Math advice

[LibrarianMom]

Hello! I've been reading through many of our past posts and have noted math is a subject we return to frequently. So I'm here with yet another math question.

I've been afterschooling my dd (entering 3rd grade) for several years. Originally my plan was to pre-teach everything so she would always have some exposure to content prior to learning it in school, which didn't happen. I have Singapore math, but we've been horribly unfaithful in doing it and are finishing up 1A although I know she is capable of the content presented in later books. I also have a variety of other manipulative-based resources. In school they have covered content through double-digit addition and subtraction with re-grouping and a little bit of multiplication. She get all As in math but doesn't consider it her favorite subject. Math is her weakest subject as confirmed by her achievement test scores which were decidedly average. Her teacher and I think the biggest issue is that dd lacks "math confidence."

So, I'm trying to decide what our best course of action is from here. Do we continue with Singapore Math even though it is a bit different from what is presented at school, but try to pick up the speed? Do we skip Singapore and focus on drilling facts and supplementing what is done at school with math games and other resources? (I have Family Math, Games for Math, and RightStart Games.) Something else I haven't thought of you can suggest? Any suggestions, thoughts, or commiseration are welcome!

[Sara R]

There is a thread on the general board about Kumon (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188827), and I've read a lot about it on the Kitchen Table Math blog. I'd recommend it for "math confidence," which I think comes with practice. Since it is an outside program it will be easier to be consistent with it that it would be doing it yourself.

Singapore is a great program, but my kids (even my bright ones) needed more practice periodically.

[LibrarianMom]

Thank you for the suggestion and link. Unfortunately, there isn't a Kumon center anywhere near where we live.

[dmc]

Have you tried minute math? I think that might help to build confidence and also on timings? It is great for summer supplement.

[LibrarianMom]

We have Calcu-Ladder. I've had her work through all of the basic addition sheets taking her time just to show her that she knows the answers and is capable of doing them. Then we started back at the beginning to work on speed and she simply froze.

[PenKase]

Ahhh, the seemingly never ending math saga continues...I too began my afterschooling journey with the intention to keep dd ahead of what she'd be learning in school. Unfortunately, life keeps getting in the way (and poor coverage of math concepts at school don't help at all) but we are now almost to the point where she will be learning new material before the school presents it.

I am no expert but here's what I did....When I noticed serious gaps in my then second grade dds math skills, I decided to focus on the subject more seriously. After much, much research and recommendation on these boards I parked on RightStartB. I had my reservations about the reported teacher intensity but decided to purchase it anyway because RS fit the need of not wanting to use a math program at home that was similar to what dd was using at school. It took us all of that second grade school year and summer to finish. It was SO WORTH IT!!!!! Dd learned so much!! After finishing level B I did decide to go ahead with C but we only worked on it a tiny bit because 3rd grade was pretty intense and we really had no time to catch up in C. I ditched it for SM instead. As much as I tried to like SM, I felt there was just not enough "meat" and I seemed to be just as confused (yes, even with the HIG's) as dd when we worked on it . We continued to plug away anyway and dd did get something out of it but I knew were would not keep going with SM. Soooo, I went back to RSC but not for long because I needed to focus on the big M....multiplication....which school didn't cover well enough to my linking!!

Long story short.......dd now 10 (finishing up 4th grade) is just about done with MathMammoth3B and will begin 4A shortly. I decided on MM and will continue with it because I love the student directed worktexts, which gives dd the independence she craves, its mental math approach, the extensive amount of exercises per lesson, and its more traditional scope and sequence. I do not try to line up what either of my dd learn in school...sometimes it does happen but it's not done on purpose. For my dd6 (entering 2nd grade in the fall), I plan to incorporate MM, Activities for the AL Abacus, RS Games (both dd), SM CWP (both dd), and splash of the SM IP books. Dd6 loves math so I am confident this buffet will quench her thirst for it. DD10 however is not a math lover so MM during the school year has been enough for her. In addition, we will be working on LoF together during the summer.

HTH!!! Good luck!! I've promised myself not to try to fix what is not broken. Sometimes I just want to kick myself for hopping around so much. Dd10 would be much further ahead had I not. Having to backtrack every time we began a new math program was such a waste of precious time!!! What I'm doing now is working so I will stick with it.

BTW-There are tons of MM posts on the curriculum board. I encourage you to look at them. They were very helpful to me when I was looking.

[EmilyK]

I too had these ambitions. I ended up with 2 boys that love math and are considered good at it but not ahead as my mom and I were in school. It was important to do math at home to keep them loving it though. School is often soooo slow.

I'd really recommend games and books (depending on your type of kid -- I had one of each). Look at the book lists -- and listserv -- at livingmath.net. That was the source of our best afterschooling math.

[BabyBre]

I chock "math confidence" up as having been well taught. If she doesn't have a good foundation of course she won't be confident.

I would encourage you to pick up the slack with Singapore or Saxon (more traditional programs) and add in math games (RightStart Math Games rock!) precisely because it's likely different than what's being taught in school (which is likely reform math). Reform programs typically teach concepts but are weak on foundation. Fill in her gaps at home with something famous for solidifying basic skills.

[Momling]

I chock "math confidence" up as having been well taught. If she doesn't have a good foundation of course she won't be confident.

I would encourage you to pick up the slack with Singapore or Saxon (more traditional programs) and add in math games (RightStart Math Games rock!) precisely because it's likely different than what's being taught in school (which is likely reform math). Reform programs typically teach concepts but are weak on foundation. Fill in her gaps at home with something famous for solidifying basic skills.

I agree... take a serious look at the curriculum and teaching style in your child's class. If it looks like they do a lot of rote learning or pages of worksheets, then get out the RS or Miquon or program with a heavier emphasis on manipulatives. If your child's class, however, is using TERC Investigations or Everyday Math or Mathland or whatever, then now is the time to head straight for Saxon or MM or Singapore to really solidify the math skills that she needs to know to be efficient -- (esp. standard algorithms that just aren't taught in some of these programs).

[Teachin'Mine]

I believe in making math a part of the everyday with children. When you bake cookies - talk about four rows of five being 20 and one row being on fourth of 20 or five. kwim? Make it real and talk about things which she isn't even doing yet - like fractions, decimals, metric - so when she gets to those topics they won't be foreign. Make sure she has her facts solidly - that will build her confidence. Nothing like knowing the answer off the bat instead of having to think hard about the answer and not being sure if you're right. Also, make math fun. Play games - any games that involve numbers - money (Monopoly, Life, etc.) or scoring - (card games, Yahtzee, etc.) and let your daughter be the score keeper. The more she uses the math, the better she'll become at it. Also do counting by 2, 5, 10, 100's, 3, etc and make it a game going back and forth. When numbers are everyday, it's so much easier. :)

[LibrarianMom]

Everyone has had such excellent suggestions. I'm still considering what my exact next steps are going to be although I know they will include lots of math games and books. I'm still trying to decide whether to keep on with Singapore Math or switch to Mammoth which looks very tempting.