Throwback Tuesday: Struggling with Math in our Homeschool
Originally published February 17, 2015 when the boys were 10, 9, & 7. A day that math was causing lots of problems for my older two.
We had a busy day planned today. We were actually going to have karate class today for the first Tuesday in over a month! I asked the boys to pick out some schoolwork to bring in the car with us.
Evan was finished his schoolwork by the time we reached the end of our road. He worked on a page counting by 3's in his math book and a page adding ch- or sh- to the beginning of words in his reading book. He didn't need any help to complete any of the work and he was feeling both happy and proud of himself.
Alec and Ian had both brought a book with them in the car. Ian read another chapter in his Roscoe Riley book while Alec read his Warriors book for the entire car ride. Ian's book is due back soon and he's been planning how much he needs to read each day to be finished by the time the book is due. I think it's an early and rudimentary start to time management and I like to see him planning ahead and setting goals for himself.
Everything was going great... and then he pulled out his math book.
Evan was finished his schoolwork by the time we reached the end of our road. He worked on a page counting by 3's in his math book and a page adding ch- or sh- to the beginning of words in his reading book. He didn't need any help to complete any of the work and he was feeling both happy and proud of himself.
Alec and Ian had both brought a book with them in the car. Ian read another chapter in his Roscoe Riley book while Alec read his Warriors book for the entire car ride. Ian's book is due back soon and he's been planning how much he needs to read each day to be finished by the time the book is due. I think it's an early and rudimentary start to time management and I like to see him planning ahead and setting goals for himself.
Everything was going great... and then he pulled out his math book.
Our wonderful days often come to a screeching halt because of math!
I never minded math and was actually pretty proficient in it. I found Algebra to be both challenging and, dare I say it,-- a little fun?! I liked finding the value of x, or using the foil method. I never understood when I'd use it but I quickly memorized formulas and saw the patterns and connections in what I was being taught.
I can't say I loved math or thought it was the best subject but I don't remember dissolving into tears over every assignment.
Yet I find that more often than not this is what happens with my older two.
Usually when the assignment is over they both agree the tears and anxiety were for nothing but it is often the way the lessons start.
It's so frustrating.
We've tried to many different things to make math less stressful:
They have jumped around from book to book and from page to page mostly working on the same skills for the past few years in fits and spurts.
Now we're starting to cover new material and it's been torturous.
Ian was trying to work on his math book in the car and his first page was just asking him to measure various objects and write down the measurement in inches. It was easy and he was happy.
He then picked a page that dealt with breaking down each inch into halves, quarters, eights, and sixteenths. I thought he'd have no problem with it since he's been working with my husband on using and reading rulers and tape measures. We've also spent the past few months working with fractions; adding them, reducing them, multiplying them, dividing them, etc.
Without even answering more than a single question Ian started getting upset and I could tell that he wasn't even listening to me or any of my explanations.
He kept staring at the book insisting he didn't know any of it and this was too hard. He claims he in incapable of remembering anything about math. I know that's bogus but I was at a loss to help him-- while still DRIVING!
I finally got him to put the book away and told him I would help him later.
Oftentimes I find that just taking a small break and stepping back from the subject that is frustrating us the only thing I can do.
We went to a store or two and finished some of our errands. As we piled back into the car and headed to karate Ian pulled out his book again. He wanted me to help him finish his school work before karate but I told him I couldn't help him until we got home since I was driving and once we arrived at karate it would be time for karate.
He skipped the top section he was stumbling over earlier and completed the entire rest of the page.
On his own!
Without tears!
He then even went back and filled in the top section using the information on the rest of the page to help him. Suddenly he saw the patterns I was trying to explain to him earlier and everything just clicked.
I asked him if he realized that, more often than not, this is his pattern:
I asked if he could just not freak out first but tell himself he CAN do this and have a positive attitude so we can approach math with confidence but he told me he didn't think that was possible.
I really wish he could start to see himself for the bright young boy that he is. I have struggled to keep math fun and incorporate games as often as I can.
It's giving me a headache.
And I haven't even told you about the struggles with Alec's math page dealing with finding area of squares and rectangle.... that required us to apply two digit multiplication. Really I'm thinking double digit multiplication is all I need to say and most of you will know just what I mean.
I was feeling a bit dejected by all the strife over math. It's exhausting!
Ian was busy setting up the Monopoly board while Alec and I were working together Ian asked us to play when we were done. I'm not a huge Monopoly fan but know it's very educational for the kids.
I told Ian that if he wanted to play he had to be the banker since I really didn't want to. He wasn't happy about it but he grudgingly took on the job. Alec was our realtor and both boys spent their time adding, making change, mortgaging properties and carrying out their own transactions. We talked about probability too when Ian kept landing on Go To Jail every time he went around the board (or half around the board as it so happened).
In other words happily applying math... without tears and frustration..
I never minded math and was actually pretty proficient in it. I found Algebra to be both challenging and, dare I say it,-- a little fun?! I liked finding the value of x, or using the foil method. I never understood when I'd use it but I quickly memorized formulas and saw the patterns and connections in what I was being taught.
I can't say I loved math or thought it was the best subject but I don't remember dissolving into tears over every assignment.
Yet I find that more often than not this is what happens with my older two.
Usually when the assignment is over they both agree the tears and anxiety were for nothing but it is often the way the lessons start.
It's so frustrating.
We've tried to many different things to make math less stressful:
- We tried stopping math work completely for a while and just playing math games and having fun with math..
- We turned to workbooks to make sure we were covering all the relevant topics and the boys enjoyed knowing that two pages later they were done.
- We tried reading math stories like Grapes of Math and the Sir Cumference series then planning a follow up activity.
- We tried using online resources like Khan Academy or ABCYa math games.
- We tried an oral math series thinking that it was all the writing that they hated.
They have jumped around from book to book and from page to page mostly working on the same skills for the past few years in fits and spurts.
Now we're starting to cover new material and it's been torturous.
Ian was trying to work on his math book in the car and his first page was just asking him to measure various objects and write down the measurement in inches. It was easy and he was happy.
He then picked a page that dealt with breaking down each inch into halves, quarters, eights, and sixteenths. I thought he'd have no problem with it since he's been working with my husband on using and reading rulers and tape measures. We've also spent the past few months working with fractions; adding them, reducing them, multiplying them, dividing them, etc.
Without even answering more than a single question Ian started getting upset and I could tell that he wasn't even listening to me or any of my explanations.
He kept staring at the book insisting he didn't know any of it and this was too hard. He claims he in incapable of remembering anything about math. I know that's bogus but I was at a loss to help him-- while still DRIVING!
I finally got him to put the book away and told him I would help him later.
Oftentimes I find that just taking a small break and stepping back from the subject that is frustrating us the only thing I can do.
We went to a store or two and finished some of our errands. As we piled back into the car and headed to karate Ian pulled out his book again. He wanted me to help him finish his school work before karate but I told him I couldn't help him until we got home since I was driving and once we arrived at karate it would be time for karate.
He skipped the top section he was stumbling over earlier and completed the entire rest of the page.
On his own!
Without tears!
He then even went back and filled in the top section using the information on the rest of the page to help him. Suddenly he saw the patterns I was trying to explain to him earlier and everything just clicked.
I asked him if he realized that, more often than not, this is his pattern:
- He looks at the math page, starts hyperventilating and getting all upset claiming he can't do it and he doesn't know what to do. I convince him to walk away after getting frustrated myself and trying not to yell at him or tell him the answers.
- He walks away in tears gulping and sobbing, only to come back just a few minutes later and sit down to complete the page.
I asked if he could just not freak out first but tell himself he CAN do this and have a positive attitude so we can approach math with confidence but he told me he didn't think that was possible.
I really wish he could start to see himself for the bright young boy that he is. I have struggled to keep math fun and incorporate games as often as I can.
It's giving me a headache.
And I haven't even told you about the struggles with Alec's math page dealing with finding area of squares and rectangle.... that required us to apply two digit multiplication. Really I'm thinking double digit multiplication is all I need to say and most of you will know just what I mean.
I was feeling a bit dejected by all the strife over math. It's exhausting!
Ian was busy setting up the Monopoly board while Alec and I were working together Ian asked us to play when we were done. I'm not a huge Monopoly fan but know it's very educational for the kids.
I told Ian that if he wanted to play he had to be the banker since I really didn't want to. He wasn't happy about it but he grudgingly took on the job. Alec was our realtor and both boys spent their time adding, making change, mortgaging properties and carrying out their own transactions. We talked about probability too when Ian kept landing on Go To Jail every time he went around the board (or half around the board as it so happened).
In other words happily applying math... without tears and frustration..
Linking up with:
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Another great look back and be able to see just how far you have all come!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's wild that we're nearly done altogether. I'm going to miss homeschooling so much.
DeleteThese are fun to read back on. I'm not a big fan of Monopoly but I can see it is educational!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am not a big Monopoly fan either but they Ian was obsessed with playing it for quite some time. Luckily Alec or my husband were always happy to play so I rarely had to.
DeleteWalking away for a bit is such an excellent strategy! While reading I was struck by how wise you were in those situations! It's so easy to get emotional in your response to a child's frustration (and your own) but, through your actions and theirs, your boys not only learned new math skills but also grew in resilience! And I know how you feel about Monopoly, too!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you so much!
DeleteSo interesting. I loved teaching math in school, but didn't like all the 'new ways' we had to teach it. Love reading about your way to teach homeschool math.
ReplyDeleteYes, some of those new ways were really crazy! I get that they work for some kids and that's why we teach in so many ways but once a kid find something that works we really need to stop insisting they learn more and other or better ways. I that's where a huge portion of Ian's math anxiety stemmed from as he was so bright the school/teacher insisted he needed to learn ALL the ways; not just one... and then he often would get them confused but could tell me the answer orally doing the problem in his head.
DeleteBoth of our girls struggled with math too.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly all 3 of my boys LOVE math now and think it's the easiest subject-- in fact, like me, they get giddy and excited over FOILing!
DeleteLooking for different ways to teach math...yes. I love this.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, we taught math in ALL the ways I could possible think of.
DeleteMy eldest is great at maths and my youngest isn't too bad but I always struggled with it at school and still don't understand algebra. I understand the tears and anxiety.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting read about how you home schooled.
By high school they all outgrew their math anxiety and went far beyond algebra with little to no problem (in fact Alec was just saying that 1 week into his new math class this semester and his teacher has already asked him to contribute less so she can make sure others are understanding too-- plus when he does answer she often has to talk him back to step one where he starts off at step 5 and the conclusion). And Evan is taking a college math course now as a junior in high school and seems to have the highest average in his class so far. I was so relieved they finally left the tears and anxiety behind.
DeleteMy husband was always a math wiz, but I always struggled with it. I did manage to pass algebra, geometry and trigonometry, and then in my nursing career I had to become proficiant in metric and apothecary systems for medications. It was always hard for me but with determination I managed. I'm glad to read that your sons also overcame their math anxiety and are now doing well.
ReplyDeleteDetermination makes all the difference!
DeleteOMG Joanne, what a fun way to look back at your journey! You've done an amazing job homeschooling your sons. How nice to be able to see where you were all those years ago and how far you've come!
ReplyDeletexo,
Kellyann
Aw, thank you so much!
DeleteThis post takes me back to my years of homeschooling my daughters and our own struggles with math. For whatever reason, as much as I do love math, it was a difficult subject for me to have patience teaching. Thankfully my girls both caught on quickly, even if in different ways than I taught it. ha.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I found if they couldn't understand it the way I was teaching I would get frustrated; I think since math had always been so easy for me I just assumed they'd catch on quickly too. Luckily they soon started teaching themselves and now all 3 think math is the easiest of all the subjects.
Delete