mathematics

I like keeping our schooling fairly informal for the first few years.

While I like the idea of lots of 'educational' and tactile activities,

the reality is, 

real life provides us with plenty of opportunities for learning

and my carefully chosen and strategically organized 

pre-school and early elementary work-by-yourself games and such 

sit dusty on the even dustier shelf.

Daddy wasn't overly comfortable with what appeared to him 

as my laissez-faire attitude towards mathematics

and he requested that we pursue something a little more school-like.

Never mind that he occasionally looks at me in amazement

as one of the boys multiplies or divides in their head

or shows they grasp a much more advanced mathematical concept

than they would be learning in a graded curriculum...

Anyways.

I settled on  MCP Mathematics which, I actually really, really like.

I had planned on teaching both boys at the same time,

but it quickly became apparent that that wasn't a good idea.

I could have just let Jeremiah skip some,

but didn't want to miss something foundational

 - now that we're all formal and all -

so he's just worked at a little faster pace than Josiah.

Josiah loves doing his math pages;

Jeremiah,

not so much.

Today, Josiah learned to carry

and Jeremiah learned to borrow.

Both of which, in today's vernacular, are called 'regrouping' oddly enough.

Although. 

Now that I think of it, that's actually a very appropriate name for both.

Huh!

All of that aside,

what I sat down to say was -

I can not imagine the terror of teaching math to a roomful of children

all at the same time

(or really, anything, for that matter. somehow math seems more daunting, though)

and rarely does a math session go by,

that I do not think to myself,

I am so glad I'm not a 'real' school teacher.