Dreambox Plays Well with Right Start
2 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Thursday, March 05, 2009 at 7:51 AM.
If you're a fan of Right Start math, you may be interested in checking out this new online curriculum: Dreambox, for K-2 math. Sadie is working her way through Right Start's kindergarten curriculum, using lots of visuals -- tally sticks, an abacus, counters and manipulatives. When we started playing around with Dreambox, she found many of the exercises comfortably familiar, as Dreambox uses these same tools, but in the context of Flash animation and games. Dreambox encourages kids to visualize numbers and think in blocks of five and ten, just like Right Start, and we've just found that the two systems dovetail extremely well.
Dreambox's online math curriculum is very interesting, in that it progresses at a variable speed, based on your child's performance. If something seems easy for the child, the software skips him/her along to something more challenging. If something is too hard, the software pulls back to spend much more time on that skill. This quality means that it's *super* important for you as a parent not to help your child. The software is meant to be used by a child independently, because it customizes itself to the student's strengths and weaknesses. I did make the mistake of directing Sadie a bit too much at first, and that resulted in her being skipped ahead too much. Dreambox fixed it for me, though, and now we're back on track.
Here are a few screenshots of the software:
This shot shows the three sections of the Dreambox world -- the house, the adventure park (where most of the math games are played), and the carnival (where the less academic, more fun games are played). Kids earn tokens in the adventure park which they can "spend" at the carnival to play and unlock games. In other computer math systems I've experienced, there is more difference between the "work" games and the "reward" games, with the reward games being purely fun and the work games being more purely work. Dreambox mixes it up a little -- the work games are contextualized in narrative and have little cartoons and characters to play with, and the reward games are also teaching math concepts. Here's a shot of the carnival. Yes, Sadie's avatar has purple hair -- a harbinger of things to come, no doubt!
You can play for free for two weeks, and then it's around $10 a month, depending on how many months you buy at a time. If you have a strong internet connection and a K-2 child who likes computer games, Dreambox is a great way to teach without worksheets, without pencils, without lectures. The learning is intuitive, the rewards are integrated, and the software is fun!
Dreambox's online math curriculum is very interesting, in that it progresses at a variable speed, based on your child's performance. If something seems easy for the child, the software skips him/her along to something more challenging. If something is too hard, the software pulls back to spend much more time on that skill. This quality means that it's *super* important for you as a parent not to help your child. The software is meant to be used by a child independently, because it customizes itself to the student's strengths and weaknesses. I did make the mistake of directing Sadie a bit too much at first, and that resulted in her being skipped ahead too much. Dreambox fixed it for me, though, and now we're back on track.
Here are a few screenshots of the software:
This shot shows the three sections of the Dreambox world -- the house, the adventure park (where most of the math games are played), and the carnival (where the less academic, more fun games are played). Kids earn tokens in the adventure park which they can "spend" at the carnival to play and unlock games. In other computer math systems I've experienced, there is more difference between the "work" games and the "reward" games, with the reward games being purely fun and the work games being more purely work. Dreambox mixes it up a little -- the work games are contextualized in narrative and have little cartoons and characters to play with, and the reward games are also teaching math concepts. Here's a shot of the carnival. Yes, Sadie's avatar has purple hair -- a harbinger of things to come, no doubt!
You can play for free for two weeks, and then it's around $10 a month, depending on how many months you buy at a time. If you have a strong internet connection and a K-2 child who likes computer games, Dreambox is a great way to teach without worksheets, without pencils, without lectures. The learning is intuitive, the rewards are integrated, and the software is fun!
Labels: curriculum, curriculum reviews, dreambox, homeschool curriculum, math, online learning
Math Card Game for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division
8 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Friday, September 28, 2007 at 1:22 PM.
This morning Benny and I invented a new way to use our giant deck of cards to study math. Here's what we did:
We shuffled the deck and put the pile next to his paper. He would flip over two cards, write those values in the spaces, then choose whether to use multiplication, division, addition, or subtraction to find an answer. Then he wrote the answer.
This was a great exercise for three reasons:
1. It was fun for him to write his own questions and he loves using the cards.
2. It made him consider the answer to all four of the problems, before he chose one to write down. He most wanted to use division, since that to him is the coolest, so he would be happy if he pulled, for example, a king and a 4, so he could divide twelve by four.
3. He got to test me a little -- on the last few he did, he left the operation circle blank, and asked me which operation he had used. Rather than hesitating to give him the answer, I cheerfully participated in my part of the quiz, because he already had to have figured it out, to be asking me.
I want to do this exercise again, and I made a printable math game page for future use, which I will share with you.
This could be used in different ways -- the kid could fill in the numbers and quiz you on which operation was used, you could use it blank with a deck of cards like we did, or you could use it to solve for X if you leave just one of the spaces blank and give the answers. Hope it's useful!
Here's an image preview of the page, click on it or the link above for the print-friendly web page:
We shuffled the deck and put the pile next to his paper. He would flip over two cards, write those values in the spaces, then choose whether to use multiplication, division, addition, or subtraction to find an answer. Then he wrote the answer.
This was a great exercise for three reasons:
1. It was fun for him to write his own questions and he loves using the cards.
2. It made him consider the answer to all four of the problems, before he chose one to write down. He most wanted to use division, since that to him is the coolest, so he would be happy if he pulled, for example, a king and a 4, so he could divide twelve by four.
3. He got to test me a little -- on the last few he did, he left the operation circle blank, and asked me which operation he had used. Rather than hesitating to give him the answer, I cheerfully participated in my part of the quiz, because he already had to have figured it out, to be asking me.
I want to do this exercise again, and I made a printable math game page for future use, which I will share with you.
This could be used in different ways -- the kid could fill in the numbers and quiz you on which operation was used, you could use it blank with a deck of cards like we did, or you could use it to solve for X if you leave just one of the spaces blank and give the answers. Hope it's useful!
Here's an image preview of the page, click on it or the link above for the print-friendly web page:
***
Interested in more Little Blue Ideas? Try the Idea Box for homeschooling ideas and more.
Labels: cards, games, math, math practice, printables
Math Practice at Home: Book Review
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Friday, September 07, 2007 at 11:46 AM.
I have been looking, for a while, for a really cool math workbook that's colorful and fun. So many of the ones I look at get very grayscale after kindergarten. As if 7 year olds do not enjoy multiplying funny dogs or figuring out how many red flags are flying on castle turrets.
This book I found in the free box at our local homeschooling store because the first third of it had been written in. I took it home and ripped out the first third of it, and we've been living it up with colorful illustrations, interesting story problems, and fun little games.
I think the reason it's so fun, and so devoid of those awful death-marches of practice problems, you know rows and rows of black and white text stretching on into the abyss, is because it's meant as a supplement, not a main lessons. It appears to be for school kids to get more practice, during the summer or on the weekends. So, in their brief moments of escape from the avalanche of dreary homework applied by the school, they're also supposed to do more work assigned by their parents? At least this "supplement" is really fun.
Here's an example of one of the pages. You have to measure the length of one side and then figure out the perimeter.
Highly recommended. It comes in different grade levels. We are doing the Grade 3.
This book I found in the free box at our local homeschooling store because the first third of it had been written in. I took it home and ripped out the first third of it, and we've been living it up with colorful illustrations, interesting story problems, and fun little games.
I think the reason it's so fun, and so devoid of those awful death-marches of practice problems, you know rows and rows of black and white text stretching on into the abyss, is because it's meant as a supplement, not a main lessons. It appears to be for school kids to get more practice, during the summer or on the weekends. So, in their brief moments of escape from the avalanche of dreary homework applied by the school, they're also supposed to do more work assigned by their parents? At least this "supplement" is really fun.
Here's an example of one of the pages. You have to measure the length of one side and then figure out the perimeter.
Highly recommended. It comes in different grade levels. We are doing the Grade 3.
Labels: math, math practice, workbook reviews, workbooks
Multiplication Table Look Out!
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 at 10:06 AM.
Do you want to know a secret?
I never learned my multiplication table. This is actually true.
Somehow I made it through three semesters of calculus and analytic geometry at this questionably situated school without being able to tell you what 7x7 is. I mean, yes, given a few seconds, I have the ability to figure it out, but if you jump out at me from behind the doorway and say "QUICK -- WHAT IS SEVEN TIMES SEVEN?" you will be met with a blank stare.
Benny get borrowing and carrying now, and can tell time and make change, and all that other stuff, so the next thing is... multiplication table. I was actually approaching this with a little trepidation, given my own incapacity on this subject, but yesterday morning I decided to get on with it. Now I see I didn't need to worry. He is doing just fine.
I started off by drawing a grid with four squares. I put an X in the top left square, and a 1 in the other squares. Then I drew a grid with nine squares. An X in the top left square, one and two across the top, one and two down the side, and I filled in everything but the four, and gave it to him. He didn't totally know what it was, but eventually he guessed that a four belonged in that hole, and I told him that was right.
Then I drew a grid with sixteen squares, and had him fill them all in. Which he did. And we ended up with this:
This morning, I gave him the grid with 64 squares and he filled it all in again. I've also written out some problems for him to do, like 3x5=___ and also like 3x___=15 and he's doing just fine with those too. It's... pretty miraculous. At no time did I ever explain how filling in the table is like counting by 3s or 5s or whatever, and I didn't tell him how to follow the columns and rows to find answers, and I didn't really explain anything at any time. He figured it all out, because as it builds on itself, it really makes sense. And if you are allowed to see it as a whole thing, I guess, that becomes clear to you pretty fast.
He hasn't memorized his multiplication table yet, and we're only up to the 7s, really. But it's day 2 of our effort to tackle this new skill, and I'd say it's going swimmingly. Once again, I stand amazed at how very little time it actually takes to teach a child, when you are giving them one-on-one attention, and presenting the material in a way specifically tailored to the child's own learning style. I expect to be up to the 12s by the end of the week, and let me tell you: We are doing all of this BEFORE NINE AM. Before the little sister even wakes up.
Which means that when the sister wakes up, there is lots of time for more important stuff like this:
Another happy homeschool day!
I never learned my multiplication table. This is actually true.
Somehow I made it through three semesters of calculus and analytic geometry at this questionably situated school without being able to tell you what 7x7 is. I mean, yes, given a few seconds, I have the ability to figure it out, but if you jump out at me from behind the doorway and say "QUICK -- WHAT IS SEVEN TIMES SEVEN?" you will be met with a blank stare.
Benny get borrowing and carrying now, and can tell time and make change, and all that other stuff, so the next thing is... multiplication table. I was actually approaching this with a little trepidation, given my own incapacity on this subject, but yesterday morning I decided to get on with it. Now I see I didn't need to worry. He is doing just fine.
I started off by drawing a grid with four squares. I put an X in the top left square, and a 1 in the other squares. Then I drew a grid with nine squares. An X in the top left square, one and two across the top, one and two down the side, and I filled in everything but the four, and gave it to him. He didn't totally know what it was, but eventually he guessed that a four belonged in that hole, and I told him that was right.
Then I drew a grid with sixteen squares, and had him fill them all in. Which he did. And we ended up with this:
This morning, I gave him the grid with 64 squares and he filled it all in again. I've also written out some problems for him to do, like 3x5=___ and also like 3x___=15 and he's doing just fine with those too. It's... pretty miraculous. At no time did I ever explain how filling in the table is like counting by 3s or 5s or whatever, and I didn't tell him how to follow the columns and rows to find answers, and I didn't really explain anything at any time. He figured it all out, because as it builds on itself, it really makes sense. And if you are allowed to see it as a whole thing, I guess, that becomes clear to you pretty fast.
He hasn't memorized his multiplication table yet, and we're only up to the 7s, really. But it's day 2 of our effort to tackle this new skill, and I'd say it's going swimmingly. Once again, I stand amazed at how very little time it actually takes to teach a child, when you are giving them one-on-one attention, and presenting the material in a way specifically tailored to the child's own learning style. I expect to be up to the 12s by the end of the week, and let me tell you: We are doing all of this BEFORE NINE AM. Before the little sister even wakes up.
Which means that when the sister wakes up, there is lots of time for more important stuff like this:
Another happy homeschool day!
We went to the new spray park at the Greenbrier YMCA and had a lovely time. I've included some lesson ideas based on one of the toys there, that dumps buckets of water on the kids. Learning in the summer -- ACK -- stop the madness!
My children love water. I may be a close second (or possibly the dog, let's be realistic) but when it comes to summer entertainment, their idea of fun involves beaches, pools, sprinklers, and buckets of sunscreen. They're not happy until they've ingested their weight in chlorine, wrinkled up like prunes, and had their retinas incinerated by UV rays. And who am I to stand in the way of such harmless fun?
We normally go to the downtown Norfolk YMCA because it's close, they have towel service, and we're just shallow like that. But this summer, I'm branching out in search of the ultimate outdoor YMCA swimming pool experience. You know, with waterfalls and geysers for the children, palm trees and frothy pineapple smoothies for me. We started out at the Trashmore YMCA, which was nice. A big wading pool for the babies, including a turtle slide and a fountain. Lots of kids in the big pool for Benny to play with, and they had a great time.
Then we went to the Greenbrier YMCA, which shall henceforth be known as Chlorinated Water Nirvana.
First, allow me to say that the decor in the building is fantastic. Somebody obviously had a vision there. Outdoor murals, indoor faux finishes, including decorative frames around all the bulletin boards and flier holders -- you have to see it to believe it. It looks like a hotel. Second, they have a pool house. This means you can get out of the car, walk straight to the (tastefully decorated) family changing room in the pool house, and then plop right into the pool. No mucking about indoors. They have a wading pool and a big pool, just like Trashmore, but then there is...
The spray park. Benny leaped into it immediately, and spent the next 30 minutes dashing around through it, screeching with joy. Then he came and got a drink, and rejoined the spray park, screeching and leaping away. Sadie took a little longer to warm up to it, but by the end of our time there, she was carrying on like a regular. There is every kind of sprinkler, every kind of hose -- even a bench that's a sprinkler, and a mounted sprinkler for spraying your friends, and the tower of pouring cones.
The tower of pouring cones caused my evil homeschooling brain to kick in. It's a tall pole with five metal cones hanging around the top of it. These cones are constantly being filled by streams of water, and they periodically dump over and send a mass of water down on whatever kid is waiting hopefully below. Of course there are lots of lovely physics and math questions to be asked about these cones... so I wrote down a few ideas, which I've included below.
Do not miss the Greenbrier Spray Park. It is too much fun.
Learning Questions:
Activities:
My children love water. I may be a close second (or possibly the dog, let's be realistic) but when it comes to summer entertainment, their idea of fun involves beaches, pools, sprinklers, and buckets of sunscreen. They're not happy until they've ingested their weight in chlorine, wrinkled up like prunes, and had their retinas incinerated by UV rays. And who am I to stand in the way of such harmless fun?
We normally go to the downtown Norfolk YMCA because it's close, they have towel service, and we're just shallow like that. But this summer, I'm branching out in search of the ultimate outdoor YMCA swimming pool experience. You know, with waterfalls and geysers for the children, palm trees and frothy pineapple smoothies for me. We started out at the Trashmore YMCA, which was nice. A big wading pool for the babies, including a turtle slide and a fountain. Lots of kids in the big pool for Benny to play with, and they had a great time.
Then we went to the Greenbrier YMCA, which shall henceforth be known as Chlorinated Water Nirvana.
First, allow me to say that the decor in the building is fantastic. Somebody obviously had a vision there. Outdoor murals, indoor faux finishes, including decorative frames around all the bulletin boards and flier holders -- you have to see it to believe it. It looks like a hotel. Second, they have a pool house. This means you can get out of the car, walk straight to the (tastefully decorated) family changing room in the pool house, and then plop right into the pool. No mucking about indoors. They have a wading pool and a big pool, just like Trashmore, but then there is...
The spray park. Benny leaped into it immediately, and spent the next 30 minutes dashing around through it, screeching with joy. Then he came and got a drink, and rejoined the spray park, screeching and leaping away. Sadie took a little longer to warm up to it, but by the end of our time there, she was carrying on like a regular. There is every kind of sprinkler, every kind of hose -- even a bench that's a sprinkler, and a mounted sprinkler for spraying your friends, and the tower of pouring cones.
The tower of pouring cones caused my evil homeschooling brain to kick in. It's a tall pole with five metal cones hanging around the top of it. These cones are constantly being filled by streams of water, and they periodically dump over and send a mass of water down on whatever kid is waiting hopefully below. Of course there are lots of lovely physics and math questions to be asked about these cones... so I wrote down a few ideas, which I've included below.
Do not miss the Greenbrier Spray Park. It is too much fun.
Learning Questions:
What makes the water fall out of the cone onto the kids?
Why doesn't the cone tip over right away instead of tipping when it's filled up?
How much water would have to come out of the bottom of the cone to stop it from tipping over?
How can you explain the fact that the cones don't always tip in the same order?
How could you change the shape of the cone to make it hold more water before tipping?
What could you do to the cone so that it never tips?
If you're standing under one particular cone, what are the chances you'll get wet next?
How could you change the probability of each cone tipping?
Activities:
At home, give the kids some plastic cups and let them try to rig up their own pouring cones by punching holes in them and using string to hang them somewhere. They'll need a hose or a steady stream of water. This would be good to try in the sink or bathtub.
At home, using plastic cups, figure out how to control the rate of flow out of a cup and into a cup to reach an equilibrium.
At the spray park, think of some story problems while you sit there, and have the kids work them later after they're dry and hydrated. For example... If there are eight sprinklers in the gauntlet and kids sit on five of them, how many sprinklers are still spraying? Or, if you have older kids... what angle would a hose spraying at a certain pressure need to reach to propel the water fifteen feet?
At the spray park, have five kids lie down on their bellies under the five pouring cones. Predict which kid will get hit next. OR, have all the kids hum a different note in a cord. When they get hit, they stop humming. When they get hit again, they start again. OR, have each child that gets hit recite whatever memory project you're working on -- poem or verse or whatnot, as loud as he/she can.
Labels: field trips, lessons, math
When the laundry pile in the basement is poking you in the chest and asking if you have a problem, it might be time to move to a new house and buy all new clothes. Or...
Today we went for a long walk/stroller ride/bike ride down to Colley Raleigh playground. And ended up staying out in the gorgeous weather for three hours. But we had a good reason.
One of my vague and insubstantiated goals for the "school year" was to finish this giant math book that we got at the homeschool book store. Well, this morning he finished it. The clouds parted, the trumpets sang, and the little baby head that lives in the sun smiled benevolently upon us.
Good things about this book:
1. Lots of practice on each skill. In fact the book takes you through all the skills, all the way through twice. Then again with a tiny review at the end. At the end of this book if you don't know how to add and subtract, you just haven't been paying attention. Sometimes in math you just have to slog through a bunch of reps, so it becomes automatic for you. Not something you bounce of out bed singing about, but a necessary irritation.
2. Lots of pages where you have to figure out the secret coded message. After the tenth one where the secret message was "You are great!" or "You're a star!" it kind of lost its punch, but Benny did enjoy those pages.
Bad things about this book:
1. The pages were all black and white. Seems like a superficial whine, but something about it got a little grim after a while, especially when his other books are more flashy.
2. It says it's for grades 1 and 2, but it doesn't get to borrowing and carrying, or multiplication, at all. Our other grade two book has carrying and borrowing and a preview of multiplying.
The best thing about this book is that it's over! Big black magic marker line through that theoretical entry on my imaginary to-do list. To celebrate, we went on a long bike ride around the neighborhood, got some ice cream at Taste Unlimited on Colley Ave, and went to the playground. A great homeschool kindergarten day: Very very small amount of school, and very large amount of fun.
Giant Step Ahead Math Workbook (Grades 1 - 2)
Today we went for a long walk/stroller ride/bike ride down to Colley Raleigh playground. And ended up staying out in the gorgeous weather for three hours. But we had a good reason.
One of my vague and insubstantiated goals for the "school year" was to finish this giant math book that we got at the homeschool book store. Well, this morning he finished it. The clouds parted, the trumpets sang, and the little baby head that lives in the sun smiled benevolently upon us.
Good things about this book:
1. Lots of practice on each skill. In fact the book takes you through all the skills, all the way through twice. Then again with a tiny review at the end. At the end of this book if you don't know how to add and subtract, you just haven't been paying attention. Sometimes in math you just have to slog through a bunch of reps, so it becomes automatic for you. Not something you bounce of out bed singing about, but a necessary irritation.
2. Lots of pages where you have to figure out the secret coded message. After the tenth one where the secret message was "You are great!" or "You're a star!" it kind of lost its punch, but Benny did enjoy those pages.
Bad things about this book:
1. The pages were all black and white. Seems like a superficial whine, but something about it got a little grim after a while, especially when his other books are more flashy.
2. It says it's for grades 1 and 2, but it doesn't get to borrowing and carrying, or multiplication, at all. Our other grade two book has carrying and borrowing and a preview of multiplying.
The best thing about this book is that it's over! Big black magic marker line through that theoretical entry on my imaginary to-do list. To celebrate, we went on a long bike ride around the neighborhood, got some ice cream at Taste Unlimited on Colley Ave, and went to the playground. A great homeschool kindergarten day: Very very small amount of school, and very large amount of fun.
Giant Step Ahead Math Workbook (Grades 1 - 2)
