Math Work Sheets

Ever wonder what the overachiever in school did on school break?  I can tell you as I was that kid who always had the answer or ruined the curve by scoring 98% on a test. As a kid I used to play school forcing my little sister to do math problems over the summer. I used to painstakingly write out worksheets for her to complete and then grade them.

My sister should be grateful that we grew up in a time without the Internet and access to websites with printable worksheets. The papers would have been flying!

I was introduced to a great math worksheet website.  www.DadsWorksheets.com
Unlike many printable websites EVERYTHING is FREE.

I am going to be spending a lot of time this summer on this website. No summer learning loss allowed here.  The average child 2.6 months of Math skills are lost during the summer. Only 2 to 3 hours a week in the summer are needed to prevent this summer skill loss. My family is going to use Dad Worksheets to prevent the loss and help us get ahead before the next school year.

Most websites are very focused on a specific learning age.  Dad Worksheets covers a vast set of math skills. There are worksheets from preschool to high school. My teenagers will not be safe from doing worksheets this summer along side their younger siblings.

We will be focusing on the foundation skills to strengthen their Math ability. With Dad Worksheets I will be spending less time looking for worksheets and more time working with my kids.

Welcome to 2016!

Happy New Year!

I hope this year is one of big positive changes for my family and yours as well.




As with every year, as family we are going to make resolutions for the year.

The 4 topics I encourage my family to make one resolutions each in are:
Health
Spiritual
Education
Personal

We will write our resolutions down on a big sheet of paper. Make sure to include smaller steps to help make the achievable. Then this will be hung where we can see it every day.

30 Day of Thankful (Day 21)

My 30 days of Thankful

Day 21

I am thankful for my Culinary Arts training.  It makes preparation for big holiday meals less stressful.  Proper preparation can prevent you from panicking the day of.  Make any fillings the day before. Chop any vegetables. (minus onions as they absorb bacteria too fast once cut)  Plan when you need to get each dish in the oven.  Pre-steam veggies earlier in the day, then put in an ice bath to stop the cooking.  Finish them in the oven after the turkey comes out. (while the turkey rests before carving. At least 30 minutes)

Subtraction Poem

Teaching subtraction and carrying over can be a nightmare.  Or a simple poem can help your child remember what to do when faced with this Math.  


Subtraction poem

More on top? no need to stop

More on the floor? go next door and get 10 more!

Numbers the same? Zero's the game!

I am faced with teaching my 6 yr old subtraction this coming week. It works well when they are thinking about actual items but once it's numbers alone on a page... I feel like I am speaking Greek to them the first time we go through some subjects.  I am so glad K-12 teaches to Mastery of a subject.  It makes it so I can help them go over it again until they understand.

Maybe we can make some Math facts pumpkins.    

K-5 Learning Review and Blogging Opportunity

With all 5 of my kids off for Summer break I was very grateful for the chance to review K-5 Learning.  The oldest two have been using Summer to read through the Hunger Games.  That leaves the 6 yr old in need of something educational to do.  No TV Zombies allowed in this house.

K5 Learning to the rescue!!  

K5 Learning is an online reading and math program for children kindergarten through 5th grade.  This program is designed to be used at anytime from after-school, on the weekend, during the summertime to prevent summer brain drain or along side your homeschooling program. The early years are the key to your child's academics.  Numerous studies have shown that children who do not excel in school by grade 3 are unlikely to excel later in school.

K5 Learning is designed to be a practical tool for busy families and it was perfect for my crazy family.  Within the program there is a strong emphasis based on education not on games and entertainment.  (not that it isn't fun.. my daughter had a blast and begged to "play" K5 every chance.)   It was so easy to use even your 4 or 5 year old could work independently and at their own pace. (my 2 year old was begging and pleading.) With no downloads and 24/7 availability your child can access it anytime.   There are no external links, advertisements or chat to keep your child's experience a safe one.

When your child starts the K5 the Math and Reading lessons are set by grade level default.  To get the most of your experience it is highly recommended to take the online assessment in eight key math and reading skills.  The data collected from the assessment is then used to customize the learning program to suit your child's skill individual skill set.  There are over 3,000 online multimedia activities that are personalized to your child based on their assessment . No more worries that they aren't getting the lesson you select for them.  The free online assessment helps to place your child at their appropriate skill level.  My daughter was very strong in geometry but needed more work in phonics.  Due to all lessons being catered to her skill level she was never bored from it being to easy or frustrated during a lesson that was too hard.

K5 Math is an award winning math program with over 1,200 research based online tutorials and activities.  My daughter loved that the lesson used animated character in real world scenarios.  It helped to build a connection between math and her own personal experiences.  I was surprised to find out that my recent kindergarten graduate was actually at a 2nd grade math level.

K5 Math Facts helps your student develop instant recall of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  Did you know that the average 5th grader only knows 32% of their multiplication tables!  Instead of learning higher order math skills those students that don't know their math facts will spend their time on basic computations.  Math Fact Matrix displays your student's progress on every single math facts.  Mastery is obtained when the whole matrix is green.  (great visual of accomplishment for your child to see) You can even adjust the time needed to enter the answer for those that are not as quick with the keys.  My daughter enjoyed watching the matrix fill out with each pass through her facts.

K5 Reading program is comprised of over 1,500 online tutorials and activities.  This award winning program is based on the instructional guidelines of the National Reading Panel as well as the best practices employed by teachers and reading specialists.  The K5 Reading program is in use by thousands of US students from kindergarten to grade 5 covering 5 key curriculum skill areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
The reading lessons are all interactive and animated with fun "role model" characters.  With each lesson broken into multiple 5 minute segments with an interactive tutorial, one or more practice segments and finally a quiz.  These short study sessions keep the learning fast and fun.  My daughter's reading went from a subject she struggled with and hated to a something she would beg to do more of.

K5 Spelling helps improve your child's language skills one word at a time.  With immediate feedback on each word spelled.  Correct spelling receives applause and misspellings receive hints on the way to correct their mistake.  You child will always spell the word correctly before moving to the next.  There is automatic word generation (from their 150,000 word database) based on your child's grade level, past quizzes and specific goals.  Any words that were in the past they are repeated in future quizzes until spelled correctly multiple times. Unlike many websites K5 never displays a misspelled word to help imprint the proper spelling in their mind.  Multiple clues to a word are given to help your child absorb the full meaning of the word before trying to spell it, from sound files, sample sentences, definitions and pictures.

It's not just about kid's learning there are great features for parents as well like the online progress reports and ability to set assignments for your child.  Parents can access many online progress reports, quiz results, spelling words learned and progress made on math facts.  Stay up to date on your child's progress and you can watch them excel. As a parent you can also choose from any of the K5 reading and math lessons to assign to your child, as well as spelling words to be studied.  The assignment feature really helped boost my daughter's phonics, which she was struggling with initially because it is no longer taught in our local school district.  I was able to assign more core lessons in phonics

K5 is available on a subscription basis for $199/year or $25/month with great discounts for siblings. Your subscription includes free assessments and unlimited use in each of the four K5 learning programs. You can also get a 14 day free trial!
Contact K5 yourself and get your child on the path to excel.


Website: http://www.k5learning.com
Blog: http://www.k5learning.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/k5learning
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/k5learning

Online reading and math enrichment program for kids - | K5 Learning  Let them know I sent you!

I was given the opportunity to review this learning program free of charge for a 6 week free trial for my honest review about our experience with this learning program.   

If you are blogger, you may want to contact K5 Learning open invitation to begin your own review opportunity. http://www.k5learning.com/review-k5

Free Printable Phonics Worksheets

To help prevent summer brain drain in my recent Kindergarten graduate I have been hunting up great sites for printable worksheets.  Although I prefer my kids to study on the computer to save paper and ink, it is not always possible.  At least until I get my own tablet.  Nadia really needs to practice her handwriting or else she may end up with my horribly illegible scrawl.
Free Printable Phonics Worksheets:

K5 Learning ~ Blogger Review Opportunity

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students.  I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program.  If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.


With summer here, I am very excited for this opportunity.  Look for my honest review of this website in 6 weeks time.     

Mama Needs a Break

All weekend I was ready to lock myself in the bathroom and just marinate in a bubble bath with a long book until after bedtime has passed.  Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything hits you at once?  This is that time for me.  The week before last just set the stage for the crappy week that was this week with the seemingly never ending sickness with my two youngest.  Nothing like having to play nurse for two outbreak monkeys with a chest cold that don't have the social graces not to cough directly in your face.  I'm shocked I didn't come down with a worse cold than I did. It must be the minor immunity I acquired from having been through this unhygienic stage with my oldest two.

Just as Maxx's cold went away teething hit him full force and he's been taking it out on me ever since.  I've lost count how many times he's attempted to bite my shoulder through my clothing while in the middle of a meltdown.  (even with baby sign language they still happen)  He is drooling non stop so every shirt I wear is covered in slobber.  I've gotten to the point I've considered donning a bib or smock to protect myself.  He's been so clingy that I haven't used the restroom alone in over a month. (I'm beginning to forget what the bathroom looks like with the door closed.)

My older girls come home every week with another school project due.   Not just normal projects but ones that are under a short deadline thanks to their lack of planning and poor communication with their teachers.  I may offend someone with this but I hope you'll accept this apology now.  Male teachers at a elementary level suck at communication with parents.  When projects are assigned in a female teacher's classroom you get a packet of paper sent home describing in detail their requirements and even examples of work that is acceptable. With the male teachers you get a piece of paper that your child dictated from the teacher verbally explaining what they expect. (good luck, understanding it if you have a child like mine that doesn't learn well only verbally) Since they rotate classes (to prepare them for middle school) the students only have 1 hour to get their daily classwork done and take notes for any projects.  Another pet peeve of mine is that male teachers are less imaginative on project ideas as well.  My 5th grader did the same exact reading project that she did in fourth grade and that her fourth grader sister did not even a month before.

If only that was all that was swirling on my mind I could handle this like every other day.  Add to the fact that we will be moving soon and I feel like a complete nut job.  It's not that my husband isn't helpful, he just doesn't understand the full aspect of what needs to be accomplished.  He is under the false belief that we can just toss everything in a few boxes and be ready.  After living here for over 3 years and adding another person to the family we have so many things to sort out. We don't need to drag broken kid toys, clothing that doesn't fit or random papers along with us.  Then there is the matter of actually finding a place for us to live.  I've been the one to choose where we live with almost every single move we have ever done in the history of our marriage.  It wouldn't be so overwhelming if he didn't expect us to move closer to his work, but at the same time it is important to be close to the kid's schools, shopping, and doctor's office. (We live less than a mile from all this right now, minus being close to his work. Which is the main reasons I loved living where we live now. )

I wish I could fast-forward time to when we are moved in to our new place.   I hate this in between feeling.  I can't even place any orders online to have anything shipped since we are so close to moving and I would risk it not making it here in time due to horrible weather everywhere but here.

School Daze

Toward the end of the long summer I find myself longing for the start of school and the stricter schedule that comes with it. Even though it's hard getting back into the regular school schedule I find it comforting at the same time. Before summer has passed the midway point I find myself wistfully yearning for the homework battles, parent teacher conferences, early morning clubs, and even the last-minute school projects that come with the school year.

To help the school year run as smoothly as possible I have come up with a few laws of mom-land. Ok , so they are more strong guidelines, but it works for my household. Maybe they could help with yours as well.

Every night before bed we check our schedule for the next days specials class. (Specials classes are the Art, Music, Library and two days of P.E. that rotate throughout the week) We then choose an outfit according to the next day's schedule. This helps to get my older children off to school on time with as few conflicts as humanly possible. (they are two girls sharing one bathroom, some conflict is unavoidable.) I have made selecting clothing for the day even easier with a few minor changes in laundry habits. When doing laundry I have recruited my older daughters to pair up their own school outfits and hang them together on one hanger, so that they have a full outfit at their fingertips. This saves time at night when we are in the midst of a bedtime battle with my 4-year-old and gets them to bed at a decent time. Having them pair the outfits gives them some feeling of control over their own day-to-day wardrobe.

Once they get home from school I have them immediately wash their hands. School is the gathering place of outbreak monkeys children. Becoming the unsuspecting petri dish for whatever germ they are harboring on their hands from their day is not high on my wish list. This habit is what I credit for our children not getting sick for an entire school year and they both ended up receiving the Governor's Award in Excellence for Perfect Attendance. To receive the award you need to miss 3 or less days of school the entire year. That includes the fact that three tardy days are equal to one absence.

After a full body sanitizing in the clean room they have a quick snack. I wish I had a sanitizing room. Kid's carry the nastiest germs and share them freely. They usually get a popsicle or other frozen treat, because we live in a desert that has two seasons; hot and dry for 9 months or windy and cool for the other 3 months. I don't consider the 2-3 days of rainy weather a season or the once every five years freak snow storm one either.

We will then go over that days homework directions. Now that they are older they don't need this as often since they know my expectations. When they complete their work I go over it correcting it. Not giving the answers but circling wrong problems on math worksheets or giving a proofread on english work. They then take their homework back and correct the mistakes. Since doing this their grades have improved and their understanding of the work has increased. During homework time no TV is on in the entire house. It is time for the younger children to play quietly or read a book.

One thing that drives my kids crazy is that I do not accept messy written work. Neatness matters foremost. It wont matter if you spelled everything correctly if the teacher cannot read the paper to begin with. I started this at a young school age. Lauryn is the only one to still try to get away with scribbling her work in a way that looks like she attempted writing with her toes. It just takes one day of me making her rewrite her work as many as 3 or 4 times for her to improve her neatness.. Every once in a while she needs a reminder, but not as often anymore.  I wish my parents had cared enough about my school work to do any of this.

When I review their math worksheets I circle math problems they got wrong. If the continue to have trouble with their work I will not just supply them with the answer. Instead I go through the directions with them once again and work through a problem with them to show where they may have made a mistake. I let them do the work, showing me how they did the problem, so that I can explain where they made the mistake. After 2 years of doing this, more often than not they just need me to circle the problem they got wrong.

Once we finish with homework it is time to relax. They spend their time playing with their younger siblings. I'm surprised they have not arm wrestled for who gets to hold their baby brother first. Just the other day he spit up all over Morgan. It was so bad she had to go change her clothes. As she goes running down the hallway gagging she yells, "It's still my turn to hold him!"