MathCounts: Grandfather Clause for Existing Homeschool Teams

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Click here for the official update. Small schools are not mentioned, but it seems logical that their existing teams would also be grandfathered in. Maybe? and according to Mathmom’s comment below, small schools are left out in the cold.

… After taking all concerns into account, a compromise was crafted that would grandfather in homeschools and virtual schools that participated in the 2009-2010 program year to allow them to participate on teams in this year’s Competition Program. All new homeschool and virtual school participants must abide by the new eligibility rules that require those participants to register only as individuals. This compromise was brought to the MATHCOUNTS Board of Directors and approved unanimously.

Therefore, for the 2010-2011 school year, all homeschool and virtual school groups that registered for the MATHCOUNTS Competition Program either as teams OR individuals during the 2009-2010 program year will be allowed to register teams or as individuals for the upcoming 2010-2011 program year, following all of the 2009-2010 requirements for participation.

MathCounts: No More Homeschool Teams

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

MATHCOUNTSIf you’ve heard rumors about the new ruling, here is the official take.

I try to avoid ranting on this blog, but I’m deeply disappointed. My students always enjoyed the team aspect of working/suffering together. I don’t know if any of them will be willing to participate as individuals.

Update: MathCounts: Grandfather Clause for Existing Homeschool Teams

Math Clubs, Math Circles, and the Richmond Math Salon

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Photo by jaaron via flickr.

If you’ve been thinking of starting a math club, here’s a good model:

People have this notion that math is about getting a right answer, and the testing really emphasizes that notion. And that’s such a bad way to approach math because it makes it scary.

When you look at little kids, they pose their own questions. They say, “Ooooh, what’s bigger than a million?” And they think about things their own way. At school, the teacher poses the questions, and the students answer their questions. Schooling is not a natural environment for learning.

— Sue VanHattum, Math Mama Writes
Richmond Math Salon: A Sweet Sampling

Continue reading Math Clubs, Math Circles, and the Richmond Math Salon

Review: Math Mammoth

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

When Maria of Homeschool Math Blog asked if I would review her Math Mammoth curriculum, I jumped at the chance. I’ve always enjoyed her blog posts, and I liked the worksheets I had seen on her website. (Maria gives away more than 300 pages absolutely free!)

She sent me her then-new 4th grade worktexts, and Kitten and I dug in.

Well, that was longer ago than I care to admit. But of course, it takes quite a bit of daily use before one can be absolutely sure of one’s opinion about a homeschool program — or at least, it does for me. Too many times a homeschool resource will look great in the catalog, and we’ll start it with high hopes only to bog down in the day-to-day grind and abandon it after a few weeks or months. So I wanted to give Math Mammoth a thorough workout before I wrote this review.

And all excuses aside, I really am a pro at crastinating…

My aim is to help parents and teachers teach math so our children and students can really understand what is going on. I’ve strived to explain the concepts so that both the teacher and the student can “get it” by reading the explanations in the books.

— Maria Miller
author of Math Mammoth worktexts
and Homeschool Math Blog

Continue reading Review: Math Mammoth

My New Project: Blogging 2 Learn

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

Beginning in January, I will teach a 4th-12th grade Blogging 2 Learn class through our local homeschool co-op. For now, here is my research blog, testing ideas and trying to imagine myself as a new blogger:

Have you used blogs with your students? If so, I would love to hear your suggestions and comments. And whether you are an experienced or a wanna-be blogger, please share: What do you think a “Blogging to Learn” class should cover?

Buddy-Style Math: Doing Homework Without Tears

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

My daughter Kitten strongly dislikes math when forced to do it on her own, so I am trying to get back into the habit of doing “Buddy-Style Math” with her. We take turns working the problems in her workbook: mine, hers, mine, hers, and so on down the page. We work each problem out loud, explaining how we got the answer and checking each other as we go.

In a way, it is like Charlotte Mason-style narration applied to math, since my daughter has to process her thoughts in order to explain how she worked the problem, which fixes the math concepts more deeply in her mind.

Continue reading Buddy-Style Math: Doing Homework Without Tears

April Math Calendar

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

april-math-calendar

My homeschool co-op classes had a lot of fun creating this April calendar to hand out at our end-of-semester party on Friday. It’s not as easy to read as a traditional calendar — it is more like a puzzle. The expression in each square simplifies to that day’s date, so families can treat each day like a mini-review quiz: “Do you remember how to calculate this?”

Download your own copy:

If you’ve been wanting to start your own math club, you will find plenty of helpful ideas here:

Update

Check out my May Math Calendar post for more ideas about how to use these puzzles.

 
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Which I am going to say right now. Thank you!

“April Math Calendar” copyright © 2009 by Denise Gaskins.

Homeschool Kids Write

Posted on by Denise Gaskins

homeschool-kids-writeNo, it’s not math, but it looks like a great way to kick-start Princess Kitten’s long-neglected blog. She sat down at the computer and browsed the links to other kids’ posts for over an hour last night, occasionally laughing out loud. Then she opened her Dashboard and started to type a response to the green assignment.

I’ll have to let her know there’s a new post up today. Check it out:

  • Homeschool Kids Write

Maybe I can even get her to send something in to the next Homeschool Kids Blog Carnival. It’s worth a try…

Update

Unfortunately, Homeschool Kids Write has disappeared from the web. The Wayback Machine link gives a taste of what the site was like, but It’s just not the same without the Mr. Linky connections to all the children’s writings.

Kitten did three of the writing assignments. And not only did she enter the Homeschool Kids Blog Carnival, she even hosted one edition!

My baby is growing up…