What is the "about 3 times" circle rule?

Question

We've decided to home school our 8 yr., 3rd grader and I realize that I don't remember much at all about math other than adding, subtracting, multiplication and division.

Answer 1

It is fine that you don't remember much.  My aunt was terrible in math and she homeschooled her children all the way through high school.  Her son got one of the top scores on the US Air Force exam!

Here are some tips for teaching math:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

You really need to find a good math curriculum.  Here are some options:

http://www.mathusee.com

http://www.aop.com/horizons/Subjects_Mat...

http://www.alabacus.com/

http://saxonhomeschool.harcourtachieve.c...

There are many others available.  It really depends on your child's learning style.  Check out http://www.homeschoolreviews.com

You can do it!

Answer 2

I would really recommend a program like Math U See - for an 8yo, I'd say to start in either Beta or Gamma.  They will go through teaching your child all of the stuff you haven't had for 20 years :-), by DVD, in a way that's fun and easy to understand.  It's done wonders for us, and I know a ton of families who swear by it.

Answer 3

Then what I would suggest would be to buy a complete math curriculum, and work through it yourself before (or even as) you teach your daughter. There's no shame in that...how many of us use even algebra on a daily basis? I had to review that before my sixth grader went through it.

Answer 4

The thing about homeschooling is that it's about teaching your child.  If you honestly don't have the qualifications to teach, why are you doing it?  Your child deserves a first-rate education, not a mom who thinks homeschooling sounds fun but doesn't want to put any effort into it.  If you were really serious about this, you'd be looking at different references that are readily available for homeschoolers, not coming on Yahoo Answers.   Get your child a real teacher.

Answer 5

The reason a lot of us have forgotten the things we learned in school is because they taught it in such a poor way that it didn't stick or you don't use it on a daily basis.

The neat thing about teaching math is you will learn along side your kids. Also there is so much information out there and easy ways to learn math. You will be fine. Have some confidence in yourself.

Answer 6

A veteran homeschool mom in my area ran into that problem when she began homeschooling years ago. She had been a good student in school, but had lost alot of the information over time. The trick she said was to be willing to re-learn it all along with the kids. You should know that both of her children went to good schools when homeschool was done and did very well in their fields of study. She said not to worry, keep learning, ask for help when you need it, and play to your strengths. I remember her words everyday.

Answer 7

Are you thinking of pi?  3.1415926535.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi

You might look into getting a Cosmeo subscription.  It's $9.95/mo or $99/year.  It includes WebMath and NutshellMath which can really help with both the parent's and the student's understanding of Math.

http://www.cosmeo.com

You may also want to look into Teaching Textbook, where the authors lecture from a CD-rom and work problems.

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com