I will be test driving homeschooling with my 10YO son this fall. He was diagnosed with ADHD, combined type at 9YO. He's been moderately successful in school to date; however, fourth grade has been a nightmare. His biggest issue is math, and he lost a lot of ground this year. I want to remediate him this summer and bring him up to grade level in math. That's as far as I've gotten. I'm not sure if I want to do anything else prior to the fall. I will be homeschooling under a public charter school. They have a lot of quality materials, but said that I could choose my curriculum or use theirs or a combination of both. I was thinking of starting with Math U See. My son has trouble sitting and working in a workbook for extended periods. He works better when his attention is split among more than one task. I'd like to get feedback on the Math U See program. Thanks! Liz
You should look at both MUS and Teaching Textbooks. I'm more familiar with TT than MUS, but haven't actually used either. A lot of people here have, though, so I'll let them answer any specific questions you have.
Hi there- I use MUS with my 9 year old son. He watches a short clip - a few minutes about once a week and then does the worksheet after it. There are more worksheets than necessary for him- there are 6 to go with each lesson (so about a lesson a week but the work is spread out over the week). 3 of them are focused on the new skill and the other 3 are a combined review of previous concepts. My son really likes it because he will use the manipulatives a couple times and the first few lessons are focused mainly on what he is just learning and the worksheet has just the right amount of work to it. He will usually do about 4 of the worksheets and if he needs more then we do all of them and if less we do less. And the worksheets are black and white- some kids find this easier to stay focused, your son may prefer that to color. Also, MUS is a mastery type of program rather than spiral and I think that has really helped him- focusing on a limited number of concepts and mastering them before moving on- and sounds like it may help your son too. That way his focus is not split and between trying to learn a few things at once- which he struggled with. It's a great program and I think you could give it a try! Just make sure to take the placement tests before choosing the level to order! Good luck! =)
Thanks everyone. I think I'm going try the Math U See during the summer. It wil be a good introduction. My son knows at least half of the delta unit and some of the epsilon unit. In order to focus, he needs to have focus on more than one task. The maniplatives will help with that focus I think. He is used to B&W worksheets now. I Think MUS will be fine. Thanks again!
I'd like to suggest Christian Light math. It's in workbooks, without much color. It is built in a daily incremental spiral, with a little new lesson followed by mixed practice of several previous skills, and a one-minute speed drill and mental math exercises are included. You can see samples at www.clp.org I have used it for 12 years now with various students, none of whom have complained about the lack of color. I find it holds even the adhd kid's attention because it changes tasks often. There's a diagnostic test at the website that I highly recommend; you can trust the results and just start him where he places. It's not that tough to catch up if he comes out "below level". My students who have used it have come out at least average for their grade level on their achievement tests, even if working "a level below".
