New Membership Tiers: One-on-One Mentorship

Two women chatting over tea

Over the years, in my public writing and in personal correspondence, I’ve tried to help younger parents by sharing the things I wish someone would have told me forty years ago. Oftentimes, I will answer a question but never hear back what the person ended up doing or how their family got along.

It leaves me feeling as though I could have done more to encourage them along the way.

In the past few years, I’ve watched a professional writer I admire organize several more formal mentorships for younger indie authors to grow their writing and publishing careers. I think a similar program could be helpful for homeschooling families.

So now I’m offering two new Patreon membership tiers that give you a direct one-on-one connection with me through email or email-plus-video.

My goal is to help you think about math as a creative, playful investigation where you and your children explore concepts together using the math program or curriculum of your choice. This is not a tutoring arrangement. I will help you understand and teach math, but I will not do the teaching for you.

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Charlotte Mason Math: Living Books

“The Reading Lesson” painting by Jonathan Pratt, public domain

[An addendum to my earlier Charlotte Mason Math series.]

“Our business is to give [children] mind-stuff, and both quality and quantity are essential. Naturally, each of us possesses this mind-stuff only in limited measure, but we know where to procure it; for the best thought the world possesses is stored in books; we must open books to children, the best books; our own concern is abundant provision and orderly serving.”

— Charlotte Mason, Toward A Philosophy of Education

Most homeschool teachers, whatever our curriculum or schooling approach, understand the importance of teaching with living books. We read aloud biographies, historical fiction, or the classics of literature. We scour library shelves for the most creative presentations of scientific topics that interest our children, and encourage our high school students to go back to the original documents whenever possible.

And we teach math with a textbook.

Not that textbooks are inherently bad, because math is an abstract science. We need to meet the ideas  — the “mind-stuff” — of math on their own terms, and textbooks can help with that.

But it’s not enough.

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Musings: Math Is a Social Game

photo of three young girls talking about numbers

Childhood Memories

When I was in school, math was something each person did on their own for homework, quizzes or tests.

Even when the teacher sent us to work on the chalkboard, each person did their own problem. We would never think to collaborate on math.

To look at someone else’s answer was considered cheating.

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Math Journal: Playing with My Own Ignorance

photo of a girl wondering about math

Mary Everest Boole, wife of English mathematician George Boole, once described algebra as “thinking logically about the fact of our own ignorance.”

This definition made me chuckle. Like any human being, I am ignorant on many things, but I usually avoid thinking about that.

So I wondered what would happen if I took Mrs. Boole’s advice and tried thinking logically about my ignorance.

How far could I go?

Perhaps you’d like to try this experiment with your children. All you need is a pen and paper or a whiteboard and markers and a bit of curiosity.

Math Journaling Adventures series by Denise GaskinsAnd if you enjoy this exploration, check out my Math Journaling Adventures project to discover how playful writing activities can help your students learn mathematics. Preorder your books today!

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FAQ: Can I Use Your Books as a Math Curriculum?

Father helping girl with math homework

I recently listened to you on Cindy Rollins’ podcast, and I was captivated by your perspective on math. It was exciting, freeing, and wonder-filled. I would absolutely love to be able to teach in the ways you described.

    We use early-elementary Saxon Math right now, which is thorough, but has SO MUCH to do that I’ve always struggled to do it all. Then I feel like I’m missing things, and I never know quite what is important. And yet, the actual lessons move so slowly that my kids get bored with the repetition.

      I use a published curriculum because I have no idea of an appropriate scope and sequence, or similar flow of learning. With your playful approach to math, how do I know where to start, and what to do each day?

        Do you have a suggested order to approach your books to have a full math approach? A sort of curriculum, per se, using your books.

        [For those who missed my chat with Cindy Rollins about a Charlotte Mason approach to math, you can listen to it here.]

        Continue reading FAQ: Can I Use Your Books as a Math Curriculum?

        FAQ: Real Math for Early Learners

        photo of family hiking a rocky trail

        “I love your image of math as a nature walk. My children are ready to start their homeschooling journey, and I want to put them on the right track from the beginning. How can I help them think about math and problem-solving without using a textbook?”

        The most difficult part of teaching our children real math is to change our own way of thinking about the subject you’ve already taken that step, so it looks like your family’s learning journey is off to a great start.

        [For readers who are wondering what I mean by math as a nature walk, check out this post. You may also enjoy my article on natural learning: Math with Young Children.]

        Continue reading FAQ: Real Math for Early Learners

        Memories: The Oral Story Problem Game

        photo of sheep in a field

        Homeschool Memories…

        Perhaps you’ve heard me mention the oral story problem game. It was one of my favorite ways to get my children thinking about math, back in our early days of homeschooling. We played in the car on the way to soccer practice, or while we washed dishes, or sitting in the lobby waiting for a doctor’s appointment.

        The rules are simple: I’ll make up a math problem for you to solve. And then you make up one for me.

        The kids always loved trying to stump me.

        This problem from Henry Ernest Dudeney’s Amusements in Mathematics reminded me of those days. This is exactly the way my eldest loved to torture me…

        Continue reading Memories: The Oral Story Problem Game

        Charlotte Mason Math: Practical Tips for a Living Math Education

        “Young italian woman with two sleeping children on coast’ painting by August Riedel, public domain

        Focus on the logic of reasoning.

        Correct answers are important, of course, but as children explain their thinking, they will often catch and fix mistakes on their own.

        “Two and two make four and cannot by any possibility that the universe affords be made to make five or three. From this point of view, of immutable law, children should approach Mathematics; they should see how impressive is Euclid’s ‘Which is absurd,’ just as absurd as would be the statements of a man who said that his apples always fell upwards, and for the same reason.”

         — Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education

        “Most remarks made by children consist of correct ideas badly expressed. A good teacher will be wary of saying ‘No, that’s wrong.’ Rather, he will try to discover the correct idea behind the inadequate expression. This is one of the most important principles in the whole of the art of teaching.”

         — W. W. Sawyer, Vision in Elementary Mathematics

        • Tip: If you’re not sure how to draw out your child’s reasoning, read Christopher Danielson’s wonderful examples and advice on talking math with your kids: Talking Math with Your Kids.

        Continue reading Charlotte Mason Math: Practical Tips for a Living Math Education