| Author | |
mom2mpr
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 16 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1550
|
| Posted: June 28 2008 at 1:31pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
What would you do? My ds really detests this time of day. I am tired of fighting and also am feeling overwhelmed as he is entering 5th grade and my math skills have always been lacking. It was never my good subject.
I have followed a curriculum to try to make up for my weakness in this area. He is bored. I figure my options are:
-hire a tutor--like a Sylvan Learning Center. Maybe he will listen to someone else better than me 
-try something like a Teaching Textbooks or Dive CD's to teach him.
-just work on drilling math facts(games, worksheets, timed tests, computer games) for months and read some math literature.
Any other ideas? What would you do?
I did get my Sonlight order yesterday and popped the MathTacular DVD in and he watched half of it and seemed to enjoy it. Could this type of media be my answer?
Anyone else had this issue?
Thanks for any advice!
Anne
PS-we have used many programs. Most recently Shiller(which we LOVE but hit a snag when we got through the end of Kit 1 as his math facts were not memorized) and now we are using Singapore which I LOVE but he is fussing about all the worksheets.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
sarahb
Forum Pro
Joined: April 27 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 182
|
| Posted: June 28 2008 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Teaching Textbooks.
I cant say enough about it.
We have 5 and we are on lesson 40. Ds is 11 and starting 5th this fall.
TT 5 is easy. Lots of review. this is often billed as a negative but I see it as a positive all the way. My son works quickly and is rewarded with an excellent grade.
I LOVE that it grades everything for you. and tracks it. And you can also see what problems they miss, see if they tried them again (they get two tries) and see if they then viewed the solution (which I require.)
Anyway, after 3 years of singapore we hit a brick wall with it. I could no longer rely on ds to "get it" immediately and like you, Im not called to teach math.
TT has been wonderful!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary Chris
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2175
|
| Posted: June 28 2008 at 3:43pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I hired a tutor. I will say it has been wonderful for my dd, she has improved quickly in a short time. Also the fact that she is behind her peers has been helpful.
Teaching Textbooks has also been helpful, but you must follow up and make sure they are doing the work. A downfall of mine 
Math games like Muggins and Knock-Out also have helped.
I have learned that you have to memorize your math facts. Skip counting is great but when it comes right down to it, it takes a long time to skip count by 7. I would definitely encourage him to learn those facts with games and drill sheets. No fun, but if you don't learn them upper level math is just that much harder. I am not a math person either, I can remember telling my mom and my 3rd grade teacher, I would just rather not learn multiplication.
This has been mentioned other places on the forum but my boys are really enjoying it so I will mention it again Timez Attack
I have a credit to Teaching Textbooks and I'm thinking about ordering Algebra for myself. I want to be ready before my kids start.
__________________
Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
LLMom
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 19 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 995
|
| Posted: June 28 2008 at 6:54pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I think maybe take some time off from the math curriculum and try some math games, living math books and a math journal while you check out teaching textbooks or Math U See. You can see a demonstration online of TT and MUS has a free demo you can get.
__________________
Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
mom2mpr
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 16 2006
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1550
|
| Posted: June 28 2008 at 7:22pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
LLMom wrote:
| I think maybe take some time off from the math curriculum and try some math games, living math books and a math journal while you check out teaching textbooks or Math U See. You can see a demonstration online of TT and MUS has a free demo you can get. |
|
|
Lisa,
I am so scared to do this. We have been changing math programs almost yearly. I think it contributes to his being behind. I like Singapore and it has taught him a lot. We are coming off a 3-4 week break now. Maybe I'll slide him back in with games and hit the books again next week.
I am tempted to change but so, so nervous.
Anne
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyQ
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1323
|
| Posted: July 02 2008 at 11:18am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Yes, yes, and yes, I've been through it!
I was pulling my hair out! Our sons worked GREAT with Saxon with the DVDs. They did fine in math with it. Then came our daughter, who HATED math, and couldn't *get it*. I thought she was being defiant, but it ended up not the case.
Last year, I realized she really WASN'T getting it.  Talk about guilt! So, though we'd agree we'd stick to one math program through their educational journey, my husband agreed with me that we could try something else.
We tried *Life of Fred* Math Life of Fred Math and it seems to be working well for her. It took ME completely out of my comfort zone, and WAY out of the box, but one day, as she was reading her math book, she said, *Oh, I get it now!*, and then again another day, and so on.
I went to our local hs convention in May, and heard a wonderful lady named Dianne Craft. Her talk was about right brained/left brained learners. WOW! Let me tell ya, I found out that our math phobic daughter is EXTREMELY right brained, something I knew nothing about! And so I'm learning about it.
Most people are left brained learners. They are the ones who like lists, and learn things in steps toward the whole. They usually get algebra easily, but hate geometry. A RIGHT brained learner learns things in story form, it has to be relational, even if it doesn't matter to the concept being learned, AND they learn from the whole concept to the steps. They usually struggle with algebra, and LOVE Geometry! NOW I understand why our daughter wants to understand what it means to life as she's learning it, and why she wants to know the whole picture before she begins learning the steps! I am a left brained learner, with a tiny bit of right brainedness.
I ended up finding out that our oldest is split right down the middle between left brained and right brained. Now I know why he's having trouble deciding what field he wants to enter now that he's graduated, so we're going to work on some career planning with him. I also know why he was really good in history, science, math, AND english!
Our middle child, son, is EXTREMELY left brained. He stacks his books neatly, wants his list to check off, and is excellent in math and science, and in learning facts for history. he's very organized.
And our youngest as I said is EXTREMELY right brained! She has a tiny bit of left brainedness, but mostly right brained. So now, as I'm learning about it, and visiting Dianne Craft's website,
Dianne Craft's website, and am reading her books, and rewatching the How to Teach the Right Brained Learner DVD, I'm able to better understand how she learns, and to apply it to what we're doing so she can GET IT!!! 
Wow! Learning about learning is quite interesting and amazing!!! 
__________________
Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living and Loving Numbers
Topic: When math is not your thing
