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Guessing in Math/Confusing Signs
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Yesterday, my ds almost 7, did wonderfully in math. We use MUS, and he completed two worksheets in about 15 minutes. Today, was a different story. He kept confusing his signs, adding when he should have been subtracting and vice-versa. When I would remind him to check his signs, he would start guessing at the answer. Today was the last worksheet in the lesson, so I always try to make him do it without the blocks, because by the 6th lesson, he should know the material.
He got to the last four problems, which were word problems. One of the problems was 8-6. He has done that problem over and over this lesson, but he just couldn’t get it. First he wrote 14. I reminded him that he was taking away and not adding, so he erased the 1 and left the 4. I told him to count by twos. 2, 4, 6, 8. Ok, what is 8 MINUS 6? If you have 8 and you take 6 away from it, how many do you have left? He just couldn’t get it. Then, when it came to word problems, he was reading out loud and then looking up at me and saying, “Plus? or Minus? Which one?” I just responded, “I don’t know, Ryan, you tell me.” I’m not going to keep holding his hand and telling him what to write. He needs to figure it out on his own.
This happened with several problems, so I finally (in frustration, regrettably) closed the book and told him to leave the table. He was whiny; I was frustrated, and overall it just wasn’t a good situation.
What happened between today and yesterday? He did almost every problem yesterday without his blocks. I was confident that he could zoom through his last worksheet in the lesson today.
I know I shouldn’t have become frustrated, but it is so hard when you tell them over and over, “Don’t guess. Remember the problems. You can do this. Everything you need to know is already in your brain” and then they still keep confusing signs, guessing, etc. I also know that I should have ended the lesson before it blew up into what it did. Those were my mistakes. I have apologized to him for becoming upset, but that doesn’t change the fact that tomorrow he’s going to be guessing and confusing signs again.
What can I do?
My dd is like this (she is 7 1/2 – 2nd grade). Last year, she was exacly like your son. And this year, I am starting to sense it coming again. In her case, I think she is getting bored with the material. We use BJU, but I have seen her get it so fast with the hands-on that the worksheet is boring and she quits actually trying. She just stops wanting to do it. Does this make sense? I have just figured this out with her in the last couple weeks, and as we’re on Christmas break, I won’t get to test it until after we start up again. But even with her learning on her own right now, I think I am on the right track. I plan to only do flash card review and hands-on with the lesson, and then use the worksheet only if I feel she needs the extra help and practice. I also am going to implement a timed test for addition and subtraction facts. She LOVED that last year (used AO’s Lifepac before finding CM).
Hope this helps give you some ideas,
Sara 🙂
Just wanted to say 2 things…
1) that is how kids learn…. they will get it great over and over, and then it seems they forgot everything they knew… but that doesn’t mean that tomorrow will be the same…
2) I agree with Sara, that sometimes this happens when a child is bored of a material (even if they can’t express it…) I’ve heard this with a totally different math program, that it seemed like the child was struggling and struggling, but when the parent SPED UP or moved onto the next topic, they were fine again. This might be the case with your son having done so well the one day, then horrible the next.
I think I’d be tempted to just move onto the next thing and see how it goes.
With all my school age kids I have experienced and sometimes STILL experience the same thing. It is perfectly normal for their brains to check out short term and then return to “normal” soon after. It is frustrating for us moms, but honestly even I can be the same way some days.
Remember to relax and have faith that tomorrow will be different. This is how we learn together. As a perfectionist I have learned this the hard way!
Sometimes I can use Brain Gym exercises to help jumpstart a fuzzy math brain. Some of the exercises are specifically designed to get the math part of the brain warmed up and ready to work. Just another idea that might help reduce frustration for all involved.
I hate to say it, but I’m glad I’m not the only one with this challenge. I can get frustrated at my 8yo for not ‘remembering’ from day to day certain math facts, as well, and I so wish that I wouldn’t. I have been looking for ways to help my son with retention, so this thread is timely.
I have even considered a new math program (thinking it’s the program, which maybe it is, I don’t really know). I hate to put out the money and change things on him when really it could be my impatience with him and not him or the program. For now we are using the same program (with some tweaking on my end) with added games and patience on my part.
A few months back, we had math frustration. I was using a spiral approach and could not see my son learning any of it. I spent much time researching various math programs. (It was actually that search that brought me to the blessing of this forum.) We now use a combination of MUS and RS. I think for us, the MUS blocks get old after a while and then we use the AL abacus and I look in the book, Activities for the AL Abacus for that topic. We might also use some other manipulatives from around the house, like dinosaur toys or little cars, etc. The author of Rightstart tells you not to use the phrase “take away”. Her example is if someone buys something costing 37 cents and pays with 50 cents, you start counting up from 37 to give them their change back.
Don’t underestimate the learning that occurs in math games. RS author also says that games are as essential in learning math as books are to learning how to read. “A parent’s positive attitude toward mathematics helps determine a child’s success.”
I agree, my3boys, about the patience. I also had to realize that I need to be more patient and that even though it seems so easy to me, it is so difficult for them. We sometimes take a break and go back to it later, recharged.
I was also reading recently about how much they are actually learning when they are sleeping. This is when the neurons in the brain connect. So, the more you teach them in a day, the more sleep they need at night to really learn it.
I know with my boys sometimes their minds are on other things and not really focused….when it looks like they are concentrating they are really thinking about riding their bike or something…..*sometimes* if I feel they know or should know the material and it is just not clicking then I say okay and we move on with our schedule and then when everyone else is finished for the day and having free time or whatever I call them back and say okay let’s try this again…..USUALLY they get right through it because there is motivation to do it and do it correctly……they are the only ones working and everyone else is playing
if you find it is a consistant struggle you may want to try moving math time to another part of your schedule…..if you are doing it first in the day try doing it later…….or do it just after a fine arts study……music and art stimulate our math skills more than we realize????
just ideas
Laura
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