Almost Unschooling Grama

  Mighty Red is now pretty much an independent adder. We started out with him on my lap as his sister and I played math games. He would move the pieces while I gave the answers. Then we moved to him copying me as I did the finger math. For the past several weeks, we have been doing the problems on our fingers together, but this week he announced that he could do this and just took off without me! When I was in school, having someone help me like I have helped Mighty Red would have been shameful and "cheating". Go ahead, help your kids "cheat". It works!

  Joke of the Day Good News!  Homeschooling Just Crossed the Tipping Point https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/homeschooling-just-crossed-the-tipping-point/ I remember making these when I was a kid. Fascinating fun! https://leftbraincraftbrain.com/milk-carton-crayon-ice-candles/ Trashket Ball is always a hit! https://thecozycraftyclassroom.blogspot.com/2019/04/word-problems-in-math-best-game-ever.html Thought for the day: I'm reading War Room by Chris Fabry and The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn.

  When I was in school, the only thing we ever used index cards for were speeches and research papers, but these things are actually worth their weight in gold!  For homeschooling, there are only a few things that I consider essential. You can get along without fancy curriculum, lesson plans, and even the internet if need be, but index cards are a mainstay at my house! They are cheap and versatile. Over the years I've used them for sooo many activities.  Bible: Write one word (or phrase) on each from your current memory work, mix them up and race to see who can put them in the right order or set them out on the floor for a "memory walk".  Spelling: Use them for the simplest spelling curriculum ever! F or several years I tried to teach my children how to spell. Every year I would get a new “curriculum” and follow it precisely, but nothing worked. Finally came up with my own... 1st day: Find 2 words they don't know how to spell. Have them write those words 7 times. A ...

Here's a great game to teach math terminology. One person secretly picks a number. T he other has to ask questions using math terminology until they can determine the number. I printed out a free 100s chart and put it into a plastic sleeve. We use an erasable marker to mark off the numbers we have eliminated. You cannot ask if the number is "79" or "14" Questions must be worded with math terms such as "Is it a prime #?", "Is the product of the ones digit equal to 3 times 3?" Is the number greater than 47?" "Is this number divisible by 9?", "Is your number even or odd?" As you ask the questions, mark off any numbers your question has eliminated. The Flash and I are having a great time with this game. He's not multiplying or dividing yet so we aren't using some of these terms but that's OK the game is adjustable. I printed out the chart and put it into a plastic sleeve. We use an erasab...