Okay... My 2nd grader...well, he's definitely 1st grade for math. We're doing MUS Alpha. We're still just on lesson 12! we started late last year (maybe late October,early November?). And we took a long break in the summer. What do ya do when they're just not getting it?? He loves doing Math - until he gets to the worksheet. We watch the DVD, play with the blocks, and he seems to do okay. But when we actually translate it to paper, he gets confused, and doesn't know it anymore. I mean, I totally get that it just might not be his subject. (even my oldest hates Math - but is fabulous at it - actually - she's like my husband - whatever she touches turns to pure gold!). How do I help him over the mental hump? I just feel bad, he hasn't even gotten to subtraction yet! Thanks in advance!!!
Pencil and paper math is more abstract. It may be he's not ready for the abstract thinking yet. I'd put the workbook away for a few months. See if your library has a book called "Math Their Way". I think it's very similar to the popular homeschool program "Math U See", but I've never used MUS, so I don't know for sure. Here's some ideas I learned from a "Math Their Way" workshop: Let him PLAY with numbers. Go to the craft store and get a bunch of those plastic beads in about four or five different colors. Then give him ten paper plates. Put the number FIVE on the floor, with the plates around him. Let him pick TWO different colors of beads. and his job is to put FIVE beads on the plate. When he's done, ask him for each plate. Then you ask him how many of each color are on each plate. OH! You have THREE red and TWO blue on this plate! And here you have ONE red and FOUR blue..... It's OK to have a lot of repeats! (And it's also OK to have FIVE red and NO blue!) Then, the next step is to take a piece of paper and divide it into fifths. In each section, he COLORS what is on each plate. He can also write the numbers...3+2, 4+1, etc. You also write the number 5 big at the top of the page. You can also do this part on 3x5 cards, and use them as flashcards. "We're going to work on our 5 combinations now!" Show him the cards, and he responds with "3 blue and 2 red!" Other games include "Peek in the Window". Make a small "window frame" out of tagboard (or you could use an old cereal box!). Put five beads on the floor, lined up in a column. Take and place the "window" somewhere on the column. How many beads are on YOUR side of the window? How many do you see THROUGH the window? Again, you're working on combinations that add to five. Then there's the cup game. You have five beads. "Hide" some under a small cup. He can see three; how many are hidden under the cup? Hope this helps!
Maybe use a dry erase board or something instead of paper - make it colorful. My daughter 3rd/4th grader still uses her counting bears just because she feels like it though she doesn't always "need" them. My son - scary sas it is - just does the stuff in his head and gets it right. As soon as he sees paper - and has to work it out for me to see 9 times out of 10 it's the wrong answer. Talk about frustrating! Maybe do some of it orally?
Hey there, I agree with Jackie's suggestions. Maybe you should just step away from MUS for a little while. What I did want to add was my 2 cents. Last year we tried MUS. My son was 1st grade and we had some personal delays in our life that messed with our schedule. It just seemed like he wasn't getting it either. We made it to Feb before I did a placement test from another company just for fun to see where he was...and he didn't hardly get any of them right! This freaked me out because we have end of year tests to submit to our state (Cat5). He definitely wasn't going to be ready and like you, we hadn't even hit subtraction yet!!!! Well, I put the MUS away and we got more hands on and I purchased a workbook and a test prep book (to be sure I would know what specifically we needed to cover). He ended up passing math for his test but I walked away from MUS. Some people love it but it just didn't work for us. We moved on to Saxon (which has more manipulatives that MUS so the kids love it) and it's working great for us. I also didn't like that MUS didn't cover other topics like measuring, weighing, clock, calendar, etc. Saxon does. I'm not telling you to scrap you MUS (like I said others love it and this is just my humble opinion and our experience) and I'm not telling you to run out and buy Saxon BUT I am saying that maybe MUS isn't working for you all either. Best of luck and keep us posted!
Isn't it great he doesn't go to ps and HAVE to show his work or get in trouble! I know of people who were constantly accused of cheating and marked wrong because they didn't show how they got the answer because they were doing it in their head! I just think it's great that he's hs'd and has that freedom!
We used a program called Mastering Mathematics http://www.masterypublications.com. When my oldest came out of school she was "behind" in math and just couldn't get it. With this program she not only "caught up" but is also a very confident math student. It was actually written with special needs children in mind, so it takes everything in baby steps. Don't feel like you have to have a special needs child to use it...my oldest isn't special needs, she just had trouble, and you youngest has an intuitive math mind and has done super well with it too. I lacked confidence in my choice since I couldn't believe that I actually "picked" the right thing the first time, so we detoured for awhile to MUS, Saxon, Minquon, and Singapore, but kept going back to MM. We didn't even have a tear shed when we covered long division. All my friends said that was the worst topic to cover in the elementary years... There are alot of games to make and play and we used them when the girls were younger, but now that they are older, they can do without them. The price is very reasonable. The program covers grades 1-6 and is less than $150. That's like $25 a year. Best wishes.
I bought Mastering Mathematics with my 5th grade ds in mind, because he has always disliked and struggled with multiplication, but my 2nd grade dd is using it instead. I wound up getting Teaching Textbooks for ds (which is GREAT!) and dd is doing the Attacking Addition book in MM. She thinks it is so cool that she is able to add 4 digit numbers already. When I say to her something like, 'you just added 2541 and 1324 together!' she lights up. We used A Beka math last year, and while she did fine with it (even though we didn't rush and finish the book) I like MM better because it isn't throwing everything all together at her. She will MASTER addition before she even looks at subtraction, then master it before she moves to multiplication, etc. So far, I'm very happy with it and will probably keep her using it until she is ready for TT.
I agree. My oldest has moved into TT from Mastering Math with no problems. In fact, she says the 7th grade (TT) program is easy.
Hi I have a son that by birth date is suppose to be a 2nd grader. He also doesn't do too well in math when it comes to problems on a worksheet/workbook (pencil to paper). My son is getting better at addition, but subtraction seems to be harder for him. What I found that he really likes is figuring out problems orally and making up his own math problems. Yesterday he asked me while we were driving somewhere how old one of our neighbor girls will be when he is in the 4th grade. We worked through the problem together. Also, he likes to work with clocks and times, so we have been working on some simple addition and subtraction using a few times. For example....Bobby went to play outside at 2:00 and he came back in his house at 4:00. How many hours did he spend outside playing? Good luck to you and your son!
I was thinking, Looking at dds geometry MUS the pages could be scary to a young mind. It would look like a lot of work and with my ds pages that look a lot are scary.. can you break it down type your own pages of the lesson type using different fonts? I used that with my ds to get him into math in the past and it helped thats how I knew visual perception changed how a child sees the problem ( I know it sounds dumb but its really more than it just sounds like) A child will look at the problem and it can look as if it is as big as a house when really its the size of a lego. Same thing I said for the k gardener, use toys, legos, hot wheels etc to help him see that the numbers are actually items. then count out how many o fthe toys, and then have him write them down.. my ds found it was fun to write up equations after he realised they just were there for stuff.. cause you cant put ten hotwheels on a page, but you can write the number 10 then take 5 away and put them in the box, and how many are left? Works for me! Hope it helps!
Thank you. I guess I thought MUS was a mastery based program. I have several friends who use it and love it which is why we decided to go with it for him. My oldest can do those scary things in her head - she hates math, but she is so darned good at it! I might look into MM. Maybe someone at my co-op has it so I can look at it before buying. I do think he'd do well with games. He does okay with the online drills from MUS. It's really the paper/pencil math that slows him down. He gets fussy on the drills when he's not in the mood. Hmmmm....going to see if I can get a peak at MM. THANKS!
Krista have you looked at Horizon Math? you can see a copy of it at CBD.com, it is very colorful and short sections of work,,, It worked for my ds when he go overwhelmed with all the many equations on one page.
TM... We started with Lifepac Math (same publisher, different curriculum). Horizons looked like that to me. Very on paper, very little manipulation. He HATED lifepacs. That's why we switched to Math U See. I'll look at it again. is Horizon more manipulative based?
it can be, We went from Life Pak math which worked for dd, but di not seem to work for ds now 11, He needed to see smaller lesson increments. The colorful pages and smaller sections help us so much, I go through and the things he already knows well we skip occastionally . I am not sure if MUS would work with my ds either, he needs color to learn, he has a creative mind and the colorfulness of the lessons help him stay focused. We work from Numbered section to section, and complete the dayslesson. There are suggestions in the math teacher books, I have one here someplace I am going crazy past week and a half looking for it! IT had so many cool things and I set it down someplace! uh, I think its in My den.. thats our "stick it in the den" room ya know? ANyway, With Horizon math I used things like objects to do the problems for him first, then let him figure them then we write the answers down. We have used anything from popsicle sticks to legos and hotwheels as I have said, they work great for maniputlatives! There is a bit of thinking on things, and enough things you can do to get him thinking about what it is he is learning.. Your son is doing 2nd or 1st grade right? I would look at the 1st grade level, it has two teacher books because it has so much helps for the teacher, and Horizon is a bit ahead of the grade. we started dd there and she is doing great now that she is older with MUS, ds started wht life paks Or horizon, then we went to Life paks, and fought with him for afew years before I got smart and switched back to Horizon. He actually enjoys math now and as of last year he told me math was his favorite class!
I use Horizons in the lower grades. It moves VERY fast, and, as you said, has little manipulatives. If he's resistant to paper and pencil work in math, this probably wouldn't be the best match for him.
there is always math games on the computer too, Math Blaster, and other games for teaching and fun reminding them of things , I use computer games a lot for younger ages to reinforce the lessons.
My son is doing second grade at home but he is at the 1st grade level in Math. We are using a variety of materials including Modern Curriculum Press Math, Math manipulatives, and File folder games. In the beginning he struggled with Math. We used everyday materials to teach math concepts such as grouping, visual addition, etc. He disliked worksheets so we did his math work orally, then in time added a few worksheets. He is doing much better and is enjoying math much more. Perhaps you can try games based on math concepts and file folder games. Like someone said online math games can reinforce the lessons covered. Math U See is a good program but maybe you can tailor it to suit your son's needs. Instead of doing the math worksheet on paper try doing the problems orally with a dry erase board or with the blocks.
I'm echoing this. Time and time and time again I fidn that putting something aside when a child isn't getting it is the best bet. It's more often then not something developmental and you just have to wait it out.
School Zone One thing my daughter loves is the School Zone Software: Math: First & Second Grade. It was at Wal-Mart for 20 sum dollars and comes with a workbook. She is only in Kindergarten but the way the game is designed you can gradually maneuver through easy to hard levels of learning.
