One day last week, I had one of those ice-pick-in-the-skull sinus headaches. And yet, the boy wanted lunch. I think I mumbled something like, “Please go find something healthy….” This was the result: pineapple, cole slaw, pretzels and peanut butter (fresh ground from Whole Foods – it’s good stuff).
We eat with our eyes first, I guess.
Math is a challenge for me. There you go, I said it. In the great Murphy’s Law of Homeschool, it is also a subject at which my son excels.
We have been trying out ALEKS math, an online curriculum. ALEKS, Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces, offers very individualized learning that adapts to each student. Things got off to a hairy start when my son did the initial assessment. I had him take the test for the pre-algebra level since we are doing pre-algebra this year. He missed a lot -- and he was not happy. It became a teachable moment just to get him to understand the purpose of assessing him at the beginning of the school year. (“You aren’t supposed to know it yet!”) The ALEKS program provides a pie chart (I’m a visual learner, so I applaud the pie chart) divided by area of study. Each piece of the pie is color-coded and shows what the student has mastered and what still needs to be learned.
(This isn’t our pie chart, but you get the idea.)
Once my son realized that ALEKS would allow him to move forward in new areas without being assaulted by monotonous review, he was all for it. I can log in to my account (even while he is working online on a different computer) and see what new areas he has completed and how well he handled the material. I can also see the time spent each day and how far he has progressed since his last assessment. And I can assign quizzes in areas where I think he needs more practice. While we would not use this as a replacement for our current math curriculum, you could certainly choose to do so and be very well covered. We have found it to be a change of pace for us that really helped me assess my son’s math level (even if he doesn’t like assessments).
ALEKS is entirely web based and costs $19.95 per month, $99.95 per six months and $179.95 per 12 months. Discounts apply for multiple students.
A free 48-hour trial is available on their site BUT homeschoolers can get a free one-month trial --
From the ALEKS web site:
What is ALEKS?
Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. ALEKS can provide you with the instruction and support that you need to homeschool your children in mathematics for grades 3-12. ALEKS offers highly-targeted, individualized instruction from virtually any computer with Internet access, making it a comprehensive and mobile education solution for your children.
ALEKS is a Research-Based Online Program:
“There’s a thin line between heroism and stupidity, and I try to stay on the south side of it.”
I laughed out loud at that line – twice. The humor in John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series is subtle enough to sneak up on you sometimes and just countrified enough to make you laugh in spite of yourself.
When we were asked to review a CD, a book from the series and the new Tornado game, I said, “Hank who?” I promise, my library card is almost worn out and I have spent the GNP of some countries on Amazon.com. I just missed this one, I guess, and that’s a shame. I know a teenager in my household who would have been all over these books back in the day when Junie B. Jones ruled her bookshelf. The boy, who just doesn’t appreciate subtlety yet, is enjoying Erickson’s head of ranch security, but I know his sister would have loved it even more.
Erickson has created a series of 54 Hank books and he reads the audio versions himself, with voice characterizations and original songs. The CDs are wildly popular and I can see why. Our CD sampler made for a dead quiet (except for laughter) car ride. My son is still reading “The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse,” (I am not making that up) and I hear chuckles from the couch as he reads.
For wee littles, I think this series would make for fun read-alouds. Note that you may choose to edit Hank’s language as you read – it’s all G-rated, but “idiot” and “moron” are used on occasion. It’s cowdog talk, you know, and easy enough to deal with, just as we did when our then 2-year-old would only watch the original “101 Dalmatians.” I heard Cruella call Horace and Jasper one of those words at least 42,000 times, but my daughter knew that wasn’t a word we would allow her to say. YMMV.
I haven’t taken the Tornado game in the car yet, but it does pack up neatly in its own case, which is nice for siblings in close quarters. My son enjoys the game, but I think those who have spent more time getting to know the series’ characters will really love it.
Mosey over to www.hankthecowdog.com to see the complete book list and a variety of cute products. You can learn more about the author (a former Harvard Divinity School student) and his ranch, too.
Hank’s Tales and Tunes CD ($3) includes portions of audio books and songs from the series.
The Tornado game is $12.99 and includes a bonus cassette tape.
Off to 11th grade! Today, the girl hopped in her friend’s car and headed off to school. It’s the first time since 1997 that I am not driving a carpool. I am a happy camper, as long as the girl remembers to text me when she arrives and leaves.
Home for 6th grade! The boy is working hard. There is much more to do in middle school, but so far, so good. (Of course, we are only three hours in right now.) Tomorrow, he has online frog dissection, so that will be a hit. It was really hard to assemble the lab sheets without looking at the pictures, but I made it work. Currently, I am fielding questions about why robins don’t mate with blue jays. Thanks, Prentice Hall Science Explorer.
Hope everyone is having a great start to the school year!
Hey, I have a blog. In my defense, our neighbor had a new cable installed last week and our line was cut in the process. We were creating petroglyphs on the family room wall and setting fire to the furniture by day three.
In other news, I have decided to uncomplicate my life by surrendering to the wondrous beauty that is Windows Live Writer. No amount of HTML (known by a liberal arts major) could make WLW work with my new template, so I am tweaking accordingly. All will be well soon.
Posts
All Comments
