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Math Lessons for a Living Education anyone???
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Do you have experience with this? What book? Angela O’Dell has book 4 coming out before Christmas and I am curious with anyone’s experience with it. I have searched the posts and not found any current posts. With havng read Richele B’s Mathmatics book recently, I am wondering if this series would be useful in regards to the information given on teaching math CM style. We have baby #4 coming in the next 2 weeks and I was thinking I may need an actual curriculum to lean on a bit through the baby boot camp phase of being a breastfeeding 7-11 and sleep deprivation experiment, KWIM?
I started using the first book with ds5, but then decided to wait. He just wasn’t ready. I’m sorry that doesn’t help or answer your question. Dd7 is using Math Mammoth and I plan on keeping her doing some when our baby is born in Jan. It does require me to do more teaching/explaining than the Math for a Living Edu. for the age level you are looking at. Is the book 4 written directly to the student? Or, as in the earlier books, do you read aloud and then have the child complete the written work?
I bought level 2 for my 6 year old. I loved the idea of it and researched it for a while. However, once I got it I realized it just wasn’t going to work for us. I never did a lesson but I just couldn’t understand the manipulatives, specifically the place value ones. I suppose it would have been easier to start with the first level book and go from there and it may have been clearer. It sort of seemed as though how to use the place value “houses” were taught in Level 1 but since he knew alot of the concepts in that level, I bought Level 2. It looks like a really great program and I’m sure many people use it with success. It just wasn’t going to work for us.
Bethanna, I am not sure if it is written for independant student use as only the preliminary scope and sequence is up on her site. So I was just asumming it was like the other books.
Britney, I was wondering if the place value houses were presented like MathUSee’s place value street. Good to know about skill review instruction holes!
I have book two and I read through some of it with my youngest two, but they were both beyond it by the time I heard about it and purchased it. So I have it for sale now….. just saying….
We started our ds in Math-U-See and when he struggled we switched to Math Lessons for a Living Education. Our ds loves everything to do with farmiing so I thought the twin’s story on the farm may excite him. It worked for a short time, but he eventually outgrew them.
Upon comparison of the Table of Contents, I realized Math Lessons for a Living Education Level 1 includes virtually the same concepts/topics as Math-U-See. We are now back to MUS and really liking it. I plan to stick with MUS.
Also, while using ML for a LE, I found that some of the recommended manipulatives were not included in our book so I was scrambling to find something as a replacement. (I did buy the book new, so not sure what the deal was.) Anyway, I would encourage you to compare Scope and Sequences. Then decide if you’re looking for a story or just plain math. There will be some manipulative prep with ML for a LE.
We had a new baby in June. I have an 11th grader struggling with Chemistry and Geometry, a 3rd grader, and a 2nd grader with dyslexia. MUS has helped keep my sanity. 🙂 It’s straightforward and gets the job done. I recommend MUS. You could always supplement with various living math books for a story and play some games if desired. (But not necessary!)
Blessings in your decision,
Melissa
I’ve been meaning to reply to this am now just getting around to it. We use MLLFE 1. It has been minimal for preparation. It does use house for place value like MUS. Mostly I open it read the story. We work through copywork and problems. The only complaint I have is that it is consumable. I think you can preview it on Angela O’dells website or blog.
I have vol.3 and recommend it. It is similar to MUS in some ways. The place value houses are nice because you can place objects in them(you provide containers). I like not having DVDs because I had several students in different levels and it got annoying to play multiple DVDs with MUS.
I was confused preparing manipulatives, but I figured it out. I would contact the author for help before abandoning this curriculum due to preparation difficulties, because I like it a lot. I would suggest a You Tube video be made to clarify the manipulative preparations.
I like the mental math and copy work also.
I’ve never held this in my hands but from what I can see of it online, I could not give it a recommendation for being truly CM. A quaint story, place value houses, and copy work were never part of her methods for making math “living.” Though other subjects came alive through living books, Charlotte thought of mathematics as a language unto itself and didn’t present it through cute stories. Writing was used sparingly in maths and a house and street would not be used for showing place value, rather pennies would be set on the right and dimes to their left, very much connecting it to the real world.
I won’t be able to purchase this just to review it so know that these are my initial thoughts on a cursory look. I’m happy to hear more from those that have used it and think otherwise.
R
Richele,
You would know better than I how truly CM this is, being that I am new to CM. I switched to this from MUS and am using Life of Fred for some of my children due to their having math troubles and some being bored by pages of math problems.
The idea behind the stories is to provide a backdrop using math in “real” life. The characters ask math questions. I admit it gets a little cheesy and forced at times, but it works.
Would you consider Life of Fred more CM or not? They use stories also. I appreciate your insights as I am new to CM, but willing to use what works for struggling math students. Do you recommend Ray’s Arithmetic?
Thanks all!
While, for this season of our lives, we are using Math Lessons for a Living Ed. But, I agree with Richele! Ray’s Arithmetic is the closest thing I’ve found to CM. So, I make sure I teach the concept the Ray’s way, before doing the lessons for MLFALE. You might check out: http://www.christianbook.com/rays-arithmetic-classic-curriculum-book-3/rudy-moore/9780880622349/pd/0622342?dv=c&en=google-pla&kw=homeschool-0-20&p=1167941&gclid=CN7LypeVwroCFStp7AodlD0AvQ
retrofam, thank you for being so gracious with your words to me as it was not a simple or light thing for me to post. This summer I gave a presentation at the Living Education Retreat called “More than Manipulatives” and talked about the most common CM-math myths. The majority of what I see online that is touted as fitting a CM-style math curriculum just isn’t at all but I don’t think people are trying to be deceptive, rather they don’t have an understanding of what was actually done in Charlotte’s schools or what her methods truly are.
Again, I’ve only read some of Life of Fred at a friend’s house a few years ago (I think it was on percentages) so feel unqualified to say much. I remember really enjoying the book but — if we are strictly talking Charlotte Mason’s methods — I don’t think it would get the CM seal of approval. Again, anyone that has extensively used Life of Fred might be able to make a case for what exactly makes it CM. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use it. I have one son that simply loves reading textbooks and I’m not going to make him stop.
I agree with pollysoup…er, or her agreement with me
If you click on my profile, I think you get a list of my most recent posts and I lay out in a few of them why I recommend Ray’s. I think the thing about the characters in your program asking math questions is that it takes the place of a child’s mind posing the same questions to himself (if I understand correctly what you wrote). Ruth Beechick says in her introduction to Ray’s that “It is not a recess for the teacher.” That is very true of CM-math. It is also a very enjoyable and relationship-building experience to have with your child and opens up a world of beauty that many mothers might not have experienced in their own education. I’ve been grappling with and praying a lot about making CM-math accessible to everyone, even in various seasons of life and with a larger number of children than I have. I also don’t want to get in the way of a mother’s conversation with the Lord though and the creativity and inventiveness He wants to pour out when mother seeks His wisdom in this or any other area of schooling. Oh, boy, now you’ve got me talking.
R
I am so excited to try something a bit different with my dc (as I have mentioned in other threads) but would like to know if you all use the classic curriculum workbooks that are available for review of the concepts?
I’m still trying to use what I have printed from google books for my 7yo but I’m it sure if I want to try to print more or just purchase the “real” books. I already have the handbook written by Richele and loving it!
Just as a side note: I was working w/ my ds7 today on some addition facts using Ray’s (only oral using counters and not using them) which he loves, no writing, which is still laborious for him. Anyway, you should’ve seen the look on his face when I asked him “why” like it says in the book. Amazingly, it really made him have to think! The addition facts weren’t difficult but he really has to think of a good answer. He got it right, but I’d never asked him “why” before.
I’m on my phone so it’s a bit hard to describe what took place, but I just had to share. I’m very excited for my dc!
If you click on my profile, I think you get a list of my most recent posts and I lay out in a few of them why I recommend Ray’s. I think the thing about the characters in your program asking math questions is that it takes the place of a child’s mind posing the same questions to himself (if I understand correctly what you wrote). 
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