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Manipulatives for Math…how long?
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I am using (with dd6) the RightStart abacus (and games to supplement) with the Math Mammoth worksheets. While dd6 does well with the games, she nearly always wants to use the abacus when doing ‘worksheet math’. (She does very well with the abacus, and I do think it is really helping her to ‘see’ what she is doing.) I have encouraged her to try without the abacus if she can, but that if she doesn’t know, it’s better to check it out with the abacus than guess wildly. This has been working pretty well for us up until now, but we are now getting close to the end of the chapter and while I feel she understands the CONCEPT of addition, she doesn’t have the facts memorized yet. So…I guess what I am wondering is do I let her take the “test” for the chapter using the abacus and keep going into the next chapter, or should I stop and continue to do games and supplemental worksheets until I am satisfied that she will be able to do the ‘test’ without using the abacus? The test covers all of the addition facts up to 10. Chapter 2 moves on to subtraction. My gut is kind of telling me that I shouldn’t move on until she has the addition facts mastered and memorized…but I am still curious to know what others have done. Besides continuing to use the games and the abacus as needed, what else can I do to help her master her addition facts? How long is it reasonable to expect her to continue to need to use a manipulative before she has the facts mastered/memorized? We’ve been very slowly moving through them since October – with probably something like 4-6 weeks off for holidays and moving during that time frame.
Thanks!
Jen
Well, in the RS program they say to use the abacus for as long as the child wants to (sometimes doing as you are – asking them to try without, but then check with it if they aren’t sure…) – but not sure what Math Mammoth would say about it.
Games, games, more games…
Thanks ladies. We are using Math Mammoth as our “spine” so to speak (to give me something to guide us through the topics we need to cover), but we heavily supplement with the RightStart games. I like the Right Start approach, but the full RightStart program wasn’t a good fit for our life right now. We do do games 3-4 times each week, usually, so we’ll keep sticking with that. I did happen to notice yesterday that there are some facts she knows off her head and is not reaching for the abacus for, so I think we are moving in the right direction. I’m thinking that possibly what I may do is to take some time to go through the chapter on clocks or money or something while continuing to reinforce addition facts before moving on to the concept of subtraction.
Thanks!
Jen
Hello Jen,
I saw that you are using Math Mammoth. My soon to be 6 yr old daughter will be starting school this fall, and I am trying to compare the myriad of curriculums out there! I like the look (and price) of Math Mammoth, and am wondering if this is a very CM’ish curriculum or not? Also, do you find it needs a supplemental curriculm? If so, why did you choose RS games, do you need any manipulatives with it? Do you find that MM plus RS games covers all of the bases adequately?
Have you ever tried LOF or MUS? Sorry for all of the questions..I’m hoping you can help! Thanks so much, Elli
Actually…we aren’t using it any more. It was going OK for us now, but I didn’t see it working for us in the long run. I was seeing problems with her retaining the facts and found I needed to supplement with games and manipulatives more than I really wanted to (I don’t have tons of time to research and come up with different ways to present the information to her.) I can’t put my finger on exactly what is was that I didn’t quite like about it, but I just didn’t see it working for us long term. I finally bit the price-tag bullet and bought Math U See Alpha for her about 2 months ago. I wanted to switch sooner rather than later since the scope and sequence in MUS is different from most traditional curriculums, so I didn’t want to have to back up too far with her. So far it is going really well for us. She is very visual so using the blocks really clicks with her. I like that it is pretty much open and go for us, after my initial perusal of the TM to gain understanding of the methodology. We do still drill the facts she has already ‘mastered’ just to keep them fresh in her mind by using copywork and an occasional game. But overall I’m pleased because there seems to be much greater understanding on her part and much less work on mine. HTH some.
Blessings,
Jen
Jen, Ok that is good to know. I may just work with the Math Mammoth to give her a bit more beginning help over the summer. Are you able to use the DVD’s to teach even at the younger ages?
Thanks again,
ElliWe usually watch the DVD together with our blocks out on the table and work out his examples for ourselves as we follow along, and then continue with more examples on the worksheet. I don’t think it would work to have her watch it alone and figure things out for herself – I think the point of the DVD is more to demonstrate how to teach each concept for the parents than to teach directly to the child. I usually work pretty closely with her the first day or 2 after a new concept is presented for the first time, and then gradually work towards her working indpendently by the time we get to the test.
Blessings,
Jen
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