Weekly Homeschool Roundup: 10/19/19

Some homeschool weeks go by in the blink of an eye. (Actually, most do, right?)

I enjoyed having my daughter home for her fall break. We spent lots of time together - and finally got to see the Downton Abbey movie! It didn’t disappoint. I love all things Downton Abbey, but I think I love the soundtrack the most.

A lot of time has been spent on the basketball court. My son plays for a local private school and the practice schedule is INTENSE. He really enjoys it and I can see that it is SO good for him. Therefore - it is off to the 5:45 a.m. practices we go! (yawn)

I hope you didn’t miss the post about math success earlier this week.

I field a lot of questions about different math programs and did a little explaining in the post. I also talked about some other keys to math success - and this is coming from a non-math person. The important thing is, however, that I can facilitate a successful math education for my children by seeking out the appropriate resources and opportunities.

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I'm excited to share 5 good things with you.

It seems like math games, audio content, and fine arts pervade the recommendations.

• The World & Everything In It

  This is a trusted news source for our family. I consider it part of Grant’s homeschool to listen to this on a regular basis. Watching mainstream media isn’t an option for me (too much stress, polarization, and I’m not sure what information I can trust). This daily podcast presents news from a Christian Worldview and in a very calm, dignified manner. I appreciate the emphasis on Supreme Court cases and the short segments of information that keep a teen’s attention.

• Number Jugglers - The Number Ladder Game

  This is a FABULOUS math game for children of ALL ages. I played it this week with a 4th-grade friend of mine. Basically, it involves using numbers to make equations. It allows children to play with numbers and come up with different possible solutions. It can also be taken to the extreme by our older children (my son was saying something about the power of zero?). You can buy the game used on Amazon (the book includes a lot of variations on the game, too) or you can see the instructions here and create your own number cards.

• To Your Brain, Audiobooks are Not Cheating

  If you have a child for whom reading is a chore, don’t feel one bit guilty about using audiobooks. This article just confirmed what I already know: audiobooks are awesome! I listen A LOT and I’m trying to convince my son of the joys of audiobooks. I have been listening to a lot of the books for Challenge 1 on audio (To Kill a Mockingbird was amazing!)

• The Homeschool Sisters Podcast - Gameschooling by Subject

  Do you include games in your homeschool? I really love all of the ideas presented in this podcast. If you’re going to take the time to listen to a podcast, you might as well get a bunch of good ideas from it - and that is exactly what this episode provides.

Music & Nature Study

In November my friend Cindy West (Our Journey Westward & No Sweat Nature Studies) and I are teaming up to give my SQUILT LIVE! members a treat. We will be learning about Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring in our music lessons and Cindy will be presenting a nature study lesson about the Appalachian Mountains. Aaron Copland is my favorite composer and I’m so excited to share about him with the students. If you’d like to give your children some quality music appreciation and nature study combined in November, please join us!

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I will be traveling to South Florida next week to be with my dad. He is having surgery Monday morning.

Please keep us in your prayers.

It’s a good thing my husband works from home because Grant won’t have to miss a homeschool beat while I’m away. And, through the miracle of FaceTime, I’m sure I can keep up with his schoolwork while I am away.

It is also at times like this that I am reminded of one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling: community. Our homeschool community supports and lifts each other up during times like this. I already have a meal from a friend in the freezer. I have offers of rides for Grant. I’m pretty sure my family will be taken care of while I am away.

As always, let me know if there was a good thing you’d like to share with the Homegrown Learners community.

Leave it in the comments below!

Make Math Fun with Shut the Box

Every now and then you come across something tried and true - something that just “works”.

When a dear friend gave this little number game to my son for his birthday he was HOOKED. (All I heard for the next week was the sound of dice clacking on wood - I thought we had struck gold because he was so ENGAGED.)

After he asked the rest of us to sit down and play we were all hooked, too. As a homeschool mom I of course thought of the fabulous educational value and how we could use it in our math studies.

A big part of enjoying math is making it fun, right?

We own a lot of math games, but it was just nice to have one that was so SIMPLE, and could be played alone when needed!

Now I’ll tell anyone who will listen about this game, and it’s the first one I bring out when we have younger kids at our house who need something to occupy them!

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Shut the Box Instructions

Shut The Box is very easy to play - which is why this is a great game for they younger set! We have found, however, that it is a lot of fun to play with older siblings. In our family, the grandparents particularly loved to play this with the kids.

(We even gave it as a Christmas gift to our granddaddy last year!)

We have a small 4 person Shut the Box that stayed in our van for quite a long time - you would be amazed how much it got used while we were waiting places!

You can start with a basic Shut the Box game.

• Make sure all of the wooden tabs are up (your box is fully “open”).

• Player 1 rolls the dice and calculates the SUM of the two numbers. Player 1 then chooses shut the numbers that have the same sum as what was calculated from the dice roll. (for example: if the sum is 6 they can close just the 6, or the 2 & 4 or the 1 & 5).

• If the numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 are all covered, player 1 may choose to roll one or two dice. If any of these numbers are still left open, the player must use both dice. (some games go up to 10, and some go to 9, just depends which you are playing)

• Player 1 continues rolling dice, calculating the sum and “shutting” numbers until they can no longer continue.

• If all numbers are crossed out, the player says “shut the box”. If not all numbers are crossed out, player 1 calculates the sum of the numbers that are not crossed out and that is their score.

• If “shut the box” is achieved, player 1 records a score of “0”.

• Player 2 then goes through the same process and follows the same rules as player 1.

• The player with the lowest score wins!

• You can also play the game where Player 1 and 2 alternate rolls - it’s up to you!

*For video instructions how to play, click here.

Additional Shut the Box Math Ideas

Once you have played Shut the Box a number of times, your brain will start to devise other ways you can play the game - and other math concepts you can reinforce.

Here are a few ideas:

• Practice averages with Shut the Box. For example, play 5 rounds of the game and then determine what your AVERAGE score is. You could even bring in terms like mean, median, and mode if you’re getting creative!

• Keep a running Shut the Box tally sheet - sit down for short spurts to keep the game going for a long time in your home. Keep the tally sheet tacked on your refrigerator.

• While playing Shut the Box, have your child put down the numbers for their SUM, but then ask them after that to tell you what the PRODUCT of their roll was (just a little extra thinking), too.

• Ask your child to play Shut the Box alone. Give them a piece of paper with the numbers 1-20 and have them record their score for 20 rounds. Circle the LOWEST round. Put a box around the HIGHEST round.

• How many rounds can your child play in 15 minutes? Set a timer for fun.

Get creative!

Ask your kids to come up with ways to play Shut the Box, too.

I’ll tell you a fun story:

A few nights ago my 14 year old was “bored”. His PlayStation time was over for the day and he had exhausted other options. I sat down on the couch and started playing Shut the Box by myself. Pretty soon he joined me. We spent an hour having a Shut the Box tournament - an unexpected surprise for him, and a great time for me to spend some time with him.

Now our Shut the Box game has been put back out in our family room so we can play again soon.

I hope this becomes a good thing for your children, too!

Have you ever played Shut the Box?

Let me know in the comments below.