We’re doing math differently this year. We’re focusing on math journals as our primary math learning.
We’re using Life of Fred and Singapore Math as our math texts. I’m gathering living math books from the library and our home bookshelves. And I’m adding more to our holiday wish list!
Math Journals
I found some interesting articles and supplemental materials.
- Scholastic has an interesting article explaining why math journals are successful for understanding mathematics.
- Let’s Play Math! has math journal prompts and links for articles about what to add to journals.
- Information and videos about how to use Kindergarten and 1st grade math journals. These are from a classroom teacher, but the ideas can be adapted for homeschool use.
- Graphic Organizers and a video help get you started with interactive math journals.
- Mathbooking info here
- This math teacher has a plethora of information on his site and in videos. He discusses living math books and has a lesson plan with a fun math video.
- And look what I found! I am so excited! The girls have been using them all week! I just Googled Life of Fred notebooking pages and I found some here. Perfect! I love the format and I know I can probably make some similar for Elizabeth for her Fractions book.
Here are Katie’s and Tori’s journal all decorated. I’m sure they’ll add to them, but that’s it for now. I made stencils out of cardstock. Cutting Duck Tape with cardstock stencils is work!
Here is a page I made for Elizabeth to put in her math journal. Tori and Katie don’t have a fear of math like Elizabeth does. I hope this will serve as a reminder that she can do all things through Christ.
Elizabeth just completed a transition math class through our local school district. It was eight mornings of review and she really enjoyed it. She won a scientific calculator for being the top of her class! Proud Mama moment!
And here I am, getting all organized. When I find something awesome to go in the math journals, I pin it, I save it, I print it, and I put it in my folder here. Now, I just need to remember to use them when we get to it in the math lessons!
I found this neato mosaic puzzle at the Target dollar spot. Everyone has been fighting over it! Maybe I should go back and get a few more. It’s great for art and history too.
Tori and Katie are starting to learn skip counting and multiplication. Liz is reviewing the concept since I realize there are gaps.
I made this little booklet out of these charts and look at these fun mazes! The mazes will go in their binder too. Gotta keep those journals special! The girls use the booklet when working on their Singapore math workbooks. They’re learning beginning multiplication.
I had to help Katie a bit more with the whole skip counting concept, but she understood after trailing off on her own a bit. That rabbit finally got his carrot!
They’ve been singing the rather catchy skip counting song from this DVD. The kids all love them and Alex is learning so much too! We have several LeapFrog DVDs and keep them in the car DVD player.
The girls have really loved our new math apps for the iPad. They’re playing Operation Math here. It’s like a Mission Impossible game with math equations. Fun music too!
Multiplication activity: making squares and rectangles on the geoboards…I told them to do a 4 by 5 or a 3 by 4 and they counted the pegs to put the rubber bands in place.
I also found these fun cards for geoboards!
I have some printables to go in their math journals to help with multiplication.
I hope these changes to our math program help my girls (and me!) to understand math better and learn to love it!
Love your math lessons!
Children love the idea of this math activity they surely enjoy coloring and drawing at the same time. As math teachers it is our creativity that makes our students interested to learn. Parents should find interesting worksheets for their child to practice at home.
Jojo @ Math Work Sheets
After I read and commented on your A Journey Through Learning post, I’ve been browsing around your page and ended up here!!
Pinning & wanting to put this into action!! A math journal would be a super great idea for my son, especially over the summer!
Yay for browsing around! ;) We do lots of math notebooking {mathbooking} and my girls really enjoy it. I love having the freedom to do math units to make sure they master a topic.
We use Time4Learning as our curriculum, and even use it through the summer because she enjoys the animated and interactive lessons, and it’s helped her so much with her reading and comprehension in particular. Because she has a learning disability and math is her weaker subject, we need to practice math every day. I love these math journals you’ve shared. She loves Draw Write Now, and this looks so similar to that, only it’s math journaling. Thanks for sharing these.
Thank you for the suggestion. I just found Time4Learning yesterday in a search. And we LOVE Draw Write Now too!