This Week in Math

This week we are reviewing addition and subtraction using what we know about place value. We are also brushing up on our times tables and skip counting.
The lessons are very open ended and my son loves working math problems, so this is something that he enjoys quite a lot.
I am hoping to keep the math syllabus neat for the possibility of selling it when we are finished.
I copy the problems on to the blackboard or on to graph paper and he works them with a good will.
He can copy the problems as well, but dyslexia causes this to be a bit of a challenge. The writing is a bit slow and it is difficult for him to keep them lined up well for place value accuracy.
We vary what we use to write the problems on. The white board, the computer, the blackboard, paper, his main lesson book, or even a slip of a napkin at the coffee shop. I find that the math work is very portable and fun to do when waiting about town.
My biggest issue is getting him to add from the ones column over. He tends to do this type of problem in his head and then write it out without showing work and beginning with the highest place value spot. I am happy he can work these using mental math, but, in the interest of making good habits for harder math problems in the future, I encourage him to use the proper order and go from right to left when solving these problems.
He loves math and will do math problems for just about as long as I can keep coming up with them.

In Praise of Oak Meadow

We started using the Oak Meadow homeschool curriculum this year with my youngest. I have been homeschooling for quite awhile now, but have always put together our own curriculum. I have never ordered a "boxed" set before. I thought that boxed curriculums were textbook-esque and smacked too much of traditional education to fit us. I also wanted to stay with a Waldorf approach for my son. Oak Meadow started out as a Waldorf school, so it is very much in line with what I was looking for. I also was looking for a way to make better use of my time. With a 5th grader, it is sometimes hard to pull together two customized plans for the children and still have time to work part time, play with the kids, have time for my husband, keep gluten free meals coming and be able to walk through the house. (You get the picture.) I took a deep breath and took the plunge with a "boxed set". We ordered Oak Meadow first grade, and I couldn't be happier with it. The approach and pace is perfect for my family. The lessons incorporate real, living books, lots of arts and crafts, and the curriculum is heavily nature oriented. It has helped me so much to get the educational plans I have for my son in place, but still have time to do the other things that I need to do. Next year, I am planning on switching my daughter to Oak Meadow curriculum. She will be in the 6th grade, and the reviews I could find for the curriculum sound great. My advice to the DIY crew out there, is don't be afraid to try something different. There is so much to be said for putting things together yourself, but also great not to spend your time reinventing the wheel.