A Change in Math Curriculum

I have made some changes in our curriculum over the last few months. I am just going to tell you about math today. Henry was maybe 3rd grade when we began using Singapore Math and I loved it. I liked the way it taught me as well as Henry to think outside the box and increased our use of logic. However, when we reached the Primary 6 books we began to struggle. There were many problems I did not understand and to which I could not find answers. There is a great website for help with Singapore, but at the time it was difficult for me to use it and we just went on with what we could understand which was the majority. Then we got past the primary books and into their New Elementary Mathmatics. We struggled with that for several months not understanding the majority. I had been tempted in the past to change math curriculum for Louis and I began doing some research. There is a book store in the Portland area called Exodus Books and they are an excellent resource, not only for books and homeschool curriculum, but for information and reviews as well, here is their review of Saxon: http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=2428. I had always steered away from Saxon because I had heard there was an excessive amount of review and they didn't teach... I don't remember, but the concept in my mind was that it would not teach what I wanted my children to know. I'm sorry I felt that way. I still will use Singapore for the early years, but I will be switching the younger children to Saxon at about 4th grade. Saxon also has the DIVE CD-ROMs available which teach the children their lessons. I bought the DIVE CDs for Louis and Henry, but for Otto I found a used copy of Saxon 5/4 and the lessons are still simple for him. Louis is in Saxon 7/6 and Henry in Algebra. They are both using the CDs and I'm very happy with them. They need every bit of review that Saxon offers. The lessons are longer, Henry has always struggled with focus when doing math, but math is a good basis for other subjects like science and logic-- and discipline, diligence, perserverence...

Be sure you check our the rest of the Exodus Books site. I often look at thier recommendations before going to the library.

Challenges and Blessings

There are challenges to home schooling. There are challenges to living in a small space. There are challenges to having more children than 'the norm.' All of these 'challenges' flood us daily with blessings beyond number. We learn to enjoy each other or we drive each other crazy, but we are together and I think we all prefer it that way. We all need some alone time, but because we all need it, we allow each other to have it. Otto and Solomon both have their desks in Olivia's room. There are many times that Solomon has to come out and sit at the dining table because he is making it difficult for Otto to do his work. I'm confident it won't be long before he learns to focus and work with more diligence. At least, I'll do my best to help him achieve that goal. Olivia is not able to play in her room while they are working (actually when only Otto is working she does sometimes play there quietly). The children are always free to work in another area provided they are not disturbing anyone and they are doing their work. The more discipline they show, the more freedom they are allowed.