The Real Life of Decimals...

One of the best homeschool strategies I've developed over the years is to select reading material from various sources whether they be books, periodicals, or other items and just leave them out around. I have some key spots for maximum exposure. The coffee table, the library shelf, and the kitchen table work very well to attract attention. The kids know the library shelf has some good finds on it and I will leave a book open on the top and inevitably the kids will stop and have a look.

Such was the case with a magazine article my daughter read the other night. It could not have been a better time to have found it- completely God ordained I'm sure. She has been struggling with decimals in math lately and had done some practice work for me earlier in the day. She sat down in the evening and began reading the magazine I'd brought home from the store that very day.

One of my favorites- a local magazine...look and see what is available where you live! Great field trip ideas, local wildlife and other items of interest.

After reading several articles, she stumbled upon this one about a winery not too far away. When she finished it, she told me all about it and how the vintner was all worried about losing 168 bottles of wine- wine bottles that needed to be accounted for. It turns out she misplaced a decimal point and was only missing 16. The author even said, "What a difference a decimal place can make!"

R11 is working on Life of Fred Decimals and Percents as part of her living math approach.

What a great living math story at just the perfect time!

I encourage you to seek out resources for your kids and leave them out to be shared. My kids always know something good is around.

And my effort to rotate and find more print material is always worth the effort- a total homeschool win!