Almost nothing instills as much fear and doubt in me as does the idea of teaching arithmetic to my children. As a homeschooling mom, my children’s education in all subjects, including math, rests squarely on my shoulders, and if I had to pick one reason to just drop the whole idea and send my kids on off to public school, it would be math. Why? Because as an adult, one of my biggest embarrassments is the fact that I cannot even do simple arithmetic in my head. Oh sure, I can add and subtract small numbers. Give me long enough, and I might even be able to add and subtract slightly larger numbers. It takes so long to do larger problems in my head, however, that I often resort to making little dots with which to count on a sheet of paper. My mom explained to me why this is so . . . I was taught to count and do sums using dots. Once the dots no longer appeared on my worksheets, I just drew them on there myself. I was never encouraged to see those dots in my head. And in my young mind, there was no need to do so. This is an issue I struggle with to this day. Fractions? I can do simple fraction calculations only when it comes to what I might use during cooking, and even then I have to resort to a calculator or the computer half the time. Multiplication? I remember scattered figures here and there, but most of it is lost to me. Division? Forget it. Algebra? It’s a vague memory. If I can’t remember most of this stuff, how on earth am I supposed to teach it to my children?! My husband on the other hand can whip out math calculations within seconds. While I am still counting on my fingers or trying to figure out how exactly to go about computing such a complicated problem, my husband has figured out the solution and I don’t have to think about it any more. I just trust his judgment. When he’s not around, I rely on a calculator and Quicken to do the work for me. Yes, I am ashamed to admit it. As I said, this shortcoming of mine is a source of shame for me.
Math was my worst subject growing up. I HATED math with a passion. I memorized the facts well enough to get A’s and B’s on my tests, and then most of it was promptly forgotten. When my husband and I decided to home school, I must admit that my fear and dread of math made me question that decision more than once. But I figured I could at least handle basic math, right? And besides, I would have a curriculum to lean on . . . my kids wouldn’t necessarily be learning their math from me . . . they’d be learning from a book, right? Or if I were really stumped, I could just pass the buck on to a real math teacher via a distance learning program through Bob Jones University or Abeka. That was the plan, anyway.
Before I go any further, allow me to tell you that I simply cannot visualize numbers in my head. I can’t look at a group of objects and know how many are there without counting, unless the number is five and under. I was never taught to re-order numbers in such a way that they’d be easier to add or subtract (i.e. 7+9 = 8+8 = 16). It never even occurred to me to try this until I married my husband and he happened to calculate a problem verbally one day. What?! You can do that?! Seriously, it was a revelation for me, sad to say. And so, with this knowledge in mind, I have decided that I want my kids to have what I don’t . . . a math knowledge that allows them to see the numbers in their heads, to manipulate those numbers in their heads, to simplify the problems rather than working with impossibly large numbers or problems whose solutions they never memorized (or forgot). I want them to understand WHY that equation produces the solution it produces. I never want to hear them tell me “it just does!” I vividly remember getting frustrated while writing geography proofs in high school because I was lost. I worked the problem the way my teacher told me to, came up with the solution, and that was that. Don’t ask me why the numbers came up the way they did. They just did. If my kids hit that point and I see the same frustration in their eyes that I remember feeling when confronted with geography proofs, I will know I have failed them as a math teacher. It is this realization that now drives my goals for our children in math.
There are many great programs out there that tout a superiority over traditional classroom methods for math in that they allow students plenty of work with manipulatives in order to give them the ability to do math mentally. RighStart, Math-U-See, Miquon, Singapore, and many others, are all among the curriculum I have considered. They all also have one HUGE problem in common. They are EXTREMELY expensive. I initially settled on just the workbooks for Singapore at the kindergarten level. However, halfway through the school year, I now realize this isn’t working very well. Apparently, I am missing out on a lot by not having the teacher’s guides. So I did more research, and finally firmly decided to use RightStart. RightStart intrigued me, because the curriculum does not rely on textbooks and worksheets. Instead, a math lesson involves playing games using numbers and an abacus. But this program was even more expensive than Singapore. However, I just couldn’t let go of the fact that RightStart is the only program I know of that uses an abacus. I love the idea of being so familiar with an abacus that you can literally see it in your mind and do the computations on it that way. No fingers, and no dots drawn on paper!
But we couldn’t afford it, and I don’t see how we could possibly afford it before we need it, even used.My next “bright idea” was to try Ray’s Arithmetic. The books were cheap, and should get me through 8th grade. And I really liked that they focus so much on oral math and word problems. If my kids use this program, surely they’ll be as good as, if not better than their dad with mental math! We are only a couple of weeks into using Ray’s, and already I was starting to doubt my ability to really teach the material to my kids so they’d understand it. I needed more guidance.
Back to the computer I went, and discovered Life of Fred. I haven’t bought it yet, but am intrigued by the idea . . . so I decided it was time to ask questions of moms who have actually used this stuff. I finally signed up on a homeschooling forum, and started asking questions. One thing led to another, and I finally remembered a little yellow book I had sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust.
A few months ago, I purchased Ruth Beechick’s series on “The Three R’s.” Her book on arithmetic is titled “An Easy Start In Arithmetic.” I had not read even a full page before I stumbled upon just the encouragement I needed to hear:
Some parents, and professional teachers too, are afraid of arithmetic themselves, and thus lack confidence for teaching it. This can lead to an impersonal teaching approach and overdependence on a textbook. Just assign page 7 today and page 8 tomorrow and the child will learn arithmetic, the teacher hopes, and never discover that she doesn’t understand it herself.
The cure for this brand of anxiety is to learn arithmetic yourself. You’re an adult after all, and elementary school children are expected to learn arithmetic. So it can’t be that hard. Get a good book and learn right along with your child. Or stay a few pages ahead.Wow! Does that describe exactly what I have been dealing with or not?! What a comfort to know I am not the only one who deals with a fear of arithmetic! And what a notion! Learn right along with my children?! Hmm . . . maybe she has a point there. One thing I have learned in my thirty years of life is that I learn best when I am teaching something I am passionate about. In other words, I learn something, get excited about it, and teach it. Is it really possible that I, as an adult, could learn how to do math in my head? Could I really learn the whys behind all of the solutions to the problems I was forced to memorize by rote using the drill and kill method while I was in grade school? I certainly hope so, because that would be amazing! And it would relieve me of this embarrassing problem I have when confronted with a math problem to which I cannot automatically recall the answer.
-”An Easy Start in Arithmetic” by Ruth Beechick, P. 1
As I read a little further on, I had another “aha” moment. I have been wanting desperately to figure out how to work nature study into our school days, but can’t ever find the time. Ruth Beechick discusses ways to incorporate math into every day situations. She talks about how young children learn to manipulate numbers using real physical objects before they begin to visualize those numbers in their heads. She presents examples in counting people and plates and chairs and other objects in real-life settings. Then, on page 12, I read this:
If you are home schooling, you are pioneering in a highly significant movement. Don’t throw away your opportunity by imitating school too closely. Use real life for teaching. Your family is unique and will have other kinds of situations than are listed in this manual. But all families can follow two important principles, no matter what the specific activities are.
The first principle is to use real-life situations to teach bits of arithmetic and to build a “need” to know arithmetic. When you read stories to children, they learn that books contain stories and they develop a “need” to learn how to read stories for themselves. That same principle must apply in arithmetic. Daily events involve arithmetic. Share these with your child so he develops an awareness of arithmetic and a need to know it.As I read these words, I recalled reading something about “living math” a while back. There are homeschooling families who do not use textbooks or workbooks at all. They simply teach math to their children within the framework of real life. They play math games, they read books about math, and the children are very familiar with how math is used in every day situations. While the idea intrigued me, and made me wish I’d been taught math in this way, I knew my own shortcomings, and immediately put the idea out of my head. While reading the above, however, I had a sudden inspiration . . . why not do living math outside?! Take my kids to the park and count the birds. If three ducks are in the pond and one climbs out, how many are left? If five birds are perched on a branch, and three fly away, how many are left? If one bird lands beside the two left on the branch, how many are there now? Brilliant! Science, math, developing an appreciation for God’s creation all in one shot! I may as well bring our books for reading along with us (history, literature, etc.) and read to my kids while we’re outside as well! Bring along some pencils and sketch pads, and we could accomplish art at the same time! I could feasibly do an entire school day’s worth of work outside! Yes!!! I am truly LOVING this idea! Who knew that I could find so much inspiration in one little book about teaching arithmetic? Thank you Ruth Beechick!
I had a chance to begin my little “experiment” today. While taking my son to speech therapy, Princess and I noticed some leaf patterns etched into cement circles on the sidewalk. While we waited for Chip to finish his therapy session, Princess and I counted leaves. We’d count one group of leaves, then count another, and then count how many we had altogether. She LOVED it! She was sad when we had to stop! Later, as we were loading back up in our van, I decided on the spur of the moment to head to a nature preserve near where we live. A half hour later, my kids and I were hiking down a short trail to the water’s edge where we watched two black birds with white beaks and red eyes swim and eat. My children were captivated by them. As luck would have it, a friendly elderly couple was out bird watching as we were watching these black birds. I asked them what they were, and I was told they are Coots, which are part of the duck family, and are very common. So the kids and I had an impromptu science lesson right then and there! And yes, we counted birds. We spent a good hour there, and would have stayed longer had the baby not needed her nap. We had so much fun that I know we will be heading back in the very near future.
In closing, I have decided to stick with Ray’s. I will work ahead in the books on my own and learn right along with my kids. And we will make math a part of our every day lives. We will count everything, we will play math games, we will use the abacus and whatever else tickles our fancy as we work problems, and we will learn together. After all, a family who learns together stays together, right?
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