One of the biggest worries I had about homeschooling before we started was...how in the heck am I going to teach maths and science - because I am really bad at both! This was a concern for both myself and Brett (my hubby). We were being realistic about it. Neither of these were my strong suit and we both knew it.
What we started understanding as time went on was that we were called to be facilitators for the learning needs of our children. We did NOT have to know everything ourselves! In fact, when you break it down, how silly is it that we think we need to know everything about everything, right? I mean who does?! No one! But what we do (with life in general) is that we learn how to access the information that we need when we want to learn a new skill or understand something. Think about it. Even as adults this happens. Because I have learned HOW to learn, I can learn *almost* anything!
So my thinking shifted from 'what about teaching maths because I'm not great at it' to 'how can I facilitate maths-learning well for my children and in what ways can I teach them HOW to learn what they need to know about maths (or science or insert any subject here you are not confident with yourself).
Enter Math U See.
We began using it in our very first year of homeschooling and have used it every year since. I do not get paid at all for endorsing these guys. I just have used them and love what they do so I'm happy to share about them with you too.
We love the way they teach a 0-9 number line which we think stands you in the perfect position to understand decimal places.
We love the way the lessons are set out in the workbooks. Once our kiddos are confident and have mastered something, we move on (you don't HAVE to do every single page!) We love that there are DVD lessons for kiddos who learn better this way. Some of our 5 have really appreciated the DVD lessons (and the ones who don't, don't HAVE to watch them - they just skip over that).
We love that there are tests that are optional (and that they have answers for parents because as I may have mentioned....maths is NOT my fave ;) ) This means that we can mark the kiddos' tests (mine only did the tests in the later years).
We complimented the Math U See work with other things too like board games (fractions bingo is a fave) and a heap of other math manipulatives. You don't HAVE to do Math U See everyday, reporting back to someone. You just do it when it suits your family and YOU make it fit into YOUR rhythm. Can anyone say #learningfreedom?!
We LOVE the Math U See blocks (I never actually used the overlays or anything else). The blocks were a favourite with the little ones before they were old enough to use workbooks. Playing with the blocks while their brothers and sisters did maths was a great way to transition them into being familiar with the manipulatives and helped make the process less daunting I think.
We like that you can start wherever you like and do it at your own pace (no need to 'unlock levels' or anything before you opt to start). The lessons are short and we like that too.
So there you go. These are a few reasons why we have enjoyed using Math U See for the past 13 years. A great #australianhomeschooling resource for you if you are looking for one.
Happy learning, Lusi x