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Math taking to long?!?
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It seems like we are not getting things done like we want to. Math seems to take forever. How long should I leave for Math? If I left it for them to do later we would never get an Math done. How do you do your math and how long does it take you/kids? We use Math u see.
We use RightStart… Level B with a 6 and 8 yo.
I set a timer for 30 minutes (if my kids hate math, or weren’t used to that amount, I’d start with 15 and after a month or so add 5 minutes… we do 30 because my kids like it.)
If after 30 minutes we aren’t done the lesson (and can’t finish in a couple more minutes), we pack it up for the next day. If we are done ahead of time, we play the RS card games.
Now, if your math is done independently, I’d set the timer for 15 minutes (or 20, or depends on your childs ability to attend to it.) If they work hard during that time, then they are done for the day. If they dawdle, complain, day dream etc the time away – then it is put away when the timer goes off – and they have to finish it during THEIR time – time that they know was for their play…. as a consequence of not doing it during math time.
The thing is they won’t ever finish it if that was the case. They would sit and day dream about it ALL day. Even during their spare time. I have to spend probably 20 min or more and that is with me helping them do it. I am mostly the one doing all of the thinking. Well, at least it seems that way. I get so frustrated I want to give up helping them sometimes. I let my oldest do it and it was all wrong and I have to sit there and explain the obvious all over again to him. That is why I got the kind where they can watch it., My sons still isn’t getting it. We are on several days of doing the same page of homework. Yesterday I let him do it and it took the major part of the day and THEY are ALL wrong. He even watched the video. UGH!!!! Ok so I am venting!!! It’s days like these that I dream of a putting them back in public school! LOL ok now I know that is a bit extreme but I am being honest about the dreaming.
He just isn’t getting this math and It is driving me nuts. ok I am gong to get off of here and go help him AGAIN!
Pray for me because I really need it!
I don’t want to loose it during a math session… ThanksOK. With MathUSee, it is CRITICAL to use it as it is designed. After watching the video, you should NOT go on to practice pages until the child demonstrates understanding of the concept as taught by YOU. The real point of the video (although the child CAN watch it) is to teach you how to teach it. You then take the examples in the teacher’s manual, the manipulatives, and you practice it with your child over and over until they get it. THEN you move on to written pages. Only when you are POSITIVE they understand completely. We’ve spent weeks on this particular step before. Only then do you move on to the pages. THEN you need to be very careful to keep their interest. You need to watch them closely and as soon as the attention is gone, you need to move them on to something else. BUT you should set a goal of how much you feel they should be able to do that day–and keep returning to it until they do it. Make it obvious (really, really, truly can’t-miss obvious) that they will lack free time if they waste their time. Let your other children play or move on to free time while Dawdler has to sit and finish the math. Make the point that they can do what THEY want only if they give their attention to their work first. This is their job.
What level is the son on who is having this problem? I really feel from what you say that you are missing the critical step of teaching it to him over and over until he is ready, and THEN move to the pages.
We do the lesson one day together – I build, write, say each problem in the teacher’s book (MUS). Then we grab the first practice workbook page and the child builds, writes, says (with help as needed) at least 4 problems from that. The next day we pick up the same page. If they can remember how to build/write/say the new concept I turn them loose to finish the page. Once I know they CAN do it they are expected to do it. Even if they dawdle and choose to take an hour. They’ve learned that it’s best to just get it done quickly and move on. However, you have to be sure they really do get the concept and that you’ve not moved on with them still not really grasping past lessons.
Now, having read your last post above let me say it sounds like your son needs to back up and start over somewhere. Here is the thing, we all SAY that one perk to homeschooling is to go at the child’s pace, but when push comes to shove we don’t always mean it when our child needs to go back and re-learn things. I’m totally speaking from experience here. My oldest (she’s 10) did 3 years of Saxon math and didn’t understand even basic adding by the end of it. I finally accepted she needed a mastery approach AND that for 3rd grade we needed to start at the very beginning with MUS Alpha. It was not easy for me to accept. I had to fight my urge to speed her through and “catch up” to where she “should” be. However, she is now in 5th grade and going at her pace has been essential. She’s done Alpha, Beta, and Gamma and is in the first half of Delta. Taking the time to really let her master each concept made later ones come easier.
For example, she mastered multiplication really well EXCEPT for 7’s and 8’s. We’re doing division and when we finally got to dividing by 7’s and 8’s I recognized she had not learned the multiplication for those well enough and so a lesson was suddenly taking forever. Up to this point all the division lessons went quick and smoothly because she knew the multiplication facts for the corresponding numbers.
So what have we been doing the last few weeks? We dropped math and have focused on those 7’s and 8’s multiplication facts. She’s got the 7’s and was able to flip them and do the division very easily this week. She’s still working on remembering 8’s. We’ll keep at it until she’s got them mastered and then move ahead. Taking the time now is worth it!
I firmly believe that one key to teaching math is to make them narrate! I learned this long before I had heard of Charlotte Mason, and didn’t call it that, but it’s true. CM was so wise.
The narrating is different than in reading, but the concept is the same. They don’t know a skill until they can explain exactly what they are doing and why. Once you THINK they know it, have them work through a few questions in front of you, explaining absolutely every step. I have tutored hundreds of children in math and most of them hate this the first few times, but once they can explain it, they know it. If they don’t like explaining it to you, have them teach it to the dog or teddy bear, but I never let a child go on to independent work until they can verbalize the process. Otherwise they are usually just trying to copy a set of steps in order, without real understanding.
The most dramatic example of this was an 18 year old boy I worked with. He had failed grade 12 math twice and was on his third attempt. He resisted telling back to me what he was doing and why. He complained A LOT for weeks. Eventually, though, he gave in and just did it. He passed the course with an 89% and went on to take Calculus in university the next year.
Narration isn’t just for history!
Disclaimer: I realize that there might be some children with different learning difficulties that this might not be appropriate for, so as always, a parent should use wisdom from what they know of their child. On the other hand, I haven’t met a student yet that this didn’t help.
Joanne
Tristan,
That is funny because that is exactly what we did. I took them all the way back to the beginning. We are in multiplying double digits. He is really having a hard time spacing his second row of numbers. He wants to put the 0 in way to far over and messes up his lining up the numbers to add them up. He is also multiplying the second half of the digits and putting them after the 0 however he likes. I constantly have to correct him. Then after I tell him what he did wrong he does something strange. He will erase his correct numbers and add them wrong on the first line. I am frustrated by this and want to say, ” What are you thinking????” He already knew this was right so why mess with it? He keeps doing the same thing over and over… It is really strange.. I even took him back to single digit multiplying and he gets it fine… Is this weird or what??
LOTS of kids have trouble with double digit multiplication. He is not alone here. Are you having him work on graph paper? This helped my third son a lot. This helps them know where to put that pesky 0 AND also to leave a line for the numbers to add to the next column. Do have him verbalize what he is doing. I had one son who would do odd things if he did it silently, but if I made him SAY it then he’d realize what he was doing and fix it.
I did have him verbalize it and he would get the first line right. He even will remember to put the 0 in when verbalizing. Then he sometimes goes back up to the first and starts erasing like he is working on it. Like it is wrong. Sometimes he is ok until he gets to the last number. Then he tries to put it inbetween the 0 and the first number. Sometimes, he adds them at the end. He just adds them where ever he likes I guess. 🙂 At least that’s what it looks like. But it is a thought provoking add in. He verbalizes even. Sometime he adds the 0 after the fact. or erases the first line and moves it over. He has done different things. I just keep asking myself What in the heck is he doing???
And I should be honest, I hated MUS’s way of writing out the multiple digit multiplication (not putting numbers you are carrying above the problem) so I showed my daughter both ways to see which she liked better. Either way, she had to use graph paper or turn lined paper sideways for columns for a long while!
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