For my oldest daughter Makayla math is something to be endured, not enjoyed. Moving to Math U See in 3rd grade improved things a bit because she was finally understanding math. Yesterday is a day that will go down in history because it is the first day my daughter did math for fun.
I even took a picture as proof!
Makayla worked for nearly three hours. I wondered if she had been brainwashed or reprogrammed in some way but she assures me she’s still herself.
As you can’t tell from that picture let me explain just what she’s doing. It’s called Your Business Math: Pet Store from Simply Charlotte Mason. 
I bought it a while ago, printed it out, and put it on a shelf for later because I knew she wasn’t ready for it. As a matter of fact I’m not convinced she’s ready now but the important thing is Makayla has decided she wants to do it. That means things like figuring profit margins, keeping expense records, and paying bills are stepping stones she’ll tackle by choice. I won’t have to convince her of the need to learn how to figure percentages, keep a checkbook, or do a whole lot of math.
UPDATE: Before I was able to push publish this morning she dragged me off to check something in her Pet Store math. She’s been doing it for the last hour this morning and isn’t stopping yet. I love it! Needless to say all her lessons are on hold until she decides she has had enough business math. I’m not about to interrupt.
7 comments:
Awesome!!! I love when kids realize how much fun they can have learning!
That is great! My oldest (girl) has some of the same issues I read about yours. I might have to check that out...maybe give it to her for a "summer" project. She is getting really tired of long division...but we are almost done with the Delta book. I am also trying to mix up our math lessons a bit with one day a week dedicated to playing math games. It is so FABULOUS when they take charge of their learning! Hooray for you!
My goodness, my dd would love the Pet Store version. I just looked up the SCM Curriculum Guide and it looks like they schedule it for grade 5 (even though they say it is for grades 3-5). Would you agree that the older ones would get more out of it? We actually use Rightstart and are on D right now (3rd grade), so we fit perfectly in their schedule. Questions: Is it a year long program? You said you printed it out but would you rather have gotten the printed version? I'm just so excited to hear about this!! And that is great that she loves it. Thanks for sharing!
Let's see if I can answer your questions. I'm not familiar with rightstart but in this program you need to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, figure percentages, work with decimals. For example, in the beginning you order inventory (multiply price by # or item at each price), then add all those for a total. Then you figure markup on each item to decide what price you'll actually sell them at(figuring percents), and you'll have to figure sales tax, pay bills, etc.
It can last a while, depends on the child. Makayla is flying through it. In the teacher manual it offers 3 possible schedules to finish it in 14, 26, or 36 weeks. It really depends on how much your child wants to do each week. There is a sStartup, 12 months of business, and a wrap up.
I don't mind printing and sticking it in a binder and with 7 kiddos who will be able to go through this it's much more cost effective to go the e-book route. If you only have 1 or 2 kids to put through the course then buying their own copies will save you time.
Totally love that. It will probably change her WHOLE outlook on math. It still may not be her favorite subject, but she has found joy in it. Wonderful! It's neat to see a kid break through that ceiling and really launch forward. How exciting! Tell her I am really proud of her for sticking with it! It will get easier and easier.
Jen
Wow, that is awesome. I thought you were going to say it was Life of Fred that you added to her schedule. Wa Hoo! Love this about homeschooling. Find what works and get out of her way.
Thanks for answering all my questions. I'm excited about it.
Post a Comment