Homeschool Math Newsletter, Vol. 20
Summer 2008
Summer greetings! This is Maria Miller from HomeschoolMath.net and MathMammoth.com.
Summer is here, but I still have a bunch of good stuff for you to read and absorb over the summer. You can read about summer math, about an online math practice program that would be great for summer review, and how to help a student who is behind in math.
Keep this summer edition at hand and enjoy the articles. There won't be a newsletter in July - I will return back to normal in August.
Summer math practice has never been so much fun!
Practice math this summer at IXL, the Web's most complete math practice site for Pre-K through 3rd grade.
Excel in math... IXL.com
In this month's newsletter:
1. HomeschoolMath.net new design
2. Marbles problem to solve
3. Keeping math skills sharp over the summer - helping a student who is behind
4. Review of IXL - an online math practice website
5. Tidbits
1. HomeschoolMath.net new design
My main math site, Homeschoolmath.net, has gotten a face-lift... with better NAVIGATION on the left sidebar. Hopefully you'll be able to find your way around better along all the articles, reviews, worksheets, and stuff there.
I especially want to draw attention to the ONLINE RESOURCES section. I used to have this on 9 pages... now I split it into 29 different pages, according to topic.
These pages feature the best online games, quizzes, tutorials, or websites on various math-related topics. Have your pick:
2. Marbles problem to solve
Here's a nice "brain teaser" problem sent to my way... probably a student who wants to know the solution. I'll post it for you all and the solution in a few days.
204 marbles are divided into 3 groups according to colour. Ahmad found that there are twice as many blue marbles as white marbles and there are fewer red marbles than blue marbles. Ben found that the number of marbles in each group are divisible by 4 and 6. Cally found that the number of marbles in each group is less than 100.
How many red marbles are there?
(I do not have a clue where the problem originates, but I DO LIKE it!)
Read the solution on my blog.
3. Keeping math skills sharp over the summer - helping a student who is behind
Summer is here, and for most it means VACATION. But many parents want their kids to keep up some kind of summer work so they don't forget what they have learned, perhaps to prepare for the next year, or do some review. Read here if you're looking for simple ideas about keeping your math skills sharp over the summer.
If your child is behind in math and needs lots of help, read my article about how to help a student who is behind for a more complete "plan".
In that article I discuss some general principles in helping students that are behind in math, to help you, the teacher, to organize your thoughts, should you be in this situation:
1. Test and assess
2. Line up the concepts or areas of study
3. Plan
4. Should you go on with new concepts or not?
5. Suggestion for review worktexts
Read on!
4. Review of IXL - an online math practice website
I've written a review of IXL.com (from "I excel"). It is an online math practice system - would be perfect for those of you who want your kids to have something for the summer months.
IXL has unlimited questions on hundreds of math topics and a comprehensive reporting system.
Their pricing is $9.95 per month for 1st child and only $2 for the next child.
Read my review here.
5. Tidbits
Till next time - which may be sometime during the summer if something important comes up, but I won't be publishing the regular newsletter until August.
All the best,
Maria Miller
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