math | my project4peace

Now that I’m homeschooling it will be nice to spend time with Dylan learning about where our food comes from, and what else we can do to create a more sustainable lifestyle. I think just the experience of having the chickens in our back yard, and being aware of them as fellow creatures changes the way we respect and honor the food that is provided by them. Something I would not have realized until living with these funny fellows.

Still gathering information on materials and curriculum for the year. We are enjoying Right Start Math www.rightstartmath.com very much. It is a lot of review for him right now, but I feel that coupled with his Montessori background her approach has lots of well thought out exercises layering repetition and with elements that fix in the mind visually. I beginning to see Dylan use these visual elements to help him navigate his challenges with sequence and working memory. Working in with the numbers on the RS abacus helps him with his difficulties with counting. He is able to see the quantities up to 5, then after that it’s 5 with additional to 10, then 10 with 1-5 and so on. It is such a small thing but it is what is working for him. He already understands place value, and the operations, but this stumbling block has prevented him from moving forward in math. In right start she begins the second level with a lot of partitioning numbers and using story problems for real life application which Dylan has been very fond of. It’s much more fun to practice something when you know what your are applying it to, this will also help him generalize his learning right away to practical applications. I am so thrilled to see him enjoying what he is doing! Small bites, freedom within limits that are specific to his needs, tons of patience and trust that if I observe him and what he gravitates to and what motivates him and meet him where he is, I will be better able to provide those materials that he will both learn from and enjoy. Though harder to observe, not as straight forward because avoidance is an abundant force, that has built up over the years, I still feel like when I stay in the moment with him, and don’t live in my fears, or expectations, I am present enough to see those moments when he is engaged and learning, and that is what I need to pay attention to to tell me what is next. For the first time, his Dad came home and he was excited to tell him about his accomplishments with a program called Reading Naturally-http://www.readnaturally.com/products/readlive.htm. Mini moments that feel like trumpets are sounding through the heavens. Little lifelines of hope.

Here are some reviews from a homeschool website- be sure to read many for clear view and know what your goal is. http://www.homeschoolmath.net/curriculum_reviews/rightstart.php

Arizona Science Center – Phoenix, Arizona

Free series on food and it’s impact on ourselves and the world around us. Screening FRESH the film, and lots of great speakers. Check out the schedule. All held at 4:45-6:45pm

Aug 18th FRESH film and Lecture- Carole De Cosmo

Sept 8- Film American Meat -Lecture TBA

Oct 13th Urban Farming Greg Peterson

Nov 17th Film-Truck Farm