Fingermath

For many of us who were schooled conventionally, we were forbidden to use our fingers to do math.  Well, this is just another area where we as homeschoolers have the opportunity to think outside of the box and use an alternative method that may work better for our children, insha Allah. 
Also, if you consider how we as [...]

Beads, Toothpicks, and Physics

It all started when the toothpicks came crashing down from the cabinet above the sink.   The beads were already down from another baby proof cabinet.  The older children ran upstairs with the supplies and about twenty minutes later, they presented me with their inventions, masha Allah. 
And to think I was worried about not covering  our formal science lesson today!  [...]

Dominoes in Action

Continuing on with our transition to living math journey, we have been exploring dominoes.  Sometimes, I am so busy searching the internet for resources for the children, I forget to use the materials we already have available here.  One of the books that I pulled off the bookshelf for the younger girls is called, Math Activities [...]

Snowy Science Night @ the Library

On the way to the science class at the library, my 3 yr. old and 5 yr. old inquired about the snow which had not yet melted and how it got there.  We had a nice little discussion about how snow forms and that Allah makes it. 
Well, we were pleasantly surprised when the library class was [...]

Transitions

It felt like a whirlwind this morning at our house.  I have to admit I am pretty exhausted, but at the same time, I also felt more peaceful after having observed the girls happily complete their math projects.  We have been transitioning to using a living math approach with the girls for several weeks now and to [...]

Clear Proofs and Signs

Despite the cold and not spotting any live raptors, birds of prey, during the hike at Pocahontas State Park, the children and I thoroughly enjoyed the raptor session.  We frequently spot several species of hawks and the occasional bald eagle on our own outdoor excursions, so we weren’t too disappointed about not catching a glimpse of one [...]

Tangram Picture Collage

I thought we would ease into the weekday routine this Monday morning by stimulating the visual/spatial areas of the brain through more math/art fusion.  
Check out more of the children’s tangram rabbit, sailboat, and barnyard collages here.

We made the tangram picture collages using these printable tangram templates, clip art from Microsoft Office, and tangram templates we already had [...]

Multilevel Math

When homeschooling multilevel children, it is helpful to be able to brainstorm quickly when everyone wants to participate in the same activity but on different levels.
So after I arranged a place value activity with beans, buttons, and macaroni for the older girls,
 the little ones decided they wanted to play as well, masha Allah.  Thus, I quickly got a painting palette [...]

On a Cold Saturday Morning

The temperature  has dropped dramatically in the last few days, so that means we are spending more time indoors on projects.   After completing a few structured homework activities, we explored more math/art connections.

Making these stretchy paper ornaments introduced the children to a branch of geometry called topology.  Topology is the study of surfaces. Once again,   this particular [...]

Folding Cubes

Last night, I gave my eight yr. old daughter the book, MathArt, and instructed her to choose a math/art project.  Well, she chose one in the measuring and folding category.  I am not proficient in either skill, so I guess it was a good project for all of us to work on after all.  
Basically, we cut three 2″ [...]