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We did it finally! We are officially homeschoolers! Now I only have approximately 807 questions.

Most pressing at the time - Any advice on teaching math concepts in a discovery manner and not simply rote algorithms etc.? Are there any books available? This is mainly for my DS who just turned 9.

Thanks to all on here whose invaluable advice helped me make the decision to homeschool. We are all excited!

Welcome to the homeschooling world!

I think the best way to teach math is to let him figure out different problems on his own. Do not show him how to solve similar problems, let him find out on his own. That's what I do. I keep joking that I don't really teach DS7 math. All I do is provide him with lots of math problems He quite often surprises me with his solutions. Every so often I show him the way I would solve a given problem just to point out that there are different ways to come to the same results.

Welcome!

I'm happy to say that after nearly 3 years of homeschooling, I'm down to only 803 questions.

Hands-on stuff is good. I adore pattern blocks (like a big bucket of tangram pieces, usually plastic or wood) because kids teach themselves--with a bit of steering and/or question-asking from parents--about geometry, fractions, multiplication, division, figuring area & perimeter, IDing pattern, etc. We spent much of DS8's first year of math playing around with pattern blocks and dice, frankly, and it was time VERY well-spent!

There are lots of other tools like pattern blocks that give kids hands-on help. I like to window-shop at Didax.com and LearningResources.com for fun, cheap, hands-on stuff (and books to help me figure out what to do with these props) that I can use to stock my math basket. Their end-of-the-year sales can be amazing!

These aren't formal curricula, obviously, so that may not be what you're looking for. But this approach has worked well for us.

P.S. Hi, LMom!

Have you looked at the Art of Problem Solving books? They are problem based as the name suggests - each section starts with a sequence of problems, which the reader is instructed to try seriously before reading on. Those problems are then explained in the text, and then there are others. We haven't seriously used these yet but I like the look of them.

There are also loads of math problem sites on the web - often without immediately accessible solutions, which is good :-) Try http://nrich.maths.org/public/ for example.

I also recommend Descartes' Cove
http://www.cty.jhu.edu/ctyonline/cove/index.html

Thanks everyone. Great ideas.

ColinsMum - I have had my eye on Descartes' Cove for a while but just can't afford it now.

Kriston - I like the idea of hands-on items. Any favorite books and/or sets of manipulatives you really recommend? I have limited resources right now and want to spend wisely.

:-)

Remind me what ages you have, will you please? I am too lazy to look back...

LOL 7 and 9. :-)

This is a list of stuff we've used. But I bought it mainly because it was cheap and I like to have a lot of different things on hand. We also use workbooks, computer programs, and plain old pencil and paper.

So seriously, check the sales and buy what is cheap and looks interesting. Don't take this list as being in any way absolute. I don't pay full price ever, and then I don't mind taking minor risks on school supplies. You can get stuff for 50-80% off. Maybe not this particular stuff now, but I did buy all of it on deep discount.

In addition to pattern blocks (which were out on our floor pretty much every day for either art--Transformers!--or math every day for a year!):

* dice, including ones with +/-/x/divide and/or fractions and/or whatever else mathy that you can find: great for arithmetic games, statistics and probability, homemade board games, etc.

* balance scales that can be used for algebra. I wouldn't pay full-price for these, but they are good for illustrating negative numbers and algabraic concepts.

* Plain old wooden cubes. Useful for arithmetic, fractions, pattern making, creative problem solving, etc. Plus they can build stuff with them.

* Tangrams. Good for problem solving and spatial thinking skills. And the pictures are pretty.

* Self-correcting math games. These can be electronic, like hand-held video games. But a favorite was these plastic key-type things that had math problems on them. The child matched question on one side to the answer on the other with string, and the wrapping made a pattern on the back. If the string pattern matched the answer on the back, the child got it right. This kept both kids busy in the car for many a long trip. I have no idea what it's called, but I think we got it through Usborne Books. I've seen other things like it though. The self-correcting is the key, regardless of what method it uses.

P.S. You know that www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org offers Descartes' Cove for a discount, right? It's $105, and the deal lasts until 3/31. See https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1166

Holy Price Cut Batman! Thank you for letting me know! I have an unexpected check coming in today. Time for some school supplies! Thanks Kriston. :-)

Kriston,

When I go to the homeschoolbuyersco-op.org they ask if I have a referral code when I go to sign up. I didn't complete the sign-up in case you get credit of some sort for sending me there.
Just let me know!

Aw! That's thoughtful of you, but I don't think there's any sort of referral bonus. Feel free to sign up and go to town.

BTW, I had a good hands-on day today, and I thought I'd share what we did since you were asking about it. This was not in any book or curriculum that we used. We just figured it out.

DS8 was getting a bit confused in his "Key To Algebra" lesson today, which involved isolating the variable and solving for X. If the problem was 6x + 4 = 2x, say, he was having trouble understanding that he needed to subtract 6x and not add it.

We pulled out the blocks. A big red block was used to represent X; a big blue block was used to represent -X, and little natural blocks were plain old numbers.

We put down a pencil to divide the problem at the = sign. On one side we placed 6 red blocks and 4 natural blocks and on the other side we placed 2 red blocks. He could then see that adding 6 red blocks wouldn't help because then he'd have 12 red blocks, not 0.

Instead he pulled out 6 blue blocks to "neutralize" the red ones, and used them on both sides of the pencil, leaving 4 blue blocks, or -4x, on one side and 4 natural blocks, or the numeral 4, on the other side.

It really helped him to see the concept. If words don't seem to clarify, blocks or drawings or something hands-on often do.

HTH!

Kriston

What a great use of simple everyday blocks! I did some poking around today looking at materials but we ended up going to the bank where they opened up their own savings accounts which produced a great discussion about interest rates - extremely low for savings accounts but higher for loans etc.
Both kids also seemed out of sorts today. Missing friends at school I think although no one wants to go back.
I am excited to order up some manipulatives and start playing though!

Thank you for sharing your day. I don't know that I would have come up with such a great concrete example. Nice one!

Oh, you would. Not your first day, of course. But you'll read stuff and join forums (like this one) that let people share ideas with you. And you'll figure out how your kids learn best. Then, if they get stuck, you'll find some way to help them.

It's easier than it seems. But it does explain why I keep lots of random bits and pieces on hand. If I hadn't had the blocks around, I wouldn't have grabbed them and made them work. Now, I might have grabbed something else instead, so it's not like blocks are the only way that would work. But it's what I had around, so I used them.

I'm sorry the kids were out of sorts. Have you found a homeschooling group in your area? Can you arrange afterschool playdates with school friends? Those things do matter!

The bank lesson sounds great!

P.S. It also shows that you don't need to spend a fortune on manipulatives. The natural blocks were 90% off, so I bought 1000 for like $10 or something ridiculous. The colored blocks were only 75% off, if memory serves, so I bought one bucket for a couple of bucks. Cheap! Why not buy them?

LOL! DS8 has been doing Plato Science, and the chemistry is really good. That means he has learned about acids and bases and chemical equations, so it made perfect sense to him to talk about neutralizing.

I'm totally laughing at the multi-variable equation.

Yes, it sounds like a really smart approach. My version certainly helped DS8 see it. And it translated very easily to the page. He immediately had an easier time of isolating the variable and solving simple equations.

We didn't start there. I prefer the page much of the time, too, personally, and DS8 likes paper and pencil. But for helping a kid who's not quite getting the concept, the hands-on balancing idea is a pretty handy trick.

I would call the "Key To Algebra" series some pre-algebra leading to maybe high school algebra 1. It is very light on problem solving. But it does get into graphing, polynomials and systems of equations, so I think it's a good primer before AoPS.