Math Mammoth Users, a question please

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  • August 3, 2015 at 9:24 am
    albanyaloe
    Participant

    Hi Math Mammoth users.

    I’ve used Math Mammoth on and off, at various levels, for various reasons.  Early this year my dd, aged 11, tried out MM and then I tested her, and started her on Grade 4, as Maria suggested.  My dd has really struggled with maths.  She forgets what she has learned, and is very slow at working out her problems.  She really likes MM and has begged me not to change.  We were doing Singapore Math and she got really bogged down with it.

    I like the way MM explains things, it’s better than Singapore, and I actually feel it helps her understand math better too.  She is actually a very practical person, and I find MM has a lot more normal household application.

    My problem is this.  She is only nearing the end of Chapter 3, book 1 now, and does 2 pages a day.  That is all she can manage, and some days even that is a struggle.  She will never finish book 2 by the end of December.  (our  school year run from Jan-Dec here in South Africa)

    When I correct her work, she is not scoring badly, about 3 or 4 problems wrong on a page, and it’s always to do with multiplication tables, so we are working on those as well.

    I have decided to leave one of the chapter reviews from this chapter for a “refresher” later, as she will need it.

    I have tried not to indicate that she is “behind” because from previous experience, I know that will not work with her.  Everything in me wants to jump up and down and scream, “Hurry up, we’re behind!”  Our Math in total, takes about an hour and a half, sometimes more.

    Any suggestions, please?  I really want to help my dd, but how can we move through this material faster.  I am not sure if she realizes that it is Grade 4 material she is working with.  I’m still pretty hung up about grade levels, and she is “supposed” to be in Grade 5.  (Her birthday is March ’04, so I am unsure what grade that would be in the US)

    Thanks,

    Lindy

    August 3, 2015 at 11:32 am
    Monica
    Participant

    March ’04 would be 5th grade in the US as well.

    I don’t have a lot of experience with students who struggle with math in those grades.  I’ll be watching, though, because my 2nd grader struggles with math.

    Quick question on what you wrote, though.  You said that math takes you 1 1/2 hours.  Is that per day?!

    August 3, 2015 at 12:34 pm
    albanyaloe
    Participant

    Thank you for your reply jawgee.  Yes, that is 1.5 hours per day.  I don’t know what we’re doing wrong and feel a little desperate.

    August 3, 2015 at 1:39 pm
    MelissaB
    Participant

    My son is currently mid way through chapter 5 of the 4th grade MM.  I try to have him do a whole lesson in one day, but it just depends on the length and his attention span that day (you know sibling distractions – a habit that we’ll be working on this school year).

    He’s actually going into 5th grade this fall (a late June 2004 birthday), but he’s behind due to his cancer diagnosis in 2012.  I’m currently trying to get him “caught up” for the coming school year now that his treatment is finally complete, but know that he won’t have MM4 done by our restart even tho he’s working on it every day through the summer.

    My only suggestion is to set a timer for her so she can stay fresh with her math.  You would know best how long she can sit still to do it.  You might try once in the morning and once in the afternoon if she can handle that and make the sessions shorter?

    Overall tho, I would urge you not to worry about it too much.  She has lots of time and unless you want her to go through a full calculus math before graduation, you’ll likely run out of math for her to do by the time she graduates.  It’s the beauty of homeschool, we can accommodate our children’s needs and be flexible on how we tackle certain subjects.  Give yourself grace mama, it will all be okay. 🙂

    August 3, 2015 at 2:16 pm
    albanyaloe
    Participant

    Thank you so much for your reply Melissa.  Well, I just typed similar words to another poster about grace, and it seems I may need a doseful too!  I really appreciate your encouragement.  I am going to try the timer idea, as I think maybe she isn’t quite fresh.  Funny, I apply CM “short lessons” and kind of forgot that it applies to math too.  Two sessions may also be the answer.

    I trust that your son is now healthy and remains so.  We’re walking a road with a little 7yo South African girl  with leukemia, who is getting a bone marrow donation in the USA.  It’s a long road.

    Thank you for taking time to answer me.

    Kind regards,

    Lindy

    South Africa

    August 3, 2015 at 2:26 pm
    mama_nickles
    Participant

    I am no veteran, but we have been using MM for a little over a year now. One question I had was whether there was too much busywork, and could she move at a faster pace if she didn’t do quite all the problems? Also, if the multiplication problems are the difficulty, are you practicing them daily, maybe even INSTEAD of math, or along with a smaller portion of math? If trying to recall the multiplication facts is causing her to take longer, it seems like it would be worth it to focus on them until they become more natural and quicker, and that math would then flow faster and not take so long. I agree that 1.5 hours is too long! With my DS, he does math for a set time and gets done what he gets done. He is younger (3rd grade), but I have him do 17 minutes and then stop where he is. We have only been doing it that way for a month or two, but it seems a more pleasant experience for both of us when he knows he will only have a certain amount of time rather than a certain number of pages.

    August 3, 2015 at 3:13 pm
    MelissaB
    Participant

    My son is still working on being quick at his time tables and I haven’t been very diligent about practicing them this summer.  He’s good up through 6 and then the 7, 8, & 9’s are still stumping him at the upper end.  Mama Nickles is right that working on those so she’s quicker with them would be a great help.  I know I need to do that with my son so we can get them memorized and lessons will move a lot faster.  We had some tears today, so maybe I need to shelve the pages for a few weeks and work on fact memorizing only.

    I’m sorry to learn about this little girl with leukemia that you know.  I pray the bone marrow transplant goes flawlessly and she can grow up to be a healthy woman.

    My son had leukemia too (also diagnosed at 7) and it’s a very long and weary road.  So thankful he’s finally finished his medicine and continue to praise God that his health is doing well.  Our prayer is that it’s the Lord’s will for him to stay cancer-free forever.  He has his first “off treatment” appointment tomorrow as his last chemo was July 12.  He had 39 months and 11 days of treatment.  So thankful for modern medicine and that he’s in recovery mode now.

    You’re doing a great job Lindy.  I think as homeschooling moms we can always second guess ourselves.  It’s constant learning on our part that will go on until our children are finished schooling.  My homeschool has evolved so much from my days of “teaching school at home” when we first started.  I still don’t always get it right, but I keep plodding along in hopes that my children do have great gain from what they’ve learned while under my wings.  If only we knew then, what we know now.  At least that is what I’m always telling myself. 😉

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