I am a little behind on my
bloggy reading and net-reading. Today is not the day to get caught up though; but - tonight might be. There is little time to be online and we are going to make a strong effort to get through some math today. Home education can be flexible, but - we don't need to push it today...
geesh, we have other things to push! The kids will usually try to get out of their chores, and I don't like that. Not because it gives me more work to do; but - because I want them to learn responsibility. I want them to comprehend "family" and "community" and "selflessness"... For some odd reason, Nicolas is consumed with learning Spanish. I think the underlying reason is that he wants things (mostly pets) and he is asking for them in Spanish, or so he thinks he is. We need to lean
English, grammar and composition and just phonics for goodness sakes! Spanish? Not now. I don't know if I can get him off this Spanish infatuation or not AND I don't know if I should. Is it necessary for me to try to control what he likes all the time? Would I still feel this way, if he hadn't "changed"? Would he still be this way, if he hadn't changed? None of these answers are
available - and it does get tricky, trying to decipher what is him and his personality, his own likes and preferences and what is just Nicolas obsessing... Wish me luck and pray - right?
Nicolas wants
el pez de colores. I say "no", which translates to "no" in Spanish and in English. We have enough. It's been 17 years since I took a Spanish class, but - I will attempt to say, "No - no mas
los animals en me
casa." - Or something like that...
We use Math-U-See and we like it, not just because they've received
awards -- but because it makes sense! If you've never seen Math-U-See, take a minute and view their
videos! I have to be honest... I am re-learning how to understand math. Pretty neat. Actually, Nick is very good at math, but - claims he hates it. Wait - he
screams that he hates it! Yeah - that's it.
If you want to know more about why we like and
use Math-U-See, go check it out for yourself. Be sure to read the user comments and
parent testimonials page. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Math-U-See's ManipulativesI did briefly pop over to
Adventure's in Autism's blog and then I had to fly over to the
Age of Autism's daily news site.
Go - see - be shocked. Money talks...
Math-U-See's Manipulatives
Posts
We started using Rosetta Stone last fall to learn Spanish, and I found that learning Spanish helps us learn English too, especially grammar. For a while, my 8-year-old loved English grammar, as it helped him understand Spanish grammar.
ReplyDeleteI just ordered the Math-U-See Epsilon pack for both the boys. We were using the classical Math-U-See (Intermediate Mathematics) but decided it was time to switch to the newer version. My older son also 'hates' math though he's doing all right in it. Those preconceptions can be difficult to overcome.