Math with ADD

Beast Academy has shorter lessons, but it’s conceptual.

Maybe you can find some supplements that are more engaging.

Does he like games, videos, etc?

I have a similar son – he is 12 now.  In 1st grade I used Right Start Math because that is how my brain works, but I chucked it because it took too much time.  In 2nd grade I switched to the SCM Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching, using the explanations in the book/DVD and the scope/sequence laid out in the book.  I started out with 4 minutes of lessons, plus 1 minute of mental math, 4 times a week because that is as much attention as he had.  By the end of the first year, we had moved up to 8 minutes of lessons, plus 2 minutes of mental math, 4 times a week!  Last year, we were up to 12 minutes of lessons, plus 3 minutes of mental math, 4 times a week!  Even in that short a period of lessons, we are completing the entire year’s scope/sequence in three 10-week terms.  Another great thing is that he didn’t really have to sit and write anything until Year 4.

Because the curriculum wasn’t written out for us, it did involve some work on my part to understand the teaching methods/concepts, and it isn’t something he can do on his own, so the parent has to have the time to spend with that child.  I am good with numbers and love math, so that may have helped.  But you may want to check out the scope and sequence and see if it gives you any ideas.

For mental math, the first couple years I came up with my own problems on the fly, but the last couple years I have been using Ray’s (the original 100-year-old books).  Last year I used it solely to teach several concepts instead of just as mental math.  It is written as a 100% mental math “curriculum” so there isn’t sitting/writing involved and he can practice gymnastics or work on legos during math time just fine.  I was especially impressed with the sequence of questions that taught fractions.  We are still working through them.

This year we are doing the SCM business math – it involves sitting and calculating on paper but he is LOVING it because it is his own “business”.  We do it four times a week for 20 minutes, which is AMAZING!!!!!  All that to say, you may want to think outside the box and skip the idea of a curriculum altogether.

I would get the SCM Mathematics Book and DVD Bundle.  Watch the DVD first, as it will visually show you how to teach elementary arithmetic the CM way, including a 20-minute section on division.  But the book gives you the specific step-by-step teaching methods that you will refer to again and again.  It isn’t a “curriculum book” but rather a how-to-teach book.  Mine is starting to fall apart, and most of the pages have my scribbles and notes from watching the DVD.  Plus, it gives you the scope and sequence for every mathematical concept from grade 1 through 12, including arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.  Those charts alone are worth the price of the book.  I would also get a gridded math notebook for when he gets to problems that can’t be done mentally or with manupulatives.  For manipulatives, we mostly used yogurt-covered raisins, lego pieces, and monopoly money (1s, 10s, 100s) plus a bag of dimes and and a bag of pennies.  When we got to written problems, I created ones off the top of my head that would be interesting to him, at that time it was usually space-related.  But the book and DVD will give you everything you need to do it yourself!!!!!