Unlock the secrets to making math both fun and effective for young learners with Morgan, our inspiring guest who brings firsthand experience with the innovative Math-U-See curriculum. Discover how colorful blocks and engaging videos transform abstract math concepts into tangible learning moments, fostering a deep understanding of essential topics like time and money. Morgan, who was homeschooled using this curriculum and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in math, shares her journey and practical insights for parents looking to replicate this success with their preschool and kindergarten-aged children.
We'll also explore Morgan's holistic approach to homeschooling, where classical conversations and interactive techniques like hand motions, sign language, and educational songs play a pivotal role. Learn how these methods not only enhance memory retention but also create an engaging and supportive learning environment. Morgan discusses the perks of joining a classical conversations group and offers invaluable tips for integrating daily routines and household responsibilities into the educational experience, fostering independence and maintaining a structured schedule. Tune in for a treasure trove of practical advice and inspiration to elevate your homeschooling journey.
Unlock the secrets to making math both fun and effective for young learners with Morgan, our inspiring guest who brings firsthand experience with the innovative Math-U-See curriculum. Discover how colorful blocks and engaging videos transform abstract math concepts into tangible learning moments, fostering a deep understanding of essential topics like time and money. Morgan, who was homeschooled using this curriculum and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in math, shares her journey and practical insights for parents looking to replicate this success with their preschool and kindergarten-aged children.
We'll also explore Morgan's holistic approach to homeschooling, where classical conversations and interactive techniques like hand motions, sign language, and educational songs play a pivotal role. Learn how these methods not only enhance memory retention but also create an engaging and supportive learning environment. Morgan discusses the perks of joining a classical conversations group and offers invaluable tips for integrating daily routines and household responsibilities into the educational experience, fostering independence and maintaining a structured schedule. Tune in for a treasure trove of practical advice and inspiration to elevate your homeschooling journey.
Welcome to the Homeschool How-To Find my Curriculum, a series where we talk all about curriculum. I've been interviewing homeschooling families for over a year now on my main podcast, the Homeschool How-To, but I really wanted to zero in on curriculum. There's so much out there. How do I know what would work best for me and my child? How do I know what works for one child would work for the other? I might like the curriculum I'm using now, but how do I know there's not a better one out there, especially if I don't know all the curriculums? And what about supplemental curriculum? Should I be using that too? This series is to help you decide just that.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to interview parents who are using all the curriculums so that you can decide the absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey. The absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey. Welcome With us. Today I have Morgan, who is going to talk to us about Matthew C and then a little bit about how she does classical conversations with her littles, who are all of the preschool kindergarten age. Welcome, morgan, thank you. Good to be here. All right, so I'm going to let you take it over with Matthew C, because I haven't had any experience with this one yet.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so first off I will qualify the curriculum of saying it's what I grew up on. I was homeschooled mostly through ninth grade and then I went to school 10, 11, 12. When I got to my junior year I still used Matthew C to learn math, even though I still like going to public school and learning it from there, because the perspective was so solid and so tangible. It just made a lot of sense to me. My algebra teacher actually had me teach algebra lessons in my classroom because I was like showing her what I had learned and how they taught it in the videos and she thought it was super cool. Because I was like showing her what I had learned and how they taught it in the videos and she thought it was super cool. So, all that to say, I grew up loving it, continued to buy that curriculum even after I went to high school and then I went on to get my bachelor's degree in math. So I can say it definitely covers all the bases as far as giving you a really solid foundation in math.
Speaker 1:
Wow.
Speaker 2:
I started using it with my girls when they were three and four. That's when we started the reading stuff too. And the very first one is called primer, or he says primer, and he introduces the concept of math with blocks right off the bat. So you're associating numbers with their respective block. And now there's this show out calledcks, which is like the perfect companion to Matthew Seek, because every number has a block and it has a color.
Speaker 2:
And the first lesson you like name all your blocks. So you feel like you're playing with characters and like the numbers have a personality in our house. So it's not just shapes on a page, you're literally building every single problem that you do and you can see how they work together. And when you're like when he's teaching addition, you have like, if you're going to say two plus three equals five, you have your five block on the bottom and then you have your two and your three block next to each other on top and you can see how that builds an equal sign. So if you built an equal sign, then they are actually equal.
Speaker 2:
And he has just all kinds of tips and tricks like that all the way through to where, even as a math major, it's like you learn all of these deep concepts, but can you go back to preschool and explain why things work the way that they do? Can you go back to preschool and explain the concept of numbers to a kid who doesn't know? And I rely heavily on the videos, the the way he introduces things. He's not afraid to be silly, he has sound effects, he has goofy noises. He's absolutely a math dork, but the kids love it and they eat it up. And then when we get stuck in our problems instead of it's just like the reading curriculum I was talking about. Instead of me trying to figure out how to explain it and coming at it from 10 different ways trying to figure out which way it sticks, I just repeat his words and wait and I let it click, um, and it takes all of the pressure off of me, which is has been a huge relief.
Speaker 1:
Oh, wow, that's so cool, so okay, so you start this young Does, like. I did the good and the beautiful math this year with my five-year-old, and it had things in there that I hadn't really thought about teaching a kid before, like time or, you know, like an analog clock Is that sort of stuff included?
Speaker 2:
too. Yep, he covers time and money and there are I mean, like any math there's a decent amount of review, so he explains everything you need to know. I think the first book he says you don't necessarily need to do it. Like, if you want to do a preschool curriculum, then start with that. But if you want to know I think the first book he says you don't necessarily need to do it. Like, if you want to do a preschool curriculum, then start with that. But if you want to start in kindergarten, you can just start with alpha, because he'll explain all the things you need to know over again.
Speaker 2:
So I think I think time has showed up in every book and I think money has showed up in every book and we just spend a little bit of time on it. But the approach is what's like? The videos are awesome, the blocks are awesome and also the approach is awesome. So it's a mastery approach, which means I don't know have you heard of like Saxon math or some of these other that are? They're very rigorous and it's like there's lots and lots of repetition.
Speaker 2:
Matthew C is the opposite to, where he say you only need to do as much as it takes to make sense to you, cause we're not going to be over here beating a dead horse just for the sake of memorization. I'm going to present it to you in a way that makes sense, so you're going to understand it and you don't have to spend nearly as much time memorizing. But we don't move on until you've mastered it. So he puts in so many worksheets with every lesson and once you get a hundred percent you move on to the next lesson. So if you don't have to do all eight worksheets cause you got it right on the second worksheet, now you're not wasting all this time repeating and repeating, repeating something that's now becoming boring to you.
Speaker 2:
We're moving on to the next thing. That's fun and the way he makes sure you're not losing stuff is. Then he works in review problems as you go. So you're still doing review problems from lesson three when you're on lesson 10, but you're only doing one or two a day. So that way you can constantly progress at your level and if something is super hard, then you can stay on that lesson for eight worksheets and print off more if you need to. And you're still doing review that whole time, to where you're not just getting exhausted which because math can be exhausting when you're doing that rigorous repetition.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, absolutely. So what is included when you purchase, like the curriculum? Is it expensive? Does it come with games and stuff or, like you said, these blocks?
Speaker 2:
So I think, if you buy the starter pack of any book. You get the blocks, you get the videos for that book, you get the textbook, like the student workbook, and then you get a teacher's manual and a testing book. I only use the student workbook. So after I bought my first starter kit, which had the blocks with it, we'll reuse the blocks for many years. I think that first starter kit was like 160, something like that.
Speaker 2:
But every year after that I just buy the student workbook and even for my two girls I just make copies. That way we're not working in the student workbook and I actually, after watching them and seeing what they need, I handwrite a lot of my lessons for them so that we can focus on the problems that I feel like they need more help with. So we do a lot of math in our notebooks after we've watched the video. But yeah, that first starter kit will come with all of those. And then you have to purchase the videos. I buy the DVDs, but you could also just buy digital access if you want to and then you have to buy the student workbooks.
Speaker 1:
Moving forward, Okay, and so the videos are. Do they give you a link or is it like a YouTube video?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, if you buy digital access, you get a username and password to log into the videos on their website, and then you'll get access to whatever year you purchased.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so give me an idea of just what your day or your week looks like with Matthew C Incorporated into your curriculum.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so we kind of have a different focus for each day of the week. Monday I introduce their new Bible verse, we go heavy on reading. We introduce our memory work. Tuesdays and Fridays are our focus heavy on math days. So Tuesday we will watch a new video. Pretty much every week we watch the video together. They're usually around five to seven minutes.
Speaker 2:
If I don't feel like it stuck or if I felt like they were a little bit distracted, we'll watch the video twice and then I have them explain to me what they learned in the video and then we will spend a little bit of time building the problems with the blocks, getting out the worksheet and completing one worksheet together. And usually the first worksheet is the lightest, like it's just a few problems. Then we come back Wednesday, thursday, do those problems again. If it's an easy concept that's really making sense to them. Then Friday we will watch another new video to where we're doing two lessons in one week.
Speaker 2:
If it's a hard concept and it's not sticking, we might spend the rest of that week and all of next week reviewing and practicing, and there's some concepts that have just taken us two or three weeks of practicing before we've moved on to a new lesson, but I just set Tuesdays and Fridays as our new video days, if they're ready, and if they're not ready we spend more time on review on those two days, like those are our math days and my twist on it that my girls absolutely adore is, once they have a concept down pretty well, I get out the whiteboard and a big bag of chocolate chips and I'll write a problem on the whiteboard and whoever gets the answer first wins a chocolate chip. We call it snack math and even my three-year-old comes to the table and tries to participate because we have a lot of fun with it.
Speaker 1:
So cute. I love that All right. So in how long a day would you say that? That takes like 20 minutes, half hour.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I think like on our Tuesdays and Thursdays we might spend closer to 35, 40 minutes because we're really drilling down deep, and then the off days we're still doing it. We're spending about 15 to 20 minutes on it. Okay.
Speaker 1:
All right, that makes sense. And so do you just buy like one curriculum per the year, or do you find that you get through it very quickly and move on?
Speaker 2:
It's been about a year per book with us. Since we do school through the summer, we're getting done in a little less than a year for each book.
Speaker 1:
Awesome, and do your kids like it? Like they enjoy doing this? Yeah, they do.
Speaker 2:
So their motivation is to get to that snack math point where they'll ask me every day, like, am I good enough to do snack math? Like do you think I understand it yet? And if they're still soft on it or if they can't do it, like right away, I'm like, no, you don't understand. Like you got to have it memorized or like you've got to have it down pat before we're going to play the game. So that motivation really gets them excited to do it. But my second born especially, we will have a full day of school and then she'll ask to go back and get the math back out so that we can do more together. She just she really eats it up.
Speaker 1:
Oh wow, my son not so much. His only motivation, I mean, I haven't tried chocolate chips yet. His motivation is like well, if my friends are getting it, I, you know, I want to. I want to get it too. So I got to switch it to chocolate. You know, it's just, it seems like that'll work better.
Speaker 2:
Chocolate is our friend for sure, or sometimes we do marshmallows.
Speaker 1:
Oh, there you go. All right. So now you do this in conjunction with classical conversations, which I've heard a lot about, but why don't you give me your overview of what classical conversations is and how you use it? Yeah, and this is just from the perspective of having preschooler and kindergarten age kids.
Speaker 2:
Yes. So we were so grateful for classical conversations as our introduction to homeschooling. Like I said, I grew up homeschooled but I'd never even heard of this until I was looking for preschool programs for my kids. So my husband and I have a massive exposure approach to school where we say you don't have to learn everything, you don't have to love everything, but we feel like it's our responsibility to expose you to a lot and then see what sticks or see where your learning style develops out of that. So it seems like it sounds like a lot to some people, but classical conversations right off the bat they're being introduced to math, English, grammar, Latin history, science and art. I think that's all of them and we do all of those every day, every week, but you fit it into like five to seven minutes per subject because they have songs for every new thing that you're learning each week. And you're meeting once a week with your classical conversations group. The tutor is teaching the kids, but all the parents are required to be in there because as the tutor is teaching the kids, she's really showing you how to go home and then teach them at home.
Speaker 2:
My kids have always thrived with hand motions or like anything that anytime it can be more tactile. So we learn hand motions, slash sign language for all of the songs and then we just put it on in the car Like we got the CDs. And anytime we're driving around town we're listening to our skip counting songs. We're listening to our timeline songs. The timeline song is a 15 minute long song that covers every major event from creation all the way through 9-11.
Speaker 2:
And I again, like I'm almost feeling guilt giving this to my three year old, Like how am I expecting you to learn this? There's these names in here that I've never even heard before. But they just introduce seven new concepts, like seven new words a week, and they give you the hand motions and the girls loved it. I mean, it's another thing where it's like I don't want to expect too much of you, but in their quiet time they're asking if we can listen to the Timeline song. Or we're going for a walk and they're asking to do their history songs and to them it's just playtime, Like we're just singing songs and playing a game together. So I'm hearing them learn about Caesar, Augustus and the fall of Rome and all these like grown up concepts, but to them it's just words and a fun song that they get to do with their mom and their friends at school. So I was shocked at how quickly they picked it up.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, when you, when you add song to it, that it makes a lot of sense. That's how we remember things. You know anything else you want to kind of chat about? I know we weren't going into any sort of detail with the classical conversations. You just wanted to give an overview, which I think you did beautifully, I I kind of want to check that one out now too.
Speaker 2:
I really recommend it for especially people starting out, because it's an incredible community.
Speaker 2:
Like I was, I felt so out of my depth, even understanding the state laws in my state, or like I felt so disconnected and I didn't even feel like I had mom friends really until we started homeschooling, because I was just so in my world with toddlers and overwhelmed. But getting plugged into a classical conversations group, you're immediately like close friends with other moms who have been homeschooling for eight years, for 10 years, who have kids the same age as your kids, who are very knowledgeable. Classical conversations parents tend to be extremely well read, very knowledgeable about what's going on in your area. So for me it was like a really good way to get my feet wet and immediately have all these contacts and resources of people who could help me. And we chose not to stay with it because we wanted to go a different direction with our curriculum. But I will never regret. We did it consistently for two years and now I still use their flashcards and their songs and, like all of their resources we still use to fill in the gaps because it's just so easy to teach.
Speaker 1:
Thank you so much for telling us about that today. So we went over Matthew C and then a little bit of the classical conversations. Anything else you want to add before I let you go and you get a little bit of downtime before your kids all wake up, which is another question I was going to ask you.
Speaker 2:
With doing all of this stuff, how do you have time to, like, cook, clean, new laundry? It's including them. That's why I told you we're not afraid to make our kids work. So I've got my seven year old making breakfast in the morning and we do follow a pretty good routine, like a pretty consistent routine, where we have school we keep everything in tight windows we have our outside time, we have lunch and then we have a mandatory two hour quiet time every afternoon. So I have that to either rest or catch up on my chores.
Speaker 1:
Oh, that's awesome. Well, morgan, thank you so much for joining me today and chatting and letting us know about your curriculum. Thank you, it's good talking to you. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening. Please consider sharing this podcast or my main podcast, the Homeschool how To with friends, family, on Instagram or in your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. The more this podcast is shared, the longer we can keep it going and the more hope we have for the future. Thank you.