4Real Forums: how much is enough for age 9?

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Topic: how much is enough for age 9?

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hereinantwerp
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Posted: Sept 15 2008 at 10:37pm \| IP Logged

So, what's your opinion??
How much math is enough for age 9?

I have an MCP level C book as a "guideline", he's doing fine with it----I do not have the heart to make him do rows and rows of problems though. We do a page here and there, and if he really knows the stuff, just skip ahead. When I get it out, he whines--! (Maybe he just knows I'm a bit of a softie when it comes to skipping math . . . )

He responds so much better to: tossing a ball and "skip counting", math games like the Peggy Kaye books, Yahtzee, etc. . . . in fact, for these things, he's a bit of a whiz. But at what age does the paper and pencil stuff become important, too? And how MUCH of it?

Just wondering, and would like some other opinions--!

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Angela Nelson

Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)

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Lori
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Posted: Sept 24 2008 at 4:10pm \| IP Logged

My 10 yo son HATES to put pencil to paper for ANYTHING. I got him interested in multiplication/division over the last year or so by using graph paper (keeps lines straight, too) and colored pencils for math. I also said he didn't have to do as many problems, as long as he was consistently getting the right answers, but that he did have to do "drill work" every day.

I think you're getting close to the time when you'll really need him to do written math, because the computations become too big to do in his head...what about splitting up the work, doing some first thing in the morning, and some later on in the morning/afternoon?

LeeAnn
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Posted: Sept 25 2008 at 10:04pm \| IP Logged

For math, my 11 and 8 year olds do two pages a day each (generally), although we use Math U See, not MCP, so I don't know how these books compare in number of problems. Usually MUS books have about 15-20 problems per page, if that helps.

Last year, we had days where there were tears over starting a new chapter and the work looked "too hard." But this was one of the things I wanted them to learn to overcome--to be good at math you generally have to repeat things over and over again. You can vary how you do it, but regular daily repetition is essential once you get to multiplication in the higher numbers. To have command of those facts in the memory makes things so much easier.

We don't do drills or anything--my girls didn't learn to chant the multiplication table like I did in 3rd grade--but I do have them do those pages everyday. If they are stuck, yes, they do one page. Some days they surprise me and do three or four. If they can do that, without error, we skip to the chapter test.

The graph paper is great for multiplication. My 11 year old last year (in 4th grade) learned that lesson the hard way. Her sloppy writing made her miss so many problems, even though she knew how to do the math, she couldn't read her own writing. Multiplying and dividing big numbers really taught her to value neatness in her work.

I let my kids pick the order of the subjects assigned each day (mostly). I give them as long as they need to complete each assignment.

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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home

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