Our 1st Grade Math

I have made the final purchases for Abram's math this year, and boy does it feel good! First of all, we have a teacher supply store that I could spend all day in. It would be so fun to have a whole room that I could dedicate to homeschooling and to really decorate it up fun. I'm all about decorations and visual aides. Nevertheless, I don't, so we will make do.

This is a fun purchase that is full of 6 (hands-on) games for Abram. Math is really all about understanding, and then getting your facts down fast. However, doing the same drills EVERYDAY becomes tedious, so we spice it up when ever we can.
Here is one of the games inside. It's all you need to know about shapes. Not only learning their names, but their sides, corners and what things are similar to them.

This one is learning which sums and which facts go with each other. Another way to memorize addition facts.

We have to get our skipping numbers down. Especially, making sure we have our fives down since we are going to fine tune our clock reading skills. Abram knows how to read digital clocks and the basics on an analog, but this is the year to master it once and for all.

These are the six file categories of 1st grade math games. I just love how tidy it all is. Now mind you I had to cut out each painstaking piece, but I actually found it relaxing. I tried to rope Den in to helping, but I finally gave up on him.....hehehe

These are ancient and well used in our house. They are called Holey Cards. We love these. You put a piece of paper behind the holes, and you time the kids to see how many facts they can do, and of course, how many they get right. The purple thingy is the timer. Without a good fun timer the whole task becomes more of a chore for them. If you let the kids use the timer they LOVE that!

Here is a close up of the addition one. Yes, you see writing on it. Like I said they are ancient and have been put to good use through the years.

And then my core math is Math-U-See. Here are the manipulatives. We adore Math-U-See. Again, its about visualizing math. It's about seeing and working the problem through visually and mentally. It's been a success story, so far, in this house.

Here is the text that comes with Math-U-See. I don't let my boys write in their books. I have too many children waiting in line to use them a following year. I either make copies on my copy machine, or they just put a piece of paper alongside the book and do it that way. It's all about being economical with this size crew. Homeschooling isn't that expensive for six, in the long run, this way.

Another math lesson we will be working on this year is counting money. I have a register that really works, that again we have had forever. The boys all learned to count money with it. Another fun and realistic way to understand money. I forgot to post a photo of it, but I have to replenish the fake money anyway. You see, they have played so many money games in the past that we can't keep up with it. I also bought some money flash cards for Abram. He will be set this first grade year!

BRAINSTORM: As I was taking pictures of the books, on my sorry little table, it came to me! Why not just paint my table black? DOH! I am actually excited about getting this little project started. I will sand it, paint it, and make sure to put plenty of protection on it. I will let you know when I get started with this .... I CAN'T WAIT!