Sacramento Homeschool Math By Hand

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 220

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post features a peek into a typical Waldorf Grade 3 classroom.  This video was filmed at the award-winning Elmfeild Rudolf Steiner School in Stourbridge, UK, in Gavin Ferris’ wonderful Grade 3 class.  Find the video here, and watch for the highlights listed below.

0:00 – 0:40   Attendance: after a musical flute intro, each child’s name is sung with “Are you here?”  Each child sings in reply, “Yes, I am here, Mr. Ferris.”

0:58 – 1:33   Morning Circle: lively skills practice, recitation, movement, tongue twisters, rhythmic clapping, and games to learn literacy and numeracy.

1:34 – 2:04   Main Lesson: 1) Recollection of the previous day in any form, retelling the story, acting it out, drawing, writing, etc.  2) Something new in a seed planted for recollection the next day.  3) Bookwork in which the children create their own textbooks.

2:04 – 3:33  Content of the Main Lesson is grammar, taught through art in the form of a chalkboard drawing of Moses on Mt. Horub.  (Grade 3 is permeated with creation stories, most specifically the Old Testament.)  There is a river flowing down the mountain punctuated by commas and periods, so the children get the picture of the flow of language and how it is paused and stopped by punctuation.  There are 4 angels pictured whose colors represent the types of sentences.  Red = command, Green = statement, Blue = question, and Yellow = exclamation!

3:33 – 3:54  Teaching this age through art and picture.  Mr Ferris stresses the importance of pictures and imagination, because dry information is just dry.  “They have nothing to feed on, we must give them something that’s living.”

3:54 – 5:34  The play!  This play is about Moses, devised and acted by the children, written by the teacher. Portrays the richness of the learning experiences afforded by the play’s creation and acting.  Explore the Elmfield website as well, noticing the themes that are prevalent at each grade level:  the Kindergarten: “I do,” the lower school: “I feel,” and the high school: “I think.”  None of the levels are rushed, with analytical thinking reserved for the high school years, not brought too soon as Common Core would have it.

This excellent window into Waldorf made me nostalgic for classroom teaching!  But I do know the rightness of my place in the Waldorf world, that of supporting homeschoolers with a vital piece of the curriculum: lively, meaningful math.  Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Waldorf Grade 3: Practical Magic! (#220) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 219

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post fits the old adage, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.”  This picture was taken at the beginning of a Grade 3 class I taught.  Here’s what we did that day: 

Gathered 12-15 bales of hay at a class parent’s home and garden.

Half the class harvested veggies and half started building the hay house.

The other halves made a yummy veggie soup and finished the hay house.

We all ate soup for lunch then designed and built the door as a group.

This is the very best of third grade! 

Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Grade 3: Gardening & Housebuilding (#219) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 218

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

When I taught third grade in a Waldorf school in Michigan, we covered the Old Testament in its entirety, with stories taken from the Bible that were told each day.  Math By Hand offers creation stories from many cultures, but the Old Testament stories serve the purpose well.  That purpose being, echoing the transition from young to middle childhood.  These stories help to allay any unsettling feelings that may arise by assuring that “life outside the garden wall” is not only feasible but can be lived with grace and well-being.

When we came to the story of Noah’s Ark, Genesis told us this: “And this is the fashion which you shall make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.”  So we proceeded to make our version of the Royal Cubit that resided in the Pharaoh’s palace in Ancient Egypt.  A simplified version of course, but the length was accurate and basic symbols were etched onto the wooden rod that we had painted a glossy black.  Here is a section of the cubit rod that resides in the Louvre.

The third graders were amazed at the sheer size of the Ark, and this served as an excellent introduction to not only the way we’ve measured objects from the beginning of time, but also afforded a glimpse of the earliest tools used for measurement.  Transitioning into modern measurement from here was accomplished through historical and anecdotal stories of how today’s measurement units came to be.

Johan Huibers of the Netherlands took 20 years to build a full-scale, fully-operational version of Noah’s Ark, using the Bible’s Genesis, Books 6-9 as his guide.  He converted cubits to modern measurements, building the vessel 427 feet long, 95 feet wide, and 75 feet high.

Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Grade 3: Noah’s Ark & Measurement In Cubits (#218) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 217

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post focuses on movement and exercise as perhaps the most vital element, not only for physical and mental health, but also for brain function and optimal learning ability.  Here’s an excerpt (read the full article here):

“This morning the medical journal Pediatrics published research that found kids who took part in a regular physical activity program showed important enhancement of cognitive performance and brain function. The findings, according to University of Illinois professor Charles Hillman and colleagues, “demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity for improving childhood cognition and brain health.” If it seems odd that this is something that still needs support, that’s because it is odd, yes. Physical activity is clearly a high, high-yield investment for all kids, but especially those attentive or hyperactive. This brand of research is still published and written about as though it were a novel finding, in part because exercise programs for kids remain underfunded and underprioritized in many school curricula, even though exercise is clearly integral to maximizing the utility of time spent in class.”

A picture’s worth a thousand words.  Here’s a picture of brain function with and without exercise.  “Electrophysiological plots representing brain processing capacity and mental workload (P3 amplitude) during cognitive tasks that require executive control in children in the experiment and control groups. Red represents the greatest amplitude, and blue the lowest.
(Hillman et al, Pediatrics/The Atlantic)”

Movement and physical exercise wins the day!  And so much more so with math than other subjects.  It should be a no-brainer to include (or reinstate) p.e. classes, but beyond having p.e. tacked on as an extra subject, lies the very real truth that movement should be an integral part of all academics.

Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Grade 3 (& Every Age): Move It! For Healthy Bodies & Minds (#217) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 216

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post is on one aspect the 9 year old’s beginning relationship to time and how to best tune in to this developmental window.  In Grade 3, the timeless quality of younger childhood gives way to the child’s burgeoning sense of being in the world and caught up in the web of time.  Because of the fragile nature of this transition, care must be taken to approach the subject of time in a colorful, storied, and anecdotal way, that nonetheless imparts its true legacy.

One of the main features cited by the Common Core’s proponents is that it goes into great depth in both content and presentation.  The perceived problem with this so-called rigor is that it’s more often than not developmentally inappropriate, leading to frustration for both children and parents and truly unhealthy outcomes for children who are over-tested and pushed into realms and modes of thinking and learning that they are simply not ready for.

Today’s “timely” focus will be the months of the year.  The origins of their names are really quite random and surprising, as they are made up of Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses, a Roman feast, two emperors, and numbers that do not coincide with their place in the calendar.  Here they are:

January: the Roman God Janus, who looks both forward and back, endings and beginnings
February: the Roman feast Februa, for cleansing and renewal
March: Mars, the Roman God of War
April: Aprillis taken from Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty
May: Maia, the Goddess of Spring
June: Juno, the Roman Goddess of marriage and the home
July: Julius Caesar created the Julian calendar in 46 BC and named this month for himself
August: Augustus Caesar completed the calendar reform and named this month for himself
September: from septum, Latin for the number 7
October: from octo, Latin for the number 8
November: from novem, Latin for the number 9
December: from decem, Latin for the number 10

In ancient Rome, the winter months were so bleak and empty they weren’t even given a place in the calendar!  The year started when war could resume, in the month dedicated to its God Mars, March.  September, our ninth month, was then considered the seventh month, and the next three months took their cue from that.  Many wonderful stories can be woven from these bare facts, as well as rich and colorful drawings.  Here are some of the months, represented by Janus, Mars, Maia, Juno, and the numbers 7, 8, and 9.

Connecting deep knowledge to the rich tapestry of history is much more effective than focusing on facts as we find them today, and drilling such dry material into children’s heads.  In contrast, knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Grade 3: It’s Time for Time (#216) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 215

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post will focus on the special needs that arise for the 9 year old in Grade 3.  As the growing child makes first forays out into the world, a dual need arises, that of autonomy and authority.  Here is an excerpt from the Math By Hand Grade 3 binder.

“There are many “practice runs” at leaving the world of childhood. At age 9, this feeling of “leaving the garden” can be quite strong, and may bring insecurities and fears as well as a deeper questioning of authority. Dependence and innocence are slowly on the wane, as a newfound sense of autonomy begins to take root.

Though this is usually accompanied by the questioning of authority, the need for authority and reassurance in some ways is greater now than ever. At 9, there’s a new beginning, a learning to walk in the world as a responsible and caring member of the community. Just as when a toddler is learning to walk, much loving support is needed at this time. Some of this support can come from creation stories like Genesis, from the Bible’s Old Testament, as well as those of other cultures.

An echo of “leaving the garden” is found in these words, along with much reassuring evidence that life goes on. Strong authority figures, and those continually grappling with matters of conscience and responsibility are featured in these stories, providing a bright and guiding beacon through the sometimes thorny thicket of growing up.

The post Grade 3: Why Handwork & Housebuilding? (#215) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 214

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Rock-solid basics are so essential to a good math education.  But those basics need to be taught imaginatively, creatively, and enthusiastically.  Math, of all other subjects, needs to follow this rule.  Turning off to math is too often a one-way street, a dead end.  Kindle a spark in every child’s mind, and watch the robust fire/desire to learn take hold.  Today’s post features just such sparks for third graders, as they get every times table mastered, in preparation for fourth grade and beyond.

The nines table is pattern-rich, and patterns are so essential to times tables mastery!  These two activities will insure that every child will never again forget the nines table.  Much fun and creativity will be had along the way, with surprise in movement, and a colorful illustration to solidify the lesson.

NINES BY HAND!

Number fingers 1-10
Start at the left little finger
Lower the relevant finger
Say 9 times that number
The tens are to the left of the lowered finger
The ones are to the right of the lowered finger

Left little finger / 1 X 9 = 9 (0 tens / 9 ones)
Left ring finger / 2 X 9 = 18 (1 ten / 8 ones)
Left middle finger / 3 X 9 = 27 (2 tens / 7 ones)
Left index finger / 4 X 9 = 36 (3 tens / 6 ones)
and so on . . . have fun with nines!

NINES UP!

Pre-number 20 index cards, two sets of 0-9, one number on each card
Line up 10 children, each holding double cards facing out
With fewer than 10, line up just the cards facing out
Move the numbers together in pairs as shown
Start with 0 and 9 and go up to 4 and 5
(9 X 1 – 5)
Reverse the numbers one by one:
Take the top cards, leaving the bottom ones
Start with 5 and 4 and go up to 9 and 0
(9 X 6 – 10)
Help the children illustrate the pattern as shown above . . . have fun with nines!

Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in again tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Nines Alive: Patterns Are Key to Times Tables Success (#214) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 213

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post features another example of how fun and games can make learning times tables more exciting, doable, and successful. Note that this is taken from the Math By Hand newsletter, issue #43. To receive FREE, fun math lessons and activities in your email inbox every week, subscribe!  Opt in right here or on our Facebook page.

X-WINKS RACE TO THE TOP!

This is a variation on the game Tiddlywinks. It can be played indoors on a cloth covered table or on a flat, thin carpet. You will need thin masking tape, a piece of chunky chalk, and a dime and a quarter (or tiddlywinks) for each player. Adjust the times table used to fit any grade level.

1) Choose a times table and announce it.

2) Mark off a starting line and a finish line and 11 even spaces in between with the tape.

3) Number the spaces from 1-12 with the chalk, in order at first, then mixed up for a greater challenge.

4) After announcing the times table, each player takes turns winking the dime, using the quarter.

5) The object is to wink the dime into as many spaces as possible saying the correct equation for each space, i.e. 3 x 2 is 6. Winking must always progress toward the finish line, no going back.

6) The player who covers the most spaces and/or has the most correct equations wins.

See newsletter #43 for another fun times tables activity: The X-Cross Paper Race. This fast-paced, exciting game uses 24 weighty objects, color-coded yarn or string, and post-it notes, in a race to see who can match the most times tables numbers!

It is absolutely essential that times tables be solidly in place by mid to end of Grade 3.  Drill and kill is not the answer however.  Having fun with it is.  Why?  Because knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Tiddlywinks! More Times Tables Fun (#213) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 212

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful.

Today’s post features an example of how fun and games can make learning times tables more fun and doable.  Note that this is taken from the Math By Hand newsletter, issue #39.  To receive FREE, fun math lessons and activities in your email inbox every week, subscribe to the Math By Hand newsletter, using the opt-in form on the right.

PICK UP MATH STIX

1) You can make a set of pick-up sticks with your children’s help. (Making them is 1/2 the fun!) Cut 30-50 wooden dowels in equal lengths, sharpen both ends with a pencil sharpener and sand them smooth. Here are suggested lengths and widths: 12″ x 1/4″ – 15″ x 3/8″ – 24″ x 1/2″ (you can make them larger as well, for use as a fun outdoor set).

2) Apply masking tape all around about 3 inches from the point, at both ends of each stick. Using at least 3 bright colors, paint both ends with quick-drying poster paint. Leave the special stick used as the “picker upper” unpainted, or paint it with bands of color. Remove the tape when dry.

3) You’ll need 30-50 small self-stick labels. Make 3-5 sets of the numbers 0-9, using black crayon or magic marker, and wrap a label tightly around one end of each stick, under the color. (Or apply the number labels to a ready-made set instead.)

4) Play just like pick-up sticks, with a twist. Have pencil and paper on hand for each player, and for every 2 sticks picked up, each player must either add or subtract/ grades 1-2, or multiply/ grades 3+ and the winner is the one with the most sticks and/ or the most correct answers!

It is absolutely essential that times tables be solidly in place by mid to end of Grade 3.  Drill and kill is not the answer however.  Having fun with it is.  Why?  Because knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Grade 3 Times Tables Fun & Games (#212) appeared first on Math By Hand.

A Year in the Life: Ambient Math Wins the Race to the Top!
Day 211

For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.”

And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times. Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful. Today’s post features the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot.

Sukkot is a wonderful way to begin the Grade 3 year!  When I taught a Waldorf Grade 3 in Michigan, I had a class Dad help us build a lashed, open-walled structure with tree branches and a thatch-ready roof.  We kept the walls open and thatched the roof with willowy, leafy tree branches, then enjoyed a traditional harvest meal in our sukkah.  Here are several excerpts re Sukkot from Tori Avery’s blog.

“Temporary structures known as “sukkah” can range in size from small (just large enough for two people) to enormous. A sukkah is constructed with three or four walls and a roof known as a “schach” made from natural organic materials. It must be at least three feet tall, and you must be able to see the sky through the roof—if you can’t, the sukkah is not considered “kosher.” Traditionally, Jewish families decorate the sukkah with a variety of decorations including homemade ornaments, paintings, and streamers. Often decorations are inspired by harvest foods and the seven species of Israel mentioned in Deuteronomy: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, dates, wheat and barley.

Sukkot is a harvest holiday, which means that the foods served are seasonal in nature. The Sukkot menu generally features vegetables and fruits that are harvested at the turn of the season—apples, squash, eggplants, grapes, etc. As a food lover, this holiday is one of my favorites because we are encouraged to create dishes from fresh and delicious seasonal ingredients. The arrival of Sukkot ushers in the autumn season; Sukkot foods are inspired by the bounty of the harvest.”

Since the Old Testament, gardening, and housebuilding are all included, this is a perfect fit with the Grade 3 curriculum!  The comfort and satisfaction my third graders felt was palpable as they helped build and then enjoyed their “harvest house.”  See below for a quick and easy sukkah, built with recycled lathe and large, metal can lids.  This dome sukkah, from Volecipede, is partially thatched and quite spacious inside.

Above all, help your third graders build a home on this earth, and all else will fall quite beautifully into place.  Remember as always, that knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of knowledge as a worthy goal. Tune in tomorrow for more Grade 3 fun!

The post Common Core’s Done: Time for Some Grade 3 Fun! (#211) appeared first on Math By Hand.