Mastering Arithmetic to Calculus in Classical Education!

[@joanjaeger8943]

I was planning on subbing out your all’s math program for Saxon Math, but now knowing this is what my kids are working towards, I am all on board! Great episode!

[@AppSubGrap]

I really appreciate the episodes like this that go into the overall structure of the curriculum. I have a first grader and a preschooler, so its enlightening to see where we're headed.

[@Hopelb]

I agree! It helps me to stick with it when I start to see all the other "shiney" new curriculum.

[@SaraT-oy6op]

This was great! Thank you.

[@ruthannbamford6174]

You can definitely make it work for your active student. I'm using MP in a homeschool pod of 5 very active boys who I only teach 3 days a week, and I am able to adjust it to make it work for them. I am using it a year behind (mostly K for a group of first graders), but it's working well for them and meeting them where they are.

[@gabrielamcb9157]

I'm considering Memoria for my next year 3 but not sure if it is appropiate for a very active boy

[@tammyschilling5362]

As a mom of boys homeschooling for 20+ years I can tell you that boys being "active" has nothing to do with curriculum choices and everything to do with managing boys energy properly. Boys are perfectly capable of sitting still and paying attention, as long as you also give (require, even) lots of physical activity to burn off energy. My boys start the day with chores, even before breakfast. Then there is a bit of school, then we go for a run, then there is more school. Boys are like puppies, they can learn and even want to, they just need to have the energy burned off first.

[@rrr777www]

​@@tammyschilling5362as a former boy, now man, I can confirm that this is true. Chores and exercise and breaks throughout the school day go a long way.

[@pietergeerkens6324]

Are you looking at covering any of Euclid's "arithmetic" - i.e. what today we term number theory? If nothing else, that's great preparation for math contests as, right through even Putnam at the university level, one sees a large proportion of contest questions being number-theoretic based. re 25:00 about algebra and logic: I see algebra (at the introductory level) as a prerequisite to logic in the sense that it is a series of demonstrations of using logic in an arena where the correctness of the deductions are very readily seen, arithmetically, by even the weakest of students. At 29:00, the remark about algebraic concepts being introduced too early, perhaps the following is relevant: All four of these problems (from a single "Fact Family") 3 + ___ = 7 ___ + 3 = 7 7 - ___ = 3 7 - 3 = ____ should be taught as asking the same question: "How far is it from 3 up to 7?" Once taught like that, missing addend or subtrahend questions become purely computational rather than algebraic; and this is the most fundamental understanding of subtraction which greatly facilitates mental math skills once the student is further introduced to the concepts of 10's-complement, 100's-complelment, and 1000's-complement. This understanding can then be leveraged to convert rather complex borrowings (that one would never attempt, at least quickly, as mental math) into simple additions that can often be done very rapidly, even 3 digits wide at a time, as mental math. At 30:00: I'm going to categorically disagree with removing word problems prior to Grade 7. What is really being taught (assuming grade appropriate word problems, which perhaps is the real issue) is reading comprehension. If such problems can't be introduced from Grade 2 then I have to think that the overall reading program that the child has seen is seriously deficient. There are a variety of parsing techniques, such as Wholes and Parts, that can be introduced to these students. We even teach proportion problems, using a visual "Reasoning in Groups" approach, simultaneously with the multiplication tables in Grade 3. So what if they're solving them with skip-counting more often than not at that level? That too is a solid numeric fluency skill, reinforcing their mental-math addition as well as the key concept that multiplication is just a shorthand for repeated addition. Then understanding division as shorthand for repeated subtraction (it's true definition, since multiplicative inverses don't exist in rings such as the natural numbers and integers) becomes easier. Further, it makes the long division algorithm more sensible to students, as they then see and calculate all the subtractions that the division actually represents. I love that you are providing a complete set of "demonstration solutions". So many are weak at learning how to present a solution - which is important also for enabling the key process of developing the diligence of checking one's work. (Which I struggled with for several years.) Fully agree with the "every day, for a few minutes" approach. That's definitely the key to long-term retention. Likewise with the checking after a couple of problems, so students don't practice the wrong approach. And again with students attempting to find, and correct, their errors. Most errors at the lower level are just brain farts - and I reassure my students that there's no brain fart error they're ever going to make that I haven't made, myself, many many times. Often the inability to find an error is that the student is remembering what they intended to write - which is different from what was actually written on the paper. This can be addressed by coming back to it several minutes later, so the memory has faded - or, as I had to, by checking one's work backwards: "Where did this come from? That's it. Where did that come from? Oops! There's the error." I love the phrasing of "Match the rigour of the discipline with your own to be successful."

[@lifeofenergia2090]

What is the difference with Memoria Press Pre Algebra and the Video Text Algebra? Will Memoria Press create their own Geometry as well? What will be the difference? TIA

[@memoriapress]

VideoText Algebra is a comprehensive math program that spans Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II over 176 lessons, featuring 5-10 minute video lessons along with both print and digital materials. You can find the full program here (www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/algebra-modules-a-f-set-with-online-course/), or purchase it in two parts: Part 1 (www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/algebra-modules-a-c-set-with-online-course/) and Part 2 (www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/algebra-modules-d-f-set-with-online-course/). Memoria Pre-Algebra (www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/memoria-pre-algebra-set/) and Algebra I (www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/math/memoria-algebra-i-set/) are our newest offerings, with Algebra II set to release in the 2025-26 school year. The main differences between the two programs are (1) Memoria Algebra is easier to use, because there are far fewer books/materials. (2) The Memoria Algebra Teacher Manuals have been written to be as detailed and easy-to-use as possible, even for those who haven't studied algebra in years. (3) If you do like the use of videos, the Memoria Algebra Instructional Videos are brand new and much higher quality than VideoText. As for Geometry, we do plan to create a Memoria Geometry program that will align with our Memoria Algebra approach.

[@rachelmow00]

I read the same way as Paul

[@joanjaeger8943]

Do you all plan to replace Rod & Staff arithmetic with your own product as well?

[@LizGnagy]

Too many ads. Especially since the podcast is somewhat of an ad itself.

[@jakelm4256]

Why not just teach from the Elements? Students used it as a textbook for over 2,000 years. Why try to reinvent the wheel and give them a workbook that is not part of a real classical education?

[@memoriapress]

Great question. Dr. Sculthorpe says that we want to return to the classical source, but we also need to acknowledge the educational landscape in which we find ourselves today. So, we think teaching Book I from Elements and then rounding out a substantial year of geometry instruction with what is considered a more modern approach balances both. Furthermore, we want our geometry curriculum to be appropriate for the typical 10th grade student in the classroom and the homeschool environment. Since we cannot hope to cover Elements in its entirety in a school year at any grade level, a deliberate pace through Book I will best serve students in our view and serve our end, which is to introduce students to rigorous deductive reasoning.