I've had a hard time pinpointing why I think your channel is so rich compared to others that I have watched (not that they aren't good!). When you mentioned that you don't talk about curriculum very much, I realized that's the difference. I get very weary of all the "what we are using this year" and "why this works!" followed by "why we quit this curriculum". Thank you for putting our focus where it belongs. :)
Yes! That must be it because I completely agree. So refreshing! This channel is the only one I come back to because no matter what you talk about I am encouraged from it.
Thank you so much! I’m working with a very smart 12 y/o who can’t handle being in public school due to trauma and anxiety. We both have ADHD and clash on so many levels. Math is by far our hardest subject. You said many things that I needed to hear. Bless you for sharing! ❤
So glad to hear that! You're welcome. :) I can relate to your struggles. Keep up the good work you are doing with your son! I hope you can find some good solutions.
This video is a wealth of encouragement and practical, time tested, guidance. Thank you! I wish I had known many of these things when we started homeschooling 7 years ago, but it's never too late to review and elevate relationships. 💜
You are such a blessing to me! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and profound words. You may never know the impact you have on others but I am so grateful for your time and energy making these videos 😊
I really enjoyed watching this video! Thank you for sharing your experience over 15 years of teaching math! I am behind you at 10ish years of teaching math and it has by far been the hardest subject to teach! It has taken me a lot longer than you to realize these things but you are SPOT ON on every single thing you spoke about in teaching math in this video. My math journey with my kids has been tumultuous to say the least. The abstract aspect of math is what we struggled with for so many years until I switched everyone over to Math U See last year. It has made all the difference in the world. I even took my oldest two back to the beginning of math and spent 10 months going through the first four books of Math U See with them to fill in holes they had in basic math skills/understanding of addition, sub, mul, & div. We have started the fraction book this school year and the difference has been remarkable. My younger two are starting with MUS from the beginning and doing well too. You are right in that it is not just the curriculum that is important. We must find the right tools to teach math and for us that is MUS because it provides a way for me to teach my kids with manipulatives that make the concepts come to life for them. And then we just make progress every day....consistency is key with math! I am saving this video to reference every once in a while. Such a wonderful help to the homeschool community. Thank you!
You're welcome. :) I’m so glad to hear that this video helped! Math definitely takes time and consistency. I've heard of so many people who love MUS! So glad to hear that is working well for you. Also, thanks for sharing a little of your story in your comment. I think comments like these can help other moms so they can hear experiences from many perspectives.
May I ask what age your oldest was when you took them back to basics with MUS? I’m considering that with my oldest child but haven’t heard of anyone else doing so.
TLDR- After lots of struggling, we found MUS and absolutely love it!! Omgosh YES!!! One of our children struggles massively with math. No clue why, just does. We even had testing done but to no avail. Math just didn't stick. Teachers (while we had them in The System) kept insisting no extra help was needed because this child, despite being at the very bottom of "normal," still fell into the "appropriate" range. They would just keep pushing our child through, ignoring our concerns. And yes, we tried fervently at home to help as best we could. It went on like this for years until we pulled our children out. I tried a few different methods and tools, so to speak, but just like everything else we tried while our children were in The System, nothing was working. After watching hours and hours and HOURS of curriculum reviews/content, and researching countless curricula and methods, taking placement tests and whatnot, I finally settled on trying Math-U-See. Holy moly. What an absolute blessing!! This child is now fast approaching high school age and still struggles with the basics but it's *miles* better than it was. I'm not sure what exactly it is about MUS that works so incredibly well (for all of our children, not just this one) but I don't forsee us ever switching. Thank God they go up into high school mathematics. I should mention that in addition to MUS, we play math games. "Store" with pretend money, Sumdoku, Tiny Polka Dot, Math Splash War, Three Corner Flashcards, plus a ton of math board games. A quick search will yield tons of options. And yes, consistency is absolutely crucial.
@WS-by5cl I've heard of high school-aged children using it when they hadn't before. They have a placement test on their site to assist. The lower levels will get blasted through as he/she moves up. It's fantastic for filling in any blanks he/she may need filled. Note: MUS uses a mastery approach, whereas many others are spiral. There is no bouncing from this to that and that and this. You do not move on until you've got it down pat. Hence the "hole-filling." It's gentle and not super repetitive, imo. Review pages are plentiful to help remind/remember previously learned concepts. It's not time-consuming, either. The work each day is a single page, front and back. I don't think there's ever been more than 20 questions. I'm pretty sure there are extra pages at the back but we've never needed them so I could be wrong. We don't do drilling worksheets either, though some children thrive on them. It's easy enough to find and print or simply make your own. Lots of workbooks online you can download and print or simply purchase. Also, MUS doesn't work for everyone. If it doesn't work for your child(ren) after giving it a good try, don't feel bad setting it aside. There is no one size fits all to learning/teaching, regardless of what ANYONE says. Sorry for going on and on. I just feel very strongly about this and wish I'd known of it sooner. I hope this helps 😊
@@WS-by5cl my girls were 14 and 12 (8th and 6th grade) when I took them all the way back to Alpha. We zoomed through Alpha and Beta, completing both in about 15 weeks. However, it was needed because my girls didn't truly deeply understand place value and carrying and borrowing (they knew the procedures but not the whys of what they were doing) so it was the first step of building a SOLID math foundation. Then over the next 7ish months they completed Gamma and Delta, which was also very needed and they both FINALLY mastered their multiplication facts! Now we are in Epsilon and the way Mr Demme teaches Fractions is just genius level. He makes it SO simple. The curriculum we used before taught procedures without the whys and math that way just makes no sense to someone who isn't naturally "good" in math. The blocks make the abstract concepts concrete and have made all the difference in world for my kids. The mastery approach is so effective, but don't think for a minute there is no review because there is! I LOVE math u see and highly recommend it, especially if you have a student who doesn't particularly enjoy math or understand it. Mr Demme truly makes every concept SIMPLE. It's pretty amazing.
Thanks for this Sheri! I agree with waiting until they are ready. I feel like that also applies to reading and other subjects as well. Great advice and tips ❤
LOVE this. Especially the bit about money, time, etc., in math. I am finding more and and more can be caught in real life as opposed to distracting from the meat of the subject. Love your posts!!
Sheri, thank you!! This has been such a reassuring video. Even though I feel the need to ramp up our focus on math facts, it’s not overwhelming. I use Singapore Math too, and that was a really helpful overview at the end. SM doesn’t tell you to work on math facts so that caught me off guard with my oldest… he’s in 4th grade and I definitely have felt like I’m a blind guide at times!
I just found your channel. You are amazing. I just had our 9th baby and feel like Im drowning, consistency is a huge issue for me. Im so excited to read and watch through your content. We also use AO and have loved it but know we need to do something different, because i just cant keep up with it for everyone. So im really looking forward to watching your videos.
Congrats. I have felt the same way. My fifth is now almost 2. You could try unschooling for a season. For me personally my kids learning to read, write and do math is the most important, and reading the Bible most days. They don't need all the other busy work. Maybe you can have them read to each other, do flash cards with each other, and copy a passage from Scripture or another book. When you're in survival mode just do the basics. And don't put everything on your shoulders. You probably have older kids that can help. I hope things get easier in the months to come. God Bless.
I'm so glad you found my channel. Thanks for watching. Nice to meet you. :) I have felt like I'm drowning many times...especially after a new baby. I did a video on how I have adapted Ambleside Online with our big family. I'll link it for you. th-cam.com/video/vkuMbP8OiEc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_YVsaNgOPXqKxlea
Omgoodness.....God is so good!! I really needed this video! Thank you so much! My child is very smart but is hesitant about wanting to learn math. This is our first year officially homeschooling and I'm not great with math but I'm so excited to "learn" it again myself and I really think it will help improve my math skills too. You have given me some great ideas and most importantly, what order I need to do things in. The last thing I want to do is put the cart before the horse and cause confusion 🙁. I also want to share a tip with you that I discovered and am excited about! I use a plastic sheet protector with a dry erase marker to place over the page in a book. That way we can erase and do the same material over and over again. The book could be reused for another child in the future. This is super cheap and cost-effective and my child loves to use dry erase markers!❤
Quick suggestion if staining has been an issue (it was for us no matter what brand)...wet erase rather than dry. Vis-a-Vis Expo markers, specifically. It'll stain any rag you use to wipe it, but at least the sheet/board will be clean.
Could you do a similar video on how to teach the phonics rules and sight words sort of concepts? My child always gets really upset with learning these (as it’s often repetitive and out of context) and I need more ideas on how to make it fun/or more gentle.
Here is a video I did on how I teach phonics and reading with Bob Books. I have a companion guide to teaching Bob Books ($8) on my website that I have used to teach eight of our ten kids to read. It's very simple and has worked well with all of our kids. I'll link the video for you. th-cam.com/video/jLGNTLVpVtk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=u9MHcMjH7WknwTr4
@@OurLifeHomeschoolingthank you for sharing this. Sometimes I'm also riddled with guild asking myself again and again whether we learn enough, while all we need is to be consistent and make progress daily
I would love to hear your thoughts on teaching language arts. With this being my first year homeschooling I need more direction on what all the necessary components are. I have second grade twins and they both learn so differently with one being neurodivergent. I have been hung up between using 2 curriculums for each and it just gets confusing. I wish I knew how to simplify and focus on what really matters in this area of learning. I absolutely love this video on math!! It makes me happy to know I am implementing a lot of your strategies!
Oh good! I'm glad this helped you! I have done several posts/videos on how we teach language arts. I'll link one below for you. I spend a lot of time reading aloud. I let our kids learn to read slowly at their own pace. We do copywork and (oral) narration from the beginning. I don't start a formal language program until 4th grade. Copywork and narration cover SO much. They are a hidden gem, in my opinion, highly underestimated by many educators. I personally think it would be a lot to try to use two different language arts curriculums. I would use just one and try to modify it to meet each of their needs. Our Curriculum ourlifehomeschooling.com/2022/10/17/our-large-family-homeschool-curriculum/
Our oldest son went up to Pre-Calculus and Trig. Our second son is in Algebra 2 and hasn't decided what he will do next. For our daughter who does not like math, she will probably do consumer math after she finishes Geometry this year.
Do you thin it would be too late to start SM for a 5th grader? We have been doing TGATB but he just isn’t retaining and getting enough practice to make a solid foundation for the concepts
Not at all. If your curriculum isn't meeting your needs, definitely switch. I'm not against changing curriculums, I just like to remind moms of the benefits of sticking with a curriculum over time, especially for math. But if you think some thing is missing or is not working in curriculum, I would switch.
Thank you for responding! Every time you post I get so excited! Your experience and wisdom is so inspiring that I find myself wanting to glean all that I can! Would Singapore, in particular, be a good choice for starting at a 5th grade level? I’m nervous to dive into it but math is so foundational that I don’t want to keep going down the same path when I know he isn’t mastering the concepts.
I thought you used Beast Academy and would discuss that aspect of your homeschooling. Why did you choose to leave that out? Any future content plans concerning this?
I'm homeschooling my teenage grandson who has a learning "difference" so math and spelling are both a struggle..it's a whole other level of hard when you add in that factor. It's hard
I've got multiple kids with dyslexia and dyscalcula. It is so hard with those struggles. We are just trying to get them through what they can. Trying to set them up with the basics that they will really need in life.
I'm sure that adds some difficulty. I would aim for progress and using common sense about what's important and what's ok to leave out. I hope you can find some good solutions.
I just thrifted a book haul of 194 books for 27 dollars for my book giveway at applebees( 3701 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002). I am the host there. I have given away over 2900 books for babies kids teens and adults in 10 months. Let's get this generation reading❤
I've had a hard time pinpointing why I think your channel is so rich compared to others that I have watched (not that they aren't good!). When you mentioned that you don't talk about curriculum very much, I realized that's the difference. I get very weary of all the "what we are using this year" and "why this works!" followed by "why we quit this curriculum". Thank you for putting our focus where it belongs. :)
Aww, thank you for those kind words. I appreciate it. :) I'm glad this video encouraged you!
One hundred percent!!
Yes! That must be it because I completely agree. So refreshing! This channel is the only one I come back to because no matter what you talk about I am encouraged from it.
YES!!
Thank you so much! I’m working with a very smart 12 y/o who can’t handle being in public school due to trauma and anxiety. We both have ADHD and clash on so many levels. Math is by far our hardest subject. You said many things that I needed to hear. Bless you for sharing! ❤
So glad to hear that! You're welcome. :) I can relate to your struggles. Keep up the good work you are doing with your son! I hope you can find some good solutions.
This video is a wealth of encouragement and practical, time tested, guidance. Thank you! I wish I had known many of these things when we started homeschooling 7 years ago, but it's never too late to review and elevate relationships. 💜
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful! 😊 And yes, relationships are #1!!
You are such a blessing to me! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and profound words. You may never know the impact you have on others but I am so grateful for your time and energy making these videos 😊
Aww, thank you so much! I'm glad to hear others are benefiting from my videos. Really appreciate your kind words. :)
I really enjoyed watching this video! Thank you for sharing your experience over 15 years of teaching math! I am behind you at 10ish years of teaching math and it has by far been the hardest subject to teach! It has taken me a lot longer than you to realize these things but you are SPOT ON on every single thing you spoke about in teaching math in this video.
My math journey with my kids has been tumultuous to say the least. The abstract aspect of math is what we struggled with for so many years until I switched everyone over to Math U See last year. It has made all the difference in the world. I even took my oldest two back to the beginning of math and spent 10 months going through the first four books of Math U See with them to fill in holes they had in basic math skills/understanding of addition, sub, mul, & div. We have started the fraction book this school year and the difference has been remarkable. My younger two are starting with MUS from the beginning and doing well too.
You are right in that it is not just the curriculum that is important. We must find the right tools to teach math and for us that is MUS because it provides a way for me to teach my kids with manipulatives that make the concepts come to life for them. And then we just make progress every day....consistency is key with math!
I am saving this video to reference every once in a while. Such a wonderful help to the homeschool community. Thank you!
You're welcome. :) I’m so glad to hear that this video helped! Math definitely takes time and consistency.
I've heard of so many people who love MUS! So glad to hear that is working well for you.
Also, thanks for sharing a little of your story in your comment. I think comments like these can help other moms so they can hear experiences from many perspectives.
May I ask what age your oldest was when you took them back to basics with MUS? I’m considering that with my oldest child but haven’t heard of anyone else doing so.
TLDR- After lots of struggling, we found MUS and absolutely love it!!
Omgosh YES!!! One of our children struggles massively with math. No clue why, just does. We even had testing done but to no avail. Math just didn't stick. Teachers (while we had them in The System) kept insisting no extra help was needed because this child, despite being at the very bottom of "normal," still fell into the "appropriate" range. They would just keep pushing our child through, ignoring our concerns. And yes, we tried fervently at home to help as best we could. It went on like this for years until we pulled our children out. I tried a few different methods and tools, so to speak, but just like everything else we tried while our children were in The System, nothing was working. After watching hours and hours and HOURS of curriculum reviews/content, and researching countless curricula and methods, taking placement tests and whatnot, I finally settled on trying Math-U-See. Holy moly. What an absolute blessing!! This child is now fast approaching high school age and still struggles with the basics but it's *miles* better than it was. I'm not sure what exactly it is about MUS that works so incredibly well (for all of our children, not just this one) but I don't forsee us ever switching. Thank God they go up into high school mathematics.
I should mention that in addition to MUS, we play math games. "Store" with pretend money, Sumdoku, Tiny Polka Dot, Math Splash War, Three Corner Flashcards, plus a ton of math board games. A quick search will yield tons of options.
And yes, consistency is absolutely crucial.
@WS-by5cl
I've heard of high school-aged children using it when they hadn't before. They have a placement test on their site to assist. The lower levels will get blasted through as he/she moves up. It's fantastic for filling in any blanks he/she may need filled.
Note: MUS uses a mastery approach, whereas many others are spiral. There is no bouncing from this to that and that and this. You do not move on until you've got it down pat. Hence the "hole-filling." It's gentle and not super repetitive, imo. Review pages are plentiful to help remind/remember previously learned concepts. It's not time-consuming, either. The work each day is a single page, front and back. I don't think there's ever been more than 20 questions. I'm pretty sure there are extra pages at the back but we've never needed them so I could be wrong. We don't do drilling worksheets either, though some children thrive on them. It's easy enough to find and print or simply make your own. Lots of workbooks online you can download and print or simply purchase.
Also, MUS doesn't work for everyone. If it doesn't work for your child(ren) after giving it a good try, don't feel bad setting it aside. There is no one size fits all to learning/teaching, regardless of what ANYONE says.
Sorry for going on and on. I just feel very strongly about this and wish I'd known of it sooner. I hope this helps 😊
@@WS-by5cl my girls were 14 and 12 (8th and 6th grade) when I took them all the way back to Alpha. We zoomed through Alpha and Beta, completing both in about 15 weeks. However, it was needed because my girls didn't truly deeply understand place value and carrying and borrowing (they knew the procedures but not the whys of what they were doing) so it was the first step of building a SOLID math foundation. Then over the next 7ish months they completed Gamma and Delta, which was also very needed and they both FINALLY mastered their multiplication facts!
Now we are in Epsilon and the way Mr Demme teaches Fractions is just genius level. He makes it SO simple. The curriculum we used before taught procedures without the whys and math that way just makes no sense to someone who isn't naturally "good" in math. The blocks make the abstract concepts concrete and have made all the difference in world for my kids.
The mastery approach is so effective, but don't think for a minute there is no review because there is! I LOVE math u see and highly recommend it, especially if you have a student who doesn't particularly enjoy math or understand it. Mr Demme truly makes every concept SIMPLE. It's pretty amazing.
Thanks for this Sheri! I agree with waiting until they are ready. I feel like that also applies to reading and other subjects as well. Great advice and tips ❤
Yes, so true! Thanks, I'm glad this helped you! :)
LOVE this. Especially the bit about money, time, etc., in math. I am finding more and and more can be caught in real life as opposed to distracting from the meat of the subject. Love your posts!!
So true! Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to comment!
OMG! This video is GOLD ❤ thank you so much ❤
You are so welcome! I'm glad this encouraged you!
Amazing video! So helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful.
Thank you! 💛
You're welcome!
Sheri, thank you!! This has been such a reassuring video. Even though I feel the need to ramp up our focus on math facts, it’s not overwhelming. I use Singapore Math too, and that was a really helpful overview at the end. SM doesn’t tell you to work on math facts so that caught me off guard with my oldest… he’s in 4th grade and I definitely have felt like I’m a blind guide at times!
You're welcome. :) Oh good, I'm glad to hear that! I'm glad this reassured you. Keep up the good work you are doing!
I just found your channel. You are amazing. I just had our 9th baby and feel like Im drowning, consistency is a huge issue for me. Im so excited to read and watch through your content. We also use AO and have loved it but know we need to do something different, because i just cant keep up with it for everyone. So im really looking forward to watching your videos.
Congrats. I have felt the same way. My fifth is now almost 2. You could try unschooling for a season. For me personally my kids learning to read, write and do math is the most important, and reading the Bible most days. They don't need all the other busy work. Maybe you can have them read to each other, do flash cards with each other, and copy a passage from Scripture or another book. When you're in survival mode just do the basics. And don't put everything on your shoulders. You probably have older kids that can help. I hope things get easier in the months to come. God Bless.
I'm so glad you found my channel. Thanks for watching. Nice to meet you. :)
I have felt like I'm drowning many times...especially after a new baby.
I did a video on how I have adapted Ambleside Online with our big family. I'll link it for you.
th-cam.com/video/vkuMbP8OiEc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_YVsaNgOPXqKxlea
Very good video. Thank you.
You're welcome! 😊
Omgoodness.....God is so good!! I really needed this video! Thank you so much! My child is very smart but is hesitant about wanting to learn math. This is our first year officially homeschooling and I'm not great with math but I'm so excited to "learn" it again myself and I really think it will help improve my math skills too. You have given me some great ideas and most importantly, what order I need to do things in. The last thing I want to do is put the cart before the horse and cause confusion 🙁. I also want to share a tip with you that I discovered and am excited about! I use a plastic sheet protector with a dry erase marker to place over the page in a book. That way we can erase and do the same material over and over again. The book could be reused for another child in the future. This is super cheap and cost-effective and my child loves to use dry erase markers!❤
Ok...somebody must have been praying! He did such fearless excellent work in math today (2days later) it blew my mind! Lol! Thank you!!
Quick suggestion if staining has been an issue (it was for us no matter what brand)...wet erase rather than dry. Vis-a-Vis Expo markers, specifically. It'll stain any rag you use to wipe it, but at least the sheet/board will be clean.
Yes! Thank you! I usually use a paper towel and occasionally clean it down with rubbing alcohol.@@katie7748
So glad you found this at the right time! Love the idea about the plastic sheet protector. Thanks for sharing. :)
Could you do a similar video on how to teach the phonics rules and sight words sort of concepts? My child always gets really upset with learning these (as it’s often repetitive and out of context) and I need more ideas on how to make it fun/or more gentle.
Yes please! Would love this content as well!
I've heard good things about Phonics Zoo (IEW) but have not used it. All About Spelling/Reading might work.
Here is a video I did on how I teach phonics and reading with Bob Books. I have a companion guide to teaching Bob Books ($8) on my website that I have used to teach eight of our ten kids to read. It's very simple and has worked well with all of our kids. I'll link the video for you.
th-cam.com/video/jLGNTLVpVtk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=u9MHcMjH7WknwTr4
@@OurLifeHomeschoolingthank you for sharing this. Sometimes I'm also riddled with guild asking myself again and again whether we learn enough, while all we need is to be consistent and make progress daily
@@dessymonica6957 Yes, so true!
I would love to hear your thoughts on teaching language arts. With this being my first year homeschooling I need more direction on what all the necessary components are. I have second grade twins and they both learn so differently with one being neurodivergent. I have been hung up between using 2 curriculums for each and it just gets confusing. I wish I knew how to simplify and focus on what really matters in this area of learning. I absolutely love this video on math!! It makes me happy to know I am implementing a lot of your strategies!
Oh good! I'm glad this helped you!
I have done several posts/videos on how we teach language arts. I'll link one below for you. I spend a lot of time reading aloud. I let our kids learn to read slowly at their own pace. We do copywork and (oral) narration from the beginning. I don't start a formal language program until 4th grade. Copywork and narration cover SO much. They are a hidden gem, in my opinion, highly underestimated by many educators.
I personally think it would be a lot to try to use two different language arts curriculums. I would use just one and try to modify it to meet each of their needs.
Our Curriculum
ourlifehomeschooling.com/2022/10/17/our-large-family-homeschool-curriculum/
How high up do your high schoolers go in math?
Our oldest son went up to Pre-Calculus and Trig. Our second son is in Algebra 2 and hasn't decided what he will do next. For our daughter who does not like math, she will probably do consumer math after she finishes Geometry this year.
Do you thin it would be too late to start SM for a 5th grader? We have been doing TGATB but he just isn’t retaining and getting enough practice to make a solid foundation for the concepts
Not at all. If your curriculum isn't meeting your needs, definitely switch. I'm not against changing curriculums, I just like to remind moms of the benefits of sticking with a curriculum over time, especially for math. But if you think some thing is missing or is not working in curriculum, I would switch.
Thank you for responding! Every time you post I get so excited! Your experience and wisdom is so inspiring that I find myself wanting to glean all that I can!
Would Singapore, in particular, be a good choice for starting at a 5th grade level? I’m nervous to dive into it but math is so foundational that I don’t want to keep going down the same path when I know he isn’t mastering the concepts.
I thought you used Beast Academy and would discuss that aspect of your homeschooling. Why did you choose to leave that out? Any future content plans concerning this?
I'm not familiar with Beast Academy. We have only used Right Start Math and Singapore.
I'm homeschooling my teenage grandson who has a learning "difference" so math and spelling are both a struggle..it's a whole other level of hard when you add in that factor. It's hard
I've got multiple kids with dyslexia and dyscalcula. It is so hard with those struggles. We are just trying to get them through what they can. Trying to set them up with the basics that they will really need in life.
I'm sure that adds some difficulty. I would aim for progress and using common sense about what's important and what's ok to leave out. I hope you can find some good solutions.
❤❤❤
❤
I just thrifted a book haul of 194 books for 27 dollars for my book giveway at applebees( 3701 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie, LA 70002). I am the host there. I have given away over 2900 books for babies kids teens and adults in 10 months. Let's get this generation reading❤
Your talking to me 😭
I hope this helped you!