Homeschool-lite: no-fuss learning

My little girl makes a basket!

It's summertime--the weather is warm, and the birds and bugs are all around us. There is so much to do--we play basketball together almost every-other day now, and there are all sorts of other things we want to experience. 

So what is a good homeschooling mother to do? 

Instead of fighting with nature, I capitulate and help them along! Here are some of the ideas I have come up with for taking advantage of these months. I have decided to concentrate on thinking and math skills in anticipation for our next round of "formal" academics.

1. Wake up time is instruction time.  We are using that half-hour that it takes to completely recover one's consciousness for good. Besides reading through a creation science devotion, I also continue to read through the Good Morals and Gentle Manners book which was created for the Eclectic Education Series. Then I also read a testimony about praising and thanking God continually in Merlin Carother's Power in Praise. Within this time, we will be learning the Hebrew Aleph Bet, and then pursuing that language more as time goes on.

2. Brain-training. I was recently handed a book from Learning Rx entitled Releasing the Einstein Inside. A lot of what I read made sense to me, so I have begun to use a few of their suggestions with my children, getting them to exercise their higher mental functions, etc. There are all sorts of free resources on this site. 

3. Math games. These are so fun for my gang, but so very simple and cheap! Here are a few favorites:

Buzz. The idea of this one was taken from a vintage book of diversions for young ladies. Everyone sits in a circle, and one person begins by saying the number "1", then next person says the next number, and so on around the circle. When any multiple of 5 or the number 5 is reached, the person must remember to say "Buzz" or pay a forfeit (when the number "55" is reached, then the person must say "Buzz, buzz" and so on). The forfeit is paid by having the offender turn his back to the room, while the gestures of a kiss, a pinch, and a hit are made, in any order (switching up the order each time makes it more fun) by the appointed leader. The offender then says either 1, 2 or 3, and then receives whichever gesture corresponds with the number he has chosen (for instance, if he chose the letter "1", and the first gesture made was a kiss, then he would receive a kiss, and so on). 

The multiples can be changed, such as multiples of 6, 7, 8, etc. My children love this so much that they play it whenever they are needing to pass the time, such as in the car during errands, etc. 

Toss. This one requires only a small stuffed toy or ball. A number of children sit in a circle and pass the object back and forth while saying their addition, subtraction, multiplication or division tables. If the object or ball is dropped, they have to start all over again. 

War. This site has all that one ever needs to know about how to make the best of this simple card game.

Measuring scavenger hunt. My children really get into this one. You will need a kitchen scale and measuring stick, if you have a number of children, you may need multiples!  

You simply make a list of things that need to be found--something that weighs exactly 8 oz., or  you could say 1/2 or .5 lb., something that weighs 13 oz., etc. Also, have them find things that measure exactly 3 and 1/4 inches, or 18 cm., etc. The fun of discovering just how to estimate the weight or length of something really grabs their attention. 

Find the distance. Give them an atlas and a measuring stick and have them calculate the distances "as-the-crow-flies" from one international city to another. 

Candy fun. Take a huge bag of either M & M's candies or Skittles and have the children estimate the total candies in the bag, separate and count the various colors, tell the average number of each color, use division to evenly distribute the candy among family members, etc. 

After helping the children eat count their candy, then it's out to play some more basketball, I certainly don't want to find my hips on that list of things to measure...

Irregular Learning

A walk around the pond

I am really enjoying what we are doing for school. The children are learning so much, and I can see their progress.

The ones who are just beginning are already showing areas that are their strengths, and others that are their current weaknesses, but I am not concerned. I have learned that, just because I child is struggling in the area of reading or math at the age of six, doesn't mean that he/she will be struggling forever! I am a firm believer that many "learning disabilities" disappear as children mature.

Of course, some of us simply are weak in certain areas, and this can take some acceptance. The idea is to strike a balance between what we should expect and challenge our children to do, and what they are actually capable of doing.


The middle girls are both growing greatly. They are doing well in their McGuffey's, and they are moving steadily forward with their Ray's Arithmetics, both in different places in the Elementary book. The story problems can sometimes be a little difficult, but that is when we get out the chalkboard and make pictures.

Questions about math

Besides their regular work, these girls read voraciously, and one has decided to do a number of lessons in Long's Language each week, and she loves memorizing the little poetry as she is directed, etc. The other has been working through a writing curriculum from 7 Sisters which I won as a prize through the Homeschooling Blog Awards. She already gobbled her way through the poetry section, totally on her own, and now is zipping through the short story portion--and loving every minute! She definitely has the writing bug.

The older children have a great time with the McGuffey's and Ray's, the daughter of the two really, really loves McGuffey--she would do four lessons a day if we had the time. She not only likes to do the lessons, but she likes to share what she is discovering through them with all of us. She is very quick, and she loves to decorate the pages as she does her work in her copybook. Ray's is her favorite, though, and she would probably do that all day--she is always asking for more time to do it! She also excels in domestic skills, is learning to create a pattern on her own and sew her own clothes, has been doing little stitchery works, and will be baby-sitting her niece once-a-week. She is hoping to learn DSLR photography and put her photos on her blog.

Long's Language work

The son of the two is so full of artistic creativity--and yet he can also be technical. I hate to hamper him in any way, but I have to help him by goading him a bit now-and-again and making him do his lessons (well). He is sweet about it, though, and sees the wisdom of it himself. He can sometimes feel as though his creativity makes his mind wander from one wonderful thought to another in rapid succession, so I am trying to help him to learn how to discipline his gifts (the spirit of the Prophet is subject to the prophet).  He is working on learning to use the Adobe creative suite, and his handiwork is fantastic! Perhaps someday he will be selling them through our website, one that he is currently working on with much fervor so that we can launch it soon. Probably then this blog will end up there...

Meanwhile, both are also  reading, the Creative is often found with his nose in something from J.R.R. Tolkien (he wrote more than just the ring trilogy and The Hobbit) and the Dear Young Lady is searching for something to follow up after reading all of the popular classics.

Together we have finished a concentrated study of the etymology of the English language, fascinating and one which has enabled the children to have a better grasp of vocabulary, grammar, even spelling, with a greater appreciation as to how our Bible came to us. Of course, we studied all of this because I found it so fascinating, and the children caught my enthusiasm!

Sarah sewing

Our current studies together include an overview of all punctuation (I repeat this study periodically, using different methods, etc. to reinforce their own studies) and have daily short dictation exercises.
I have also begun to cover all sorts of very practical areas of living in greater detail, such as our current study of microbiology and keeping our homes and our lives healthy. I am planning on covering all sorts of growing-up skills, such as caring for clothing, nutrition and cooking, etc. I am taking these subjects on because I have often assumed that they just "know" because I have learned about these different areas and become skilled in homemaking slowly over many years, and I forget that this is a new group that needs to be taught and led more specifically.

Of course, I am enjoying each subject, even each part of each subject. Whenever I get feeling pressured, my loved ones will suggest that I put our little learning sessions aside for a time. What they don't realize is that I would gladly give up a lot of other things, but our learning times are the best parts of my day! My oldest daughter, who also home-schools her children, feels very much the same! 

Using Ray's for Beginning Math

Mother teaches oral lessons

When one compares the primary Ray's Arithmetic with newer curricula, there seems to be a lot missing! The copy I am holding in my hand is only 94 pages long, which pales in comparison with modern books that cover the same material.

What is more incredible is that this tiny volume was meant to be used for two years!

So what is a modern teacher to do?

Here is a general course of action, as recommended in The Manual of Methods, which was written as a guide for the Eclectic Series (of which Ray's was a part):

• Don't allow the children to use the book or to write at all at the beginning.

• Use common objects, without using the number symbols.

Do not teach the figures in the first lessons, and do not allow the children to do any written work; but teach orally, illustrating every operation, at first, by means of various objects. Manual of methods, page 107

• Practice counting common objects, then grouping them and having the children recognize them in groups without counting, such as seeing 3 blocks, 3 balls, 3 spoons, etc. Children should become able to recognize groups of up to 10 objects without counting them.

• Show children how to group and re-group within a certain number, so that it will seem natural to think of, say, 5 as being 2 and 3, 4 and 1, etc. Also do the reverse actions, such as realizing that 5 take-away 3 leaves 2, and so on.

The instruction should be entirely oral, and should deal altogether at first with concrete numbers. The little child cannot grasp abstract ideas. It is true you can teach him to repeat, "2 and 2 are 4;" "2 from 4 leave 2:" "2 times 2 are 4;" and "4 divided by 2 equal 2." But, without the proper preliminary work, these words can not possibly convey any clear meaning to his mind. This kind of instruction in a primary class is simply machine drilling on abstract numbers and words which convey no ideas, or at best a mere jumble of ideas to the child's mind. It is one of the worst, and at the same time one of the most common, faults in the teaching of arithmetic, and it is one which is very apt to disgust pupils with the subject from the outset. On the other hand, if the proper method of teaching is pursued, which may properly be called the object method, the children are taught to think; they will be interested at the very beginning, and they will be kept interested by this method until they are successfully carried to the point where the object method is no longer necessary, and their minds are ready to grasp the abstract, through careful preliminary drill on the concrete. Manual of Methods, pages 107-108

I have created flash cards in my Ray's Helps that illustrate these principles, one set without numbers, the other one with numbers, that can be printed out and used to aid a parent in this endeavor.

• Then, and only then, begin to introduce the actual number symbols.

Teach the concrete digital numbers in regular order, from one to ten inclusive, illustrating each number by corresponding groups of objects. Manual of Methods, page 108.

It is important to realize that there are only ten written digits, and that these ten alone make up our whole number system! If we can approach this task from this perspective, things become a little more clear to our minds, and we can encourage our children that math is not that difficult, after all!

This beginning, if done in increments of only 10-15 minutes a day, should cover a number of months!

This is not complicated, not dreary, not time-consuming. My suggestion is to take a small basket and fill it with what you will need--some counters, which could be marbles, beans, pasta shapes, etc., and some flash cards. Eventually a small chalk or wipe-off board could be added, as objects and numbers are drawn, and then the child may draw objects, circle things, and eventually begin to write the numbers. 

Remember, this method was formulated for the one-room schoolhouse. A teacher in such a setting had to manage the education of a number of students in various stages of learning. I have read over and over that the Ray's method is extremely "labor intensive," but I have found the opposite to be true. Of course, if one is expecting a child to be able to grab a workbook and study without any help whatsoever, then this will not fit the bill--but I have yet to meet a child that did not require any instruction whatsoever! But Ray's only takes 15- 20 minutes a day, especially in the beginning years. For a very busy mother, this could be carried out just before bedtime, if necessary! Think of working for 15 minutes on counting, etc., then reading a nice story, saying a prayer, and kissing your babe goodnight! That is it--no muss, no fuss! And, for the real secret, as you are teaching your eldest child, the other tiny ones can be included, meaning that you will have less work to do as you go along... 

Even the next stage should not become a burden.

After a child has become very confident in the above described knowledge, two things should then happen. First, a 100 numbers board should be introduced. This is such a great tool! You can find numerous of these to print out for free on the Internet, the most frequented being the Donna Young site. You should have on printed out and either laminated or placed in a plastic protective sheet. Then the fun begins!

There are so many things that can be done with such a chart that I have collected some sites that list them:

20+ Things to Do With a Hundreds Chart

The Wonders of the Number Chart

A hundred chart looks deceptively simple, but complex understandings can be developed by using one. On it children can learn to count, and to consider prime numbers, and everything in between. Use the chart often enough that children will carry its image in their minds for years--for as long as they need it, which may be a lifetime or at leas until they are so far into abstract thinking that they don't need the image anymore. Ruth Beechick, You Can Teach Your Child Successfully, Mott Media

Begin with simply counting to ten for a few days if necessary, then quizzing the student and having him find a number as you call it out. Do the same to 20, then by 10's, then to 100. After this is mastered, you are ready to introduce a number of the other fun games.

As you are exploring this avenue, then begin to work through the text. There is a bit of confusion here concerning the first lessons. It needs to be understood that formal math instruction was not begun in most schools during this time until a child was already reading--in fact, math was often delayed until the ages of 9 or 10. If you are working with a pre-reader, or a struggling reader, then you might want to skip to lesson V and VI, and proceed from there. 

Lessons VII-IX are good just as an initiation. Lessons X-XX could be done in this way; read through the math facts and the lesson, asking questions and, if necessary, using objects to illustrate the different principles. Each day afterwards, read the facts out loud and have the child repeat them. After a number of days, ask the child to recite them from memory, helping at first. When mastery is achieved, go over the questions in the text once more. Lessons XXI and XXII are good for extra practice in mental exercise and review of the previous facts learned. These review lessons could take a number of days--no need to hurry through them!

In this same way, the first 37 lessons can be covered. This is meant to be the first entire year of study!

...for more excellent results, you should faithfully follow the mental system in Ray's Arithmetics. Avoid the temptation to hurry the children into writing rows and rows of problems so you can put them to work and take a recess. many children are better off not starting formal arithmetic study quite so early as our society tends to think. So, particularly in a home school setting or small one-room school, you can use real-life situations, manipulative objects, and games to help children develop in their understanding of numbers. Relax and take things at the children's pace. Ruth Beechick, from the Parent-Teacher Guide for Ray's New Arithmetics, published by Mott Media.

Feel free to have fun with all sorts of games, flash cards, etc. You are building a foundation here that will help your child, not only to master math, but to enjoy it!

Of course, for fun and reinforcement, other things can be added. We like the Rod and Staff  books for coloring and counting fun, as well as other practice. Each workbook is only $2.95, which is very reasonable.

After Ray's Primary Arithmetic is completed, then it is best to move on to Ray's Intellectual, but that is for another post, since this one was to answer questions about beginners!

Here are the wonderful ways to obtain your own copy of this wonderful book: 

Dollar Homeschool. This is a collection of all of the Eclectic Series textbooks, including Ray's and all of its complimentary resources, such as teacher's manuals, etc. which have been scanned in and put on DVD. Having all of these delightful works together in one place was so helpful that I just had to write guides so that others could enjoy them, and these guides are now included! 

Mott Media. These folks have reproduced hard-bound copies of the original McGuffey's and the "new" Ray's, and also offer guides written by Ruth Beechick along with consumable workbooks to go along with the series (which I have never used).

There are others which offer hard-copies of the McGuffey's, usually the revised series (1880 or so). Amazon is also a great source.

Of course, there are numerous ways to obtain these books online for free, and Internet Archive is the fastest way I know of to find all sources at once.

I would also strongly suggest reading Ruth Beechick's guides on teaching at the elementary stage, as are listed on the Mott Media site.

Above is a poster page that will serve as a reminder of the ideas suggested in this post. Just click and save the image to your computer, perhaps pasting it into a word-type page and printing it out. 

"Cheating" in order to learn

God's Holy Commandments

There is a type of cheating that breaks God's law; it is stealing, lying, and coveting. This is done when we look at someone else's answers during a test, or reproduce someone else's work and hand it in as if it were our own, or when we plagiarize a writing assignment.

But there is another kind of "cheating" that isn't cheating at all; it's just an alternative way to learn, or to beat the "system."

For instance, I have often been stuck without a clue while working on a math problem, and peeking at the answers at the back of the book helped put me on the right track. This is not only allowable, this is expected, which is why textbook publishers have the even (or odd) answers included in the back. Most teachers expect students to show their work anyway, so it is really impossible to do anything unethical.

Working on a math problem

Since we enjoy using the Ray's Arithmetics on the discs from Dollar Homeschool, I've printed out the answers into helpful booklets and handed them out to my children--then they are free to look lessons up in order to to see if they understand what is being asked of them, or precisely how a problem should be solved, just as long as they know that they must show all of their own work.

There is another way to "cheat" that is often very beneficial; this is when one is supposed to read through a chapter of information and afterwards answer a series of questions in order to confirm comprehension of the material. The content of the reading assignment is usually the most important in the chapter, and the type that would most certainly be on a test. Now, if a person is extremely interested in the course of study, then he or she would probably want to read the chapter very carefully, and even follow up with a bit of additional research, but, unfortunately, most texts theses days are pretty dry, and the information they contain may be either irrelevant, slanted, or obvious propaganda. In such cases as these, a person just wants to grab the most pertinent data without clouding his or her mind with a lot of nonsense.

This is when the index becomes a student's best friend! By taking a key-word from the question and using it to look up the specific page, often the specific paragraph, in which it is contained, an accurate answer can be formulated. This is a great time-saver, and, especially when the class is required but is also full of a lot of hogwash, this saves brain-space for more important things!

Discovering the proper solution to a problem

Now, I have never used the "regurgitation" method of learning in my homeschool (reading a section and then answering several "canned" questions, or some fill-in-the-blanks, etc.) for about 20 years. In certain ways, this may leave my precious children more vulnerable, since they have never undertaken a subject that, for them, was not either vital or interesting to them, and so they have a tendency to take everything put before them very seriously. But they will need to learn specifically how to use this strategy whenever they are forced to take one of these courses, so I teach them how to perform well while hardly being influenced.

Regurgitation, as I call it, is one of the worst ways to really learn anything. It actually does very little for real retention at all, and is more about memorizing mere facts than in communicating important ideas that a student can then internalize so as to make a lasting impression on his or her reservoir of true and beneficial knowledge.

For instance, I might be able to rattle off the exact dates of the beginning of the Revolutionary War and some of the names of the major persons involved, but I might miss the actual reasons for the war, or the larger implications for mankind, or how the attitudes and ideals of the Founding Fathers could or should affect me in my thinking today. And even if I was made to memorize a statement or two concerning the reasons and effects, it would make very little difference if I was not able to think them through for myself and connect them with other lessons of history or the way I look at my life.

Besides, there are so many angles from which to view any event in history. There are often many different ways to answer even the most basic question of why something happened. Was the Civil War fought exclusively over the issue of slavery?--not hardly! 

A few of our own notebooking pages

Students need to have the opportunity to interpret and analyze the facts in their own way, from their own perspective. This is why the Charlotte Mason method of narration is so much superior to that of simply getting the answers to some "canned" questions. Of course, there are quite a number of different styles of "narration" for any lesson, chapter, book or subject. With my creative and resourceful children, we like not only to write, but to illustrate, act-out, or in some manner display what we are learning. Notebooking is one of the terrific vehicles for this, but there are many others.

What are some of the alternatives that you have found?

Ray's math, practical helps

Clarity, structure, brilliance; these are three words I would choose when describing the Ray's Arithmetics.

These are not glamorous books. They are not in color. There are no fancy diagrams. 

But my kids love them, and so do I. 

I have heard Ray's described as being "labor intensive," but nothing could be further from the truth! I suppose these books are not as easy to implement as the Saxon series for some students, but in some ways they are easier. 

For one thing, the instruction is direct, I would even venture to say that it is "economical" in a certain sense. Little time is wasted on anything that is not essential, and it is in the emphasis of the essential that strength is garnered.

The laborious part is at the beginning of instruction. But even this is pleasurable. 

The other day I was able to sit with my two daughters and teach them from the Primary book with a rare treat--candy corn! I simply spoke the problems to them and used the sweets as counters. I had their full attention! 

That's part of the brilliance. I can use any and all helps to reinforce concepts--there are no limits. 

For teaching to tell time I have an office clock-sign. This is not an official school-type clock, but it is perfect for the job. It's a real sign, used by real businesses; in fact, it's a left-over from one of my husband's old jobs. Using this communicates immediately that telling time is not just something one does to earn a gold star; it's a useful skill used in the real world. 

And here is a chalkboard. I made it by covering an old board with some chalkboard contact paper (much easier than chalkboard paint), and then screwing on an old clipboard clip. The kids love these when we do math together. There is something about working the problems out on a bigger surface that makes concepts become just a bit more clear. 

I have wipe-off boards and markers, but these things are always drying up and getting lost. Chalk is durable and cheap. Recently, I bought a whole box of it for just a dollar--something like 100 pieces! This way I never have to fret over markers getting ruined or lost--one less thing! 

You'll notice that there are ghosts of lessons past; isn't that just the charm of chalk? This particular exercise was all about finding the prime factors of a number. Ray's uses a method I have never seen in any other math book, unless I missed something. I love numbers, so learning this was a real treat--sort of like doing number puzzles over and over. I remember struggling with finding the primes of numbers as a youngster, and feeling so frustrated that I wanted to give up! The instruction I received was that one just needed to "guess" for the primes and use trial and error with nothing suggested as a way to keep track of your findings except for some silly "tree". Ray was too compassionate to be so vague; his methods are fun! 

Even if you feel a little overwhelmed and not sure that you can remember all of this math jargon, just jump over to Whyu and enjoy watching a slew of their videos with your kids--very enjoyable, professional and clarifying!

Math story books

My children love stories, and I love reading them aloud.

That is why I was really happy to find that there were some good read-aloud picture books that also dealt with math concepts from A Thomas Jefferson Education (Ray's Arithmetic was among the books recommended!). I took the list from the website, then found the books on Amazon, looked for related ones, and typed the titles into our library's search engine. I eliminated those that were too obviously "schoolish," since I would be bored senseless having to read them aloud, anyways!

I have been picking up these titles as they have become available and reading them aloud to the children. Some have gone over better than others, but all were fun (at least for me). Below I have compiled a list of a lot of the books I found, the ones I have read have a bit of a review. Even though these books are appealing to elementary ages, my older students have benefited. A sneaky way to get the older children to read them is to have them read aloud to their younger siblings.

Books by Cindy Neuschwander:

Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens--the children really liked this one. I think it gave them a more clear reason why we count by 10's, 100's, and 1,000's.

Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map--this one was a bit less interesting, as the story was sort of "hurried" in places, although I think they did actually get the X and Y grids for higher math.

Pastry School in Paris--this was our funnest so far. The three-year-old noticed right away that the drinks from the refrigerator did not look as though they were "fair" (one was in a short, fat bottle, the other in a slim, tall one), so we went into the kitchen and I used some vessels in our cupboard to explain why they actually held the same amount of liquid. She was amazed, along with the 5 and 8-year-old.

I have a number of books by Neuschwander on hold from the library, which we plan on enjoying thoroughly!

Books by Mitsumasa Anno

Anno's Math Games II--there isn't a lot of explanation here, but there are a lot of opportunities for thinking. The situations presented give the reader enough information to try and solve the different problems presented, but the answers are not immediately obvious.

Anno's Magic Seeds--this one contains a very human story, with math concepts in tow. It is the quiet, reflective sort of book that you walk through slowly on a rainy afternoon.

Books by Greg Tang

Math Potatoes--as with all of his math books, the rhyme carries one through the different math proposals, and gives one ample opportunities for counting and figuring, with computer graphics to match.

Math For Every Season--much of the same, only different situations.

Here are some that I haven't picked up yet:

Books by Eleanor J. Pinczes:

100 Hungry Ants
A Remainder of One

Books by Dayle Ann Dodds

Full House: An Invitation to Fractions
Minnie's Diner: A Multiplying Menu
The Great Divide: A Mathematical Marathon

What are some good math books you have been reading aloud to your children?

* At this writing, I do not have an affiliate relationship with Amazon for the sale of these books. I offer these links as a courtesy.