Khan Academy...

Well... people said I would learn as we go. And they were right. Some things you learn quicker than others. For us, a big realization has been that we are much more inclined to follow an un-schooling method than any other. Since no one curriculum out there meets each of our children's needs, it's just easier for us to "go it alone" and patch together lessons that supplement our needs. After the first few days with Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool, I found myself both frustrated and enlightened, lost and found. It was not what I had expected. But I think that's a good thing. The grade levels were years behind what my children were learning in public school. This was most evident in math. When my 8th grader took her initial lessons, she was complaining that she had learned it all years earlier. I thought she was just being her typical contrary self. When my 6th grader, who struggles with math, took the initial lessons, it was clear that this was math he had already done, not last year, but in third grade. Now, the other subjects, I feel confident enough to wing it. Math? No sir....  So, I asked around in the homeschooling groups I have joined.

One name that came up time and time was Khan Academy. What a difference! Within minutes your child finds their pace. If they've already learned it, they breeze through five in a row, and move on. If they have never learned it before, they can go to the videos and lessons to learn. And if it's something they need brushing up on, they can review etc.

I will confess, I am not a believer that we all need this depth of math in our portfolio. I believe it should be introduced to every child so that they have the opportunity for a spark of interest and/or passion to ignite. But barring that, I think most of us only need the basics to get by. I can honestly say, I have never needed more than basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I have never needed algebra, multiplying fractions, etc. It was useless info that took up hours of my life I will never have back. All for what? But that's a soapbox issue for another time.

In the meantime, Khan Academy offers us a wide range of math subjects to explore, learn, and test abilities on, which will make our district happy at reporting time. yahoo...

I do think it's a great site. I'm glad we're using it now.