Teaching Math When You Secretly Hate It
September 18, 2019
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Deborah Wuehler
Try Something Different
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Todd Wilson
We Love Teaching Textbooks
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Diane Heeney
Enjoying Math Success
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Kerry Tittle
A Few Things I've Learned...
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Try Something Different
Math is not my favorite subject, but several of my kids have excelled in it. Several have disliked it, and there are those who didn’t hate it but hated the time it took to get it done each day. As the teacher, I have learned right along with them. The older I get, the more I appreciate the challenge for my brain.
To change things up, we have tried different things over the years. Normally, we have Fridays as half lessons, choosing to do either the even or odd numbers, and then do one of the following:
As homeschoolers, we have also time to teach real life math skills like. . .
- Calculating tithe and paying bills.
- Writing checks and keeping ledgers.
- Learning to set aside saving and spending money.
- Calculating the cost of raising chickens or planting gardens vs. the increase.
- Letting them plan to feed the family given a certain amount of money.
- Calculating the best prices per ounce or by unit when shopping.
- Having your kids double or triple a recipe while cooking.
Don’t feel guilty when you occasionally skip the textbooks, especially when they are involved in exciting real-life learning. If spiral type lessons aren’t working, try moving to workbooks that teach mastery of one subject at a time.
Yes, there may be days of tears. But we can pray, step back, and evaluate our curriculum, or add in some real life applications. We are free to explore what works. We are free to take some days off math if we need a break. Our children are free to go as fast or as slow as necessary. Homeschooling is not just about academics. It’s about freedom. It all adds up when our children are free to be
Home Where They Belong.
“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” Psalm 147: 4, 5.
~Deborah
P.S. Often, I hear moms say they feel they are ill-prepared to teach their children. If you feel this way, I hope
this will bless you.
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This hands-on curriculum teaches children how to successfully manage money while they are young so they learn how to budget and avoid debt.
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We Love Teaching Textbooks
It's no secret—I HATE MATH!! I've had about as much as most people have, taking advanced calculus in college, but I hate math and couldn't solve a simple algebra problem now. I'm not too sure I could divide fractions! I don't like numbers but am pretty good and figure stuff out.
That said, my wife loves math, numbers, balancing checkbooks, and solving ridiculous story problems about two trains traveling in opposite directions, one traveling at fourty-six miles per . . . blah, blah, blah, blah. God put us together that way so we'd complement each other.
Here's what we have in common: we LOVE
Teaching Textbooks. It has been a great gift to our family, and all my children have learned math because of it. My wife and I love it for different reasons. I love it because the kids like it, and if something were to happen to my wife and me, my kids could still learn math.
My wife loves it because it frees her up to do other things (even though she loves teaching math). When my kids do their
Teaching Textbooks lessons, she is busy doing something else with one of the other kids.
Just the other day a mom over at the Smiling Homeschooler Facebook page wrote this about
Teaching Textbooks: "We have not started school yet. But we have decided to do the trial for Teaching Textbooks to see if we would like to replace our current math curriculum. It's a hit! When my boys found 45 mins of free time today and started to complain of boredom, they decided to do a math lesson!" - Melanie
The thing is, there are so many great math tools to help parents who hate math. It's not a game changer or a deal breaker. It's not even a bump in the road. Use those tools to help you enjoy homeschooling your children without guilt, and to focus on the things that you do best.
Be real,
Todd
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Enjoying Math Success
I remember enduring “algebore” in my high school years. It’s challenging to teach kids math when they have declared and/or demonstrated they don’t like it. I discovered something surprising, though.According to a survey posted on
Texas Instruments BulleTIn Board Blog, ". . . 75 percent of kids have heard adults speak negatively about math". We often say in homeschooling that “more is caught than taught”—are they catching their attitude about math from us?
I know that my own attitude toward upper level math had a lot to do with my teacher’s teaching style. It did not mesh at all with my learning style. Every math class was another excruciating episode of “I’m Not Catchin’ What You’re Throwin’.” I had to take it in summer school. That teacher had a more hands-on focus, and I passed.
My takeaway? Don’t dwell on what caused failure—pay attention to what brought success!
Help Them Succeed
What homeschool mom doesn’t love to see that “lightbulb moment” when her child finally masters a challenging concept? Help your math student to succeed by assigning a doable work load. Less is more. One dozen problems reviewed, discussed, and mastered is much more profitable than a numbing page of fifty. Engage, encourage, strategize, and celebrate!
Make It Relevant
“When am I ever going to use this?” I think every homeschool mom has heard this at least once. Look for teachable moments throughout your day when you can demonstrate in actual situations that their math is applicable—even necessary—in real life. Double a recipe for a batch of cookies and show how fractions are a must. Build a birdhouse or shelf to drive home the practicality of geometry and units of measure. Do some comparison shopping at the grocery store, and apply their basic knowledge of operations as they calculate prices per ounce and learn what real bargains look like. Help them live out legit story problems—not the ridiculous ones where a guy buys a hundred watermelons!
Make It Enjoyable
Pay attention to how your child learns. Watch videos. Use manipulatives. Try art. Sing multiplication songs. Play store. Enjoy games like
Ticket to Ride, Life, Yahtzee, or
Sudoku. Check out some of the fun resources
here to show them that STEM is an integral part of many of the careers kids love! Help bigger kids feel more grown up by learning about finances with
Money 101 at
SchoolhouseTeachers.com!
Call in Reinforcements
Sometimes you need some support. There are some great programs that can come to your rescue and take some of the pressure off! Consider
Mr. D Math, Teaching Textbooks, and
CTCMath, just to name a few.
Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying math more than you ever dreamed possible!
Diane Heeney
is a graduate of Bob Jones University, where she served on faculty for ten years. She has been Assistant to the Director of Advertisng Sales at The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine since 2016. She’s homeschooled her three children over the course of the past 18 years, having graduated their two oldest. Diane, her husband Patrick, and their youngest child, Katie, reside in eastern Wyoming.
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Smartick can help children master the math foundations and have a brighter future. Register for the free 15-day trial and save 25% on your first subscription!
smartickmethod.com
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A Few Things I've Learned...
Honestly, math has a tendency to strike dread into many hearts throughout the homeschool community. I get it! Not because I can’t do it; I just don’t enjoy it. However, when it comes to school it’s a non-negotiable.
You just have to do it.
Here are a few things that I have to do for my own sanity that may help you, too.
- Timing: Timing really is everything. I make sure math is the first subject done in the morning. If it’s out of the way, the rest of the day tends to go smoother. But back in the day when there were lots of babies and toddlers, we did math at naptime so I could give my child undivided attention. Decide the best time for you and your child to work with the least amount of interruptions.
- Learning style: I found out quickly that we wouldn’t have a successful year if I didn’t take the time to understand my child’s learning style. If you have an auditory learner and they are bogged down with manipulatives (which I can’t personally understand!) it can be as frustrating as expecting a visual learner to learn by reading only. Sadly, this means you may not be able to pass down the curriculum to the next child. If you want your child to thrive, be a student of your child. Additionally, many math curriculums offer sample lessons and placement tests on their website to help in your decision.
- Your attitude: Let's face it; our attitudes can be the attitude thermostat of our home. If you have a bad attitude towards math, don’t expect your child to be any different. We have to be very intentional and have heart checks often.
- A math-loving friend: Do you have a friend who loves math? If you do, explore the possibility of trading out math once a week for another subject for them. Or cook a meal once a week in exchange for tutoring. I have had to ask for more help the last few years, especially in the area of higher education. This seems like weakness on our part, but in reality it strengthens community.
- Understand the foundations: Adding, subtracting, multiplication, division, fractions, and even measurements build the foundation for higher level math. If this is a strong structure, your higher level math will come easier. Mastery in this foundation is more important than grade levels. Don’t move them to higher math until this mastery is complete.
Math is crucial, but it doesn’t have to be dreaded. Breathe, take your time, and don’t let others define your standards.
Kerry Tittle is a mother of nine children and a 20-year homeschool veteran. She was the owner of ReformationKidz with her husband Rob until a tornado destroyed their home and business in 2014, taking the lives of Rob and two of their daughters, Tori and Rebekah. Kerry is the founder of
Refined Family
, which is created to encourage others to find hope in the gospel in the midst of trials.
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As a
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in the latest issue of
The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.
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Contest Corner
for the month of September
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Linda J. Hawkins’ lovely award-winning cookbook
Southern Seasons with Memory Making Recipes has 182 pages of beautiful photos and family recipes, with an internal spiral binding which allows the book to lie flat (so helpful for cooks!). It costs $27.99 and is available at Heart to Heart Publishing.
Linda J. Hawkins is both a mother and a grandmother and the descendant of gifted cooks in her own Southern family from Kentucky. She has combined her family’s recipes with her own photographs of nature, events, and people (as well as food) with meaningful quotes and Bible verses to create a book that is at once a devotional, an encouragement for moms (and families), and a cookbook of recipes keyed to the four seasons of each year.
Southern Seasons with Memory Making Recipes begins with recipes for the winter season, specifically, with cakes! Then Linda shares meaty skillet dinners and soups, including his and hers chiliis, stews, soups, and chowders. Spring recipes are next with picnic food ideas followed by delicious pie recipes and old-fashioned desserts. In the summer section, Linda shares delicious-sounding canning recipes and many delicious recipes like Corn Pudding, her Great-Granny’s Tea Cakes, Peanut Brittle, and Chocolate Spinach Cake. Fall begins with sweet treats featuring nuts as the main ingredients in cakes and fudges. A Thanksgiving menu starts with cornbread dressing, homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, and cranberry Jell-O salad.
Each section also includes tips for entertaining, meal preparation, pantry staples, etiquette tips, and child training.
Ideas for making mealtimes fun and saving money inspire families to connect as well, and Scriptures and loving quotes encourage the cook as she pages through the book.
There is so much more to this book of encouragement with recipes; so go and
read the full review to get all the inside information!
GO NOW and
enter the contest for your chance to win
Southern Seasons with Memory Making Recipes!
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is now available for FREE online!
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