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If MUS doesn't work?
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I searched for years with my oldest who is now in 4th grade to find a math program that made sense to her. We switched to MUS this year and she has thrived. My kindergartener who was begging for her own math is using Primer and she is doing great as well. My son who is in first absolutely hates it. He hates using the blocks, he hates the worksheets, you name it…everything except watching the videos. I tried Christian Light Publications before switching him to MUS and he didn’t do very well with that one either. I think there’s more to it than just not wanting to do the math work, I think I just haven’t found what works for him yet. I see the same frustration in him that I saw in my oldest before we found the approach which works for her. What is another math program that you could suggest with a different approach than MUS (besides Singapore which my brain can’t handle)?
Thanks for your suggestions!
We like RightStart – but it might be kind of expensive having to get MUS for some kids and RS for another…
You know, our son hated Alpha when he was in first also. We switched to Horizons, which he also didn’t like (neither did I). We went back to MathUSee for third grade and it was a success – could it just be partly an age thing, I wonder?
I can’t say that my first grader loves MUS, but it’s working for him. He could probably use any math and comprehend its way of teaching. I have RS and it’s too much for me (for me, not for the majority, I’m sure). MUS is a good fit for us right now. On the other hand, my 9yo needs to use something more simplistic (not too many manipulatives, dialogue, etc.), and MUS is a fit for him, for now.
Your son would probably like RS, but if it’s the manipulatives, then he may/may not like that either. He may like the songs, and the variety that it provides, or it he won’t.
Hi, Have you ever looked at Miquon math? I can’t imagine it not working with any child. It’s so simple and straightforward. Best part is it’s really inexpensive. If you don’t like it, at least you haven’t spent much money! Yes, I have been there and done that. You would need a set of cuisenaire rods with it, unless you could use the MUS rods. We order ours from Rainbow Resource, but I know that you can also buy the books from currclick and download them. We use it along with Life of Fred.
I’ll check out the Miquon Math. @pslively, how do you use it with the Life of Fred books, I’ve actually never seen the Life of Fred books so I don’t really know what they are. I’ve been hearing alot about them recently and I’ve been wondering.
I don’t mind switching programs and spending a little more if it’s going to work. I tried fitting a square peg into a round hole for far too many years with my oldest and I don’t want to go down that road again. Plus the K’er is about to finish with Primer and will be in alpha soon, which may pile on some resentment for my son since he’s having such a struggle right now.
Heather, I haven’t coordinated any of the lessons between Miquon and Life of Fred. We started the first LOF book when we were about halfway through the Orange Miquon book. The Orange is the first book. I think there are some pretty good samples of the LOF books on their website at stanleyschmidt.com. We do one page of Miquon and one chapter of Fred every day. As we are nearing the end of the second Fred book, I think I will have to slow the pace because some of the concepts are beyond my daughter. (not the math concepts, but the other things that Fred talks about – astronomy, quotation marks, etc.) So we will probably complete the Red Miquon (2nd book) and then add Fred back in. If you start Fred, I would definitely recommend having all of your kids go through them, even if they are technically “too old” because it teaches a lot of mathematical real-life thinking skills. Even my 11 and 10 year old like doing them.
How about math games? Does he already know his numbers? Can he count to 20,30, 100? can he write them out? there are alot of great games out there that reinforce learning and he doesn’t have to do alot of book work. Maybe if you make numbers more fun to him by playing games with dice. How about the book, “Family Math” ? It is a book filled with math games. Or learning centers. Maybe you can make a few from Mailboxes. You can look up ideas on UTube. They have some good ones around his age group. Some kids just like to be involved. My son hated ACE Paces but now he likes them and wants to do them. However, we do MUS now after finding what fit and doing a bunch of games in the mean time. Just my 2 cents worth. 🙂
Blessings!
Hi Heather, my dd hated MUS also. I really think it is a great program, it just didn’t work for her. We are finishing up our first year of Right Start and it has been a success. It is great for my dd who is a very hands on learner. I like that it switches up manipulatives. You are not always using only the colored blocks. I also like that the abacus is divided up into the two colors in sets of five. I think for younger ages it is more concrete than having to memorize a color to represent a number as in MUS. If you choose to go the RS route, my advice would be to realize that you don’t have to finish an entire level in one school year. There are lots of games and they can be played as review anytime you feel that your child needs a change of pace. Once I figured that out, RS became the perfect program for us. There is a great yahoo group for RS if you would like to research it.
I have not used it, but just discovered Mathtacular (Sonlight puts it out). It looks interesting. You might check it out. It’s a supplement but it could stand in the gap for a while.
Wow, thanks for all of this input! Could someone who has used both please tell me if the MathUSee blocks can be used in place of the rods in Miquon? My son has already learned the color/value connection. Thanks again, you ladies are awesome!
I hope it is okay to post this link here. If not, I’m sorry. Heather, this should answer your question. I was not at all familiar with the MUS blocks when I said you might be able to use them. For what it’s worth, the cuisenaire rods are not very expensive and you only need a small set.
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=253377
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