Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I am Stuck


One very common question I get asked about home schooling is "How do you know how to teach everything?"

I don't.  Not even close.  To be honest, it is amazing how easily my brain gets "fried" from school work! 
I feel for the kids some days.

Take Algebra I for example.  We are stuck on Slope and Intercept.
You know:
The line Y=4X-5 has a slope of _____.
The line Y=-3X + 2 has a Y-intercept of ______.
Give and example of a line with a Y-intercept of 0.

And...
Which of the following lines are parallel to the line you drew?  (There may be more than one answer.)
A) 4Y= -8+3
B) Y+2X=0
C) Y-2X=4

And graphing the points.

You get the idea.

Do you remember how to do those?  Me either, though I have learned/relearned most some of it.
What do I do when I am stuck?
Go through the books, first.  Most of the time that does it.
Next, go over the videos myself with worksheets and the answers.
If that doesn't work I look at the book's site for help.  Which usually come on the form of forums.
I could call too.

While I know she will probably never use Slope and Intercept, or much of Algebra for that matter, when she grows up.  Yet, I can't just let her skip through it.

In our public school days I could blame the teacher or the books, etc. for not really teaching.  I mean come on!  I could just give the kids some simple answer or tell the "I don't know, you'll have to ask your teacher."  Those days are over.  I am it! 

If you home school and get stuck what do you do?

5 comments:

Talia French said...

I'm not homeschooling (yet, my daughter's only 2), but I do have a husband that is currently taking basic math classes at the local community college. Even though I have my degree in elementary education, I still find myself scratching my head, wondering what on earth is going on with some of the problems. That's when I turn to my good friend Google. There are a lot of really good tutorials and math sites out there. I actually found these more helpful that the math book my hubby brought home. :)

Pressed Petals said...

Talia...first, welcome. Thanks for your comment and help. I will have to google next time!

Andrea said...

Google! You got to love it! The other day I told a someone that I rarely have use for a degree with Google around. Glad I have a degree, but seriously, Google is the way to go!!
P.S. If I homeschooled, math would be the end of me.

Pressed Petals said...

Andrea! So nice to hear from you! How have you been?

Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes said...

Girlfriend. . . whoa. I could not help with that in the LEAST. It makes my brain hurt thinking about it! You totally rock.