One of the challenges when teaching kids how multiply 2 digit numbers is getting the numbers organized. Traditional methods of multiplication require the alignment of the numbers to get the right answer. Although the concept of place values is introduced to children early, this task can be difficult especially if the students are still learning how to write neatly.

How to Multiply 2 Digit Numbers More Easily

Students can use the rainbow method if they are having trouble with the columnar format of traditional methods of solving 2-digit multiplication problems. It is based on the same principles of aligning numbers with the same place value. But it has an easier format to follow. 

How to multiply 2 digit numbers using the rainbow method

How to Multiply 2 Digit Numbers Using the Rainbow Method

Here are four things you should know about the Singapore Math teaching method.

Singapore Math is definitely one of those judge-it-by-its-fruit things.

In the 80s, Singapore was nowhere near the top when it came to math rankings among countries. All that changed after the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore came out with its math program, which included producing its books. Today, Singapore is a top performer in math.

The success of students is behind its popularity. Here are some things you should know about this method of presenting math to learners.

One of the most important features of Singapore Math is the use of Concrete, Pictorial, and Abstract sequence. The lesson is introduced tangibly through the use of objects such as blocks or everyday objects.


Pictures are introduced when the learners are more comfortable solving math problems using these physical aids. Again, the idea is to create a visual representation before using symbols. The final stage is the abstract phase when equations are shown to the students.  

Read More: The idea of exploration as a part of learning is in many teaching philosophies. Read about the Charlotte Mason method 

Remember when math drills were a must in class? Not so with Singapore Math. Instead of rote memorization, this approach emphasizes the mastery of taught concepts.

This means that students are taught to approach math problems based on the foundational skills they learned from previous lessons. For example, multiplication is not presented as a separate topic. Instead, it is an extension of addition. Multiplication is introduced through activities where students put together equal groups.

Singapore Math does not compartmentalize lessons but instead teaches children to be comfortable with the bigger picture so they can be more creative with their solutions.

Read More: Building a strong learning foundation is emphasized in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Read about how Bloom’s Taxonomy can be useful to homeschoolers 

It teaches techniques such as the bar method and number bonds.

Number bonds and bar modeling are techniques that are introduced to learners of Singapore Math. Number bonds make it easy for students to see the part-whole relationship of numbers. As for bar modeling, it can provide visual cues for a variety of math concepts, like word problems by giving learners visual cues on what operations to use.

Not all Singapore Math textbooks will be the same.

The popularity of Singapore math means that there are numerous books to choose from. But, it is not just the publisher or title that one should look out for. Also, consider the labels US Edition, Standards Edition, and Common Core Edition.

These designations are meant to indicate what kind of adaptations were made to the versions used in Singapore. US Edition uses US measurements, conventions, and spellings. Standards Edition changes the order of presentation and adds topics to align with California math standards. Common Core Edition satisfies the requirements of the Common Core State Standards.

It is worth noting that these international versions still adhere to the principles of Singapore Math.

What you should know about Singapore Math.

What is Singapore Math?

Do you have a kid who wants to be a writer? Maybe a budding artist? The good news is that they do not have to wait until they are all grown up to experience the thrill of a byline. Getting their work noticed by a legitimate publication is a great way to prep their credentials for the future. It can also boost your child’s self-esteem.

Here is a list of magazines and literary journals that accept submissions from the younger set.

Stone Soup is an established magazine that has been around for over 40 years. 

 accepts submissions from writers and artists aged 13 and younger. The magazine also holds monthly flash contests. As compensation for the submission, contributors are paid with two print copies of the issue their work is published in. Those who are listed on the honor roll get one print copy. Submissions are made via 

Since 2005, Magic Dragon has been published quarterly with the intent to encourage creativity in children and to support the arts. It is an award-winning magazine, having won the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing by the Association for Educational Publishing and the Parents’ Choice Approved Award by the Parents’ Choice Foundation. Although the magazine does not indicate an age limit, most submissions are from kids 13 years old and younger.

Magic Dragon accepts submissions of stories, essays, poems, and art. To submit, your child can email their work to 

Stories and essays can be up to three pages, while poetry can be up to 30 lines. They should be sent as a Word document. Send art as a jpeg file. You can submit via snail mail by sending your child’s work to Magic Dragon, P.0. Box 687, Webster, NY 14580.

For submissions, please include a Permission to Publish form. You can download the form 

Highlights magazine was first published in 1946. Since then, it has continued to build its motto of “fun with a purpose” by providing kids with a magazine subscription that explores new topics in each issue. The Highlights brand has grown into several print titles, websites, and book clubs.

Highlights Kids accepts poems, pictures, and drawings from those aged 16 years and below through 

 submission form. Please keep poems limited to 75 words and art should be on unlined paper. Photos should not feature any people.

Hong Kong-based Balloons Literary Journal (BLJ) is an online journal that publishes poetry, fiction, and art for kids aged 12 and above. The journal is free, and each issue can be downloaded in ready-to-print PDF format.

BLJ accepts submissions from all over the world. Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief bio, including the age of the creator. Poetry submissions should feature 3-5 poems submitted as a single Word document. Fiction should be no more than 2000 words, font 12 of common font types, and in Word. Artwork should be high resolution and in common file types like JPG or GIF. Please submit 3-5 pieces.

Here are three publications that can publish your child's work. 

3 Publications That Can Publish Your Child's Work

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has placed over 400,000 art pieces in the public domain through its open access policy. Under the Met’s Open Access policy, anyone can freely copy, modify, and distribute the images included in Open Access collection. Search the Met’s Open Access collection through this 

Under the Met’s Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify, and distribute the images included in Open Access initiative. These art pieces contain an “OA” symbol below the frame displaying the art piece online, with an explanation of permitted usage. As all of the works made available through the open access initiative are in the public domain, it’s ok to print the images, use them in derivative work, and even just display them as is in your own web pages or projects.

 for the Open Access Initiative, the Metropolitan Museum of Art explained that the policy is another step in making its collection available to all. The Met boasts a collection of pieces that span 5000 years of history. With the open access initiative, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has made itself the largest open access museum in the world.

The collection covered by the open access initiative features hundreds of thousands of images, as well as a related information on the museum pieces themselves. As of this article, over 400,000 pieces are available for the public’s enjoyment. Every single art work considered by The Met to be in the public domain is included in the pieces made available by the Open Access policy.

 is the best way to enjoy and access its collection, including the art work covered by the Open Access policy. You may access the search page for open access pieces 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently released a video of its Medici Collection virtual launch. 

We went through the collection and selected some gems to share with all of you:

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Above: A 4-set sleigh design by Herman Stahmer. 1888. 

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Above: The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565. 

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Above: Landscape at Famars. Harpignies. 1863. (above)

Did you pay a visit to the open access collection? What did you think of it? Let us know your thoughts on The Met’s open access initiative in the comments below!

Explore and enjoy the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Open Access Collection for free!

Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access Collection

The pandemic forced a lot of people to homeschool their kids. Whether it is by choice or circumstance, parents are now more aware that there are other ways to educate their kids aside from the classroom setting.

If homeschooling is already a novel concept for you, we can take it a step further. Have you heard of unschooling?

Before you get turned off the prefix, unschooling does not mean that you will 

 educate your child. Instead, it is a mindset of how the child will be educated. Also known as child-led learning or interest-based learning, “unschooling” was first coined by an educator named John Holt.

He believed that the traditional method of learning stifles the way children learn naturally. Think of how a baby explores the world – there is a natural curiosity. It would be unthinkable for parents to make the baby sit still. A baby needs to crawl, look around, and yes, even put things in his or her mouth.

Holt thought that children have the same natural curiosity and that school stifled it. He thought that the traditional models of school and their attempts to control what and how the kids learn got in the way of the natural learning process. Instead, he proposed that schools should be a source of learning, much like a library and not the regimented source of education.

The question of “what is unschooling” has different answers. Unschooling has different types depending on the family. You have some families who are called “relaxed homeschoolers” who follow the interest of their children but still maintain some subjects that are taught in more structured ways. On the other hand, “radical homeschoolers” adhere to the idea that children should follow their interests more intently. Kids are allowed to self-direct their learning. In this case, the parents trust that their children will learn the skills they need from everyday life and their own pursuits.

No matter how unschooling is practiced, there is one concept that is important to all homeschoolers. It is called “strewing,” or making sure that interesting learning materials are available for the child to access. Creating an environment for learning helps facilitate the desire of children to learn.

Parents who practice unschooling say that it has many advantages. One of these is that children retain information better. Since they are interested in what they are learning, they tend to use what they learn. Instead of simply listing off facts they read from a book, children tend to put what they learned into practice. This allows them to keep that knowledge for longer periods.

Another advantage of unschooling is that it makes maximizes the natural talents of the child. Unlike traditional educations where children are expected to learn the same things, unschooling gives children the freedom to focus on what they want. For example, a musically inclined child can spend more time practicing an instrument rather than being forced to sit through a science class experiment. It gives more chances for the child to nurture whatever gifts he or she has.

Finally, families who practice unschooling say that their children are more motivated. Since they are not force-fed information, they can follow their own interests. If they are already interested, then learning has won half the battle. Parents can simply facilitate or provide resources while children do all the work.

What is unschooling all about may have different answers, but the bottom line is this: it is all about getting the child to learn in an enthusiastic, natural way. It is not about leaving them unsupervised or uneducated. Ultimately, it is a method that parents choose to ensure that their children develop a love of learning.

Learn about unschooling, a novel approach to education. 

What is Unschooling?

Do you remember when your child first started talking? It may have felt like there was a never-ending supply of “why, why, why?” It was not enough to simply know what things were. There was a curiosity to understand how things work.

The same principle applies in teaching lessons when homeschooling your kids. There is the knowledge that they are meant to identify, while others that they should be able to explain.

This is where Bloom’s Taxonomy – a framework used by educators to help define the learning goals – comes in. Through the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs, you can ensure that the homeschooled child gets a well-rounded understanding of the lesson.

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This framework was developed by Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist, to provide a reference to the type of critical thinking required from the student. It has six levels, with the bottom being the most basic form of learning. Higher levels require more complicated understanding.

Bloom’s theory is that it is important to know the build the foundations first, before moving up to the higher levels. For educators like homeschooling parents, this scaffolding of knowledge can be used as an effective guide to ensure mastery of a lesson.

Verbs: Choose, define, label, list, match, name

Also known as the knowledge level, the student is expected to be able to recall facts or concepts. The expectation from the student is that he or she should remember what they were taught. Examples are being able to memorize important dates or being able to define certain words.

Verbs: Compare and contrast, explain, summarize, classify

At this level, students should demonstrate comprehension of the lesson. They should be able to interpret what they have learned. For example, the student should be able to tell the main idea of an essay or explain what makes a certain animal is a reptile and not a mammal.

Verbs: Solve, apply, modify, choose, construct

In Bloom’s Taxonomy, applying means that the student should be able to use the knowledge that they have. This requires more sophisticated thinking because the answer to the question is not in the original lesson presented to them. Instead, the student would have to utilize what they learned in new situations.

At this level, students may be asked to pretend to be a scientist and decide on the best laboratory procedure to use to achieve an intended goal.

Verbs: Infer, discover, examine, survey, conclude

Students should be able to show that they can examine the information they learned and then infer conclusions from it using their ideas. Some of the assessments associated with this level are identifying patterns and finding evidence.

For example, the educator can ask what motivated a character to act the way he or she did. The student would have to consider the details of the story and come up with conclusions about the character’s traits.

Verbs: Appraise, decide, judge, agree, choose

At this level, learners are supposed to predict or theorize based on what they learned. They need to have understood enough of the lesson to develop their judgment on the information given.

For example, a student may be asked to use historical data to predict an outcome in the future.

Verbs: Construct, create, formulate, imagine, modify

At the highest level, creating requires students to know enough of the lesson to come up with new ideas 0f their own. They must be able to understand enough information and combine them to propose a different solution.

For example, homeschoolers can propose a suggested policy to combat climate change.

Bloom’s taxonomy verbs are helpful to homeschoolers because they can help clarify the type of learning the student should be doing. For educators, having differentiated levels through this framework can be a guide in making sure that every level of critical thinking is tackled so there is complete comprehension.

Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University, 13 Aug. 2018.

Through the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs, you can ensure that the homeschooled child gets a well-rounded understanding of each lesson.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs: How to Use Them in Homeschooling

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The magic of homeschooling is that there is no one right way to homeschool. There are different practices you can use to make sure that your children are learning. One of the most popular is the Charlotte Mason Method.

Named after a British teacher, it is a belief in educating the whole child and not just the mind. Charlotte Mason said that “education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.” Quite a mouthful of lofty words. But for homeschoolers, what is the Charlotte Mason method trying to do?

The first aspect of a Charlotte Mason education is what it refers to as the “atmosphere,” or surroundings of the child. The home environment must be suitable for learning. The parents should also model the kind of learning they want to see in their children. Charlotte Mason believed that a third of a child’s education is from their parents’ ideas and personality.

In the Charlotte Mason method, “discipline” refers to the good habits related to the child’s character. These habits are cultivated through practices like repetition and motivation. For example, daily schedules often include copywork to reinforce language skills and penmanship through constant practice.

Completing the child’s education is “life,” a concept that relates to academics. Charlotte Mason thought that children should be exposed to “living” thoughts as opposed to dry facts. These thoughts provide children with the opportunity to get ideas from what they learned. It is not about multiple-choice type questions or simply reciting what they know.

How does this approach look like for homeschoolers?

What is the Charlotte Mason method when it is put into practice for homeschoolers? The biggest indicator of this method for homeschoolers is that formal schooling is delayed until six years old, or until the child is developmentally ready. Before this age, play and exploration are the primary tools for learning.

The choice of books is also a mark of a Charlotte Mason homeschooler. Referred to as living books, the titles are chosen for their strong narrative way of presenting knowledge and because they were written by someone truly knowledgeable about the topic.

Another practical way to put this method into practice is by allotting time to nature study. Children are encouraged to be outside and learn through exploration. The reasoning behind this is that children learn best from experience.

Charlotte Mason eschewed busy work, which means that everything that the child does need to have a purpose. For example, worksheets should be meaningful and not just a way to keep the child occupied.

Instead, Charlotte Mason encourages a “feast” of learning. This means that parents should provide their children with a wide array of subjects that opportunities to see which ones interest the child. Children do not just learn language arts and math. They are also exposed to the study of composers, folk songs, and artists. Foreign languages and skills such as knitting are also considered part of their learning.

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Discover the Charlotte Mason method for homeschooling

What is the Charlotte Mason Method?

Teaching very young kids is not just important because they learn how to recognize shapes and sound out letters. Their experience with early education is foundational because it can also shape a child’s attitude towards learning. This is the reason why there are many teaching philosophies that take the interests of the child into consideration, like the Reggio Emilia approach. 

In this method, the child is seen as an individual who is curious about their environment and he or she has the power to learn from it. As such, teachers should provide children with opportunities through child-centered strategies.

The Reggio Emilia approach can be summarized in “the hundred languages,” which is the belief that children use more than verbal skills in communicating. Children can also express themselves through art, physicality, relationships, and as the founder, Loris Malaguzzi wrote, “and a hundred, hundred more.” Educators liken it to Howard Gardner’s concept of multiple intelligences.

There are four principles that characterize this approach. The first is the 

, which is derived from the things that interest the children. Through observation and talking to the child and his or her family, the teacher decides on the projects that will best stimulate the child in class.

The next principle in the Reggio Emilia approach is 

. These projects are done over long periods of time. Depending on the need, they can even last the entire school year. The teacher does not direct how the child will do the project, but instead act as an advisor.

 is another trait of the Reggio Emilia approach. New ideas should be presented in different ways to children. For example, stories, music, and puppetry can be used in lessons. The reasoning behind this is that the variation gives children more opportunities to understand and connect with the concepts being taught.

 is essential in the cognitive development of a child. Children should work with others to develop interpersonal skills.

What is the Reggio Emilia approach like when homeschooling? First, the Reggio Emilia approach does not believe in teachers dictating what should be happening in class. Instead, the role of the teacher is a learning partner or facilitator. As a homeschooler, you should learn alongside your child and also be immersed in the learning process as a guide. You should also observe the growth of your child and keep track of their improvements and evolving interests.

In this teaching philosophy, the classroom is often called “the third teacher.” The environment should contain learning materials that allow children to access them easily. You can provide books and manipulatives within reach for your child to encourage their exploration. The key is to keep things within eye level, so it piques their interest. Choose items that do not baby the child. For example, use real dishware and plants so children learn from using the real things.

In Reggio Emilia, documentation of the child’s progress is important. You can apply it to your family’s homeschooling journey by making portfolios for your children to document their growth. The Reggio Emilio way is also to use a variety of techniques. Use photos, videos, voice recordings, and other methods.

Choosing the right method for early education can be confusing because of the many different philosophies available. If you are on the lookout for a child-centered method that believes in the empowerment of the learner, then maybe Reggio Emilia is the one for you and your family.

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Learn about the Reggio Emilia approach, a method that expands learning across verbal and non-verbal skills. 