Are you looking for fun ways to develop your child's number sense and early math skills? Although there are countless games you could play and dozens of fancy manipulatives you could employ, one of the best and easiest tools to use is a ten frame. Ten frames are a powerful visual that help our brains make sense of numbers. And so when you can combine this handy visual with fun and engaging games? Well, you've got a winner for sure! Learn more Keep Reading...
How to Teach Multiplication Facts That Stick {From Understanding to Fluency}
One of the most common struggles I hear from parents and teachers is that kids still don't know their multiplication facts. Maybe you know this struggle all too well, especially if you teach 4th or 5th grade. At that point, you don't have time to teach multiplication, because you're required to teach division and fractions and decimals. Today I want to share some tips for building a solid foundation as well as a simple plan for how to teach Keep Reading...
How to Be a More Equipped Math Teacher with Study.com {Review}
When I was a classroom teacher, I was always searching for new ways to present or introduce concepts and additional resources to teach effectively. This was especially true when I taught College Algebra, as our textbook was somewhat lacking (in my opinion), and I didn't even have a teacher's manual. If you are struggling to help your kids make sense of math concepts, or you just need some new ideas and resources, I would encourage you to explore Keep Reading...
Singapore Math: An Overview For Homeschool Families
As a former math teacher, I had a good idea of what I wanted our math curriculum to look like when I first began to homeschool. The problem was, being new to homeschooling, I had no idea what the options were or how to find one that had what I wanted! Over the years I have tried out and reviewed a lot of good options. And there are lots of different curricula that I would recommend, depending on your situation. But through it all, I have found Keep Reading...
ShillerMath Review {Kit 1}
As a former math teacher with a passion for making math meaningful and accessible, I usually have no trouble teaching math to my own kids. I don’t struggle to know when to take a step back, how to introduce particular concepts or what methods are most effective. But spelling is a different story. I have no idea how to teach spelling. I mean, sure, I could come up with a list of words for my kids to memorize each week, but is that really the Keep Reading...
Fun and Engaging Kindergarten Math App {CCSS Aligned}
Are you looking for fun new ways to prepare your child for Kindergarten math? Or perhaps your child has finished Kindergarten, but needs to review over the Summer (raising my hand!). Either way, I have a fun new Kindergarten math app from Zap Zap Math to share that your kids will love! *Please Note: This post is sponsored by Zap Zap Math and I was compensated for my time in writing this review. All opinions, however, are 100% my own and I Keep Reading...
Coding Basics: Teaching Programming to Kids in a Fun Way
Teaching computer programming to kids is a very popular topic right now. And rightly so, given the increasingly technological aspects of our culture. But as a parent, the thought of teaching programming to your kids might be incredibly overwhelming. That is completely understandable! Computer programming is like learning a whole other language. The great thing is, young kids are at the best possible age to learn a new language, and I'm happy to Keep Reading...
Simple Way to Teach Kids to Code {Bitsbox Review #1}
Did you know there are 2 million apps available to purchase in the iTunes app store? Computer programmers and software developers designed these apps using a computer language such as Javascript, HTML, Objective C and others. In our increasingly technological society, raising kids who are computer literate is essential. Can you imagine if you child left for college already knowing how to write programs and apps in Javascript? Well, today I'm Keep Reading...
Elementary Science Curriculum that Busy Moms Will Love
As a math teacher and homeschool mom, I try to encourage and promote STEM learning in our home (science, technology, engineering and math). But I'm also a very busy mom with four kids, church responsibilities and an online business. Although my desire is to provide fun, engaging, hands on science for my kids, the reality is that making plans and gathering materials is very time consuming. So I am thrilled to share an elementary science curriculum Keep Reading...
Multiplication Card Game the Whole Family Will Love
One of the most frequent questions I receive from parents is, "How can I help my child learn their multiplication facts and make it fun?" This is a valid question! Though I am a huge advocate for conceptual, inquiry based math instruction, I also believe that fluency is important. Knowing the multiplication tables forwards and backwards will set kids up for success and less frustration in higher levels of math. But that doesn't mean hours of Keep Reading...
