After weeks of discussion, prayer, and many tears (on my end), I found peace with the decision to homeschool my two children. I knew then that the season ahead would give me the opportunity to create, teach, learn and grow alongside the two most beautiful souls I know.
Okay. So I made the decision. That was half the battle. But what was next? How would I even begin to navigate the process of instructing two children, in two different grades, as a single mother who worked full time. It felt (and still feels) completely overwhelming. But, I’ve found the best way to get through life’s (many) challenges is to keep swimming.
After choosing a curriculum (and then swapping it out one month into homeschooling), creating a classroom and establishing the routine that I thought would work best, there was one tiny little fire to put out: math.
The thought of having to teach math wasn’t exactly thrilling. Full disclosure: I’ve been avoiding math since high school, when I opted for “Excel Math,” instead of the calc everyone else was taking. Excel, like the Microsoft program guys. Not like I excel at math, math.
So when I decided to homeschool my six and nine year old, I knew I would have to think about math. For the first time in a bagillion years. Unless.
With so much already on my overscheduled plate, I needed to “subtract” the math.
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ENTER: Room 17. You guys it was like this thing was made for my family. This was my get out of jail free card. It was one of those nights when I was aimlessly scrolling through Facebook and I stumbled upon Room 17. There was my answer. Sign me up, please.
Room 17 was created by two local educators who LOVE math. Sara and Monica share their passion with children, parents, and teachers through their incredibly engaging virtual math classroom.
These small group “homeroom” classrooms have the student-teacher ratio that so many of us hope for, offering our children the opportunity to speak up, ask (all of the) questions, and ultimately, thrive.
Building confidence in students, teachers, and parents in mathematics, Room 17 offers engaging problem solving activities, collaboration with “roomies,” and fun fluency games like “esti-mystery,” an estimating game; “Silver Sands Salute,” a Head’s Up style-card game for solving multiplication equations and “Splat!” for solving fractions.
After just a week of Room 17, both of my children were noticing the math around them, every day. They began asking questions and working on problems without being prompted. Because Room 17 places a focus on the reasoning and representation of the mathematics in the real world, my kids have become naturally interested in math because it is no longer just a worksheet or a problem on the chalkboard to solve.
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Here’s an example. My son received walkie talkies for Christmas. He noticed that the packaging said the estimated reach of the walkie talkies was three kilometers which prompted the question “Mom, how many kilometers are in a mile?” This resulted in a conversation about measurement units, conversions and problem solving. He wanted to know which of his friend’s houses were within range to use his walkie talkies. You guys. This conversation lasted an hour. (Thanks Google.) I credit Room 17.
My kids literally told me their favorite subject is now math. I nearly choked on my cereal. “Really?” I spoke. “But don’t you just love WRITING!?!?” They don’t love writing, guys. I’m going to have to give up the ship.
I am actually thrilled they love math. And I adore Sara and Monica for fostering this love.
Now, I know many are not homeschooling. Room 17 offers more than just their Homeroom program. From Summer Math Camp to Family Math Nights (hosted at a school/community location or virtually) and Parent or Teacher Workshops (based on school/parent/home-school needs,) Room 17 offers a variety of learning opportunities.
Plus, I have to mention the swag.
As part of being a “roomie,” my kids have received Room 17 swag a few times since beginning the program which has included tools like dice, dominoes, counters, fraction strips, notebooks pencil pouches and more. These are most-exciting to receive in the mail for the kids.
If you’re like us and have found yourself “crisis-homeschooling” or perhaps you are a lifelong homeschooling family either a.) find yourself completely overwhelmed b.) struggle with math and would like very much to not teach it or c.) feel that your child would benefit from some engaging, interactive, fun math instruction (or d.) all of the above) Room 17 is the answer to your equation.
