How we teach Math!
Welcome to homeschool math… (works with the first child) take out your textbooks & turn to page 57! Wait, hold on… it’s our 5th year of homeschooling, I think we can do better than that!
During one season of our homeschool journey, there was a time when math was the most dreaded subject! Countless repetition & drills that really just took the fun out of learning. Once I realised that this didn’t align with our values, I decided to take matters into my own hands to create our math curriculum. We are already using our own unit studies for other subjects, so why not math?
This blog post is dedicated to my approach on teaching math & how I made it work for us! Here’s some things that we include when creating & teaching math in our homeschool:
First & foremost, is hands-on learning! If you have more than one child, you’ll know that each individual learns differently. But the one thing they have in common, is everyone loves to learn. It all depends on how the information is presented to them. Our core value is nature based, so we love using natural elements to allow a tactile approach to the subject. Ok, what this means is just that we use wooden blocks, loose parts like twigs, leaves, rocks etc. They serve as manipulatives to connect everyday life with math.
Being out in nature is also extremely important to us! Don’t underestimate the power of just going out & exploring nature. It develops number sense - “How many rocks did you find?” spatial reasoning “How many eggs are in that nest?” When you break it down, math is just our way of interpreting the natural world. When we are able to observe patterns in nature, it will develop into critical thinking & problem solving skills - this is what I want for my homeschool!
So when I started creating our own math curriculum, I did my best to make it engaging & relatable! All the artwork is illustrated & designed by me so it is provides visuals - (we can check that off) Next, we integrated games to develop strategic thinking and teamwork!
Sorting Through Spring a math unit study releases today and I’ve poured my heart & soul into making it magical! Based on the book Math in Nature: Sorting Through Spring by Lizann Flatt, it is literature & nature based - both of my favourite elements into one unit study. This unit introduces the following math concepts: patterns, ratio, data sorting, statistics, graphing & probability through nature, music, games, art & more!
The best thing about our family style unit studies is that both my kids can enjoy same topics catered to their individual levels. When we’re playing the game, roll a cottontail they are both learning graphing, probability & working together - because really, who has the time to teach math individually? If you’re interested in this unit, you can purchase here & check out the shop for other math units like this! Hope this helps!
Love, Sarah
