Adapting for the young learner

[Ritsumei]

Monkey and I have been doing more and more, until I'm starting to feel like we're doing kindergarten-level "preschool," and having to make more accommodations for the fact that he is in no way ready to write. But he is ready to read, and he is ready to start learning more about numbers and math. It's just like SWB said in TWTM:

Many children are ready to read long before they have the muscular coordination to write. Why delay reading until the muscles of the hand and eye catch up? (pg38)The reading's not so hard: we're using Happy Phonics (http://www.lovetolearn.net/catalog/product/07073), which is entirely games-based and perfect for the young learner. Only, I'm starting to have to work a bit more to figure out how to get around the writing now that I'm looking more seriously at doing more math. I'm getting my flannel board going more: number and "manipulative" pieces to use, but I wondered who else had run into this and what you did?

[Amber in AUS]

Yes, I have hit this problem for both of my DC.

So far i have scribed for them.
I have also made number stickers so they can just stick them in the right place.
I also try to do most of the work verbally. They don't need to fill in a box on a worksheet if they tell you the right answer.

We read alot, discuss alot, do some things with magnetic letter tiles, both Right Start and Miquon and great hands on programs which don't require alot of writing. AAS doesn't ask for much writing either.

We are just working slow and steady on the handwriting front, certainly not pushing it in anyway and i would say both DD and DS are ahead of their peers anyway.

[KAR120C]

I made stickers for DS to use to answer math questions (a sheet filled out with a whole column each of the digits 0-9, or whatever else he needed... + - < ...) That was the easiest. Then we also had rubber stamps with numbers and symbols, which he LOVED (but they were messy -- definitely the attraction for him, but I liked the stickers better myself...) and then sometimes I'd just have him answer things orally.

At the same time we did a lot of drawing and other fine motor work, so it wasn't too long before he could write more quickly than he could get a stamp or sticker.... but it was a few years, maybe when he was 6 years old, before he was doing all his own math writing.

[WendyK]

I often just wrote for my child until his writing caught up. Or we would just talk things through. Obviously that would be impossible in a traditional classroom setting, but it works out just fine for one on one.

[WendyK]

I made stickers for DS to use to answer math questions (a sheet filled out with a whole column each of the digits 0-9, or whatever else he needed... + - < ...) That was the easiest. Then we also had rubber stamps with numbers and symbols, which he LOVED (but they were messy -- definitely the attraction for him, but I liked the stickers better myself...) and then sometimes I'd just have him answer things orally.

At the same time we did a lot of drawing and other fine motor work, so it wasn't too long before he could write more quickly than he could get a stamp or sticker.... but it was a few years, maybe when he was 6 years old, before he was doing all his own math writing.

Those are cool ideas.

[MissKNG]

Yes, we are in this position right now! One thing that my dd thought of a while ago, when having to count and write in how many objects...she drew circles to represent how many things she counted (she would draw ten circles if there were 10 things). Yes, she thought of that, not me! She also thought of (not me again!), that after she tells me an answer and she needs to write an answer, that I dot the answer for her to trace.

Writing is one reason why I'm trying to postpone moving onto 1st grade math. We are currently working through Singapore Earlybird B while supplementing with Critical Thinking Company Math Reasoning Level A. So I bought Horizons Math K - which takes you much farther in terms of concepts and materials that EB B does. After that we will continue to 1st grade math (shooting for as close to 5 years old or whenever she can write decently, whichever comes first).

[Laura Corin]

I did all the writing in maths books for the boys when they were young. I think that's a better solution than pushing writing early.

Best wishes

Laura

[MissKNG]

I did all the writing in maths books for the boys when they were young. I think that's a better solution than pushing writing early.

Best wishes

Laura


Yes, I do all the writing in the math books too unless she wants me to dot answers. I don't think writing should be pushed either. You can't make them do something if they are not ready to.

[EKS]

Have him tell you what to write and write for him.

[JeanM]

Have him tell you what to write and write for him.

:iagree:

I wrote for my dss too. It took a really long time for ds1 to write for himself. I think he was writing all of his own stuff by 3rd grade. Ds2 didn't have as many writing issues and was writing his own stuff sooner.

I just wanted to add that, especially as they got older, they had to say exactly what to write. Like which digit went where, which digit got carried, etc. It was not enough for them to just say the answer. I don't think you have to do that when they are really young though. :001_smile:

There are lots of math games you can play too. I think Peggy Kaye's "Games for Math" was one book that I used. There are also lots of games with dice, cards, etc. that you can play.

[CleoQc]

I had number magnets for the fridge, and he did his math in the kitchen while I prepared dinner. Once he had a problem figured out, I transcribed it into his book. (he was handling multiple digits addition and substraction by then)

He *loved* fridge math.

[JennW in SoCal]

I think "why delay reading" doesn't mean that reading and writing have to happen at the same time.

And, one other random thought, thinking about grade level is not helpful. Your child is doing whatever your child is doing and your job is to simply meet the needs of your child. If he is ready to read, then work on reading. You can slowly help him develop writing skills, but those can take a long time.

Wtih many accelerated kids, their abilities to grasp advanced concepts usually is far ahead of their skills. Even when my kids were reading, their ability and deisre to take in classic literature was ahead of their reading ability, so I read aloud and we listened to audio books. It has been like this, an asychronous journey, almost all the way through to high school, though the disparities are not nearly so pronounced as in the early years.

For a 3 year old? Yeah, just meet his needs, follow his lead.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Keep everything hands-on. You don't need workbooks to learn. The only one that we use is for handwriting. DD learned to spell and read from Montessori Read and Write and All About Spelling. Both are very hands-on and don't require writing. They are also lots of fun. For math we use a combination of Activities for the AL Abacus (from the author of Right Start), Math on the Level, living math, and activities I find online or in books. Again, very hands-on and usually requires no writing. Science is hands-on as well.

[Crimson Wife]

Ditto to the suggestions made by PP. We did a lot of fridge magnets, rubber stamping, and dictating answers for me to transcribe.

[MissKNG]

And, one other random thought, thinking about grade level is not helpful. Your child is doing whatever your child is doing and your job is to simply meet the needs of your child. If he is ready to read, then work on reading. You can slowly help him develop writing skills, but those can take a long time.

Unfortunately for some of us poor folks in those strict states, grade level is important. Is CA an easier HSing state? My state requires testing and has requirements of what needs to be taught during certain grades.

If grade level weren't important, life would be soooooo much easier! LOL!

[ktmo]

We are in a similar situation. I love the idea of using number stickers. We are using Singapore EB. I like to do the workbook pages, it helps me stay on track. I have been writing for her, but she would LOVE to do stickers. I am off to make some now.

[Ritsumei]

So, when you guys talk about making stickers... is this some sort of scrapbook supply?? I don't know how to MAKE stickers. I love the fridge math idea. He's got letters and loves them. We're using them to introduce some blending/rhyming ideas. I never thought of number magnets. The only thing that I have already been trying that hasn't been mentioned already is I've got a felt board & he really likes that. We're probably going to get the "Math Expressions" program, which starts out pretty gently, going over number concepts, with plenty of practice at counting and finding "partners" inside the number: 1-2 in 3, for instance. I don't know how quickly it introduces +/- though.

And, one other random thought, thinking about grade level is not helpful. Your child is doing whatever your child is doing and your job is to simply meet the needs of your child. If he is ready to read, then work on reading. You can slowly help him develop writing skills, but those can take a long time.

Grade level ISN'T all that helpful... unless you're trying to buy books. I want a textbook to follow, to adapt the ideas into games. He's not ready for worksheets. I'm not ready for worksheets. But I think that he's ready for the concepts. For the most part, it looks like Math Expressions will work pretty well for this sort of adaptation. I wouldn't even worry about it, but the teacher edition isn't too expensive, and I'd like something to keep me systematic and thorough as I teach. Mom uses this book in her classroom, so I've been able to look it over, and I think it'll work for us, as long as I can figure out how to avoid the writing. Between the fridge and the flannel board I think I can do that now. Thanks, ladies!:D

[KAR120C]

So, when you guys talk about making stickers... is this some sort of scrapbook supply?? I don't know how to MAKE stickers.
Just blank stickers from the office supply store, and a pen. I had a pack of them... I don't know what brand (maybe Avery?) or style # but they were about 1/2" by 3/8" or so, and so a 4" x 6" sheet had something like 96 stickers on it... So I'd fill out a column for each number 0-9 and repeat as needed.

[Crimson Wife]

Is CA an easier HSing state? My state requires testing and has requirements of what needs to be taught during certain grades.

If you HS under the "private school" option in CA, you aren't required to stick to the state standards or do any standardized testing.

If you enroll in a virtual charter, you will have to do the state standardized test beginning in 2nd grade. Some charters make their students follow the state standards for the enrolled grade, but others just ask that the parent match the work done by the student with *something* on the state standards (regardless of whether it's below-, on-, or above-grade level).

[Sputterduck]

We used those little cubes for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division before we started K math! He ended up way past K math and we did it all in a matter of weeks. I finally got his Singapore 1st grade in the mail. I looked at it, and it's still way too easy. Those little cubes worked for us. :)

Now that he's writing things are much easier, and he has all the basic operations because of the work we did pre-writing. I'm pretty darn happy with the outcome.

[Janelless]

I'm doing several things with my dd. Numbers that I've written on cut down index cards. Montessori beads that she'll lay the beads out for answers or I'll write for her. We're working through HWOT, but I'm not pushing it with her. She'll get it and cruise before long.

Janelle

[Donna]

When dd was little, I did all the things the others suggested...stickers, taking dictation, magnetic letters, math with manipulatives.

Some other things that haven't yet been suggested...I purchased a mini digital recording device (actually for her music but ended up using it for nearly everything) and she could tell her stories into the recorder for me to write for her later or just for her to hear later. It is wonderful to have those recordings of her little voice telling me great stories.

I also gave her access to the computer and showed her how to get into the word processing program. By 5yo, she could type faster than my husband. LOL

[lovelearnandlive]

I did a lot of writing for dd when we first started out last fall. Then once she could form all of her numbers and do short copywork we started taking turns, and she would write the answer to every other problem. Now she writes all of the answers on her own. It was a fairly short-term issue for her and once she was writing fairly well she stopped asking me for help.