I have been trying a few different things for my son to help him with his math. So far we haven't made much progress and am feeling we are really really behind. He is in the "4th grade", but math wise he is more like 2nd or 3rd grade. He still gets overwhelmed with subtraction and some other stuff. I have tried everything I can think of and I am getting no where. One of his main problems is that he puts 10 steps in a 2 step problem and I stop him and show him how to simplify it and that there is no need to make it any harder than it is. But then he is so overwhelmed and shuts down on me. HELP!! Like today we worked on skip counting and it took him hours and hours to catch on to that this is not a hard process. But I also have a feeling that he will have a mental dump tonight and we will be at square one once again. What do I do now? I really need help!
With skip counting, how about letting him do karate kicks? I've seen a pop-up puppet done, one that is inside a cup and pops up on every third number. One, two, THREE, four, five, SIX, seven, eight, NINE...that kind of thing. I'm thinking that's too "little kid" for your son, but if he could be standing and do a karate kick instead of having a puppet pop up.... Am I making any sense? I'm just kind of grasping here.....
Okay, my ds was like that, for a while it turned out that he just did not like addition and subtraction he loves multiplication and division and they are a lot easier for him? here are a few questions : Do you use objects to subtract with? Ie, M&M math, Pizza Math, etc, beans or rice even! Popsicle sticks are great for counters too! and you get to see things skip counted that way, Pick them up and put them in a cup , or basket, you can make up a song about it if y ou want! nother question: do you stress more about the time it takes him to complete it or how he does it? I stressed over the fact he was not doing it the way I told him to do it... his way took longer at times or faster when he started figuring it in his head, but he woudl get still gets, so frustraited with add and subtract problems that carry because in his head he does not see the carrying or borrowing..
My 9th grader is doing 6th grade Rod & Staff English because that's where he's at. But he's getting it there, and is doing very well! Maybe just back up a ways, who really cares what "grade" it is? That's one of the great things about homeschooling---you can take them where they're at and teach them at their level until they get it, then move on! You could get a second grade book. You may have read before that we call it "levels" not "grades". "It's the level you are comfortable at, so we will start at that level, and move on as you get it." It works for us. Anyway, get a colorful, fun 2nd level book and let him go over that. A Beka has a colorful 2nd grade book, I think (if I am remembering correctly). OR, get a colorful, fun looking book from Barnes & Noble or Staples or some other store that works on addition and subtraction. You could get addition and subtraction "Wrap-Ups", my kids liked those! Make sure you're not showing your frustration. If you do, then he gets frustrated, and afraid of making a mistake. You can back up a ways, just do fun stuff, then slowly move forward until he starts picking it up! Then he could possibly shoot forward because now he get's it! Best wishes!
The best trick for math is those good ol' flashcards. To me it doesn't matter how we do them...outdoors, sitting on the floor, in the beanbags, doing them with the brothers or sisters or dad...the point is to do them. I had the advice of going through the cards for a week with the child with the answers showing. Do the 12s and down first. The child should repeat what they see..."twelve minus three equals nine". Then after a week you do them without the answers showing. Another way is to put them in pairs...9+3, 3+9, 12-3, 12-9. Maybe he needs more hands on. Have him trace problems in sand, or do problems with number blocks or number magnets... I agree not to worry about what he is supposed to be in. I am glad for him that he can have this attention now and not be stuck behind for a long time! ((((hugs to you))) Oh, on skip counting, have them write out the numbers. Counting by threes, fours, fives, etc. Then they can read from this page. We use sentence strips for this counting. If you have number flashcards, your child can put the numbers in order that he is learning to skip. Songs work great, also. We learned counting by 5s and 10s to songs.
Yes, A Beka does have a colorful Math book and the do review, review review. We have used A Beka math for every year except last, this year, we are back to A Beka. Elijah really knows his Math.
I recently read an article about math and the right-brained learner (more creative, language types, better at whole concepts than step-by-step analytical stuff -like math!) The article suggested that drill and flashcard type activities weren't helpful to these kinds of learners, but word problems and higher level concepts should be continuously introduced to keep them challenged even when they are still working with the basics- that "real" practice was better than pages of problems or timed tests. This suits my older son. For math this year, I got "RightStart Mathematics" and I'm very impressed with the way the whole concept of how we see numbers and values is different. the creator based many lessons on Japanese teaching methods. I chose this math because I thought it would help my son understand math better before he got into algebra. He still makes silly errors, but he is gaining solid understanding- I hope that makes sense! I hope you find what works for him, but I'm with the others when they say don't worry about what "grade" he's "supposed" to be working at. He'll get it!
My sister has done some reading about the left brain and right brain learning. That is where the idea of writing in the sand comes from. This was mentioned with learning to read and knowing letter sounds, although. I recall her finding precut letters that were coarse, like sandpaper. This was to help the learner to visualize the letters. Not sure if this example would work with numbers problems or not.
Jo Anna, Bob Jones math would be good for you to try. It's nice and slow and covers everything well. It also reviews all the time. I'd give that a try. Start at whatever grade you think he's at.
Have you considered using Saxon? I know people either love it or hate it. . .we use it and just like it BUT As a classroom teacher I found Saxon to be the absolute best program to reach my hard to reach kids. I've done Abeka and Bob Jones and found that they didn't compare. On top of that, the resources on their website are a fantastic addition to the curriculum. The resources are free anyways, so I would go take a looksey. I really did prefer Saxon over anything else I had found when working with my struggling kids. The repitition and the fact that you don't get tested on anything until you've been doing it for 10 lessons really seemed to help. The teacher's guide is verbatim so if you're having trouble just teaching a concept you have a script to use that might be helpful (I find that they teach several things differently than I would) I think one of its secrets is it makes kids successful right off the bat (which is important to learning) and it builds on things very, very logically. I don't want to write a book here so PM me if you want more. But I've seriously seen at least a hundred struggling kids who came to me not knowing squat and being several grade levels behind really excel with Saxon. Several of my students went on to do the Math olympiad in middle school (I had 5th graders). Just my 2 cents. :love:
I would use application and hands on problems. Example take a muffin tin and put some items in the first (with it placed 3 across and 4 down) cup, and a cardboard chip with a number in the second tin. Have him take however many items from the first tin andplace them in the second then count what is left into the third tin. Then have him write the problem out. 8 -3 =5 on paper after doing it by hand. I also put some themed cutouts with numbers in a hat, ie pumkins, turkeys, etc with numbers and have him draw out a number and then select an index card from a smal stack that has either - or + on it then another number. They put counters out on the table in place of the numbers with the - or + and = signs in the correct place followed by the answer in counters.
I agree Saxon is the best that I've seen. Pretty simple and "traditional" but it works. We started with MathUSee and transitioned to Saxon about age 11. If doing over again, I'd use Saxon all the way. I agree with Art Robinson that young kids should learn simple addition / subtraction / multiplication/ division "facts" via flash cards and when they have that mastered, plunge into Saxon 54. I can't post URL's yet, but you can find more about our experiences by searching for SAXON on our website (link below). BTW, I'm a degreed engineer so Math is a specialty. I've used Saxon with my 7th and 9th graders with great success and they are not the geeky type.
I agree that Saxton and Math U See is great. My ds has cognitive problems and getting math concepts was really hard for him. He was 11 and still had trouble with simple addition when I took him out of public school. We started the Math U See program, and enforced it with memorizing math facts. Now he can do the lessons on his own and really understands what he's doing. I also enforce the lessons with real life stuff like when we grocery shop and when he wants to buy things on his own he has to figure it out himself. Time and maturing really helped too. If he doesn't understand something, it's really hard to get him to work on it. Don't get hooked into what grade level he's in, he will get it when his brain is ready for it. All the best, Donna
However, Saxon DOESN'T work with everyone. I gave it a good shot, and none of my kids liked it. I am not even sure exactly why, it just didn't click. The Teaching Textbooks is what has been clicking here! DD LOVES it, and is moving right along. She got a 96% on her first chapter test---after getting bogged down and frustrated with Saxon last year. I had already found some good deals, and bought Saxon books ahead, cuz I planned on going all the way up with it. But, it was not to be. Anyone want some Saxon 76, Algebra 1/2, and Algebra 1? It does work great for some people, just not for us. I'm saying this so that if you were to try Saxon, and it didn't go over well, you'd know you're not the only one!
I have a quesiton, with the Saxon, ( ds16 used it for ALG1 at his private school) what is the teacher book like? I noticed it has answers in the back of the book for every other question, his teacher assigned the other ones so they could nto cheat. But I was just wondering about that. This year heis using Packets of paper as his lessons.... kind of interesting since we pay so much for the school you would THINK they coudl afford good books and enough! anyway , sorry bout that, but had to mini vent... what is the teacher manuel like?
As a homeschooler, I don't know! We get the "homeschool packet", which just gives us the answers and the tests. There is no book with lesson plans, etc. in it. I would guess the teacher manual would have all the stuff that are in most TM's. Personally, I would rather not pay for the in-depth TM that I won't be using, so just the answer and test booklet is fine for me!
okay with the Saxon math book I saw it looked like a normal regular old text book? does it teach how to do its in that? See I have been blessed with AO it instructs at the level of jr/sr high mostly in the lesson book so I have gone over the lesson with them then let them work it.... I am wondering how things will work, next year my ds who will be a Senior wants to come home for schooling.. I do not know his level so he will be attending college for part of his Sr Year doing stuff there.... then he will be doing the rest at home, but he consideres that all home schooling. He decided this plan of action all on his own, not sure if it is because he has friends who are doing the same thing or what, long story there... SO I was wondering though about the Saxon math books and teacher books anyway because I wonder how you would teach from them? I need refreshing on how to with math, then I get it fast and can teach it, AOP books are self taught style so I got into going through those, but we wont use that with Ds anyway, unless its with Consumer math, which we can get SOS for.....
It's pretty self-evident. You read the lesson, and then do the practice problems. But keep in mind, that I've not had the higher math in Saxon. I think Deena might have used them.
