Mulitpling by 5s

I work with the kids. I give them math problems, I go over the short explanation on how to do it (if needed), and send them on their way. If they NEED help I will help them. However for the most part I leave them to do it on their own, especially Superstar!

Superstar has been working on multiplication this is the typical course work for "3rd graders". We have just finished his multiplication chapters and the next chapters covers things like Geometry (solid and plane figures, triangles, lines, rays, angles, and congruent figures) and Graphing (making and using bar and line graphs).  Once the the Geometry and Graphing Chapters are done we will start working with Division, followed by Fractions and Decimals.

Seeing we are taking a break from the multiplication and it's going to be awhile before we start the dividing I thought I would take advantage of this time and help Superstar memorize his multiplication facts. We will do the book work followed by going over the multiplication flash cards.

We used the flash cards yesterday and he actually knows them pretty well. Some of them he takes longer then I would like to see, but I know with practice he'll know them better and will not need so much time to come to the answer.

We discuss which ones he knows really well and which one he still struggles on. He then shared with me that 5s are easy because of "his method". I asked him to explain his method.

Well it's simple if the number is even you just 1/2 it and times it by 10

• 16 x 5 = 8 x 10
• 24 x 5 = 12 x 10
• 112 x 5 = 56 x 10
• 6 x 5 = 3 x 10

If the number is odd then you take away 1, 1/2 the rest, times it by 10, then add 5 for the one you took away

• 17 x 5 = (8 x 10) +5
• 25 x 5 = (12 x 10) +5
• 221 x 5 = (110 x 10) +5
• 3 x 5 = (2 x 10) +5

This method works for ANY (whole) number times 5. We tried it on several numbers. I gave him all kinds of numbers odd and even and asked him to use his method to test it. He was able to give me the answer to any number multiplied by 5 using this method.

I was simply FLOORED that he came up with this on HIS OWN!!! I did NOT teach him this and it is NOT in his book. I didn't know what to think, other then he must just have the brain for math and no wonder it comes easy to him and I don't have to explain much to him. Web-princess on the other hand is a different story. Most of the time I just give Superstar his book and he goes to town. I often do not need to instruct him on what to do.

That's one reason I'm happy I'm homeschooling him because I know he doesn't have to sit through long boring instructions on how to do math problems. He can just get to work on them without me holding him back with long boring instructions. If he doesn't know something or gets stuck I'm here and I DO help him. However if he can look at the book and know what to do then that's fine with me. (Besides it allows me to sit with Web-princess more, without feeling guilty, because she need more help.)

I'm sure that Superstar really didn't come up with this method for the first time, I'm sure there are math wizards out there that know what this method is called.

I'm just amazed that my 8 year old discovered it on his own, without it being taught by me or the book. It's interesting to see how his brain is processing math.

Earthquakes In Illinios?

When people think of earthquakes they think of California  however here in the midwest we have them too! This morning we had a earthquake here, or I should say near here. I know many of my neighbors have said they felt it this morning, but we did NOT! Perhaps if we were awake and not sleeping we would have noticed some shaking.

So for our pen-pals the Dudiches Yes, the earthquake was every close to our home, Yes people around us did feel something, but we did NOT feel it. You know our home address so you can see how close we are to the cities and areas that did report to have felt the quake this morning.

Image Source: USGS (US Geology Source)

The star on the map above is ground zero and the shade squares are the areas that people felt the quake and how severe of a quake it was. I know that as far as intensity this is nothing compare to the quakes out in California but here in Illinois this is a BIG deal! It is all the rage at the office water coolers this morning, Did you feel it? Did it wake you up? What did it feel like? Is there any damage at your house? Check Out USGS site to learn more about the history of Earthquakes in Illinios .

Just another day in Illinois! Tornadoes, Blizzards,  and Earthquakes! 

OH MY!!

Review: Jumpstart

Title: JumpStart

Creator: JumpStart.com

Short Description: JumpStart is an award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but don't let that fool you - it also teaches math, reading, and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start in life.

Review: With the JumpStart program there are two different account options FREE and PAID (membership). For the sake of this review I was given a free membership by JumpStart. Having the membership allows us to access ALL of the gaming features. With the Membership there is actually access to 5 different games. 1 online game and 4 different (CD) games that you download directly unto your computer.

The downloaded games:

Preschool: My First Adventure

Kindergarten: Legend of Grizzly McGuffin

First Grade: Trouble in Town

Second Grade: Quest for the Color Meister

For the sake of this review I only downloaded Quest for the Color Meister. This is because my kids are 7 and 8 and that seemed to be the most appropriate game for them. If I wanted to I could have download all of the games.

With the free version you are given limited access to what worlds you can access within the online game. The membership allows you to have unlimited access to ALL of the online words including Future Land which is designed for kids ages 8-10. Please refer to the Free vs Membership Chart for more details.

For those FACEBOOK people you can even link JumpStart to your Facebook account which according to JumpStart's website will allow you to see what your children are up too and allow you to link to your facebook friends and their kids so that you all can play and compete against each other. (I do not have a facebook account and will not get one  just to test this.)

We LOVE this program! We LOVE both the download game and the online game. Web-princess and Superstar every day ask "Momma can we play JumpStart!?!"  I happily let them because of the "educational" value of the games, especially the downloaded game. This is one fun way to help supplement my children's education. 

Thank-You JumpStart for allowing us the opportunity to play and do this review. I'm really thankful to have this program now because it gives my kids a fun way to reinforce their phonics, math, and reading skills. Not only that but they keep coming back for more and more because they LOVE it!

They love the games and being able to have pets. Web-princess's favorite pet is the brain. It's a little blue brain that follows her where ever she goes. Superstar loves doing the car races. In the car race game he matches up words with the letter sounds he's looking for. The only thing they disliked was that at times the game froze up on them. (This only happen a handful of times and was an easy fix.)

The game freeze has NOT stop them from wanting to play! They still come back for more and more. They just understand that sometimes glitches like that happens, especially when it's an online base game. We have similar issues with other online games.

The online world also has theme based games within the game. These themed games are based on the current seasons/holidays. Currently to celebrate Valentine's Day our kids can collect hidden candy hearts as part of the Valentine's Scavenger Hunt. The kids have enjoyed this and are delighted when they find a new heart. They also enjoy seeing other people online and interacting with them. In a safe way I might add.

On the parental end of things: I like that fact that I could, on the downloaded game, review what games my kids were playing, what skills they worked on, and how well they master those skills. I also like the fact that the online world is a safe environment for them to able to interact with other people.

Despite the game freezing up the program has 6 thumbs way up in this house. 2 thumbs from Superstar, 2 thumbs from Web-princess, and 2 thumbs from Mommy!!! If you are looking for a safe fun games for your kids to do online then JumpStart is the way to go.

Disclosure: I was given a FREE 1 year membership to JumpStart by JumpStart.com  in order to write my honest opinion of this product for this review.

The Budget Cuts

 

Tip Of The Hat: Why Homeschooling

Friday-meatless-Penance

This was originally written 2/27/09. However I thought it was fitting to re-post it because:

1. I have many new followers now, many of them Catholic-Christians like myself
2. It's almost Lent!

The Original Post IS Below:

On what Fridays throughout the year are we suppose to do penance? I'll give you a hint by giving you an example of a penance that is done on Fridays: abstaining from meat. So on what Fridays throughout the year are we suppose to do penance?

If you answered EVERY Friday then you are correct!!! Congratulations for knowing the this bit of Canon Law and knowing about your Catholic Faith! Here is that bit of Canon Law strait from the Vatican's Web-Site.

Can. 1249 The divine law binds all the Christian faithful to do penance each in his or her own way. In order for all to be united among themselves by some common observance of penance, however, penitential days are prescribed on which the Christian faithful devote themselves in a special way to prayer, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their own obligations more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence, according to the norm of the following canons.

Can. 1250 The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast.

Can 1250 clearly states that EVERY Friday of the WHOLE year are penitential days. So that means EVERY Friday we are do a from of penance. Can 1251 states that the from of penance to be observe is abstinence from meat on ALL Fridays. However according to Can 1253 the conference of bishops can offer their people a substitute such as a work of charity.

Here in the USA a big deal is made out of Lenten Fridays and how it's a "meatless" day. Well ALL Fridays should be "meatless" days UNLESS you do an alternative penance. You see here in the USA we have a choice on NON-Lenten Fridays to an alternative penance. So just because it's NOT Lent doesn't mean we can dive into that big juicy hamburger on that Friday cook-out! Enjoy that burger as long as you fulfilled your penance that day by some kind of alternative penance such as a work of charity.

I've been reading my emails (that is the one thing that I did NOT give up). I've been reading a lot from my fellow Catholics today on how today is a meatless meal, etc and I felt compel to write and share here with ALL of you vs. a reply to only those that have email me today.

I think our Bishops have done us a disservice by making a HUGE deal on how it's Lent and it means ~no meat~. Many don't realize that ALL Fridays, not just Lenten Fridays are days of penance. This is just a result of mis-communication throughout the years. The USA Bishops did NOT do way with penance when they said many years ago that a Catholic MAY enjoy a hamburger on non-Lenten Friday. Being able to eat meat on Non-Lenten Fridays is only HALF the story. The other HALF is that a forms of penance has been widen giving people CHOICES!

In other words a Catholic, here in the USA, has an either-or-and-choice on non-Lenten Fridays. The choices on Non-Lenten Fridays are as follows.

• abstinence from meat
• work of charity
• exercise of piety
• OR ALL the above

On Lenten Fridays there is NO choice a FULL penance is to be done. There is NO choice ALL of these things are to be done:

• perform works of piety and charity
• prayer
• abstinence from meat
• and FAST on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday
  

This is something that we in my house struggle with, because I did NOT grow up with this knowledge and my DH is an convert to Catholicism. However knowing it I think helps us, because we are trying!! This is something I myself just learn within the last year. It is something that has been reinforced by our Diocesan Education Office.

Well I have to go, I just wanted to share this tid-bit about Penance and Fridays. I felt it was important especially seeing this is the first Friday of Lent!!! I have to say this staying off the PC (with the exception emails) has been a little hard then I thought it would be! I just have to try a little harder! I hope that you are doing well with your penances and sacrifices this week and continue to do well ALL of Lent!

Related Posts:
Lenten Pretzels (At the end of the post Judy @ Benmakesten has a lovely suggestion for abstaining from meat during Lent.)