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Math HELP!!
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I’m having trouble with what to do for Math. My 8yo daughter has been using MUS. We are farther behind with it than I would like. Over all she has liked and understood MUS. She especially likes the videos. I am strong in math and feel confident in teaching whichever curriculum we choose. I also like having the videos for her to watch. I also like the block manipulatives and the way concepts are simply explained. I am struggling with continuing to use MUS as I don’t like the way they set up subtraction. I also want her to have more exposure to everyday concepts like money and telling time. I am currently looking for something different- Teaching Textbooks? Singapore? Life of Fred? Something else?
I would suggest that you stick the course with MUS. From what I’m reading you like the dvds, like the blocks like the course in general, and it works well for your child. It sounds to me like you are only in Alpha.
What lesson in subtraction are you not liking? Have you looked ahead to see what they do with it? Consider teaching it your way if you really don’t like it, and then just have your child do problems that way. But be sure you read the future lessons to see why they are teaching it the way they are and if they will be building on that for a purpose.
If you want your child exposed to money and time concepts then I would simply do that on your own in play and games instead of throwing out the entire curriculum that on the whole is working well for your child. MUS offers time lessons in Alpha level in the appendix to use any time you wish (and I believe in Primer as well, but I don’t have that in front of me). Formal time lessons are in Beta for lessons 21 and 23.
Money is formally taught beginning in Beta after children have learned regrouping for multiple digit addition (specifically beginning in lesson 8 for dime and penny, lesson 9 for nickel, lesson 10 for decimal point and dollars, lesson 12 for adding money, and so on) and Gamma, but you can teach it while teaching skip counting by 1s, 5s, 10s, and 25s if you wish.
Does that help at all? Or does it bring up more questions?
I would definitely stick with MUS. The sayin, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”, most definitely applies to math. You like it, she likes it – KEEP it. You can easily supplement on the side with extra word problem etc… I’m not sure what level you’re doing, but we’re using Gamma and there are lots of word problems, including some with money.
While I understand how they teach 12-4 (12-10=2, 10-4=6, 2+6=8, so 12-4=8….just seems like too many steps.) The way they explain it makes it too complicated. I think I would prefer a more traditional approach. I am looking at Singapore Math and Teaching Textbooks. I hate to switch, but I also know we need to be making progress in math and we are not right now. I really liked MUS as I was researching, but now I’m questioning that decision.
I agree with others, if you both like it, simply add extra concepts on the side 🙂 Telling time is taught at the end of Alpha as welk as again in Beta. If important right now you can skip to those lessons.
Money problems are used as well as you continue through the books.
I also agree with Tristan it is ok to teach it your way, but make sure they are not doing it a specific way for a reason. I struggled with the way he taught multi digit multiplication but my DD really liked it and once I got used to it I prefer it over the way I grew up doing it. Fractions this year has been another adventure. Some things aretaught differently, but then as the process continues it is like the light bulb goes off and I understand why he does it the way he does.
MUS is different but my kids are doing great with math. As each year progresses I see that they really know math. Truly mastering before moving on makes the next steps so much smoother. When we started I was unsure, its sequence is different than most math programs, but now that I see it in progress so far so good 🙂
My kids skip the place value notation problems. Some kids need to break it out to see it, other kids don’t and it is extra work. Some kids like to memorize 🙂
MUS teaches basic borrowing as well, but starts with the method of breaking it apart. Those lessons confused my kids, they like more traditional. I did some of the problems with the kids but they understood place value notation so we skipped some problems and continued lessons until it came to traditional borrowing methods taught.
Same thing in multiplication. Breaking out the problem with place value notation confused my kids (skipped those) but multiplication with out made sense so we did those problems 🙂
Katie, what lesson number and book are you on? Maybe we can give specific ideas with that information. 🙂
Hi Katie,
If you are looking for a Charlotte Mason approach, may I suggest Charlotte Mason’s Elementary Geography which is in the public domain, or using her Outdoor Geography chapter set out in Book I of Home Education. These are sweet, simple exercises where a child will notice the rising and setting of the sun, look at the movement of shadows, pace distances, explore the movement of the earth and position of the sun and its properties, etc. to help a child understand the idea of time, distance and direction and will make the reading of the clock not so abstract.
Money was also the favorite manipulative of Charlotte Mason for elementary arithmetic -though she used a variety so concepts were not bound to a particular object. Addition and subtraction tables were made and exercised upon with pennies. Changing pennies to dimes and dimes back to pennies along with simple shopping exercises (while keeping dimes to the left and pennies to the right) reinforces the ideas of place value while physically taking away those pennies will be an important step when moving toward using solely pure number. Perhaps a look at CM math would be beneficial in choosing your curriculum.
My best to you in whatever you choose.
Warmly,
Richele
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