Need Wisdom! Math for an "Absented Minded Professor" type

[Handmaiden]

Background: I have a 10yo son who wants to pursue an engineering career. He is considered to be "gifted"--he reads books on DNA and cells for fun, can explain in detail how robot/engine/computer/etc technology works, and often confounds adults with the breadth of his technical/scientific vocabulary. Dad, Uncle and Grandpa are all engineers. You get the picture. :)

Yet he often struggles with math.

Part of it is due to his Asperger's Syndrome/ADD. He will lose focus partway through a multi-step problem or have a meltdown if it's a timed test. He's like an "absent minded professor." We're working on this, and our days have gotten better. Two years ago he struggled with dyslexia, but through therapy he has conquered it and is now flying through books. I'm praying this will be the case with math.

Dilemma: Knowing that he's headed for engineering, I want to set him up for success for college prep. I am starting to feel overwhelmed by the math choices, given his struggles.

We tried the Singapore/Miquon combo in K but halfway through 1st we switched to MUS. We started with MUS Alpha. We finished Gamma last year but toward the end he began struggling with the multi-step problems again. Some days it seemed all his math facts had flown out the window. So I put Delta on hold.

Out of desperation, I found Teaching Textbooks and started him on TT 5. He has done much better with it and is about 2/3 done with it. There are still some bad days but they're not nearly as bad as before. Many of his mistakes are careless errors. He gets the math concepts but stumbles with computation.

I am realizing that TT is NOT going to prepare him for engineering. I need to figure out a long term math scope and sequence for him. I don't want to lose any more time or (gasp!) be guilty of gaps in his math education.

SO...what should I do now?

Maybe I should go back to MUS to complete Delta (division), allowing him to test out of the chapters he aces. I will drill math facts this summer. And I've ordered Life of Fred Fractions as a supplement because I think it will appeal to his curiosity.

Should I continue with MUS for the basics (which will take longer) and then transition to Jacobs, Foerster or something else more rigorous? Or is there a better solution?

Please advise, oh Wise Ones!

[Kathy in MD]

Background: I have a 10yo son who wants to pursue an engineering career. He is considered to be "gifted"--he reads books on DNA and cells for fun, can explain in detail how robot/engine/computer/etc technology works, and often confounds adults with the breadth of his technical/scientific vocabulary. Dad, Uncle and Grandpa are all engineers. You get the picture. :)

Yet he often struggles with math.

Part of it is due to his Asperger's Syndrome/ADD. He will lose focus partway through a multi-step problem or have a meltdown if it's a timed test. He's like an "absent minded professor." We're working on this, and our days have gotten better. Two years ago he struggled with dyslexia, but through therapy he has conquered it and is now flying through books. I'm praying this will be the case with math.

Dilemma: Knowing that he's headed for engineering, I want to set him up for success for college prep. I am starting to feel overwhelmed by the math choices, given his struggles.

We tried the Singapore/Miquon combo in K but halfway through 1st we switched to MUS. We started with MUS Alpha. We finished Gamma last year but toward the end he began struggling with the multi-step problems again. Some days it seemed all his math facts had flown out the window. So I put Delta on hold.

Out of desperation, I found Teaching Textbooks and started him on TT 5. He has done much better with it and is about 2/3 done with it. There are still some bad days but they're not nearly as bad as before. Many of his mistakes are careless errors. He gets the math concepts but stumbles with computation.

I am realizing that TT is NOT going to prepare him for engineering. I need to figure out a long term math scope and sequence for him. I don't want to lose any more time or (gasp!) be guilty of gaps in his math education.

SO...what should I do now?

Maybe I should go back to MUS to complete Delta (division), allowing him to test out of the chapters he aces. I will drill math facts this summer. And I've ordered Life of Fred Fractions as a supplement because I think it will appeal to his curiosity.

Should I continue with MUS for the basics (which will take longer) and then transition to Jacobs, Foerster or something else more rigorous? Or is there a better solution?

Please advise, oh Wise Ones!

My ds also struggles with the "details". I started giving him 3 minute drills on multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems that have helped. I've also drilled on other, more advanced elementary math.

I'm trying to institute that he does ONE problem and I check it before he proceeds at Dana Mosley's suggestion. I'm not succeeding because I multi-task and ds won't get my attention when he's ready for a check. :(.

You might also try Aleks or another computer program that won't let him advance with careless errors. I'm looking into this for my ds.

[Handmaiden]

My ds also struggles with the "details". I started giving him 3 minute drills on multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems that have helped. I've also drilled on other, more advanced elementary math.

I'm trying to institute that he does ONE problem and I check it before he proceeds at Dana Mosley's suggestion. I'm not succeeding because I multi-task and ds won't get my attention when he's ready for a check. :(.

You might also try Aleks or another computer program that won't let him advance with careless errors. I'm looking into this for my ds.

Thanks for your feedback, Kathy. I've just started him on 3 minute drills this week. How many problems are you giving your son to complete in those 3 minutes?

I like the idea of checking each problem but that might be challenging for me as well since I have two younger ones who require a lot of handholding. But you're right; I am going to make a better effort to sit down with him and focus on the problems that he's struggling with.

I just realized I don't like the TT gradebook. It may show he got 95% or even 100% on a lesson or quiz, but when I later check the gradebook it shows that it took him 2 attempts to get the correct answer. That might be okay on a lesson, but on a quiz I feel he needs to get correct answers on the first try or it should be counted wrong.

The way the TT gradebook works inflates his results; it looks like he's doing better than he really is.

[Kathy in MD]

Thanks for your feedback, Kathy. I've just started him on 3 minute drills this week. How many problems are you giving your son to complete in those 3 minutes? .

It varies with the type of problem and number of digits in the problems. For addition, I generally gave him 20-25 problems. With larger multiplication problems 5-6 was a lot. It's just trial and error.

I like the idea of checking each problem but that might be challenging for me as well since I have two younger ones who require a lot of handholding. But you're right; I am going to make a better effort to sit down with him and focus on the problems that he's struggling with..

I struggle with an only child. I admire those who can handle a large variety of ages and abilities.

I just realized I don't like the TT gradebook. It may show he got 95% or even 100% on a lesson or quiz, but when I later check the gradebook it shows that it took him 2 attempts to get the correct answer. That might be okay on a lesson, but on a quiz I feel he needs to get correct answers on the first try or it should be counted wrong.

The way the TT gradebook works inflates his results; it looks like he's doing better than he really is.

I'm not familiar with TT because dh and I didn't like the videos of nothing but writing on yellow paper with a voiceover for our ds. We prefer a teacher on the camera to hold ds's attention.