Cross Post - Help with math

[cara]

We are currently using Horizons Grade 3. DS hates it and it's like pulling teeth daily to get him to do the work. It's not that he can't, he knows the material, he just hates the repetition that Horizons has and fights me on it daily. We have fought so much over math, that we are behind in everything else.

I'm not sure where to turn after the first of the year. I don't want to continue Horizons but at the same time we don't really have the money for something new and then I don't know what I would use for him.

He's very smart, possibly gifted but we haven't had him tested. He's working a grade level above in Math and Grammar (he's in 2nd working in 3rd). We are also having him evaluated after the first of the year for ADD.

HELP, please. I'm tried of fighting everyday about this.

[LisaDSB]

A lot of gifted kids chafe at the drill associated with many math programs. I'm sure you don't want to kill his love of math, but that may happen if this path continues. Since he's already ahead, why not take a break from the curriculum and spend some time on living math (http://www.livingmath.net/)or math games -- something to help you show him the beauty of mathematics.

We use Singapore math, which doesn't have much drill, but you said you didn't want to pay for another program. You might consider using MEP (http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm), which is a free resource and has been highly recommended by a lot of families with gifted kids. There's a yahoo support group for them as well.

[radiobrain]

Singapore is generally cheaper than Horizons. So, it might be a place to go in the future...

But you can solve the problem pretty easily... Don't do all the problems on the page! Let him do a few in each section to show that he knows it, then move on.

If he doesn't like all the repetition, don't do it! No one said you have to do every page/problem in the book. If he knows it, he knows it, and MOVE ON!! :D

Good luck!

[KristenS]

My son is also in 2nd, doing Horizons math 3. We skip a lot of the problems (half the addition, half the multiplication, etc.) and also, at times, let him dictate for the writing parts. This helps. Plus he just likes me to be around for company, when I'd prefer to use that time to load the dishwasher or whatever.

One thing that has helped my son is to make him reference sheets, like a list of all the number words so he can refer to it for spelling, a chart of the terms (again for spelling reference), and a multiplication table. I only let him use that chart for certain sections, though. Anyway, those things all help him get through the work.

He knows it all ... could probably skip a lot and just go to the next level of math ... but hasn't memorized all his facts, and isn't up to the motor skills or attention span required. So that's how we compromise. Horizons is an improvement over many curricula (for us) in that it at least has a good variety on each page. But that means there's also plenty you can skip on a bad day. :)

[cara]

I've tried skipping around, maybe I need to do more of that.

I've looked at MEP but I can't figure it out. LOL

I'm looking into Singapore next year. Maybe this year if I can afford it.

Thanks for all the suggestions

[EKS]

I had a similar problem with my son in Saxon. We switched to Singapore and math was a brand new experience! No tears, no angst. We've been with Singapore for a year now and I plan to stick with it until the end.

Occasionally I've needed to vastly speed things up (like when they went over the four operations on whole numbers yet again) and just one time I needed to stop and use a different program for a week when he just wasn't getting something. We came back to it in Singapore after the week and he was fine.

My point with that last part is that even with a program that works well most of the time, you will need to be attentive to when your son might need different pacing than "normal".

[Truscifi]

I had a similar problem with my son in Saxon. We switched to Singapore and math was a brand new experience! No tears, no angst. We've been with Singapore for a year now and I plan to stick with it until the end.

Occasionally I've needed to vastly speed things up (like when they went over the four operations on whole numbers yet again) and just one time I needed to stop and use a different program for a week when he just wasn't getting something. We came back to it in Singapore after the week and he was fine.

My point with that last part is that even with a program that works well most of the time, you will need to be attentive to when your son might need different pacing than "normal".

:iagree: We had the same problem with Saxon, to the point that ds started crying when he saw the math book. He likes Singapore, though math is still not his favorite subject (he's a science and history boy).