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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp
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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp.  All rights reserved.
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The Homeschool Diner's Guide to
Homeschooling by Subject
Math for Homeschoolers


Alternative Resources for Teaching Math

by Julie Shepherd knapp, copyright 2006


Several newer and "less schooly" approaches to teaching math...


Hands-On Resources

Pre-K Math Rod Activities

Base 10 Blocks -- free online virtual math rod activities

Brownie Skip Counter and Math Pies -- hands-on math from The Toy
Maker, also lots of fold-able paper shapes

Math Cat’s Crafts – symmetry, geostringart, etc (PreK-6th)

Hand Made Manipulatives -- print out, color, and cut out

The Coin-U-Lator -- a hand-held game that teachers coin recognition,
adding and subtracting money thru games

Family Math by Jean Kerr Stanmark, Family Math for Young Children by
Jean Kerr Stanmark, and Family Math: The Middle School Years by Karen
Mayfield-Ingram -- fun hands-on activities for informal learning of math, the
first book is a "homeschool classic" and covers K - 8th


Fun and Creative Resources

Playing Fraction Pies -- play a tune using fraction pie slices instead of
whole notes, quarter notes, etc.

Chameleon Graphing by  Ursula Whitcher at Math Forum @Drexel -- a fun
way to learn about graphing points, lines, coordinates, etc., includes the
history of mapping using plane geometry

School House Rock -- their award-winning "Multiplication Rock" songs
have been helping kids since the 70's, skip-counting songs and more

Songs for Teaching Mathematics -- "using music to promote learning"
CDs available for purchase, samples of songs free online

Visual Manna -- supplement your study of history, English, geography,
math, the Bible, and science thru art, other art curriculum for several age
groups and topics also available, techniques include following the steps to
correctly draw animals, reproducing the shading and coloring techniques of
given works, and using a grid to copy drawings, sample lessons online

Times Tales -- memorize the times tables with picture stories (mnemonics)

Times Tables and Addition The Fun Way by City Creek --  memorize
math facts with a storybook (each number is a character in the story),
pictures and stories allow the students to associate a mental image with the
math fact, storybook, workbook, audio tapes sold separately, good for
students who aren't successful with rote memorization

Teaching The Right Brain Child by Dianne Craft MA CNHP of Child
Diagnostics -- manual, videos, and flashcards (sold separately), a former
homeschool mom and special ed teacher helps parents learn how to use
Right Brain Strategies to teach their children  Math, Reading, Phonics, Sight
Words, Spelling, Vocabulary, Following Directions, and Study Skills. Her
website is rather bare bones... here is a description of
her program.

Math Cat’s Crafts – symmetry, geostringart, etc (PreK-6th)

Geometry Through Art by Norman Shapiro -- free lesson plans, downloads

The Geometry of Perspective Drawing on the Computer by Andrejs
Treibergs -- a high school level tutorial

Math in Fashion -- weaving pattern calls for use of the quadratic equation!

Math & Music -- teaches the basics of Middle School level math by
integrating it with Music, Physics, and History.

Sports Math Series by Good Year Books -- (4th - 8th) Basketball Math,
Baseball Math, Football Math, and Racing Math,  multiple activities and
projects encourage use of computational skills, data analysis and probability

The Number Balance - teddy bears on a see-saw show addition

Fun Math Lesson Plans -- for all grades, such as one called "Barbie
Bungee" which teaches linear functions and slope, from the NCTM



Games and Activities

BoardGameGeek.com -- "Games to improve your math skills" -- no online
games, but a great run-down of what's available out there in "Gameville"

Box Cars and One Eyed Jacks -- (K - 12) dice and card games of all sorts
to teach math skills

great strategy games that teach abstract skills such as planning and
considering alternatives, no reading required so suitable for all ages

Check out the many Fun Ways to Practice Math Facts and Other Sills on
the
Math Skills Practice Page, includes links to free online games



Learning Math thru Literature

Murderous Maths by Kjartan Poskitt -- a series of humorous books that
teach math concepts with cartoons and irreverence, originally published in
the UK, now available thru Scholastic Books, a review by Popular Science

These three sites have wonderful Math Reading Lists for all ages, from
picture books and fun math fiction to serious math texts:

Living Math -- has tons of ideas and resources

Gnarly Math

Hoagies Gifted Education Pages: Mathematics
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math options