| Math is one subject that scares a lot of home | | | | when we are home schooling our children. |
| schooling parents, especially as their children get | | | | Also, having helped adults who were "supposedly |
| older. Usually this is because the parents didn't do | | | | poor" at math, I know that their ability is usually |
| well in math when they were in school. | | | | not the problem. They just were not taught |
| The main problem with math, is that math is a | | | | every thing they needed, to do it well. |
| very "sequential" subject. The new material | | | | Just because you found math difficult at school, |
| always depends heavily on what you were taught | | | | doesn't mean you can't teach math to your |
| before. If you have a problem (i.e. if you miss a | | | | children. And if you are starting off with the lower |
| few things because of sickness, a bad teacher, or | | | | grades, you probably know most of that math by |
| other problems in a particular school year), you | | | | now, anyway. Get good materials, and learn the |
| have to go back and "fix" the problem, or you will | | | | few details you missed, as you go through it with |
| have difficulty understanding things after that | | | | your child (also, go over it the day before you |
| point. | | | | teach it, and you should be fine). |
| If this happened to you, even only a few times | | | | And, check out our home school math teaching |
| during all the years you were in school, the | | | | tips, on our site, listed below. Many of these tips |
| chances of you having done well in math, are | | | | are not even used in schools yet (to be fair to |
| very low. | | | | teachers, some of these tips would be more |
| Many people have a problem at some point, in | | | | difficult to implement in a classroom environment, |
| school. Then they end up trying to learn the | | | | with lots of children in a big class, but home |
| previous material and the current material at the | | | | schoolers don't have that limitation). |
| same time. Normally this means they learn it | | | | Combine these tips with a good curriculum, lots of |
| more poorly. They struggle a lot with it, and they | | | | determination from you, lots of love, and getting |
| don't learn the current material fully. Then the | | | | the occasional outside help when you need it, and |
| next material is difficult, too. Then they conclude | | | | you will build a great math foundation in your child, |
| they are poor at math. | | | | that will serve them well, as they advance to |
| In my family, when someone had a problem with | | | | more challenging math, and through out their adult |
| math at school, they were helped at home until | | | | life. |
| they got caught up. We all got very good at | | | | You may also want to read "If You Did Poorly in |
| math, and this is why. It was also because of the | | | | Math," on our site, listed below. |
| effectiveness of one-on-one tutoring, just like | | | | |