I'm kind of freaking out about math. I can't figure out how much is a "normal" amount that we should be doing. It's the one lingering insecurity that I have about the scheme, and I'm not sure if it's because math has always caused me angst (when I have those nightmares that are equal parts panic and deep sorrow about being in college and realizing that I was supposed to be going to class all semester and somehow I haven't been and now the semester is over and life doesn't seem to be worth living because for some reason I haven't been going to that class... it's always a math class), OR if it's because the kids really need more to stay on track. I'm also not sure if it's the most awesome thing ever, or lame that my life is so entwined with my kids' right now that I can't rightly figure out if MORE math is about me or them...
Anyway, here's one more part to our curriculum puzzle -- Learning Wrap-Ups. The kid wraps the string from the first number to the answer and then back to the second number and then to that answer, etc. until the end. Then he/she flips it over and checks to see if the string's criss-crosses match with the pattern on the back. We have the multiplication set, and we like it well enough that I will probably get others. Its strength is that the student can practice independently and check his/her work in a way that is kind of fun.
Today we had "school pictures" with a creative and patient photographer -- Maria Hunter. I highly recommend her if you are looking for somebody in the NYC-area who is kind with children in a genuine way (I can't stand the fake-enthusiastic voices that are tinged with irritation... not that my kids are ever irritating during a photo shoot... because that might mean that today I might have actually whispered threatening words into a sweet child's ear when I had had it up to my eyeballs with certain antics... I'm just saying that hypothetically if a kid were being irritating, Maria would be very cool). The concept is pretty fun and I will definitely share the finished product when it's ready... it has something to do with multiples...
