Restoration Place

New Math Curriculum ~ Teaching Textbooks

Not great photo quality -- still trying to figure out how to use my new camera.

After a very frustrating year of math with my oldest child, in the middle of which I asked Karl (math and engineering expert) to intervene and chart a course for her and the other children for the remainder of the year, I was finally motivated to take a look at Teaching Textbooks.

I'm weak with anything beyond basic math, don't know how to introduce new concepts creatively to a child who really needs it, can't possibly convey any sort of enthusiasm for math, and honestly, I don't like it. I'm grateful my oldest can now pop in a CD-ROM, open her math book, and with little guidance from me, make progress and admit that she sort of likes it.

  

Maggie is using Teaching Textbooks 7, Jacob Teaching Textbooks 5, and Katie Teaching Textbooks 3.

I'm one of those home educating moms whose weakness in math has led to trying several different math programs through the years (Making Math Meaningful, Math U See, and finally Harcourt Family Learning Math, but I think we've found something we can all live with for at least the next couple of years.

 

Waving Hello

What do you say after it's been so long, you're weary of this season in your life, you're not sure if you ever really want to blog again (but some people would enjoy it if you would, like hubby, mom and sister, and you could imagine finding joy in it again ;-), you're perimenopausal, you feel raw and are just trying to survive, and can't see what's around the next corner? 

I think it would all sound like one long whine, and I don't know who wants to read that.

   

Beautiful sunlight streaming into our woods and yard recently.

Karl began his new job three months ago and comes home for the weekends (our 135 lb. Redbone Coonhound stands watch over the house in Karl's absence). The house listed nearly two months ago and continues to attract traffic, and we've had some contracts that didn't work out for various reasons (controlled grimace).

 

Exploring in our creek down the hill.
  

There are fresh flowers and birthdays and children running and playing and meals and laundry and getting ready for house showings and loading the dog into the back of the vehicle for each one.

 
 These red-dyed sunflowers make me smile every time I look at them.

And baby ring necked snakes and moths that match dark spots in beech tree bark and all the other normal stuff that makes up this life.

 

  

Baby snake (which I picked up), moth (unidentified), Ben lounging with Pepper,

Maggie sewing on Nana's machine which she brought when she came to visit.

If I can find breathing space, I'll be back. I'd like to clean and freshen up the blog, unless real life intervenes. Until then, blessings to you and yours.