Climbing to Good English is EXCELLENT.  At least it looks excellent, having not used it yet.  I would recommend it.  It looks very solid.

I've been thinking about preparing to teach highschool and self-educating now.  Math, science, & discussing great books are my focus areas.  Today I researched math.  I found the best middle/high school math program available (according to the consensus of the Well-Trained Mind Forum experts).  Commonly referred to as AoPS, which stands for Art of Problem Solving. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/  It is described as being more in depth than typical math texts and it explains the WHY behind the math.  It is NOT just memorizing formulas, which is how I was taught.  You really know mathematics when you are finished.  It is for mathy kids, not just the average student.  It sounds like it will be a lot like Math Mammoth, which is challenging but fulfilling as well.  I want to be a good math teacher and I want my children to have a solid foundation in math, so this is the curriculum I'm going to use.

I took a placement test and tested into PreAlgebra :)  So I ordered the books.  I'm going to work through PreAlgebra this year.  I was actually really good at math in highschool, so I think it will all come back to me fairly easy.

It is a great website.  They have additional curriculum to help students to prepare for a huge math competition.. forgot the name.  They also have online math problems for each book; you work through different levels until it is mastered, much like Xtramath that the girls play online for their math facts.  I'm working through Pre-Alg.  There is a video that explains new concepts and is tied to the text as well.  There is also a very active forum for questions.

Now to research science.  I don't know that I am up to teaching chemistry and physics too.  I can't be good at every subject.  I might farm those out or get a good video curriculum to teach it; we'll see.

And lastly, what literature/history program to choose so I can begin reading through the books.  This one is more difficult being quite under-read myself.  It is hard to compare books and ideas when I haven't read them.  Off the top of my head there is My Father's World, Ambleside, Memoria Press, The Well-Trained Mind, Tapestry of Grace, & Latin Centered Curriculum.  I'm sure there are many more. 

That's it.  Here's to a great week!

Oh, and I'm still a rockstar. :D  Week 4 of Ripped in 30, here I come!