CLASS DAYS AND TIMES All times are Pacific Time Zone
Sixth Grade Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Seventh Grade Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00 a.m. to noon
Eighth Grade Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Algebra Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
ZOOM
Classes are held using Zoom. For security purposes, a new and unique session link is used each time class meets. Links are emailed to the family every week.
Click here to see assignment and test schedule.
THERE IS A RECORDING OF EVERY LESSON One of the best things about homeschooling is FLEXIBILITY. One of the best things about Math with Mrs. Fish is the class recordings. If your child misses a class, go to the video. Your child doesn’t quite grasp the concept? Go to the video. Your family has a conflict with the class days and times? Use the videos instead of the live class. The class recordings give you even more flexibility.
Follows Saxon* Math's model of incremental and distributed instruction. The one-of-a-kind curriculum is authored by Mrs. Fish and looks similar to Saxon Math in many ways. Each concept is broken down into parts which are introduced incrementally and mastered before students are expected to master the entire concept. There are no chapters in the curriculum. Concepts from the five math strands (Ratios and Proportional Relationships, the Number System, Expressions and Equations, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability) are distributed throughout the school year.
Approximately 85% of the daily assignment problems are review of previously learned material. It's drill and THRILL as students experience consistent success.
Each problem indicates from which lesson the material comes. If a student can't remember the steps, they can quickly access the corresponding notes.
Uses humor, memory devices, color-coding**, and numbered steps for maximum retention of material.
Fill-in-the-blank notes provided for use during instruction so students can focus on the learning and not the note-taking.
Aligned with the Common Core State Standards There are concerns that parents and educators have with the Common Core and this curriculum addresses those concerns head-on. The primary benefit of using a curriculum aligned with the CCSS is that the state-mandated testing will cover what your child is being taught.
Click here to see samples of the curriculum.
* If Saxon is so great, why reinvent the wheel? Unfortunately, it appears that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publishing company that purchased Saxon Math, has no intention of reworking the program to align with Common Core State Standards. It's not that I care so much for Common Core, but in America's culture of testing, I DO care about my students' success on the standardized tests. Those exams are aligned with the CCSS. I freely admit that I have an agenda: prove that choice in education, particularly the choice to homeschool, is the key to successful education in America. To prove it to the educational establishment requires good scores on standardized tests.
**Please notify me if your child is color-blind. I make every attempt to avoid using pink/red with green in a lesson to avoid confusion.
Looping in education is the practice of moving children and their teacher together through two or more grade levels. Two primary benefits to looping in math: continuity and relationships. As a teacher, it has been a wonderful experience to have the “big picture” of middle school math and guiding my students through the introduction and expansion of concepts. For the students, there is an immediate sense of “getting down to business” at the beginning of the year because they are familiar with the routines of class. They are secure in knowing that Mrs. Fish’s class is a safe place to learn, make mistakes, and ask questions.
YOU HAVE A ROLE! If there is one thing I've learned about middle-schoolers from all of my years of teaching, it's that they don't do what you expect, they do what you inspect. This is the age at which we have our children taking on more and more responsibility for their own learning and it can be very easy to trust them a little too much. The unfortunate thing about math is that falling behind can cause big problems very quickly, like that cartoon snowball that grows bigger and bigger on its way downhill. We have to work together to stop the snowball while it's still marble-sized. HERE ARE MY EXPECTATIONS OF YOU, THE PARENT...
Correcting daily work: I think it's valuable for a student to correct their own work, especially if it is supervised by the parents for the first couple of weeks. After that, I highly recommend irregular (unpredictable) spot-checking by the parents to keep 'em honest.
Additionally, there is learning that takes place when a student corrects his or her own work. The answer keys provided show how the answer is arrived at, oftentimes with additional notes for the students showing shortcuts and “math hacks.”
Correcting tests: Parents have the option of correcting their child’s test or sending it to Mrs. Fish to be corrected.
Tracking Mastery: The TYPES of mistakes your child makes on an assignment should be tracked DAILY. Are they careless mistakes? Or is there a breakdown in the understanding of a concept? Each problem on the daily assignments has the Lesson Number next to it, so parent and child can look for patterns in the mistakes. It is essential that students understand what their mistakes are AND CORRECT THEM.
YOU assign the class grade. You know your child best. With guidance from Mrs. Fish, you will determine the weight of tests and daily assignments towards the final grade.
This video is from my seventh grade course. The students have the same notes you see on the screen. The live class is more energetic than the video lesson as students are able to interact with me and respond to my questions.
Math with Mrs. Fish is a year-long course broken into two semesters. The cost is $500 per semester for the online instruction and includes the curriculum: lesson notes, assignments, custom answer sheets, tests, and grading rubrics, as well as access to the lesson recordings.
Families have the option of paying in full or paying monthly through PayPal. The monthly option is $125 four times per semester. Click here to ask questions. Click here to get on the interest list.
For families who homeschool through a charter school, Mrs. Fish is an approved vendor for many charters in California. Families need only request the Purchase Order (enrichment certificate, or other charter school document) from their school prior to the start of classes.
Math with Mrs. Fish is a vendor with the following charter schools:
Blue Ridge Academy
Gorman Learning Center
Heartland
iLEAD
Inspire
Sky Mountain
South Sutter
Ocean Grove
Compass Sage Oak
Don’t see your charter school? Contact Mrs. Fish so she can start the vendor application process.
It’s challenging, but my son who is only in 5th grade seems to really enjoy the class. The fact that we can review videos at home during the week really helps him. Also, being allowed to go at his own pace is great! ~Parent
We appreciate her time and patience as she teaches the students with kindness. ~Parent
I feel like I'm having success in math for the first time. ~Student
Thank you so much, you really have been an amazing teacher for Jeffrey! He’s finally answering math questions with ease, it’s exciting!!! ~Parent
Having the video to go back and watch is a godsend. ~Parent
I love being able to go back and watch the videos! I love that my kiddo is getting a great math teacher with solid curriculum. I love that we are working at a school like pace but at home. It has been challenging but a good kind. ~Parent
Thank you!! Cade absolutely loves his math class and it has been such a blessing to our family knowing he is getting the right Math instruction! Thank you so much!!! ~Parent
In traditional brick-and-mortar schools, one size fits few. Even when separating students into math “levels” within grade levels, there is very little flexibility for the students who have above-grade or below-grade skills.
I have many students who take my classes at a “lower” grade level than what they would be in in a traditional school. I have several students who take my classes at a “higher” level. It is CRITICAL that students take a math class that meets their needs, whatever grade level that may be. I make a conscious effort to refer to my classes as my eleven o’clock class rather than my seventh grade class specifically to avoid making a student feel less-than because they don’t have the skills the system says they should have.
If you are unsure about the placement for your child, please contact me for a placement test.
