Math Teams
for
HomeSchoolers
of Santa Barbara County
in Grades 4-12
SB Family School offers math enrichment groups
designed for kids who enjoy math
or puzzles or problem-solving,
or who are good at them,
or both.
The 2022-2023 school year is our 25th year of coaching math teams in Santa Barbara.
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The 2010 MathCounts Group Celebrating the Team's 3rd
Place Win at the Chapter Competition (with a MathCounts logo cake) | 4th-Graders with their 1st-Place
Cantilever at the 2009 Math SuperBowl Competition |
The enrichment aspect: The main orientation of the groups is general math enrichment, especially for the elementary schoolers. Some of the topics we cover correlate with the standard curriculum, but there is much more of an emphasis on creative "outside-the-box" problem-solving, and also on special, interesting topics that are not part of typical curricula, such as Fibonacci numbers and fractals.
The competitive aspect: We also make use of Math SuperBowl or MathCounts materials (the latter of which conform to NCTM Standards and are endorsed by professional engineers, too) to do team problems, with the emphasis being on cooperation - i.e., working as a team. Although each group participates in competitions (at least one exciting off-site event per year and several low-key ones on site), no individual is required to participate in any competition. For specific information about the various competitions, see the contest chart.
The benefits: In addition to broadening their horizons and increasing their math skills, the students learn to do math as teamwork, just as in sports (which is how most professional scientists and engineers do it but is rare in our educational systems). It can also be enjoyable for them to have math be a social experience.
The general schedule: Combined grade-level groups generally have weekly 90-minute meetings.
The upper elementary school group (grades 4-6) meets from mid-September to early June.
The middle school group (grades 6-8) meets from early September to mid-March.
The high school group meets less frequently in the Fall, and ends in early February.
All the meetings are located in the math room at my house (during the pandemic, we meet right outide it instead), which is in
Goleta near the corner of Cathedral Oaks and Fairview.
The
cost is $24/hour, and most meetings are 1.5 hours.
All materials are included, except the team T-shirt, and there's a small
additional charge for some of the competitions's registration fees.
New sibling discounts and scholarships.
Scholarships: A scholarship fund has been created; allocations are based on need and merit. (To make a donation to the scholarship fund, please contact me.)
Sibling Discounts: The second child is 15% off; the third child is 25% off. For twins or triplets, add another 5% to the discount amount.
And I am also very open to bartering for
all kinds of things, especially yard work, housecleaning, and home repairs and maintenance!
References are available among PATH, HBP and Homesteaders families.