Elementary Math

In order to effectively fulfill our calling in the Kingdom of God, we all must learn math. One of the most important reasons is that we are charged to be good stewards of our money, and arithmetic skills allow us to make a budget, calculate unit prices, interest, returns on investments, our tithe, etc. Very basic math is also needed to wisely schedule and efficiently utilize our time, for cooking, and for simple home repairs. These and other everyday uses of math require our students to learn arthimetic, very basic geometry and pre-algebra. It is these skills that I want my children to learn by the end of 6th grade.

During middle and high school (7 - 12th grade) when the child is begining to specialize with a view to his calling, different kinds of math will be needed. All students will need to learn some economics, in order to be well-informed voters (part of taking dominion for God). Those who are going into business, law or politics will need to know more economics. Those going into business should learn math for accounting and management. Architects and carpenters need to know geometry. Computer scientists need to know mathematical logic. Researchers need to know statistics. Engineers and scientists need to know calculus. And other callings will have their own math requirements.

I would like to take a small sidebar and say that, while I will begin specializing my children's educations in 7th grade, it is not necessary that the child know what his calling is at that time. Part of discovering one's calling is prayerfully considering one's abilities and affininties. If the child is confident that he knows his calling, we can choose a course of study that fits that calling. If the child does not know his calling yet, the child can choose the path of study that most interests him (or he is best at). As he progresses in his studies his calling should be easier to discern.

Now, back to elementary math. The situations in which we all use arithmetic rarely involve a pencil and paper. For our arithmetic skills to be useful, most of the time we have to be able to do the calculations in our head. Thus, the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts need to be drilled until they come naturally to the student, almost automatically. Also, math, created by God, is orderly, systemmatic, and full of patterns. In order to teach math well, a text must be arranged in a manner that reflects that order and those patterns. I like the Rod & Staff math curriculum. It has tons of drills and practice worksheets (how many of them we use will depend on how much practice the student needs). It is arranged in an orderly manner, with no silliness. It is 8 years of study to learn arithmetic, basic geometry and beginning algebra. I intend to teach those 8 texts by the time the student completes 6th grade.