Do your kids need some extra math activity during summer break?

How about getting them involved with a Summer Math Camp sponsored by Creative Learning Solutions In-Home Tutoring. Located in the Greater Nashville TN. area.

School is out and summer vacation is well underway which means your child may already have started chanting “I’m bored.” Those dreaded words that no parent wants to repeatedly hear until they devise a means for that child to no longer suffer from boredom.

This often sends you in a frantic search for some meaningful, enjoyable outlet for your young child’s infinite store of energy. If your child is between the ages of nine and fourteen, Summer Math Camp - Nashville, may be such an outlet.

Math Camp is a wonderful opportunity for your child to continue to build valuable math skills during the vacation. An innovative curriculum called "Hands-on Equations" is used to effortlessly introduce even younger children to complex algebraic equations. It allows children as young as grade three to grasp algebra while having oodles of fun playing with their specially designed manipulatives.

Your child will also experience fun with math games, math magic tricks, and other creative teaching aids to enhance their confidence and interest in math, all while making friends in a safe and supervised environment. Additionally, each student will learn how to prepare for next year’s math class and be supplied with a personal binder of helpful math information.

The camp sessions are held Monday through Friday from 9am-12pm and are conveniently located in the Goodlettsville area. They run from June 22 through July 31. You can sign up for one session or all six. Depending on need, additional sessions may be held in the Antioch and Franklin areas from 2-5pm.

For a small investment your child can reap the benefits of this fast-paced, hands-on, creative style of math instruction. Early registration, multi-session, and sibling discounts are available.

Finally, after attending Summer Math Camp, your child will be prepared for algebra and will have sharpened his/her math skills rather than suffered a loss of those skills which he, his teacher, and you, the parent, have worked so hard to instill during the school year! Call us at 615-594-6284 or click on link above for more info.

Looking For Good Math Curriculum For Home School

You may be struggling with or have struggled in the past with trying to choose the right math curriculum for your child. "Is there a best math curriculum for my child's learning style and abilities?"

Keep in mind there probably is no perfect math curriculum out there. But there are curricula that may be more suited to your childs particular learning style as well as your particular teaching style. As a general rule, the better you are as a math teacher, the less the book matters and vice versa.

Either way it's best to find the best book that you can based upon your child's needs and goals.

A few things to consider:

• Your child's learning style
• Your budget
• Goals you have.
• Does the curriculum rehearse one concept a lot before moving to next or does it present several concepts within a shorter time but then practice them over several grades - and how would that suit your child?
  
  

You should also talk with other home school parents about curriculum they have used. Try to take a look at several if possible to get a feel for it.

And remember once you've chosen, if your child is not getting the most from it you can always switch to another.

Just a few thoughts. Maria Miller over at homeschoolmath.net has a real good article with several curricula listed and a little about each one. Check the full article out here. Hope this helps.

Math Tips: Doing Math in Your Head

You might be amazed at the calculations the average student could do in their heads if they knew a few tricks.

It's also a pretty cool way for the kids to impress their teachers and friends.

Let's say you're multiplying a couple of two digit numbers with the same first digit. And their second digits add up to ten...like 43 times 47.

Here's how to do it quickly in your head:

Multiply first digit by one number greater than itself: 4 times 5 = 20.

So the first part of the answer is 2 0 _ _.

Then just multiply the two second digits together; 7 times 3 = 21.

the last part of the answer is _ _ 2 1.

So 47 × 43 = 2021.

Pretty neat. With a little practice it's easy. There are many more math multiplication tricks the kids can learn.

Check it out here.

Getting Your Child Ready for College Begins Early

Here's some good info to take a look at to make sure your child is on right track as far as classes to prepare them for college.

I'm sure their high school counselors are helping you out, but never hurts to have more valuble info. This article actually begins looking at courses from middle school.

Check it out here.

Math & Music

Are your kids the musical type? Well even if they don't sing or play an instrument, chances are they like to listen to music.

Here is some interesting info on how Math and Music relate to each other.

You may have known that it is widely believed that students who do well in music also excel in math. Some research shows that starting music lessons at a young age enhances math ability.

So mom and Dad if you've been putting off those piano lessons for your future maestro, you now have one more reason to get them started.

See how Time Signature in music be helpful can helpful with fractions.

Did you know that if you listen to Mozart, you can do better on tests? Well, some recent studies show that this is true. Learn more about it here and check out some Mozart as well.

Improving Math By Playing Chess

Does your child play chess? If not it might not be a bad idea for them to learn.

The reason why...It's Fun.

But that's not the only reason.....the other is that it may actually help make them a better math student.

Howard Nero, a math and science teacher at Microsociety Magnet School, turned to Chess several years ago to help students understand math coordinates.

Nero said students in the club improved their math scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test by 30 percent between fifth and sixth grade.

Pretty exciting stuff!

Studies have shown that chess can enhance creativity, concentration, critical thinking skills, memory, academic achievement, problem solving and standardized test scores.

Kids love games. Chess could be a great tool to motivate them to become willing problem solvers and spend spend hours immersed in logical thinking. Check the article out here.

Math Words R US

Ever tried to understand a definition of a math word in an algebra text book. Pretty technical for sure...

Sometimes the word you're looking for may not even be in the glossary or index. Maybe because they assumed you knew it. Don't know, but it happens to many students.

Here's a website designed for math students who need an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand math resource all in one place. It is a comprehensive listing of formulas and defintions from beginning algebra to calculus.

The explanations are readable for average math students, and over a thousand illustrations and examples are provided.

Even as a math instructor, it's a handy tool to have for quick reference. Yep, even us math teachers don't know all the math formulas and definitions.

Will I Ever Use The Pythagorean Theorem on My Job?

Remember the Pythagorean Theorem from your high school Math? Don't worry if you don't. I'm not going to give a quiz today.

But if your child is taking algebra or geometry, they might be asking, "When am I ever going to use the Pythagorean Theorem in life."

I've got the answer. Aren't you glad?

There's actually dozens of jobs that use this math theorem from algebra class to help with their jobs.

Here's a comment from a construction manager:

"Hey, I'm a commercial subcontractor and I use math everyday fractions, figuring out volume, sq footage you name it my job is math all day eveything I do is math related, figuring out scale from the blue prints etc..... also electricial trades are very dependent on math as well, carpenters, etc."

Check out the other 40 math related jobs that use the Pythagorean Theorem.

Math on the Go

As a parent with kids, I'm sure the daily routine can be a bit crazy. If you're like many parents, you run this one here and the other there. Seems like it's non-stop.

Have you thought about using your traveling times as teaching times annd throwing some math in at same time.

Check here to see some good ideas to use with your k-5th grader while on the road to help put math to good use.

Math Help - Multiplying Fractions

Fractions...Do you still shudder when you hear that word?

I found a great resource for you to help in teaching the kids about multiplying fractions . You'll find worksheets too that you can print off for extra practice.

Remember... key to getting better grades in math is practice.

This is a great source with lots of good material for you.

Check it out here .

Math and Art

Seem like an unlikely combination?

Actually the two are very related.

Take sculptures for instance. You may not have known you have to know algebra to be a great sculptor. Just Kidding. But sculptor, Helaman Ferguson sees sculpture as one of the highest forms of mathematics.

Check the article out to see how he mixes art and math to create his works.He says that math has an aesthetic component, and although math was created to solve practical problems, it has developed in directions which are not just practical but which are beautiful, interesting, and fun.

SAT and ACT PREP

As a parent, there's much to do as far getting your high shooler prepared for college. Where will they attend?...How will we pay for it?...Should I send them away to school their first year?...and oh yeah,...What's the best way to prepare for those SAT and or ACT exams?

It would be nice if your high shooler could just max out those college entrance exams. Be one less thing to worry about. In fact, I sort of wish there was not so much emphasis on the SAT and ACT exams in the first place.

But who am I? I just teach math and ride a bike.

Reality is, the SAT and ACT exams are here to stay for awhile. And better scores mean more options when it comes to which schools they can attend and not to mention more options to pay for school.

That being said, they've got to get through the entrance exams. So let me share a great place online to help them prepare. And did I say it is FREE.

It's real easy to set up an account and your high schooler can access a customized course that includes user-friendly tutorials and pratice sessions that adapt to their ability level. You can monitor your child's test prep by acting as their "coach".

Sound like a winner. Well check it out here and happy test preping.