{Review} Stinky Kid Math

Over the past few months we've been re-evaluating how math is taught in our homeschool. Amber was no longer thriving with our previous system and we decided to try alternate learning methods, including online math programs.  We were given the chance to review the unique math website, Stinky Kid Math. Specifically, we were given a 6 month subscription to the whole Stinky Kid Math website.

Stinky Kid Math is a website which uses video lessons, reinforcement worksheets, books, and math games to teach the mathematical concepts. Stinky Kid Math is designed to be more of a mathematics help than a full curriculum, although you could structure it to function as a full math curriculum with some creativity.

The Stinky Kid Math website is somewhat limited in the topics it covers and is geared toward middle school and high school age students. It covers Foundational Algebra (pre-algebra / algebra 1), Complex Algebra (algebra 1 & algebra 2), and Geometry.  The user can choose to watch the video lessons in order by selecting from the sequential lessons list and then go forward. The lessons can also be selected by drilling down through the menu system by topic. This menu access method is especially useful if the student needs help with only select math concepts.

Once down to the lowest level of a topic, all videos corresponding to the concept are available along with all additional materials. Some topics have more supplemental material than others. Particularly interesting is the book option that provides a written explanation of the concepts for those who need more information than provided in the video lessons.

When viewing a lesson, all related worksheets, books and games are again linked on the right side of the screen. This design saved us so much clicking when looking for the additional resources related to a single topic.

Let's talk about the videos themselves for a minute. These are not your run of the mill math videos. First, they are set in unexpected and sometimes goofy locations.  A live instructor goes over the topic using a dry erase or chalk board using clear explanations. The lessons are definitely not boring and can be quite entertaining, however, the mathematical content is not diminished. The video lessons run, in our experience, anywhere from 5 to 12 minutes per topic. Just long enough to teach the concept, but not so long as to bore the student and lose their focus.

How did we use Stinky Kid Math?
We decided to use it as a supplement to reinforce and explain some of the more confusing topics in late Algebra 1 and early Algebra 2. After ensuring Amber understood the interface, I asked if there were any math topics she would like to review. She immediately had a couple of concerns from recent lessons where she was not entirely confident of her understanding. She searched through the topic list and found what she needed.

I let Amber take control of which lessons she wanted to watch and how much work she wanted to do for those lessons. After watching the first few videos, I did ask for feedback. Amber said these made more sense than any online math program that she has tried, and definitely put her on the right track to more confidence with the concepts.

After viewing the lessons Amber willingly went to the correlating worksheet link and was able to work some practice problems, which she commented were very well designed and appropriate. This is high praise, indeed. The worksheets are viewable directly through the browser with a PDF plugin, however the worksheets can also be downloaded and printed for easier use - which is exactly what Amber did. The worksheet answer key is also viewable / downloadable from the same screen as the original worksheet. The answer keys are displayed in a font to make them look handwritten and show all the procedures needed to solve the problems.

Amber also spent some time playing a couple of the math games. They are not specific to individual lessons, instead based on broad concepts. One is a simple integer game that reinforces arithmetic. Another is a fraction / decimal conversion game similar to Bejeweled. There are also a couple of geometry based games. For Amber, the games were a nice addition, but not what has kept her coming back to this website. She truly enjoys the video lessons and find the practice problems to be extremely helpful.

If you are looking for an engaging way to help with troublesome or weak Algebra and Geometry concepts, then Stinky Kid Math is the website for your student!

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Connect with Stinky Kid Math on social media:

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/StinkyKidMath
Twitter- http://twitter.com/StinkyKidMath

Visit other members of the Review Crew for their experiences with this unique online math product!

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Knowing When to Embrace Change

It's not everyone who can say their child is good at math. Even fewer people can say their child likes and understands math without much effort. Yet our daughter is one of those kids who breezes through math like it is no big thing. At least she was before dysautonomia. 

Even with a chronic illness, Amber still comprehends math concepts easily and actually finds the lessons interesting. But with dysautonomia came a new level of anxiety and math suddenly pushed Amber over her daily stress threshold, by a mile. It didn't seem to matter what I did to help, math assignments triggered anxiety which then led to dysautonomia flares. I even quit grading Amber's math exercises and eventually her math tests allowing her to check her own answers with the agreement she would ask for help when it was needed.

Through it all the one thing I was unwilling to compromise on was our choice in math curriculum. Even when Amber had been in parochial school she used Saxon Math. It was all she knew. It was all I planned for her to know as I own the entire set through Calculus. Amber did well in Saxon and I was pleased with the rigorous lessons. I had no need to explore other math options. 

Clinging to the idea of using Saxon Math all the way through high school, despite the obvious problems, seems ridiculous in hindsight. Math disrupted our entire school day. Amber dreaded math to the point she worried all day the next subject would be math. It wasn't that she didn't understand, but the work drained her mentally and physically. We could choose to have a math lesson or three other subjects. Given the options, we often skipped math. However, this caused Amber to worry she wasn't learning enough math either. 

My husband and I both went into science fields that required advanced mathematics, actually, it doesn't get much more advanced than what we took. We were both the product of public schools and have no clue what math curriculum either school used, except it wasn't Saxon. So, a pretty solid argument could be made that Amber doesn't need Saxon Math for a future in science, if she chooses. Still, it wasn't until Amber announced her intention to emphasize language that I felt even remotely safe leaving Saxon Math. 

Thankfully I did come to my senses. If the difficulty had been in any other subject, we would long ago have researched another curriculum. I immediately stopped all math lessons to Amber's immediate and obvious relief. I then let her sample various options and provide input. We made a list of features to avoid and a list we wanted included in a math curriculum. 

For now we are using Life of Fred with some other supplements as necessary. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was Amber's. She willingly completes her math assignments and doesn't have any adverse reactions to the subject. Amber is actually enjoying math again and can demonstrate an acceptable level of understanding. I'm satisfied. After all, isn't the point to encourage a love of learning and facilitate comprehension?

I was almost afraid to admit we had abandoned Saxon Math after being such huge proponents of the curriculum. I'm still a believer in its methods although I've always agreed it wasn't a perfect fit for everyone. It just took a while to acknowledge it no longer suited my child. Perhaps next time a change is needed it won't take me quite so long to embrace it. 

{Review} CTC Math

We've been desperately searching for math education products to use with Amber for Algebra 1 and forward. Recently we were offered the opportunity to review the 12 Month Family Plan of CTC Math, which is an online tutorial math program.

CTC Math is a comprehensive program with courses from Kindergarten all the way through calculus.  Each course is broken down into streams, which are then divided further into topics.  The topics then have a varying number of lessons, depending on how many are needed to ensure understanding of the math concept. The program can be used on a computer, or now even on a tablet device, such as an iPad!

What makes this program unique though is the lesson presentation. Instead of videos with an instructor standing before the camera talking through a lesson, CTC Math displays only the math content being taught with a voice over that slowly and clearly explains the topic at hand.  Information for each step in a math problem appears as it is being discussed.

This method makes it extremely easy for the student to go back and rewind the video if they don't fully comprehend the topic. The procedure can be re-watched as many times as necessary.  Each lesson also has a Lesson Summary available to the right of the active lesson screen.  This summary provides bullet points of the main concepts with examples showing all work needed to follow the math procedures.  The Lesson Summaries are even printable!

The individual lessons also have interactive worksheets or question sets available to help the student reinforce their understanding of the topic. The questions are graded by the system, with the complete solutions for the more advanced courses being made available only after the worksheets for a lesson are complete.

Parent administrative area and an Algebra 1 worksheet.

The majority of the topics in each stream also include diagnostic tests where you can choose to use either the Standard Test or the Comprehensive Test.  These are not placement tests, but help to ensure your student is fully understanding the topics. These test results, awards earned, and scores from lessons completed are all accessible by the student at any time through a link to Awards & Reports. 

All of the lessons are available through a student login only, while the parent login is where student accounts are created.  The parents have the ability to set the passing grade for each student separately.  Parents also can view certificates, reports, and activity for each student.  There is even an option to have the system email weekly reports to the parents. 

Our Experience:
Amber has always been overly resistant to any type of online math. She had no desire to even try online products when I've brought them up before. Now we are both trying to keep an open mind during our search for more suitable math options. She was very willing to give CTC Math a try, especially since this was not just recorded lessons with a teacher talking.

Right away we encountered one of the huge benefits of the CTC Math structure. Amber was able to select lessons, not just topics, in any order she wished! This is huge for us since she had mostly completed Algebra 1 with another curriculum. CTC Math does not require passing grades or even attempting previous lessons before selecting another.

(Right) Menu system of a course, and drill down into a topic with completed lessons.
(Left) More worksheets and a lesson

It did take us a full lesson period to decide where Amber might need to start within CTC Math. Amber had clearly already covered some of the major topics while others she was unsure of the nomenclature. The diagnostic tests were very help in deciding which topics Amber had sufficiently covered in her previous curriculum. This gave us a place to start in our second session. We did decide to go straight forward with the CTC Math lessons and not try to match them with another product Amber was also testing at the time.

Amber says the presentation of these video lessons with both the auditory and the visual aspects make it so much easier for her to understand even on some of her lower cognitive days. Not to mention she likes the accent of "the voice" conducting the lessons. Amber honestly didn't expect to like CTC Math at all, but cooperated with me since I was so kind to search out new math options for her.  In the end, she loves CTC Math and willingly completes more than is asked.

Instead of math being a chore, Amber honestly enjoys the worksheet assignments too. Even though some of the questions on the Algebra 1 worksheets require a little bit of computation, Amber was pleased she did not need to show her work to turn in an answer. The worksheets contain an answer bank from which to select your final answer.  There are always more answers than questions, but by using the answer bank it makes it easier to work with mathematical notation.

(top)A sample of the student report screen (poor Amber, it looks like she did poorly on one diagnostic test because I used it to play around with the system)
(Bottom) And... one of Amber's awards

Overall we are extremely pleased with CTC Math and excited to keep using it for the duration of our 12 month subscription.  We have made it part of our current math line-up in conjunction with another program though, since we both feel it's not quite rigorous enough at the upper levels as a stand alone product. Still, we highly recommend CTC Math for any age student, but especially those who have struggled with math in other programs.

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Connect with CTC Math on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ctcmath

Please check out what other members of the Review Crew thought of versatile CTC Math.

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Visiting Narnia

This has been an amazing week for Amber especially considering the week prior.  Our weather stabilized and her body is recovering.  She is still having some trouble and more exhaustion than normal.  Her brain isn't functioning well in the evenings either, but we had a fantastically productive school week with a great attitude toward school.

After such a rough few weeks it would have been normal for Amber to fear activity since it could trigger another difficult time.  Thankfully, she understands the need to be active and keep her body going.  Some days it meant pushing much farther past where she was comfortable, but it also is contributing to her increased stamina.  We walk such a fine line here; what will increase her stamina and what will cause a flare of symptoms?

(top) An extremely tired girl, but she accomplished a lot that day.  Alpha kitty, Biscotti, doing the unheard of: asking for belly rubs!
(bottom) What's that I see under Amber's bed?  Oh... it's just Milori and Rosetta.

The majority of our lessons this week revolved around language in some format. Amber worked quite a bit with her Greek Morphemes and Cover Story writing.  She spent a lot of her free time in a creative writing project of her own.  We've finally been able to make some decent progress in German this week and we added weekly writing assignments to German along with the curriculum workbook.  Even history included quite a bit of writing; it's just the way the assignments fell for the week. 

Despite the heavy emphasis on language, Amber did get through a couple of lessons in Geology without doing the experiments.  She's not all that interested in the experiments this time around and honestly, I'm finding them a bit forced.  We'll complete some of the more interesting experiments when the weather is conductive for it, but otherwise I'm just going to let her do the book work for science at this point.

(top-left) Timeline work. (bottom-left) Engrossed in writing. (Right) New math book and beginning her first lesson.

Tuesday was an exciting day when Amber's new math book arrived.  We are giving Life of Fred - Algebra 1 a try.  I have some concerns about the completeness of this book, but Saxon is causing Amber so much anxiety that her body can't tolerate.  I really didn't realize how much stress Saxon was causing until we completely gave up on it for a couple of weeks. The change in Amber's attitude and endurance once math was taken out of her school day was unbelievable.  I so much dislike admitting it, but Saxon is not working for Amber at this point.

I'm not sure we will stick with Life of Fred and are investigating our options.  However, the first few LOF lessons went well and Amber didn't report any stress over the topic.  I guess our real test will be when she catches up to new content in Life of Fred and it's not all a review of what she already learned in Saxon.  If you have any suggestions for math programs that are not on the computer (Algebra 1 and up), then I'd love to hear about them and your experience. Amber is still not enthusiastic about computer / online math programs, but is willing to consider them on a case by case basis.

Narnia capes.  Amber's is the silver one.

Today is Amber's dress rehearsal for the co-op drama class' performance of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Please pray that Amber has the energy and strength to make it through both dress rehearsal and the play tomorrow evening.  She's playing Susan, one of the four children who visit Narnia from our world.  I spent last weekend and some evenings this week finishing Amber's costumes and the royal capes for the other characters.   I finished everything with more than an entire day to spare before the final drama class and with several days to spare before dress rehearsal.      

Yesterday was that final drama class and the last of all the co-op classes for this school year.  Amber was excited because the last class meant it was almost time for the play, yet she was also sad as it meant the end of all her classes until August.  She will have to make an effort to organize events to see her friends now and no more fun class times.  I was entirely relieved to be finished with class preparations, while sad too since many of the kids I won't have in class again next year.  I'm only teaching middle school / high school German next year so I'll miss out on the fun times with the younger group.

(left) Last day of 7th grade co-op classes.  (right) First day of 7th grade co-op classes!

This weekend is going to be entirely crazy, but thankfully its the last such one for a while. As much as I'd like to pretend we will start back strong with lessons on Monday, I know it will be a bit of a lazy, recovery day.  I'm definitely going to take advantage of having our co-op day free again for lessons at home.

Happy Weekend!

Linking With:

 

The Math Dilemma

This has been a week of video learning, reading, crafts, and language. I didn't even try to schedule lesson plans for this week, but took each day as it came. Amber is definitely in a flare of her symptoms and we had to visit her GI doctor this week to jump start the intestines. They are still uncooperative, but not as unresponsive. 

Wednesday Amber spent the entire day sleeping or eating. Literally. However, it worked and she was more functional on Thursday at co-op classes. Her body simply had hit its limit of activity during a dysautonomia flare. She had been quite active the past several weeks with too few rest days between the events.

Even though the schooling was mostly random and unplanned, Amber did accomplish a good amount with some of our favorite resources:

• Crash Course
• Morphemes
• CNN student news
• Doodle Crate

Last weekend we surprised our nephew (but his parents knew) with a visit on his 4th birthday! We even brought his beloved Grandma with us.  It was an afternoon of fun and just chilling on the floor. 

Morphemes continues to be a huge hit here. There is a Latin version of the same curriculum that we are considering for next year. It's also Amber's portable subject of choice. It easily travels wit us to doctors' appointments and in car rides. This week she worked on the morphemes at the allergist, in the GI waiting room, and even in the exam room. 

Amber caught up on Crash Course Astronomy by watching the most recent four videos, and found some Renaissance history episodes she missed earlier. Then we found Crash Course Physiology episodes on the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and the sympathetic nervous system.  These topics were perfect for Amber as it's her ANS that's broken. The episodes even explained the ganglia and how they work. Since the doctors suspect Amber has autoimune autonomic ganglionopathy, this was good for her to watch. It explained it better than I ever have.

Amber has been receiving Doodle Crate for several months now, but had fallen behind in using her kits. This week she made more ink stamps with her dad, and worked on the sculpting project from a couple months ago.  She is is anxious to use the newest kit to make her own paper and book, but we ran out of time and energy. Amber also pulled out one of her unused latch hook kits and worked a whole evening on it. 

Doodle Crate sculpting, Sally Lunn bread, and Ritz crackers.

In case you missed it, our review of Orphs of the Woodlands, Amber's very favorite online learning tool, is finally out! This is a fabulous product and Amber can't wait for the next book to be released so she can visit the Woodlands again. Check it out! 

This week I successfully tried a few new recipes for Amber. I've wanted to make gluten free Ritz crackers forever, but kept putting it off. In my opinion they taste appealing, yet somehow not really like a Ritz. Amber says they taste exactly like a Ritz, at least how she remembers them. At any rate they were a success. I also made a new yeasted bread - Sally Lunn batter bread. I'm not the best with yeasted breads, yet this worked out perfectly. Even the crust is right. Finally, a bread I can make. 

Amber and I have been having difficult discussions about math and are reconsidering our curriculum. This breaks my heart because she is so gifted in math; there has yet to be a concept she does not easily understand in algebra. She's not having trouble with her assignments nor her tests. However, on rough days math makes her feel so overwhelmed it triggers anxiety and causes a cascading effect of additional symptoms. Working 30 repetitive problems takes so much energy and is killing any interest she has in the math topics. 

To keep Amber's anxiety lower, we skip math on some of her more difficult days.  In reviewing her logged school hours we noticed she has missed math fairly often recently. Realistically, for at least the near future, we need a better math plan than just hoping she feels up to math some day soon. 

Morphemes on the way to and at the GI doctor.  Crash Course in bed resting.  The dreaded orthostatic testing we do as part of regular neurology updates.  Her numbers were weird this week.

We love Saxon Math.  Amber has insisted she can stick with Saxon and somewhat fears changing from the only math curriculum she's ever known. Still, we had a very frank discussion this week and after research have decided to give something else a brief trial. If it doesn't help her successfully complete more content with sufficient understanding of the concepts, then we simply go back to Saxon and shorten required problem sets. 

I was reluctant to even consider switching math programs in the past for fear Amber wouldn't have the mathematical base needed for a possible future in science, if she so desired.  Amber has recently decided the reason she could never pick a science area of interest is because she's not a science person after all.  It also explains why she isn't too upset when we skip a science experiment. While we will ensure Amber continues advanced math over the coming years, her decision has freed us from the crippling math worry and opened more possibilities to meet Amber's learning needs. 

This weekend I'm sewing like a mad women to finish Narnia costumes. Our last week of co-op is coming up, which means the play is next weekend. Amber is at the end of her energy and we are squeezing every last bit out trying to make it past the performance.  Wish us luck next week.

Happy Weekend!

Linking With:

 

Logically Speaking: Math, Science, and Logic for 7th Grade

Welcome to the second week of the 2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts and Minds and Laura @ Day By Day In Our World  This week the topic is Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science.   These are some of the favorite subjects in our house, but also it seems that they can be difficult topics to find the right curriculum fit. 

Math has always been a no brainier for us as Amber has used Saxon math since her very first years in parochial school and we continue to use it at home. I know it's not for everyone, but Amber has a mathematically wired brain and she does exceptionally well with Saxon. This 7th grade year she is in Algebra 1 and earning high school credit for it too.  However, we are a little off a standard school year schedule with math because Amber's dysautonomia causes severe brain fog and exhaustion some days.

At her current level if we did a book a year she would finish Saxon calculus at the end of 10th grade (maybe 11th grade if we spend 2 years on Advanced Math as recommended by Art Reed).  This means we still have at least a whole extra year and can spend slightly more than one school year per Saxon book. We are using the 3rd edition of Saxon math which still has integrated analytical geometry in Algebra 2 and Advanced Math, unlike the newer 4th edition which requires the inclusion of a separate Geometry book. Using the 3rd edition also helps us find the breathing room Amber needs. 

Lately, science has been a struggle for Amber, which is unexpected for this science minded family. Amber could not trudge through our previous curriculum even though it was covering her favorite science topics and she previously did well with curriculum by the same author. The style simply no longer suited Amber's physical abilities or learning style. There was too much reading and writing with too little hands on work to compensate. 

Bed School Math, Working on her Weather Log, and reading her weather book.   
Our new Science curriculum.

We were scheduled to have finished the current science topic by October so we could move on to the Chemistry book in the same series and then start Physics by August of 8th grade.  That didn't happen by a long shot. In late October we did a curriculum search and selected Real Science 4 Kids Focus on Middle School:  Astronomy and Geology sets. Then for good measure I bought the Apologia Physical Science that we decided to use next year, just in case we prefer to start early. 

We then spent the remainder of first semester on a mom-planned weather unit, complete with field trip to a NWS office, since Amber is currently interested in becoming a meteorologist.  It was a good way to decompress and get Amber interested in science as a school subject again. I knew something was terribly wrong when she dreaded science and the topic was astronomy! It goes to show how having a curriculum meet your child's specific learning style is so important. Unfortunately for me my child's learning style is changing as her condition progresses. 

In previous years we've successfully used a logic curriculum from The Critical Thinking Company called Building Thinking Skills and we do somewhat miss it. I did purchase the next level, Critical Thinking, and intended for Amber to start it last January.  We never got past the first lesson.  There is just no time in Amber's schedule for sleep, doctors, food, absolutely necessary subjects, flute, 1/2 day of co-op enrichment classes, and formal logic. I've still got the logic books and we'll pull them out when the time feels right.  For now our logic consists of the chess strategy class Amber took at co-op last semester, logic games, and the occasional brain teaser.  This past week while still on a school break Amber has been working her way through the Professor Layton 3DS games and she loves it. It's a relaxing way to keep her brain active and engaged without the stress or formality of book work.

Logic Games

This is how math, science and logic work in our school this 7th grade year. We are always adjusting and changing to meet the needs and current learning style of our girl.  If you are interested in a more detailed explanation you can view my 7th Grade Curricula page.

Come back next week to see how we have completely reworked our history lessons this year to still be literature based, but include more project and media learning. 

Other Weeks from the 2015 Curriculum Fair

Please check out how the other members of the 2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair are Discovering Patterns with their children.

• Learning about Patterns in Our World Through Math and Science by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
• Relaxed Homeschooling: Mathematics in the Early Elementary Years by Brittney @ Mom's Heart
• Using a Bible-Based Math Curriculum by Tauna M @ Proverbial Homemaker
• Math, Science and Logic for 2015 by Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses
• Playing with Numbers by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
• Unschooling Science by Kristen H. @ Sunrise to Sunset
• Logically Speaking: Math, Science, and Logic for 7th Grade  by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
• Numbers and Molecules! by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
• Math and Science in Our Homeschool by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
• 5 Math & Logic Resources We Love by Becky @ Milo & Oats
• Giving Your Kids The Right Start With Math by Amy @ One Blessed Mamma
• Math in Our Classical / Charlotte Mason Homeschool by Sharra @ The Homeschool Marm
• Classical STEM by Lisa @ Golden Grasses
• Math, Science and Logic - How do we Tackle Them? by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
• The Physics of Delight-Directed Learning by Susan @ The Every Day of Education
• Tackling High School Science by Debra @ Footprints in the Butter
• Choosing Math Curriculum for Special Learners by Heather @ Only Passionate Curiosity
• Math for all ages by Denise @ Fullnest
• Middle School Monday - Math With Fred by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
• Learning With Math and Science Resources  by Leah @ As We Walk Along the Road

If you'd like to join the fair this week, use the linky below.

http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=483987

Some graphics created using elements from StoryRock

How We Tackle Middle School Math, Logic & Science

This week for the Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted at Homeschooling Hearts and Minds the topic is Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science. To be honest, this is right up my alley. This is my area of degree as well as my husband's. Amber also shows an affinity for these subjects and we work with that in our homeschool.

For Mathematics, Amber has always used Saxon Math and as far as I can tell she always will. She even used it in parochial school prior to being homeschooled. I know there is ongoing controversy over Saxon versus other math programs and I completely understand that Saxon just doesn't work for everyone. My child is one of those that fits perfectly with the Saxon method.

If you aren't at all familiar with Saxon, I'll give a super quick summary. It is a spiral math program where tests are every four or five lessons, depending on the level. To truly make Saxon work the student needs to do every lesson and every question. This is a definite issue for some people.

One of my favorite resources for Mathematics and for guidance in using Saxon is Art Reed's Saxon Homeschool Support website, UsingSaxon.com.   If you have any questions about Saxon, he is the place to go. Besides the free newsletters, he has teaching DVDs and books. He also offers free email and phone support even if you don't use his products.  I've never used any of his purchasable products, but I never miss a newsletter.

Logic is another topic we choose to include in our homeschool. We formally began using a logic curriculum a year ago, half way through 5th grade.  It took over a month of searching, reading blogs & forums, and going through sample curriculum before I selected products from the Critical Thinking Company.  We started with Building Thinking Skills, Level 3 Figural.  There is also a Level 3 Verbal.  Amber is a figural thinker, so that is the way we went.

Originally I thought Building Thinking Skills would be too easy for Amber since it just looked like a bunch of logic puzzles that she could zip right through and it pretty much was in the beginning.  However, the book progressively became more difficult over time and taught Amber how to think more logically. The curriculum does not hand-hold you through the questions, so it really requires you to understand the concept.  Amber completely surprised me with her crazy visual-spatial skills. I had no idea that she was so adept with visual puzzles when they are my downfall.

Amber completed Building Thinking Skills, Level 3 in two semesters and is now moving on to Critical Thinking, Book 1 which is also from the Critical Thinking Company.  This curriculum is more like the standard logic course I took in college, but directed at a younger age group.  It does teach the "or", "and", "if-then" items as well as common reasoning errors, propaganda techniques, advertising and schemes.   What I love about the setup of this series is that it is designed to utilize mostly class discussion instead of sending the student off to figure out logic on their own.  There is a main book and an answer key.  The main book is written more to the teacher.  It is definitely not something you hand your child and expect them to come back knowing logic.  Actually, I don't plan on giving Amber either book. We plan to follow the suggested discussion methods and then let her work the few independent problems.

The last portion of today's topic is Science, or more precisely the math-y sciences. In our homeschool, we do not necessarily start our science curriculum at the beginning of a new school year. It is one of the subjects we choose to continue through each summer.  This school year Amber finished biology in very late November, however we waited until January to start our new topic.   The biology curriculum will be discussed in a later post, but our current, brand new, science curriculum is Earth Science and Astronomy for the Logic Stage by Elemental Science. 

Experiment to determine the speed of light using the microwave's wavelength. Melting the chocolate bar (without the turning) creates two heat spots that represent half the wavelength.

Using a classical model (mostly) for our school fits our family perfectly, most of the time.  Unfortunately, the format described for science in books like The Well Trained Mind just does not cut it for us.  Amber wants more from her science, and honestly, I want more for her.  We've tried BJU science and it was okay, but still not what we wanted.  We are totally happy to have found Elemental Science.  It is written to utilize the classical teaching method, but applied to the sciences.

The curriculum uses several age appropriate encyclopedias and other reference books as the main reading for each week.  The student is encouraged to take notes, make an outline, or write a narrative summary on their reading.  There are experiments provided for each week of the curriculum, even if some of them are a little bit simplistic.  The curriculum also includes definitions, timeline dates, and sketches with each lesson.  All of the Logic Stage science curriculum from Elemental Science is designed to use the same format, just with different topics.  We love that we know how science will work for us each week even if we are changing topics.

The curriculum also provides a weekly sample schedule which allows for science 5 days or 2 days a week.  In the past we have mashed together the two schedules to make a 3 day science week. With this new topic, we are going to try longer sessions only 2 days per week. 

That's a short tour of our homeschool's mathematics and related subjects.   We are pleased with the success that Amber has in each subject, as well as how smoothly each curriculum fits into our educational style.

Come back next week to read how we implement history and learn more about our biology experience.

Please visit these other great homeschool bloggers who are also participating in this year's Virtual Curriculum Fair:
 

Our {almost} FREE 2nd and 4th Grade Math Program by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Supercharged Science's Mathemagic  by Kristi K. @ The Potter’s Hand Academy

Math & Logic Resources by Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses

How We Tackle Middle School Math, Logic & Science by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

 A Peek into our Homeschool: Math & Logic by Brittney @ Mom's Heart

Math and Logic: Patterns and Reasoning by Leah@As We Walk Along the Road

2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair: Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science by Stacie @Super Mommy To The Rescue

Virtual Curriculum Fair: The World of Patterns and Logic by Joelle

Discovering Science & Math w/ Apologia & Saxon  by LynnP @ Ladybug Chronicles

Make Math Fun: Your Kids Will Thank You by Tauna @ Proverbial Homemaker

Our Curriculum Choices 2014 ~ Mathematics by Renata @ Sunnyside Farm Fun

My Favorite Math For Boys by Monique @ Living Life and Learning

Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science in our Classical Homeschool by Sharra @ The Homeschool Marm

Homeschool Math Choices for a Future Scientist or Computer Programmer by Amy @ Eclectic Homeschooling

Math--Our Four Letter Word by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

If I Knew Then What I Know Now by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

Godly Patterns in Homeschooling by LisaN@Golden- Grasses

Math and Science anyone? by Michele@ Family, Faith and Fridays

My 7 Favourite Math Resources by Kim @ Homestead Acres

Basic Instincts by Chelli @ The Planted Trees

Getting My Teens Ready for Algebra by Debra @Footprints in the Butter

Math We Love by Laura @ Four Little Penguins

2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair ~ Math & Science by Jennifer @ a glimpse of our life

Our Take on Math, the Elementary Years - Charlotte Mason-style by HillaryM @ Our Homeschool Studio</ p>

Tackling Math and Science from Multiple Angles by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Learning Together

Another week, and I am going to sound like a broken record again.  Amber felt pretty good on Saturday and Sunday, but the stomach / intestinal problems returned Sunday evening.  Thankfully, she started feeling better again yesterday (Thursday), so it wasn't a whole week long episode this time.

We did complete a moderate amount of school this week, even if we postponed the scheduled field trip to the planetarium on Thursday.  Amber was starting to feel better, but walking around for any length of time just wasn't an option for her.

Sunday, playing two-square before she started the latest episode of problems.

Wednesday, Amber took the final test of the Astronomy unit in science (100%) and has now officially completed 5th grade science!! Yay, Amber.  We are taking a week off from most subjects next week for standardized testing, and then Amber will start up the following week with her 6th grade science topic - Biology.  We decided to run with Biology in Spring, Summer and Fall.  We hope to finish it before Christmas, so that we can move on to something we both enjoy more.  It also makes it easier to obtain the plants and critters needed for the biology experiments if it's not the dead of winter.

Today, we got a much earlier start to school than normally allowed on sensory therapy Fridays.  My car was completely dead when we tried to leave, so Amber started work on her three tests while I arranged for things to be done with my poor car.  Thankfully, we live but 5 minutes from the Volvo dealership and my father-in-law has a charger that was able to juice up my car enough to start.
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Reading and walking.  I made her pause for this picture.  We see her do this a lot.

We finished the history unit on World War II, at least the unit that deals directly with the war itself.  The next unit is on the aftermath of the war, and beginnings of the cold war.  Amber found WWII far more interesting than I ever have, and choose to do a lot of supplemental reading on the topic.  She, of course, aced that test as well.

Amber is also into the all important last five tests in Saxon Math 7/6.  Her grades on theses tests will determine her placement for next year.  All year, so far, she has gotten an A on every math test.  I'm hoping she can keep it up so that we can move forward with Algebra 1/2. However, if the last part of this year stumps her, then she will need to take the slower route through Saxon 8/7.  I'm getting antsy to purchase curriculum.  I haven't told Amber what determines her placement for next year. It will just stress her knowing about the needed test grades.

More good test scores. 

This week we also did a lot of research together on Celiac disease and how to maintain a gluten free diet.  We have not yet started on the diet, and it will be a few weeks before we do, if we make the switch.  Amber and I discussed what exactly gluten does to your body if you have Celiac, where gluten is found, and how to avoid it.   We even learned that many of our plastic & wood cooking utensils can't be used for non-gluten food as they probably have gluten trapped in them from years of use with gluten filled food.  Bummers.

Amber has been inhaling all her favorite gluten filled foods.  She pretty much doesn't want anything that is naturally gluten free right now.  We've been doing a lot of label reading, learning about how food is processed (over and over), and what the different ingredients really mean.  We've also been looking on product websites to see which of our favorite foods might be gluten free.  We've had some good news and some sad news on those items.  The worst one so far for Amber has been Wheat Thins. There is no hope for those, but she has loved them since she could eat solid food.

School work in the kitchen was more relaxing than her desk, also less walking to get to meals.  She did a lot of work on the couch this week too. 

It was a hard wait for Wednesday to hear the results of Amber's biopsy from last week.  Finally, Wednesday morning the doctor's office called us bright and early.  Amber does have damage in her stomach and intestines, but the cause is unclear.  She had the positive blood test for Celiac, but since the biopsy is unclear the GI doctor has opted to start Amber on Prevacid for a month to see what kind of results it produces.  Sigh.  I take Prevacid, along with several other medications for issues similar to Amber's and for IBS. My medicine cocktail is no longer doing me much good, which does not give us high hopes for Prevacid success in Amber.

Amber was feeling so crummy on Wednesday that she asked to start the gluten free diet instead of Prevacid. Poor thing.  We have decided to heed the doctors request to see how the medication works first.  Though, I do not like this as a long term answer for Amber.  I have to switch medications almost every year at this point, so I can't imagine it will help Amber for very long either.    We both have appointments scheduled at our GI doctors the same week in May and I plan to get answers for us both that week.  We will probably end up gluten free around Mother's Day.  Fun fun.

Biscotti, in his "kitty rug" position. He lays like this a lot and it reminds us of a bear rug.
He's now up to 16 pounds, sleek and still in his "kitty" phase. 

We are so thankful right now that we homeschool.  Amber was talking this week about how much school she would have missed this semester or how badly she would have felt going to school through all these problems.   Instead, we have been able to work at her pace and still have time for the many doctor's appointments.  Technically, Amber fulfilled the state requirements for 5th grade over a month ago, which really takes a load off our minds too.  We'd like her to complete all the scheduled lessons for each subject, but we can be done when needed.

Next week is standardized testing. working on Amber's research paper, and hopefully the postponed field trip.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

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Winter Just Won't Cooperate

Yet another sick week for Amber. We've become a little concerned with the near constant stomach and intestinal problems since January.  She has been miserable since Sunday and still isn't showing signs of getting well.  The pediatrician ran some tests and is sending her on to a GI doctor. That was the main emphasis of our week. Fun.

Amber continued school this week, but not at her usual desk and not as much as I planned. Sadly, she still had more lessons than some other non-sick weeks. At least school helped keep her mind off how crummy she feels. Thank goodness we homeschool, otherwise we'd have been forced to make some tough school attendance decisions this week. 

Amber did manage to attend a couple of her outside activities on Monday, but we quickly found that she didn't have the energy for even one full night of dance. We've been stuck at home since Tuesday except for: a speedy grocery trip by me while Amber had grandparent sitters, a trip for Amber's blood draw, and a single dinner out. Amber was feeling so cooped up that Wednesday evening we took her to the Outback restaurant a mile away. She felt no worse there than at home and was able to "see the world". She is so melodramatic at times.

Contemporary dance class and coloring at Outback.  At least we were out of the house.

This was the first week of fourth quarter and, despite illness, we do have a lot to show for the week - including three completed tests. We officially started World War II in history, and I find my enthusiasm to study this topic waning. Rapidly.  I really want to simply download years worth of WWII information from my brain to Amber's. If only it could work that way. I do remember that I had little formal knowledge of WWII at Amber's age, so I guess she won't suffer terribly if this unit is less spectacular than I intended. 

Amber is currently, this very second, reading Hoodwinked: Deception and Resistance as her introduction to World War II. It looked like a fun way for her to get into the feel of the era while learning specifics about the war.  It's also something she can do in her puny, sickly state.  We will start the more boring factual portion of WWII next week.  I'm still looking for some activities to make it interesting.

Religion lessons. We don't mention them much, but I love the Christ Light curriculum we are using this year.

Ironically, the winter weather we so craved in winter is here now, when we are studying astronomy. Just our luck. We still haven't managed a single star gazing night nor made it to the planetarium. Hopefully, both will happen in the next couple of weeks, but not this weekend as we already are under a winter storm watch for up to 8 inches of snow. Seriously! I love snow, but could it be any more inconvenient?

We continued the mix of our regular curriculum and Solar System lapbook curriculum from Elemental Science. Unfortunately, this lapbook is more busy work than fun to Amber. Bummers.  I will be writing up a review this week, but I'm pretty sure our issues with the curriculum stem from Amber's previous and extensive study of space. She loves space, so much so that she has been independently researching it for years.  Because of her experience, Amber tends to nitpick the details in space books and is easily bored by simple activities that she did long ago.   I will say, even though Amber is a bit too much of a stickler, she has a right to her annoyance when the lapbook curriculum waffles between calling Pluto a planet and not.

Pointing out an error in her science text;
Corrected poem from Solar System lapbook;
Working on solar system lapbook

We continue to love Saxon Math and Amber is gliding through it without any problems, even when sick.  Recently, I haven't even been able to finish teaching the lessons because Amber stops me and finishes the teacher part. Much of the current content is a step up from another similar concept.  Amber had already extrapolated the ideas to the next step on her own and didn't realize we would be covering it again.  So, she is a bit frustrated with the current speed of the lessons.  At least she doesn't feel rushed. Given all this, I still don't know if she will be moving on to Saxon 8/7 or Algebra 1/2 next year, it all depends on this last quarter of math lessons.

The following may seem like a non-sequitur, but lately I have read so much on the different homeschool forums about Saxon math that this topic is on my mind anytime math is mentioned. I never feel comfortable commenting on the boards, so this is my comment to all those forum posts. 

I know there is a lot of opinions on how to use Saxon and I've dutifully read Art Reed's blog / newsletters on Saxon.  I love his insights and they have been extremely helpful to us.  However,  I still have chosen to grade Amber's daily math assignments, even though it is not recommended.  I don't mean I simply correct it, but I give her a grade for the work.  Amber was accustomed to this practice in her parochial school, so it is not something new I've instigated.  While it causes her stress to receive a grade when she didn't put forth as much effort as needed on a particular daily assignment, it does make her feel better that her entire math grade is not solely the 23 tests (20-points each).  Basing a grade on only tests is just asking for full blown test anxiety right there.  I know, I've had it (er, still do, I guess. Just haven't been tested recently).  However, I do weight Amber's grades, with tests being worth 45%, instead of using a simple averaged point system.

That was my little Saxon Math confession.  I grade her daily homework and feel that it is appropriate, even after reading all the recommendations by the professionals.  I'm such a guidelines breaker, who knows what I might do next? 

At lunch Sunday (pre-yucky feeling).  She's distracted and dreaming about her Monday math lessons. Or... she might have been watching a TV in the bar at Longhorn.  I'm going with the Math dream, myself.

In literature, we finally finished Robin Hood!  It was fun, but took a little bit too long for my taste.  We used a Memoria Press study guide for the book, but unfortunately didn't utilize most of the resources it provided.  I will probably skip their study guides in the future because the cost doesn't justify the amount of use it will get.  The comprehension and vocabulary sections were useful and appropriate, just not worth the cost.

Since reading was something Amber could easily do this week, we have made great progress in the next literature selection, Treasure Island.  At first Amber had some difficulty with the wording, simply because she didn't know what many of the words meant.  She told me it seemed very "old timey" in speech.  Now that Amber is through the third section of the book, she is more comfortable with the vocabulary and characters' speech patterns which is allowing her to retain more details about the story.  I hope we can watch a version of Treasure Island when she is done reading, however, I still need to select a version to watch. 

This is how she looked most of the week.  She even had me put up the air-mattress so she could sleep in my room too.

That's a fairly broad summary of our week, but it really was a lot of sitting, reading, math work and napping.  There is still a specific other-than-school stress that is happening here, and I'll eventually get around to discussing it.  Right now, just thinking about nearly gives me a panic attack, and I'm forced to think about it almost daily.  Sigh, just one of those things. 

Have a good weekend, and bring on the late March snow!

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