{photo by Jenny Bischoff}
Today Down Home brings you a parent testimonial and a wonderful Singapore Math resource. Wendy Dow wanted to share her thoughts about the document below, and we think it’s a great reminder and a nice mid-year refresher! Wendy and her husband Dan have two children – Chloe (Intermediate) and Jed (Primary). They are a Track A family in their 3rd year at SLOCA.
I will venture to say that numbers and I have never been “close friends.” Letters? Letters, I love! That would explain my focus on becoming a reading instruction specialist and my passion for helping others to read.
It wasn’t until we ventured into the homeschool world, and thankfully became acquainted with Singapore Math, that my views on numbers have begun to take a turn…for the better.
Last year our SLOCA math teacher shared a 9 page document, authored by Silverwood School, Singapore Math…Demystified!. I quickly printed it off, in hopes of “getting a clue.” Sadly, I never had a chance to read that document until summer time. When I DID finally read it I had one “ah-ha” moment after another.
Much like reading, I now realize that if you don’t have the foundational pieces of math, you will NEVER be truly “FLUENT” in this subject.
The analogy Lisa Ann Dillon shared in the Singapore training last fall was a poignant one. Math is much like a set of stairs, where each step represents a foundational piece of learning. Would you want to walk on a set of stairs where some of the stairs were missing? Feel free to do it, but KNOW that you are apt to fall through something, somewhere. That is what happens when you have holes in a foundation.
There are so many families who are joining SLOCA at a point beyond the “introduction stages” to Singapore Math. It can be challenging to jump in. The terminology is different. For many, the approach is different. If you are looking for a place to start, I STRONGLY recommend you begin with this 9 page document which clearly lays out the basics of Singapore Math.
I also recently requested a copy of the 3 hour Singapore Training session that was hosted with SLOCA and a Singapore specialist last year. I’m slowly working my way through it and finding it helpful. There are some wonderful facts about the Singapore pedagogy. There are also a number of resources to help shore up a parent’s understanding and approach to teaching this subject.
CLICK HERE for the Singapore Math…Demystified! document.
Thank you, Wendy! This is a wonderful reminder to diligently continue our own learning as we teach our kids at home. We encourage all parents to download this pdf to keep on hand. And we thank Silverwood School for graciously sharing this document with us.
SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with the above mentioned school.
