Things Worth Remembering The three habits that lead to success are: Patience, Application, and Vision.
It is always better to be underestimated.
There are three things that are better than riches: Health, Freedom, and Honor.
Think swiftly, speak softly, act wisely.
All from: The Book of Celtic Wisdom
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[to Jawa]
“Hey, what are you trying to push on us?” – Uncle Owen, Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Maybe it’s just me, but I think books have perhaps lost something in the push to put as much on a page as possible. While I love the info to be gleaned from pictures and side bars, they can get a bit distracting when they’re over-done. Padawan Learner and I are reading (and enjoying) both of Joy Hakim’s series as read-alouds, The History of US and The Story of Science. But man, there’s so many side bars and pictures and topic-related inserts (that take up an entire page or two) in these books that it gets confusing to follow. Sheesh. There’s many a day that I long for the “good ol’ days” of black words on a white page with only the occasional block print illustration.
Lando: ”You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds.”
Princess Leia: [coolly] “Thank you.”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Sometimes I see something that just blows my hair back. This is one of those times. The videoes I’m referring to are a visual series about mathematics and spacial relationships, and I recommend that you watch them all. The home website is Dimensions; from there you can watch the entire series. Lest you mistakenly think I’m brilliant, the credit must go to Diane Flynn Keith who publishes the rave-reviewed ClickSchooling Ezine with 10,600+ subscribers. If you’re ready to save time and money with fun, web-based curriculum ideas, get your FREE subscription now at ClickSchooling.
CLICKSCHOOLING REVIEW:
Recommended Website:
Dimensions
http://www.dimensions-math.org/Dim_E.htm
Age Range: 12 and up (Don’t let that stop you from sharing aspects with younger children/students.)
My thanks to MaryAnna for recommending this terrific website that will open even the most math-reluctant minds to the beauty and dimensions of mathematics. 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. The film is divided into 9 chapters as follows:
*Chapter 1, Dimension Two – Learn or review what meridians and parallels are, and “enjoy the spectacle of the Earth rolling like a ball!”
*Chapter 2, Dimension Three – Mixes “elementary” math with imagination and philosophical elements and provides some exercises to make sure you’ve understood the material.
*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 13 minutes long. Watch it in segments or sit down and watch the whole 117 minutes 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!”
Diane Flynn Keith
for ClickSchooling
Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved
http://www.Homefires.com
http://www.Carschooling.com
http://www.UniversalPreschool.com
Permission to copy the above review in its entirety was obtained from the author.
“Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who, and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this I will.” – Yoda, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
Dangerous. Disturbing. Mind-numbingly confusing. That’s sudoku puzzles to me. I’m a fairly clever girl when it comes to puzzles and mind-twisters, but sudoku has me stumped. It’s so simple: put the numbers 1 through 9 in each column, row and 3×3 box. Yet simple only describes my brain cells when they’re around that type of puzzle. Dad Windu, on the other hand, is a sudoku junkie. He carries a little pad of them around the house, taking every free second he gets to pop another number into the grid. This morning he explained the process for completing a sudoku to me again. I understand the concept, I really do. What I don’t understand is why my brain can’t see the patterns that Dad Windu sees so easily. After about 8 minutes, I had to stop. My brain hurt, literally; I was getting a headache from staring so intently at the page. DW, on the other hand, runs through the Medium level ones (like I was working on) in two minutes or so…while holding a conversation nonetheless. ARGH! He completes the one in the Sunday paper every week; he even looks forward to it! I don’t get it.
And that’s probably a good thing. It’s good for me to remember that the things that come easily to me are not necessarily easy. And there are days that I forget that. Where’s my book of word searches? Now that’s a puzzle I can get into. (In fact, I’m a bit of a junkie about them.)
My Super Bowl commentary will be limited to the dumbest thing I heard during the pre-game show and the best use of air-time during the Half-Time Show.
- “F. Scotts Fitzgerald once wrote…” F. Scotts? I just couldn’t listen past that. She might have solved the problem of world hunger, but I’ll never know because I instinctively shut her out.
- Switching the channel over to the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. Mrs. Sunday Morning Doughnut Buddy announced that it was cute overload. Mr. Sunday Morning Doughnut Buddy said that it redefined pointless but acknowledged that the actual half-time show would have as well.
“I’ve heard this lesson before.” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
And you know what? I’m willing to bet that Anakin had. He’d probably heard Obi-Wan go on and on about the importance of putting away his robes, watching where he pointed that lightsaber, and remembering to keep his mind on what he was doing a thousand times (not to mention all the times he was told to remember who was the Padawan and who was the Master). I’m equally sure that the words didn’t even register in Anakin’s mind as having being spoken half the time. No, make that three quarters of the time.
Sigh. Obi-Wan certainly had Anakin’s best interests in mind, but sometimes all a Jedi can do is lay out the rules, explain them well, and let the consequences fall. Such is the way it is with math sometimes around here at the Jedi Academy. I’m a bit of a stickler for showing your work in math, showing what you’ve done to get from initial problem to solution. Not only does it make it easier for me to see how he’s thinking problems through and finding where any problems arose along the way, but it also makes it easier for him to keep track of what he’s doing and avoid those silly, simple mistakes that are so easy to slip by when working with negative numbers, multiple steps and variables. And yet… despite a “remember to show your work” reminder, I got a page of numbers listed from 1 to 42 with the final answer next to them. The majority of incorrect solutions would have easily been caught if only he had… wait for it… shown his work.
Guess what is going to be absolutely required from now on for all math problems that require more than 1 step. You got it: all math work will be neatly and completely shown or it won’t be accepted as completed. Let’s all hope that it won’t take more than a few returns before the lesson sticks.
What is the ‘If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times’ thing around your house that makes you want to tap on your kid on the head to make sure someone is really in there?
Darth Sidious: ”Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66.”
Commander Cody: ”Yes, my Lord.” [gestures towards Obi-Wan] ”Blast him!”
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Just so you know, Order 66 was an order from Darth Sidious (Emporer Palpatine) to the clone army, an order to kill all the Jedi. It’s when all the wheels fall off the Republic wagon, when everyone has picked their path to follow. That’s how this week has felt. Padawan Learner is hell-bent on making himself a schedule to get everything that is piled on the living room’s coffee table done before June 30. Done has become a very.big.deal to him lately.
Hey, no problem. It’s good to make goals for yourself, push yourself, see what you can do. Except when you make everyone around you (and yourself) crazy in the process. Padawan Learner can be a bit, well, pig-headed about things sometimes. I don’t know where he gets that trait. Sigh. He’s been complaining all week about not being able to get everything he scheduled for this week, done.
Done. Done. Done.
The fact that he has included far more than anyone could ever finish is irrelevant. Dad Windu and I have said, time and again, that there is no “last day of school” at our house. That the puzzles, books and experiments have no ultimate deadline attached to them…or else. But, he is determined to get it done OR prepare for a life as a jobless, homeless uneducated vagrant. Because it has to be one of those two options. Black OR white. This way OR that. Curing cancer and a Nobel at 15 OR dumpster diving for moldy cheese. There is no gray, no middle ground, this week.
He’s eating my brain.
What is it that Chris Issak sings on the album ‘Speak of the Devil’? Oh, that’s right. “Please, you’re killing me.”
This is the hardest part of parenting for me, and of homeschooling – letting mistakes be made, letting him flounder and flop a bit. It would be so much simpler for him to take me at my word, to follow my suggestions like he did when he was little, to use my years of acquired wisdom. Easier now, but harder later when he’ll have to make bigger, tougher decisions on his own. Sometimes growing up is painful – to do and to watch. There’s just no way around that.
“Remember: Your focus determines your reality.” - Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
In the end, it came down to the Pre-Algebra programs from Thinkwell or Chalk Dust. They’re both strong, content-intensive, video-based programs, which appeals to Padawan Learner’s preference for learning things visually and auditorially.
We borrowed the Chalk Dust Algebra I tapes and book from M-T’s Mom and both Dad Windu and I were impressed by how thoroughly and clearly the instructor presented the materials. I was especially impressed by the number of examples that Dana Mosley uses to really drive a point home. He is, however, a tiny bit dry (fine for me, but less so for PL) and the lessons seem to drag on a bit (because of all those great examples). The biggest drawback is the price. Chalk Dust is almost prohibitively expensive. That said, I would say that I think that they’re probably worth every penny in quality of instruction and the extent of material covered. The price wouldn’t have been a make or break deal, especially since there is a huge market for used Chalk Dust programs (for just this reason).
Thinkwell’s program is based online, with the option to buy CDs for additional offline use. This is nice as there is no delay in starting the program and you can access it from anywhere. You also aren’t without your program completely if you lose or break a CD. Because of the internet-based nature of the program, it can be produced and distributed less expensively as well. I was very, very impressed by Edward Burger’s teaching style, which incorporates a lot of humor. Essential, for a lot of kids. The lessons are very engaging, the material and examples are top notch, and the individual units are short and to the point. You can tell that he absolutely loves math and loves teaching math.
After letting PL watch both demo videos, I left the choice up to him. We talked about the pros and cons to each program and he had a little bit of a hard time choosing. In the end, he chose the Thinkwell program, preferring the humor-laced instruction and the unit by unit layout. He also liked being able to track his progress through the online program and doing the chapter reviews online. We signed up and he started yesterday afternoon.
“Into exile, I must go. Failed, I have.” – Yoda, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Saxon 1/2 is being banished from Padawan Learner’s homeschooling routine. It is a completely poor fit for him. I know, I know. There are legions out there who just love this program, who swear by this program, who think it’s the best thing e.v.er … I am not one of them. Granted, it’s an easy math program for parents who don’t want to do math with their kids or for kids who want to do math by themselves (being pretty much a self-teaching text), but it’s an absolute disaster for kids who don’t learn best by rote memorization and who always want to know “Why?”. This was the deal breaker for Padawan Learner.
Every day, he’d be cruising along feeling all smart and sassy, following along with the straight and narrow explanations in the book, until the problem sets took a left turn or he ran across one on the following days’ review sets. He became a first class “number plugger” when the problems looked exactly like the examples but get him into a different type of situation and he was lost. Obviously, the Saxon method isn’t teaching him to think about using these numbers and methods flexibly to solve a problem, or how to translate the information and processes into dissimilar situations.
So we’re moving on.
While I look into other materials that might work better for either this year or for next, I’m taking the Saxon 1/2 book and making real-life projects, puzzles and “chew on these” questions out of the information that he has been learning and what he would be studying in the coming weeks. I’m emphasizing the relationships between topics – area and per unit costs, LCM and ratios, for example – and building them into challenges for him to sift through, puzzle over and figure out. I’ll be there to help him make sense of the mathematics, giving him nudges and clues along the way, but ultimately he seems to grasp concepts quicker, more easily and more deeply when he’s allowed to chew on them as part of a larger whole.
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