My Dad always told (warned?) me I'd grow up to teach math one day. His theory is that whatever you hated most in school will turn out to be what you do for the rest of you life. Cynical (potentially), I know.... but here I am teaching math!
I have found two programs that I & We LOVE:
(We are in no way affiliated w/ these organizations - other than as customers. I'm so happy with them - I'm afraid I may sound like a commercial!)
1. ALEKS ( Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces )
ALEKS is 100% computer based, no textbook, free 2 day trial, reasonably priced math learning tool.
As a HSing Mom of 3 for 4 years - I think this program is incredible!!!!
My 10 year old just said to me, "Whoever designed this program is a genius!!".
* ALEKS uses smart software that learns your child's strengths & weaknesses.
* The problems your child is given change according to his or her performance and the record of that performance is shown on a piechart that has broken down each skill area into minute detail, geared to reflect state standards.
* Aleks will break down your child's performance according to each state standard - With one click, you can change the state!!
* The pie chart reflects mastery as well as what needs practice. Kiddo practices, learns & aleks fills in the piechart as your child demonstrates mastery. My child LOVES this!!
* Aleks keeps track of everything your child has done, when it was done, the likelihood that your child has really mastered it and provides all kinds of easy to read reports on progress.
* Tables practices for the 4 operations are also included w/separate reports included.
* While it took 24 hours to get back to my email question & I waited on hold (speaker phone) for about 3 minutes: The Customer Service was GREAT!!! The program is VERY EASY to use, but I was feeling impatient & overwhelmed by the bells & whistles. Also - depending on your computer, the program runs better on either Safari or Firefox. Firefox wouldn't run it for me, but we had zero problems on Safari.
I just can't recommend this option highly enough for kids over 9 or 10 years old. It may work just fine for younger kids, too - but my personal preference is to keep the younger ones off electronic media......
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Learning Latin!!
After a long search, I finally decided on using Getting Started with Latin by William E. Linney. This is perfect for us for the following reasons: 1) No prior knowledge of Latin needed to learn or teach from the text, 2) Short, easy lessons that build very, very gradually - before you know it, you've gained some proficiency! , 3)Common Latin expressions are explained throughout - my kids really dig this!, 4) With shipping, this course cost about$20.00 from Amazon. The free website has FREE : recordings of correct pronunciation, additional lecture & study material as well as a link to some great online quizzes a HSing Dad created & is sharing - all for FREE!!
We are also playing with:
1. Easy Latin Crossword Puzzles by Robinett & Allen. These are alot of fun (if you like Latin - in general, I hate crossword puzzles - but I love doing these) and are nice mixed in with the Getting Started with Latin lessons.
2. Rummy Roots. This is a card game similar to "Go Fish", but you are matching English translations to Greek & Latin root words. The kids like it & I'm glad we have it, but I could have just made the cards myself. In fact, I think I will make some using the words in the Getting Started with Latin!!!
3. We also have Winnie the Pooh & Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone in Latin. Maybe we will be able to read them some day! For now, we are content to flip through the pages, oohing & aaahhing ('Cause that's just the kind of wild & crazy people we are!)
We did NOT like:
Powerspeak, Latin. (Though we use & do like Powerspeak, Spanish Elementary 1)
Powerspeak, Latin is an afterthought at this point. The program is not fully developed and developing it is not a priority because demand for online immersion style language programs in Latin is very limited (shocker, right?). We tried it for an hour & received a refund right away. The customer service reps seemed a little embarrassed to be associated w/the Latin program, actually.
Recommendations are ALWAYS Welcome & Appreciated!!
We are also playing with:
1. Easy Latin Crossword Puzzles by Robinett & Allen. These are alot of fun (if you like Latin - in general, I hate crossword puzzles - but I love doing these) and are nice mixed in with the Getting Started with Latin lessons.
2. Rummy Roots. This is a card game similar to "Go Fish", but you are matching English translations to Greek & Latin root words. The kids like it & I'm glad we have it, but I could have just made the cards myself. In fact, I think I will make some using the words in the Getting Started with Latin!!!
3. We also have Winnie the Pooh & Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone in Latin. Maybe we will be able to read them some day! For now, we are content to flip through the pages, oohing & aaahhing ('Cause that's just the kind of wild & crazy people we are!)
We did NOT like:
Powerspeak, Latin. (Though we use & do like Powerspeak, Spanish Elementary 1)
Powerspeak, Latin is an afterthought at this point. The program is not fully developed and developing it is not a priority because demand for online immersion style language programs in Latin is very limited (shocker, right?). We tried it for an hour & received a refund right away. The customer service reps seemed a little embarrassed to be associated w/the Latin program, actually.
Recommendations are ALWAYS Welcome & Appreciated!!
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