It’s Monday, and I wanted to bring you Homeschooling Resources for for Math. Please check out the Recommended Websites:If you have used these resources what did you think of them and why?
Yo-Yo Math!
Age Range: 4-10 (Grades PreK-5, with parental supervision) Saturday, June 6th was National Yo-Yo Day! It’s also the birthday of yo-yo manufacturer Donald F. Duncan. Here are some fun ways to celebrate with some Yo-Yo-themed math activities and more.
The link above takes you directly to the pdf where you can download and print a Yo-Yo Math Mat. Hang on — there’s more to this site than just the Yo-Yo mat, so read all the way through this review.
Once you print out the Yo-Yo Math Mat, use it to play a math game with your child(ren). You will need a math mat for each player, at least one die, and tokens (pennies or poker chips work).
Let’s say you were going to play a game of number recognition from 1-6. Give each child a math mat and tokens. Each child takes turns rolling the die.
If the child(ren) can identify the number on the die, then he/she covers one yo-yo design on the mat. Continue until someone fills all of the squares on the mat.
Older or more math-savvy children could roll 2 die and add the numbers together, or multiply the numbers. Those that get the correct answer would cover their yo-yos with tokens.
These mats can also be used to practice letters, sight words, and punctuation marks, etc. It just depends on the ability level and interest of the child. You’ll find all kinds of math mats at this site for just about every topic imaginable. The main math mat page is here.
After doing your math homework, it’s time for some Yo-Yo fun!
At this site you can watch videos that demonstrate popular tricks like “Walk the Dog” or “Shoot the Moon.” Kids can improve coordination and dexterity by trying these Yo-Yo techniques.
Yo-Yo ability varies from kid to kid. These tricks look geared for ages 9 and up. (Parents, as always, should preview this site to determine suitability for your own child.)
Recommended Website:
Age Range: 12-18 (Grades 7-12, with parental supervision) Created by three math enthusiasts (with terrific credentials) this site offers a free film on mathematics that references the work of renown mathematicians, scientists, artists, and others in a multi-media presentation that is sure to amaze and (hopefully) make the subject matter understandable.
When you get to the site, click on “Tour/Guide” to get an overview of the course. Then click on “Watch Online” and choose “American English” to start the video in English. Of course, if you prefer, you can watch it in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Arabic.
Back on the main page, click on “Details” so you can follow along by chapter:
- Chapter 1, Dimension Two – Learn or review what meridians and parallels are.
- Chapter 2, Dimension Three – Mixes “elementary” math with imagination and philosophical elements.
- Chapters 3 and 4, Fourth Dimension – Contains more difficult mathematical concepts. However, the viewer is encouraged to pause the film and consult a reference page for additional information. As the creators explain, “you can always sit back and enjoy the pictures!”
- Chapters 5 and 6 – Contains an introduction to complex numbers that could also be used as a refresher course. As the designers explain, “If you know nothing about complex numbers, you should push the pause button as often as you like, and try to understand using the references that we propose. These chapters are the most ‘school-like’ of the film. To thank you for your efforts, chapter 6 ends with an amazing deep zoom scene.”
- Chapters 7 and 8 – Get an introduction to the Hopf fibration. Again the film creators explain that even though it’s not beginner’s stuff, “it is quite pretty and deserves to be understood.”
- Chapter 9 – Shows the proof of a theorem of geometry that is relatively “elementary.” As the designers explain, “Without proofs for theorems mathematics would not exist, and we wanted to make this very clear at the end of a film that is essentially about mathematical objects.”
Each lesson or “chapter” of the film is almost 14 minutes long. Watch it in segments or sit down and watch the whole thing in one sitting. You are encouraged to use it in a way that works for you “based on your interest, your prior knowledge on the subject, or simply on your mood of the moment!”
Recommended Website: LocalHS.com – Math Age Range: 5-18 (Grades K-12, with parental supervision) This website, owned by homeschooling parents, offers a FREE worksheet generator. Best of all, this worksheet generator also provides instant answer sheets for the quizzes you generate – available with just a click of your mouse. When you get to the site, scroll down to: Free Subtraction Worksheets, or Free Addition Worksheets. Local Homeschool worksheet generators allow you to choose the parameters to create worksheets, timed tests, and practice sets. This worksheet generator creates worksheets with large numbers – even negative numbers. When you are done with the worksheet generators, check out “Learning Multiplication” on the left side bar to find some resources including multiplication games, worksheets, additional multiplication sites, and more! |
| Thank you, Glenda, Charlie and David Cates |
