Building Heroes Academy
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Ray’s
Arithmetic
When your child is ready, you can introduce Ray’s Arithmetic. It is an
arithmetic program from the 1850's. You’ll notice it starts out very simply and
then moves rather fast. That’s because students didn’t begin formal math
books at age 5 or 6 like we tend to do now. A student could start at 8 or 9 or
even wait until 11 or 12 but they would all start at the same place. The older
student would just move through the books faster.
You really don’t have to do math workbooks when the kids are young.
However, if you do want to use a program, we recommend Ray’s arithmetic.
The first three books are free online in a pdf format, and non-consumable
meaning you can print out a copy of the book and then use it as needed. If you
prefer a real book, you can buy an old used copy and get a “little book.”
When learning skills, it is a lot more important to focus on consistency in short
daily lessons than to do one long lesson a week. Ray’s lessons are all rather
short and work really well for short daily lessons. Another important thing is
that you are not just handing the book over to the student, you are working
with them, especially in the first book.
To use Ray’s, you should begin doing the lessons with your children. You can
print a copy for each student and let them write the answers in the book, or
you can have students write the answers in their math discovery notebooks or
write them on white boards. Another alternative is to use the 5-10 minute
videos for Ray’s New Primary course online if you feel more comfortable doing
that. Begin at the beginning and move as fast as you would like. Don’t feel
like you have to complete an entire lesson every day.
Modern-day grade suggestions are listed with the Ray’s Arithmetic books, but
of course you don’t have to start in grade 1. Also, if you do complete through
the third book, you will have covered most of the topics of pre-algebra.
If a child gets stuck and isn’t understanding the math lessons, it is probably
time to slow down or even stop for a while. They simply aren’t ready yet.
That’s the beauty of homeschool, you don’t have to keep up with anyone, you
can go at your own pace. Children do not learn in a linear fashion, meaning
they don’t learn at a constant pace. They will learn in spurts of growth!
Ray’s Primary Arithmetic - 88 lessons
Counting, Numbers and Figures
Adding and Subtracting using manipulatives
Simple adding and subtracting
Multiplying with single digits
Dividing with single digits
Math symbols (+ − ÷ ×)
US and English Money
Weights and Measures (English units, not metric)
Ray’s Intellectual Arithmetic (Grades 3-4) - 80 Lessons
Numeration
Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division (all single-digit)
Fractions, Ratio, Percentage
Weights and Measures (English)
Ray’s Practical Arithmetic (Grades 5-6) - 270 Lessons
Arabic Notation
Roman Notation
Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division (multi-digit)
Compound Numbers
Factoring
Fractions
Decimals
Metric System
Julie Brennan of www.livingmath.net says,
“What I found was that the format of the little books were so friendly to
use, I kept them out on our coffee table as a strewing resource, and since then
we've used the books on a weekly basis during our math times to work on basic
skills. They appeal to us, and this is big! In particular, my younger daughter has
owned her book, referring to it for her math facts if she wants to look things up or
review them on her own. The banks of word problems are quaint, fun and
effective. Rather than needing workbooks, teacher's manuals and a lot of
complex curriculum components, all the basics are on a few pages presented
simply and in an unintimidating way. So we still spend the majority of our math
time doing living math in a natural way, but the books have provided a little
more structure than we had before, and as my kids enjoy it, it is not
unwelcome.”
And from the blog at www.largefamilymothering.com, the author Sherry says:
“I started out by working the problems with my children–of course this is a
requirement of the Primer, but the Intellectual book was even more important for
me to work partially through so that I could begin to see the genius in the very
logical ideas employed there.
I had never been taught to think of numbers in such a refreshing way. It
amazed me that any of us understand math at all. When I was in school it was
all a jumbled mess; we were taught to just accept that numbers work the way
they do, in the same way we are told to accept the distance of the stars or the
orbits of the planets without any first-hand knowledge.
But numbers are not as remote as the stars and planets; they are part of
our everyday lives. We should not feel as though they are distant relatives, but
our closest friends, always at the ready whenever we need them.
Ray’s helps us to become more than acquaintances. As we are led through
the various exercises, we begin to have personal communion with each
operation. We are led, in a respectful manner, to see the relating of patterns
which are repeated often, so that the enormity of the subject is minimized enough
for us to grasp it.
Where as modern methods expect us to take great leaps of faith, Ray’s
gives us logical steps to make our climbing easier. This is why these books, and
those like them, can help even the worst math-phobic to enjoy numbers.”
LINKS
Ray’s New Primary Arithmetic
http://raysarithmetic.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/rays-new-primaryarithmetic-k-2.pdf
Ray’s New Intellectual Arithmetic (grades 3-4)
http://raysarithmetic.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rays-intellectualarithmetic-3-4.pdf
Ray’s New Intellectual Arithmetic Answer KEY
http://raysarithmetic.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rays-intellectualarithmetic-3-4-answer-key.pdf
Ray’s New Practical Arithmetic (grades 5-6)
http://raysarithmetic.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rays-practical-arithmetic5-6.pdf
Ray’s New Practical Arithmetic Answer KEY
http://raysarithmetic.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/rays-practical-arithmetic5-6-answer-key.pdf
Videos for New Primary Arithmetic
http://raysarithmetic.wordpress.com/primary-lessons-89/