be there with him, and I truly enjoy
discovering alongside him. I enjoy the enthusiasm, the cries of "Oh!" or "Whoa. check this out!". the odd smells, the smoke, the bubbles, the clicking, banging, and whirring, the pencils scribbling as children record their finds. We end each session with a circle time, sharing our discoveries. The mom who created the group, or an attending teacher from the Independent Study Program we're affiliated with, heads the gathering. Both are good at giving everyone a chance to talk about his or her important
Watching Chitdren Learn 25 families involved, we are asked to sign up for a center a couple of times each semester. We can volunteer to
The Fun of Homeschoolers'Math Clubs Gail Helms of California writes:
Reading of homeschool science fairs in GWS #12f inspired me to write you about an ongoing science and math group my son and I enjoy. "Investigations" is a co-op workshop providing children ages Gl2 the opportunity to explore math, science, and construction centers run by parents. The group was organized by a homeschool mom. Rogan (age 6) and I lookforward to meeting with the group twice a month. When we arrive at the neighborhood church, which we rent by collecting a dollar per person each time, Rogan scopes out the possibilities: four or five centers, each focusing on an intriguing concept. Yesterday, we were greeted with shouts of "It's floatingl" from the carbon dioxide/ soda pop experiment table. Elsewhere, a boy had set up his own Mobius Strip center. 'Try cutting a strip in half, and predict what will happen!" an enthusiastic girl told me. Children were busily planting seeds in honor of spring, then constructing Gardening Logs to go with them. At one end of a tale strewn with origami paper, a Gyear-old was coaching his buddy on the art
of
paper crane folding. At the other end, adults and children challenged each other to strategy games: Thpatan, Pig, and Four in a Row. Rogan was immediately engaged by the games and chose to spend the entire two hours there. Each center is planned, set up, hosted, and cleaned up by a homeschool parent. Since there are about 26
make reminder phone calls and collect the rent monies as well. To help us out, each family was given a handout with a list of possible broad topics: Science: observation, exploration, and experimentation; Technology: construction, creation, invention, machines; Math: number concepts, problem solving, algebra, geometry, etc.
The handout included a list of math and science resources plus phone numbers of a few parents/teachers to call for assistance. The handout also recommended that we keep it simple, relax. be flexible, and have fun. I've enjoyed my stints as host so far. I like brainstorming for intriguing ideas, thinking up hands-on ways to present concepts, and seeing the "Aha!" light up children's faces. Keep-
ing it simple way, you can
fu key, I've learned; that more easily maintain the
experiments, answer questions, and give children help if needed. TWo other things I've learned: keep the cost of the supplies as low as possible, and test all experiments at home first. Hosting centers has provided me with the opportunity to delve into how an airplane flies and how electric circuits are built and work. Concepts I knew very little about I now clearly understand. My son benefits from assisting in the planning and testing of experiments. Perhaps he'll create and host his own center some time, as children have recently been invited to do. During the two-hour session, children are free to visit any center. Although I have the choice of dropping Rogan off there, he likes me to
discoveries. Rogan and I have been attending
this group for four months now and are both still eager to go - as it seems everyone is. Ten-year-old Justine, a
regular participant,
says, "There's
always something fun to do, and you're not required to do anythingl"
Marjurie Rollcston (NY) twites:
I always assumed my daughters would learn to read quite naturally, but I wasn't so confident about math. I have math horror stories liberally sprinkled throughout my childhood. My math career ended when I passed the Geometry Regents Exam (a
required exam for students in New York) with a 65 and my math teacher and I celebrated our good fortune. When we announced our decision to homeschool, people gently reminded me of my ineptitude in math and asked how I could possibly teach it to my children. I explained that my children are their own teachers, that I would help them find resource people, that their father is a scientist and could probably handle the math for a while. My daughters were just toddlers at this point, so I knew I had time to work it all out.
The days and years passed. We went on with the business of daily living, filled with projects, adventures, and activities. And it dawned on me that not only do we live in a reading house: it had become a math house too. In a fabric store, I was adding and multiplying fractions in my head, frguring out square footage of our rooms so I could buy paint. I was measuring to build raised beds for our
GnowrNc WrrHour ScHooLINc #124 o Snpr.,/Ocr. '98