Khan Academy update - use it for math

I did math this evening.... for fun.

I am brushing up my math skills to eventually get the nerve to go take college Algebra and maybe do some college-ing myself.  I figure working the old noggin will put of senility.  I was much sharper when we were homeschooling.  Why not homeschool myself?

In the meantime, I started at arithmetic.  The photo shows how much I have done in two sittings.  An hour a month ago and two hours today.

If I remember to keep at it, I should be through all the high school maths, or at least through Algebra in a month.

I think this is a Free math program that parents should consider for their homeschooled kids. I've always loved this site, even back when it was just very quietly  spoken videos.  I loved it when it had a weird way of tracking progress, but now they've really got it together.

While my kids hated videos, they would stop and use them if they got stuck, so this math program now offers the best of two worlds... even if a student is not going to use it as the main curriculum, I highly recommend it for tutoring and review (which is pretty much what public and private school students use it for.)

With practice, getting better, getting faster

sketch a day #19  2 minutes

I put the time on a lot of my drawings because I feel like it explains how quickly I did a drawing and why it is or isn't that detailed.  But as I practice and draw more and more, I feel like I am getting into the knack of it.  I am even getting used to holding the pencil differently, even though depending what I am doing, I may still hold it like I am writing.

Anyway, Here is today's drawing.  I did it in 2 minutes, but I feel like I was still able to capture the glass mug that was sitting on my desk.  There is a printer, an envelope, and a printer wire in the background.

I'd been going on about math lately, where I was insisting that some kids close to me who were struggling with math should spend more time on it.  Us homeschoolers like to say that kids will pick up some subjects in their own time and at their own pace, but if we let them, a lot of the kids will never get math, and reading might not happen before puberty.

Kids and they parents don't like to hear that two hours of math may be a necessity.  The good news is that just like am getting faster at representing an item on paper, more and more quickly, that with a lot of practice, they will also get faster at math, and not have to spend two hours a day on it.

The point is no pain-no gain. If you want to get good at something, spend time at it. Practice it even when you don't want to. Get someone else to help you if you need to as well.  In time, you will get better and faster.

Are we spending enough time on math???

I polled a group of homeschoolers this past weekend, asking "How much time do you spend on math"... the consensus was "How much time do you spend on math?".. i.e.  the I didn't really get an answer, but was asked in turn how much time my kids spent on the subject.

I thought my answer would be, up to 90 minutes a day or more for high school students... but no.  It seems I may be the only one of that opinion.  You see, my kids were not math whizzes and it took that long to get through a math lesson and then practice, especially in the high school years.  This started in middle school, where we were doing AT LEAST and hour a day, and it just took more and more time as they death with Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and so forth.

And even after all that work, they just did OK on the SAT/ACT exams in the subject.  It was their verbal scores that won them their acceptances and scholarships.

So I'd like to ask a bigger audience.. how much time you spend on math, in what grades, and why.  And what are/have been the results.  I really want to know.

Need extra math help this summer

This program is usually $39.95 a school year, but this summer it is free.

"At TenMarks, we believe in student achievement. When students work on TenMarks, they have access to hints and video lessons on EVERY problem, so if they can't recall something, or didn't quite get the topic when it was covered in class, they can quickly review the content, and move forward. Immediate support improves motivation and builds confidence, and our data shows that it does wonders for student outcomes."

I suggest you try it.  It seems like a perfect balance between two of my favorites, Khan Academy and ALEKS.com.

Ever get stuck on a math equation?

This website http://www.wolframalpha.com will help you.

Type the equation into the site's search engine and it will work out the problem for you!

very useful.

Defending Khan Academy

I've noticed some online murmuring about Khan Academy.  The critique is that it is imperfect and maybe not as ground breaking as we all thought.  Meh.

I have loved Khan Academy since the day I found it a few years ago, but as much as I like it, I have had problems with the videos themselves.

First, Salman Khan is a quiet speaker.  I have to strain or use earphone to hear most of the videos.

Second, there's not always enough background  in a particular subject information to move you forward.

Third, as much as homeschoolers would like it to be, for the reason listed directly above, it is not a full homeschool curriculum.  Instead it is a tool best used for review of concepts a student does not understand.

For what it is.  It is AWESOME.

While I don't love the videos themselves, I do love the format and program that allows a student to test through the levels of math, refresh their skills, and even move ahead.

So while it is imperfect.  I do believe it is groundbreaking.... and free.

The next best program, ALEKS.com costs $20.00 ($240 a year) per month, and doesn't use videos, but step-by-step examples.  It does work as a stand a lone curriculum, and my daughter preferred it over Khan Academy.


FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

High School Homeschool Curriculum Recap- Math

 I have done my best to list curriculums my kids have used, as they have used them.  Sometimes, though, I have changed curriculum within the first 3 months due to dissatisfaction, and may have left off that information.  For that reason, I am listing everything we used, and liked for the high school years:

Algebra:  
My son did Algebra in Middle School using Teaching Textbooks.  He got a very good understanding of Algebra and after taking this course was able to go through all following math courses pretty much without any help, so I recommend Teaching Textbooks.  It is very expensive though.

My daughter used HippoCampus.org for Algebra, and took over a year to finish the course.  Still, it was free, and she also got a very good understanding of Algebra 1, allowing her to finish Algebra 2 very quickly.   (on hippocampus, she used the course labeled Algebra 1 - 2004)  They have a new course, Algebra 1, An open Course 2011 that looks promising.


Algebra 2:
My daughter did Algebra 2, and my son did not.  We sued the following textbook:  Algebra 2 by

My last year homeschooling.... and I finally find the perfect math program

Ok, so we all no that there's no such thing as a perfect math curriculum for all children, but this one is as close to heaven as you get.  I am really upset that it took to now for me to find and implement this math program in our homeschooling program.  Oh the program... its called ALEKS.

ALEKS is available for every grade, K-12 and then some.  I discovered it because many homeschoolers who were taking CLEP exams were using it to learn college level math and science.

When we realized that the Personal Finance program my daughter was using did not give enough guidance, I decided to try ALEKS Business Math instead (as it included all of the personal finance

False starts, do-overs, and adjustments

 Now that my son is delivered safely to college (sob!), I can focus on my daughters senior year.

I have been homeschooling for about a decade, and every August has been an experiment.  After all, I am a homeschool mom, not a curriculum expert, so sometimes I choose curriculums that don't gel with my child.  This year was no exception.

This year the curriculum I had to shelf was at least free.  It was the packet from The Actuarial Foundation for Personal finance.  It is not a bad curriculum, but it does not do enough explaining, as it was designed for the teacher who actually already knows personal finance... not for the mom and child who don't really understand compound interest and mortgage amortization.  So we had a false start with math this year and

Calculus or Personal Finance Math

For their senior year math classes, we had to make the decision for both kids whether they should take calculus or personal finance math.  In both cases we chose the latter.

Firstly, the reason we chose for them to study personal finance math over calculus is because neither child is interested in going into a science or math field.  Therefore they really don't need to go beyond Geometry, but for college reasons they took Algebra1, Algebra2, and Geometry.  My son also took Trig. 

Secondly, personal finance math is something they will be doing every day for the rest of their lives, so