Hi! I have decided to homeschool. I am confident with my first grader but not so sure about homeschooling my middle schooler. She is way abover her 6th grade level in math and I am not so good at math. I am concerned about not being able to help her. I feel confident in other areas for my older child but math really scares me. Does anyone have any insight on this?
This is basically the reason curriculum like Math-u-See and Teaching Textbooks exist. There are others, but those are the two I've used. Teaching Textbooks is a CDrom-based curriculum where the lessons are presented to the student using fun interactive videos. Math-u-See is a DVD-based curriculum that presents the lesson to the parent, so the parent knows how to present them to the student. As I said, there are others, as well. Point being, if that's all that's holding you back, there are options that will make the experience successful.
My dd14 is like your dd. We started when she was in 7th grade and she was way above that academically. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be because she is a very independent learner. Once we found the right fit for her in math (Life of Fred works wonders for her), things were pretty easy. She can read the lessons do the problems on her own. I check her answers and if she has trouble with something, we go back to the lesson and figure it out together. You can do it!
Agreed. My oldest daughter is starting to get out of the realm of what I'm capable of in math. We're muddling thru together, but I have several capable tutors lined up for when it gets beyond me (which frankly will be very soon!). Granted, teaching her has given me a desire to reteach myself. I actually set myself up as a student in her TT so I could take the pre-algebra course, too. LOL Another of our favorites is www.khanacademy.com - GREAT videos on a wide variety of subjects. Math videos are really great and my daughter is using them to supplement her learning. I've been told you can actually use Khan as a curricula alone. I can totally see this being a possibility!!! It's really great. Anyway, YOU CAN do it. Homeschooling is SO worth it. It's worth the relationship. I enjoy my kids so much. It's not like we don't have frustrating days, sibling rivalry and stuff, but there's so many other things that just warm me, that makes it all worth it. Watching my two older kids help my younger daughter do her schoolwork gives me chills!!!! Anyway, good luck, you CAN do it!!!!
Maybe an online course would be good. Art of Problem Solving has online classes starting with pre-algebra. They are challenging courses designed for mathy kids. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/School/index.php?
I really like Saxon for middle school and high school math. The lessons are well written and they provide good examples. You can also get the DIVE cds that teach the lessons. I know for their high school books the solution guide shows step by step how to solve the problems.
I have used both MUS and TT and both are good, IMO. I watched the video with them on MUS but with TT I will watch if there is an issue (like a post I had earlier). What is nice about this age/stage is they can do most of the work on their own. My neighbor who just started teaching her middle school child is using Saxon and it's working for her child.
You can do it! Find a curriculum that works for your child. If one doesn't fit, do not get discouraged. It took us a while to find a great fit, but we found it and are sticking with it. My daughter is in 9th grade and passed me up in math a long time a go.
I just wanted to say welcome! I am currently homeschooling my 5th grader and 1st grader. I'm getting nervous about the middle school grades too. I just want to echo the other's advice on finding what works best for your student. My older child works very independently when he's enjoying the curriculum. Once you find what works, she may be just fine with only occasional help from you. You'll enjoy homeschooling so much! Welcome to the Spot
www.khanacademy.com is a really great site worth checking out! I'm not great at math either, and that's one of my worries when my kids get older. I hear, also, that Math-U-See is a great program as well.
I don't have an older child yet but I totally expect that the curriculum teach the child - or me so that I can teach the child. We're using MUS right now and we love it. But I will probably move to teaching text books in a few years.
