I need to take a minute and shout it from the roof tops that math is hard. It was never a subject I enjoyed in school. In fact I may have hated it ::I say in a whisper::
But here I am homeschooling and math is an important part of our curriculum. It has to be taught. I try really hard to keep it simple and non stressful. I want my kids to understand it and to enjoy it. I never want my "experience" with math or my "feelings" towards math to shape their opinion of math....so I try to keep it light.
Today though was hard. We're using Interactive Notebooks for math from Carson-dellusa. This year we're starting with grade 5 and will end with grade 6. Today's lesson was on exponents. I started the lesson, but 5 minutes in I realized I was explaining it all wrong. Gaw! It was a total mom fail.
I had to explain to the kids I had steered us in the wrong direction. We decided to take a break, while I fed Tallia. We watched an episode of Once Upon a Time and then got back at it.
I found an exponent calculator online to check our work. We started the lesson over, with Mom now remembering the correct way to solve exponents.
And guess what? We figured it out. We worked hard and started getting the answers right. It felt good to see it click.
On a side note:
How cute is that baby above?
Throughout our math lesson time, she laid on my lap.
That cute little smile just melted my heart.
Why do I share this today?
We'll I want you to know that I have days of epic fails. Being a homeschooler is not about perfection. It's about trying your hardest and when you get knocked down, it's about how you get back up. Today was a perfect opportunity to try out our word for this school year....
Perseverance
Don't stop just cause it's hard. Keeping working at it.
I make a lot of mistakes and that's ok. I don't have to be exceptional at all academics to teach my kids. I only need a desire to give them the best I can. Sometimes that means admitting I was wrong, recuperating, and starting over. I'm learning and relearning right a long with them.
XO Danielle
A big hug to you Danielle❤️ My children all struggled in some areas and excelled in others,
ReplyDeleteOur son who had so much trouble with numbers went on to work as a waiter for 10'years while in college and law school (figuring up all those tabs, imagine when all 10 people at a table want separate checks 😱)
Now he is an attorney and has no trouble charging fees and is even serving as head of finance the State Bar Association.
Just love your son as he is, keep teaching and encouraging. Who knows what God has in his future! I
Great job Danielle. And taking the break , was the best possible thing to do.. Give everyone a chance to rest the brain, and get started on the right track..smart mom.
ReplyDeleteTallia is adorable.. That smile is worth it all. She is growing so fast..[Time is flying, isnt it?] How are you and family liking your new home/ Hope you meet lots of new friends and enjoy this journey in your lives.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Sometimes as moms we feel like we must have " experts" teach our children and yet we are the experts on our children! We have more invested in them and a much smaller class size so we can give them much better attention! As moms we need to stop doubting that we have our children's best interest at heart! Thanks for being so encouraging!
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