Okay, here is the long awaited mathematics post.

I love math. More specifically, I love accounting. Really. Nothing makes me feel more uplifted than doing all the banking and budgeting and having all those numbers come out perfectly. I once called the bank to inform them of a number reversal error (it read 21 cents instead of 12).

But for all that, I’m not very good at math. I was never able to memorize my times tables, I still use my fingers to count, and I’m only capable of “mental math” when I have a paper and pencil. Even so, I managed to graduate from University with a minor in mathematics and went on to specialize in middle and upper years mathematics. I also discovered a passion for tutoring junior and high school students in algebra and geometry.

So, right from the beginning of my home school journey I knew that certain things, like drill and times table memorization, were not always necessary in order to enjoy or be good at mathematics.

When Not-so-LittlePage1 was five, I stumbled on the Charlotte Mason approach to education and found a recommendation to use Making Math Meaningful. I looked at samples and liked what I saw, so I ordered the Kindergarten book. My daughter already seemed to know everything in the book, and it seemed like a waste of time to sit down and work on what she already knew; especially when I had three younger children all in diapers. So math was laid aside.

The next year the same thing happened with the Grade 1 math book, and since there were still two in diapers, I again just let math slide. We spent more time focusing on trying to learn to read, which wasn’t going very well. (That’s a whole ‘nother post!).

Sometime that year, I read this essay by Harvey Bluedorn. (NB: This is apparently a very religious site, but I was just interested in the math essay.) He recommended leaving formal mathematics until age ten and then starting right in with Saxon 65. It was exactly what I wanted to hear, so I breathed a sigh of relief and focused on other things.

And so for a few years informal mathematics became the norm in our home. The children grew and generally seemed to acquire strong number sense and numeracy. They could count, order and sequence objects as well as numbers. Basic math skills came easily to them and I didn`t really worry. We played lots of games and just incorporated math into our daily life.

Finally though, the fateful year came when it seemed time to reintroduce a formal program to my oldest.

However, it is suddenly very late (getting on towards midnight – where does the time after the children are in bed disappear to?) and so I think I`ll need to continue our math saga tomorrow. I’ll share more specifics about what our transition looked like and what insights hindsight has left with me.

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