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Math for a Kindergartener
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This is my first year hsing my 6 yo ds. Overall I’m enjoying hsing, but I’m struggling with math. I chose the Right Start program, Level A, just to be sure we had the basics covered. I think the program itself is good, but I have a hard time actually doing it. In many ways, I dread it. Ds liked math a lot – especially at first – I think because it was very hands on. (He’s not that into being read to, maybe its too passive for him..???) Anyway, I think I’m just bored with the whole way each lesson goes – is it possible it’s moving too slow? Should I have started with Level B? Is it just normal to not like a certain subject? What do you think?
Becky
I don’t have experience with Right Start, but I have had some curriculum choices in the past that I have abandoned because of similar to what you are saying. I know there are some things that are just not fun that you have to plow through. But for me and with my young ones just starting out, I try to remember two of my main goals with hsing – to teach them HOW to learn and to help create a LOVE for learning – so with my little ones, I don’t want to stifle the love for learning at the beginning. So I’d say, if it is so dreaded, maybe look into some other options that work for you and your son better – what is great for many, might not be great for you. For the first year or so of math with my son, I did a lot of informal math (much like what Ruth Beechick talks about in the Three R’s book) and then we went through the Saxon K book (without the “meeting book”) which was all manipulatives and hands on activities, as well as other mathy games and activites. Now we are using Math U See and he seems to have a great foundation and is sailing right through. BUT when we started MUS this year (the Alpha book – I looked through the primer and we had already covered everything in there so we started with Alpha) we were dragging along as well. I talked to a friend of mine about how she scheduled it, we sped things up similar to how she did and we were all much happier – the “dreads” are no longer present 🙂 I have done that with other things as well – when it is something that is not challenging or interesting we skip it and move on – that is tough for my personality which likes to check off every box (or lesson in this case) but I have realized it is not always necessary.
I don’t know if that made any sense – sorry for the stream of consciousness speak. Maybe some other folks with more experience can chime in with more sage advice!
We have used MathUSee from the beginning and LOVE it. There are others on this forum who love it too, and there are also those who don’t care for it. I can’t speak for Right Start, but I do know that I don’t regret choosing MUS. We started with Primer, and although my ds knew a lot of it, it was the right choice. When we started Alpha at the end of last year, he sailed through the first several lessons. I think that encouraged him to know that he could do the new book just as well as the old Primer. We are now on Lesson 20 of Alpha, and he’s still catching on to every lesson!
Blessings,
Lindsey
If you aren’t liking the way it’s presented, he will notice. I didn’t care for RightStart, it was too scripted for me (I know a lot of other people who absolutely enjoy it, though.)
We have used and are currently using, Miquon with Saxon (workbooks only) for extra practice. MEP is a free, online math from Great Britain, and we have used bits and pieces of it as well. I’m not sure how “CM” these recommendations are, so please feel free to ignore.
We use MEP and love it. My Blog has an article on the CM’ness of it… http://maplehillacademy.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-mep-math-cm-also-kindergarten-math.html
If you read it – make sure you read the article on another blog that is linked at the bottom of it for a more detailed look at the CM’ness of it…
My son, a newly turned 6 Kindergartener, is on Lesson 14 of MUS Primer. It’s a little too easy for him, but we didn’t want to have gaps with Math (hard to fill in later). It’s a nice mix of bookwork, coloring, manipulatives…and some days we just count popsicle sticks, write our numbers to 100…or something else like that.
I also have an 8 yr old DS in Alpha (‘behind’ due to following MFW’s K Math instead of starting MUS…again, afraid of gaps), a 10 yr old DD in Delta, and a 13 yr old DD in PreAlgebra. We (even the kids) LOVE MUS, on all levels!
I did not have the opportunity to use a math program in K because my children were in PS until 5th grade. However seeing the disaster that the PS made of teaching math to my daughters (they still struggle with it today) I would look for a program and stick with it. The PS changed math curriculum every year for 5 years and it was chaotic and the girls and their fellow pupils suffered terribly – this was a military department of defense school overseas. From that experience I would say consistency is key – whatever program you choose, do not chop and change too much – I think that is a recipe for disaster, so in the elementary years I would stick with one program and get all those basics solidly taught. So if I bought MUS, then I would stick with it until High School and then re-evaluate, if MUS was still working well I would continue through HS assuming they do all the levels. I would also be sure to try and look at some of the programs before buying, math curriculum can add up to expensive mistakes which we none of us can afford to happen too often. That is just my experience ad my humble opinion. I do know that kids who have strong basic skills, do far better in high school – so try and aim for that. Blessings, Linda
I agree that you don’t want to switch curriculum a lot…. but at the same time, you do want to find out what works well for your family – and I think that right when you are starting is the time to do that.
We found what we liked right off for math – but did switch handwriting and love the new program instead of the one we started with.
In a way I always feel a bit sorry for my son (the oldest) as in a way he gets to be the guinea pig while we figure out what works.
We love MUS as well! My 6yo is currently sailing through Alpha and really enjoys it. I think Math is one that you have to be comfortable with the way it is taught and something you want to stick with a way of teaching, if that makes sense. Do you have any other homeschoolers in your area that maybe you borrow some other math curriculum from to see if something is a better fit?
It could also be that it is moving too slow. I tried to start dh in MUS Primer and he was bored, which made me bored and dread it. So, I got out Alpha and started going through it with him. We have sailed through the lessons so far and are just now getting to new concepts for him (lesson 20ish) and that is helping him be more challenged and enjoy it more. I didn’t necessarily skip any lessons because I want to make sure he is getting a good foundation, but we went through them quickly and just reviewed if it was something I felt he already knew well.
Ok, so beyond changing curriculum, is this normal to not like doing a certain subject (as teacher, not student)? The other day it occured to me that ds loves playing on the computer, so I found a website with educational games and found some cool math games. I got him started and off he went. He loved it, I loved it. I wonder if its just that the curriculum is just a bit slow for me – maybe I’m the one who is too impatient. I think I’m afraid to skip stuff or move to the next level for fear that I will skip something important for ds. With RS they mix it up a lot, so there’s geometry stuff mixed in with the regular addition. I think this annoys me. I don’t really know why. Maybe I’m just averse to geometry. I think that some of the stuff they have us do with the kids is just stupid – and seemingly pointless, though I know its probably not. And my son doesn’t seem to mind – its just me. Am I just crazy??? (Maybe don’t answer that last one – ha 😉
Becky
You’re not crazy (though apparently I am because I just realized that I put “I started dh in MUS Primer” LOL I meant ds, not my hubby ;0) )
I do think it’s normal to have subjects we enjoy more than others or ones we don’t like. I don’t enjoy poetry. I want to and I read it to the boys, but not as much as I should. I know it’s because I don’t really like most of it.
I have a 6 year old boy and we have tried Saxon, but we are frustrated with it. I am also looking for math. I thought of Rightstart because I like the manipulatives and the games. But, I hear it is very teacher intensive. So I think I will try MUS Alpha and also add in some days here and there of using RS games and incorporate the math scale and abacus where I can. Has anyone else tried this? I wonder if that would be helpful or confusing and do more harm than good for those who are in the MUS program.
I’ve been doing that some, SarahCPA. My youngest is just finishing up the Primer MUS, and I am using some of the RS games and manipulatives as we go along. Right now we’re doing the clock section, and I’ve been doing a combination of the RS geared clock and the MUS clock that you build from the blocks. We also used the RS place value cards during the MUS section on place value. It’s nice to have various tools to use as we customize an education for each child.
Becky,
I think it is normal to not like some subjects as a teacher…as a person! I will not tell you to change curriculums…or not to, but I will tell you that I felt the same way about Right Start for a while. We stuck with it, and we love it. I am enjoying teaching it now as well. It was a challenge for me at first becuase I have never been one to like math. I found myself teaching math to my children in a very different way than I had learned it (and even taught it as a public school teacher), as well…and that was even more of a challenge! After plugging along, I have been amazed at how the kids are thinking about things. And like I said, I am much more relaxed and at ease with it myself.
Good luck!
Melissa
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