How to use SCM living math with my curriculum

Hello queenireneof3,

One of the beautiful things about Charlotte Mason is that she knew from experience that, no matter what age the child began his education with her methods, he developed amazingly.  You are not a failure.  Charlotte Mason herself used a math curriculum and method in her early years (we read of it in her first volume “Home Education) – Sonnenschein’s ‘The ABC of Arithmetic” with her own students only to find out that the children were good at analyzing numbers but couldn’t relate it to real life.   So, she began transferring methods of hers that did work to math.  Oral problems, just like oral narration.  Written problems came later, just as did written narration.  The teacher didn’t stand between the child and arithmetic (note, she did not use what we think of as “living books” or storyline curriculum to teach math) but the child did go in his own power, doing the work himself, making connections himself in a guided way.

First, let’s dispel the fear.  If you have yet to find faith in yourself be encouraged that Charlotte Mason would have faith in you if she were here today, evidenced in a letter to Mr. Household, the County Secretary for Education in Gloucester and proponent of her work.  Mr. Household was hesitant to allow a “less able teacher” in a poor district to follow the work of the PUS.  She responded that “just as she had faith in all children…her faith extended to all teachers” and that “any teacher brought face to face with the surprising things children do on this method…rises to the children’s level…and that…teachers, as well as children, develop amazingly.”

Honestly, I don’t know anything about Singapore.  Please know though that my oldest son was in third grade and had used a boxed curriculum when I switched to Charlotte’s methods.  I had bought into what had been touted as “CM-math” but wasn’t seeing the results I saw in other subjects.  He had begun formal lessons with a love of math but it had become a hated “subject.” That is when I decided to find out what her methods really were.  Once I understood, I took him all the way back to the beginning and we flew through until I understood where he had actually lost his way.  He progressed quickly in some areas and slowly in others.  He is now turning fourteen, heading into high school, and enjoys math.

I hope this helps and am happy to converse further.

Warmly,

Richele

Hello again, queenireneof3, and you are most welcome.  I will do my best to answer your questions and am happy to continue the discussion of CM’s methods with you.

The caveat emptor is that I’ve never held Singapore in my hands but did look at page images from 3A and read through its methodology both on their homepage and from an outside source.  My understanding is that Singapore goes from concrete to pictorial/model drawing to abstract.  Charlotte’s methodology does not use the pictorial in that way.  Rather CM’s methods would be 1) concrete followed by 2) working with imaginary objects in the mind and then 3) advancing to abstract numbers.

The manipulatives and cards found on Singapore’s site look surprisingly like the Sonnenschein manipulatives that Charlotte’s schools started out using. The teachers found though that their students formed an iron-clad relationship with the objects that they couldn’t bridge in real life and that contrived apparatus either required too much teaching or replaced the importance of the idea it was supposed to represent.  Charlotte realized it was best to use simple and varied manipulatives, all found in the home, to use in the presentation and investigation of ideas.

Charlotte’s methodology also isn’t worksheet or workbook driven.  There were no pages of problems staring the child in his face.  Rather, problems were mainly oral, writing was done sparingly and in a gridded math notebook.  Now, this doesn’t mean that you couldn’t read through the handbook and apply Charlotte’s philosophy and methods to the problems found in a Singapore book.  It might be simpler to use a different book though, one that looks more like the books Charlotte used.

Per your questions:

Did you stop using curriculum when you applied Charlotte’s teaching to your son’s math?  

I stopped using a formal curriculum but used Ray’s Primary Arithmetic for my second son’s first year (he is now 11) and followed with Strayer-Upton Book One and Two for both of my boys.  I use the SCM handbook “Mathematics, An Instrument for Living Teaching” side by side with these books.  So, if I’m about to begin a new concept, I look to see how Charlotte taught it and then just use the other books for real problems that relate to the life and interests of my kids (which is what she encouraged her teachers to do).  I also use Charlotte’s scope and sequence found in the handbook along with the methods that are foundational in her teaching of math. There are things in the Strayer-Upton books I skip (some wordy and convoluted explanations, diagnostic tests) but also much that I use.  They aren’t expensive, about $14 from Christian Book Distributors and can take one through.  I also use one of the books Charlotte used for Practical Geometry found in the handbook -they are both in the public domain along with the practical geometry found in the Strayer-Upton books on Friday.

I have gone through all of Charlotte’s math books mentioned in her programmes page by page so feel confident in the use of Strayer-Upton.  Her particular arithmetic books mentioned use the former British currency system so are unwieldy for today.

Does he use curriculum now?  By this question do you mean is my almost 14-year-old sitting and working alone with a textbook?  I still have him for his formal lessons.  Sometimes when I think of just having him “go it alone” I think about the private school down the road and how non-plussed I would be if I sent my children there and the teacher were not an active guide.  The current plan is Harold Jacobs for Algebra and Geometry but this summer we are trying out a newly published curriculum to see how it fits Charlotte’s living teaching.  We haven’t decided what we will use for business math (he ran his own bookstore with SCM’s business math resource) and it may just be that I teach him to take over the bookkeeping for my husband’s business.  I’ve picked something tentatively for Calculus but truly, this is the summer I plan his next four years of high school.

How might we go about using the SCM math book? Would it replace his curriculum? What might it look like for our family to apply the SCM book to his studies now?  The handbook allows you to grasp Charlotte’s principles and methods and goes deeper into the teaching of mathematics.  It gives the “do’s and don’ts” and shares how you might apply it to the curriculum of your choice.

My youngest is also a bit of a fatalist when it comes to his math.  I am not a mathematician but a dreamer/writer-type.  I have rediscovered the innate love of math I had as a child and am thrilled to see beauty and truth in math.  Charlotte’s methods means each step taken is on firm ground in cooperation with the One who is Life.  Her methods not only develop intellectual and moral habits but awaken a sense of awe in God’s fixed laws of the universe and His love for us in giving us such tools.  This is a gradual unfolding of ideas we are talking about.  It is as relationship building as any other subject in a Charlotte Mason education.  It keeps the child as a born person paramount and keeps the teacher from standing in the way, offering crutches, or denying the child the joy of self-discovery.  The how-to and why is found in greater depth in the handbook.  The dilution into 1-2-3 steps are in the dvd’s.

I hope this is of help.

Warmly,

Richele

Oh my…this is a very timely discussion! I bought the SCM Living Math DVD a couple of years ago at a convention, but seriously just took the plastic wrap off today and watched the first couple parts. Then I logged on the forum to ask a few questions and here you all are talking about it!

A little background, my kids are ages 12, 11, and 4. My two oldest are both struggling math learners. Our 11 year old has a dyslexia diagnosis. Reading has been remediated, so math is our next subject to tackle. He will be entering 6th grade in the fall and has always been homeschooled. I have tried MEP, Math Lessons for a Living Education, Math-U-See, RightStart, Singapore, ST Math, and Life of Fred (Apples through Honey) over the years….yikes, it’s a lot when it’s typed out 🙁

Anyway, he recently underwent testing by a neuropsychologist as a follow-up to his initial testing nearly four years ago. The assessment notes things like:

On a task of fundamental arithmetic skills, performance was in the very low range. Did not show an understanding of carrying, simple multiplication or simple division. When asked to demonstrate his math knowledge in a more applied manner, performance in the low average range….continues to struggle in the area of mathematics and fundamental arithmetic skills are significantly behind what would be expected for his age. Continues to do better with problem solving and applying related knowledge which again is a function of his strong verbal skills.

The neuropsych recommended I continue to develop curriculum at his level including working on fundamental arithmetic. He also recommended looking into Khan Academy.

I’ve been using Charlotte’s methods with him for years as far as reading aloud quality living books, expecting narration, copywork, nature study, etc., but feel like I’m failing in math because there’s just not a lot out there regarding Charlotte Mason and math. I am convinced her methods are best for him and am delighted to find the SCM Living Math. I do also own Ray’s and the Strayer-Upton you mentioned, but I’m struggling to wrap my mind around how to implement.

My first major question is in regard to placement. Where to I start an 11 year old? Does Ray’s New Intellectual Arithmetic sound right? Or maybe, Strayer-Upton? Or, would I go back to Ray’s Primary? The thing is, he has an extremely low tolerance and becomes irritated very easily, particularly when it’s difficult or if he feels it’s too easy. We seem to walk a fine line here, lol.

Also, I mentioned our 12 year old also struggles in math. I believe she has some form of dyslexia as well, but has never been formally diagnosed. She reads post high school and has for some time, but struggles greatly with math and spelling. Is it possible to begin this process with a rising 7th grader? Again, where to begin with placement? She already feels frustrated from the struggle and knows she is “behind” others her age. I wonder if starting back from square one will only exacerbate this?

Thanks,
Melissa

Hello queenireneof3 and greenbalts,

I’m greatly encouraged that you want to have an understanding of Charlotte Mason’s living teaching of math and that you want to incorporate her methods into your children’s math lessons.  And, Melissa, I’m glad you finally took the wrapping off that dvd set.  My apologies for not being able to field your questions immediately.

I’ll begin with queenireneof3’s questions regarding Strayer-Upton and the handbook published by SCM then will do my best to answer your questions regarding RightStart in my next post and then a third post addressing Melissa’s questions.   We currently live without wi-fi so I’m at a coffee shop typing furiously 🙂 but happily.

The handbook (and the dvd’s if you want to see how elementary arithmetic using CM’s methods looks carried out with a student) would be the teacher’s guide to using the Strayer-Upton books.  I think if you read the handbook you would be able to more clearly make a decision on how you would like to proceed you’re your children.  As it currently stands, if mother is not comfortable with coming up with her own little interesting problems then the examples found in Ray’s Primary (free), along with manipulatives found in your own home, will take you and your child through the first year of Numbers with the caveat that you are using Charlotte’s methods, based upon her philosophy of education.

The first two Strayer-Upton provides all the example problems necessary to take your students from approximately 2nd grade to mid-8th grade arithmetic with the understanding that your child will take each consecutive step on firm ground.  You don’t move forward based on Charlotte’s scope & sequence and her Forms –they are tools– you move forward as your child achieves comfort and understanding with each concept.  Why rush through mathematics when it has the power to transform our children and ourselves through an expanded knowledge of God and the universe?

Book 3 of  Strayer-Upton covers things like profit and loss, bank interest, investment buying, ratio and proportion, geometry and square roots.  My book is currently packed away due to our recent move.  These business-math type things would be the things Charlotte’s schools began covering in the last term of Arithmetic in (our) eighth grade and then continued through high school.

My handbook does not suggest which book to use.  It is a big job to review all the math curricula out there along with the continued stream of new being published.  The handbook does provide you with the guidelines to review curriculum and test whether or not it is as “CM-friendly” as it or others might claim.

Warmly,

Richele

Hello Melissa and Sara,

I’m going to begin addressing your questions together as they have some overlap. The encouraging thing is that Charlotte Mason says of her methods, “Children of any age, however taught hitherto, take up this sort of work with avidity.”  Pretty cool.

Thank you, so much, Melissa, for your understanding.  I wish it had been life’s business keeping me away.  It was the rather unromantic fact that I hurt my back weeding the yard and have been able to sit, walk, stand for very short periods of time only.  I’m on the mend though after almost two weeks of chiropractor visits.  I’m amazed that you have done such an in-depth study of Charlotte’s principles, Melissa, and, Sara, I’m so glad to know your name!

First, Melissa, I know you have the dvd’s but do you have the handbook as well?  Though I don’t have a chapter on placement per se, it will help you with that and will serve to guide you with using Strayer-Upton’s First Book, which is where I would place your son after you go through Charlotte’s steps in teaching multiplication.  (Since you already have Ray’s and Strayer-Upton, Melissa, feel free to use the example oral problems from wherever you like and you could try switching up the language to include things that might particularly interest your child if you are able).

I think I’ve discussed multiplication in some length on the forum as well and will look for that post.  Charlotte’s methods are idea based so using them will give your children an idea of what “times” indicates and give them tools to understanding the rationale behind multiplication.  Division is going to begin in the concrete as each multiplication table is learned.  It is detailed in the dvd and handbook but, again, it is ideas that are communicated –the idea of continuous subtraction, or sharing; and the idea of fractional parts, also known as measuring.

Sara, since your son loves little oral problems, he should especially enjoy Charlotte’s methods.  When I placed my oldest son, I went back further than I thought I needed to but we flew through using concrete objects (manipulatives) just to ensure that he truly had mathematical understanding and was not just mechanically solving the problems.  Sometimes he balked at the use of manipulatives at his age but I always promised they would go straight away and not be seen again.  Money, on the other hand, was a manipulative he was particularly fond of working with.

…to be continued.

Richele

Oh, Sara, I’m sure you will as you continue to pray and cooperate with the Holy Spirit.  In an effort to have you deal with less information, not more, I am linking Charlotte Mason’s own words as she describes and compares her philosophy of education to that of Maria Montessori’s in Three Educational Idylls.

Warmly,

Richele