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Please talk to me about elementary math :(
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This may be a bit long, so please bear with me 🙂
Math is my achilles heel. I have no qualms with my son (8.5/grade 3) for any other subject, but math. Math is just not his strong point. He does not have strong problem solving/critical thinking skills. He is a very concrete, literal and a visual child. He is a child that memorizes without necessarily having comprehension (he has excellent memorization skills, especially visual). He does not do well with abstract thought with regards to math. Consequently, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and him, to make sure he does well at it. We have burned through more math curriculum than I even want to count over the last 4 years. And, thanks to that – he hates math. With a passion. He feels he is not good at it. He has very low tolerance. He gets upset when he makes mistakes, or when he doesn’t understand something instantly. When I say upset – I mean, we can have total crying, yelling, raging meltdowns over math. (Now, to be fair, I’ll interject here and say that he has Sensory Processing Disorder, Tourette Syndrome and suspected Dyspraxia, all of which contributes to some of this). And so, here I am, at a total cross roads, aware of what I’ve done wrong, and wondering how to make it right.
I’ve been reading soooo many studies on the damage early formal math can do, and I realize that I am the poster Mom for that, because I am now looking at it. If I could turn back time, I would have withheld formal textbook math until probably ages 9 or 10, to a time when the brain is developmentally ready for it.
This year, we settled into Christian Light Education math. Now, out of everything we’ve tried, I really thought it was working the best. He really enjoys workbook-based math, because he can read the lesson himself, and SEE the pictures etc… He does not do well with auditory input, so anything he can read himself, is a plus. He really grew to enjoy doing the flashcards and speed drills for the math facts. But, I’m not sure how well he’s doing with learning the new content. Since it’s spiral, I find things are introduced so quickly that he doesn’t really get a chance to grasp it, so he gets kind of frustrated. I mean, it keeps reviewing it, so he does eventually grasp it, but it’s a bit more frustrating for him. Also, I don’t find it works that much on mental problem solving etc… As someone put it – CLE teaches traditional algorithms, but doesn’t go very deep into the why.
So, as I’ve been reading about the benefits of delayed math/dangers of early math, I have been toying with the idea of dropping the formal math curriculum for another year and a half or so. Instead, just focusing on living math, letting him get a hands on foundation. Basically, of taking the pressure off of him, and teaching him that he can enjoy math again. I don’t want to continue this road of math meltdowns and him dreading math etc… But I’ll admit, it’s a scary leap to make, and I’m afraid of the reactions from our zillion family members that are all teachers (lol).
I’ve also considered Life of Fred, but… I’m really not sure on it. I’m sure he’d enjoy the stories, but… I’m afraid it’s too abstract for him to really pick up the lesson?
I’ve also considered Singapore, since it’s workbook based, but mastery, and I know is really strong in mental math. A friend of mine, is letting her daughter work a full grade behind her ability, just so that she can a) lay a good foundation but b) let her build her confidence back up
And then I come back full circle and wonder if we should just take a break from math, because will it really matter what curriculum I spend $60+ on, if he’s just plain, not ready for formal math?
I would really, really appreciate thoughts (and prayers!)
He’s such a smart kid, and such a natural learner. He reads so well for his age, devours science knowledge like a sponge, loves history and culture, and is an extremely arts-minded child – he is so extremely creative, in the moment, loves reading, drawing, singing, acting, arts and crafts.
I know I need to let go some on math, I just don’t know how.
Take a break – what is the harm? Have you looked at Math Mammoth? I have used that with my youngest and am very happy. Maria (the author) has a ton of samples on her website. Hugs mama!
Take a break and then move into a mastery based program, not spiral. With my oldest we did just that. We started with Saxon in K and when she was about to finish 2nd and math was trauma without any understanding we dropped all math for 6 months. Saxon spiraled around so fast that she never truly grasped anything. We lived, cooked, measured for crafts, etc, but no actual math for the entire 6 months. Then we started 3rd grade by putting her at the very beginning of math again, using Math U See because it is mastery focused, not spiral. You stay where you are on a concept until they have it, then move ahead.
Life of Fred hasn’t worked well for this daughter either, she just doesn’t ‘think in math language’.
With 9 kids, I’ve got 5 officially school age and all have done or are doing well with Math U See at their own pace. I think one key is simply choosing something and sticking with it without pushing on ahead until a child has grasped the current concept. ((HUGS))
Yes, I did. We started in Alpha. She is now in 9th grade and doing Algebra 1. For us, the key was to keep math going even in summer for at least a few days per week. That was she was still making progress and had continual review so skills were not lost. It was worth it to start over and just not worry about hurrying to catch up to where she ‘should’ have been. What mattered was where she was at right then and taking enough time for her to really ‘get it’ instead of pushing on ahead.
Tristan is right about sticking with a curriculum and not moving on until the lesson is understood.
Does your son prefer spiral or mastery? What do you prefer as a teacher? Showing him samples of Math-U-See may help you decide.
Are you comfortable teaching a ddiscovery based program?
My friend’s dd didn’t like mastery because if she struggling with a concept, she couldn’t move on until she got it. This left her feeling badly about math. She likes spiral because with the variety of problems she gets something correct each day. Imagine being bad at fractions and studying little else for the year.
For my teaching style, I do better with CLE because I can understand it much better than discovery based programs such as Math Mammoth, Singapore.
Math literature helps too. We use library books such as the Math Start series which present math through story form. Livingmath.net has book suggestions and even lesson plans.
Yes, retrofam is right, there are many different curricula to choose from! Math U See works well for us as we’ve stuck with it, but there are many options we’ve never tried.
My dd also has sensory processing disorder. She did not begin to start understanding math until after age 10. LoF didn’t work with her. CLE is the only thing that has; a mastery-based math didn’t work for her CLE is semi-spiral, it’s considered the best of both worlds; she needs the regular review, which mastery doesn’t provide
I, too, would suggest a time-out I don’t necessarily think switching math curriculum again is necessary if CLE has been the best thus far and he’s enjoying/getting it more
My opinion is to read up on Montessori methods to incorporate into CLE or Math Mammoth (which confused my dd); don’t introduce written words problems yet, just stop where you’re at and read living math books for a year and just focus on:
math facts; elementary science experiments; working in the kitchen with weights and measures with you; basic wooden building blocks of various geometric sizes, Tangrams blocks and the puzzle books to go with them (we used Learning Resources wooden pattern blocks materials); Geoboard; other Learning Resources materials for hands-on exploration; my dd likes Learning Wrap-Ups; Equilibrio; general building opportunities around the house and real world math opportunities
Personally, I think understanding the “why” in much of math is a modern and overrated concept
For much of math, it’s just “this is how you do the problem”; at least until the child actually gets to the age of critical-thinking skills, which he is far from and any child at his age is, too, but you can help his thinking skills now; primary math is generally literal, especially if you use manipulatives
Having him recite aloud the mental math of the Ray’s Arithmatic primary book (only till h’s not too frustrated -so maybe only additiona nd subtraction – at this point; some frustration is necessary, but can come up more later after his confdence has improved) to help strengthen his mental math skills, too
Both myself and my son think Mr Demme makes math far more complicated than it has to be with trying to show the why; too many extra steps that actually make the problems much more complicated than necessary
Here’s a living math books list: http://www.livingmathbooklist.blogspot.com/
and AO’s math page: http://amblesideonline.org/MathPrograms.shtml
(sorry, no periods at the end of my sentences-glitching keyboard)
Funny… I really agree with Rachel – the why frustrates him. He can do something, it’s when you start getting into the why, and show it, and how many different ways can you problem solve to show it etc etc that he struggles. But every all talks about “teaching the WHY” today and how important it is, so I think I’ve fallen prey to that pressure.
You’ve got some great advice here. I will add that I have one son who sounds much like your son in terms of visual learner, strong (very strong) in memorization, wants fast paced, easily distracted by too much “audio” (ahem, I confess – this even means ME talking, lol!!). As much as I wanted MUS to work, it just had to go. Too much “why” and “how” that got in the way of him just wanting to Get It Done! We use CLE and Teaching Textbooks now and math here is the best part of our homeschool.
Hugs to you, I know how hard it is when a boy is crying and falling apart over math. Take a little break and then stick with CLE would be my vote for you, particularly because CLE supposedly is very “self learning” by grade 4 or 5. (We move to TT by grade 5)
Agree with above and sticking with one curriculum. Each math curriculum approach is different and it’s too confusing to jump around.
I would like to throw out a supplement idea. ST Math is now available to homeschoolers. While it’s not cheap, it is amazing as a supplement to any curriculum. It is math concepts with no written or auditory language. All visual learning (there is not even any music or sound effects!!! – so no distractions). Here is the website:
http://www.mindresearch.org/homeschool-math/
If you go to features and benefits, there is a talk by the creator, Matthew Peterson, on TED Talk. Very interesting to hear him and the research behind this program. I highly recommend watching this: http://www.mindresearch.org/homeschool-math/features/
They do have this demo you can try out (and two free apps): http://www.mindresearch.org/play/
Otherwise there is a 30 day (from purchase date) money back guarantee if you do not like it.
You can purchase it 40% cheaper on Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op:
https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/stmath/?c=1
I feel this is a powerful idea in teaching math and will make a huge difference in many student’s academic careers. Maybe even make some mathematicians that would not have had that opportunity before.
Hope this helps!!
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