Math, while a fascinating subject, can become a bit dull and ordinary for kids faced with studying the subject day in and day out. This is especially true for homeschooled kids as many families homeschool year-round.
My kids have experienced “Saxon Burnout” from time to time. This is a condition characterized by glazed, defocused eyes, slouched posture, and small outbursts of “Mommy, please don’t make me do every single problem!”
No matter which curriculum you use for math, even if you write your own and are one of those super-human moms who survives her days with no sleep at all, keeps her house immaculate, and grinds her own grain for her home-baked bread, your children will from time to time tire of a repetitive delivery style.
When that burnout nears, we try adding new and innovative math lessons that peak my kids’ interest and pull them out of the math doldrums. One option I ran into recently is a series of math challenges. These are produced by the UK Mathematics Trust, which holds a math (or Maths, since they are in the UK after all) competition across the country each year. The 2014 questions, and more importantly for we overtired homeschooling moms, the 2014 answers can be freely downloaded as PDF files. You can use something like this as a daily or weekly challenge in your home with prizes awarded.
I realize for many of us January is a time to restart our homeschooling venture after a long break, but challenging math fun can keep the minds of your kids open to the amazement and beauty that is math.
