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Teaching math together…bad idea?
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I need some advise from someone a little further down the road then me…..:o)
I have been saving for a while now and am ready to order RightStart for our math program.
My question relates to this-I have two daughters that I am going to be starting at the same time/same level. We didn’t do any formal math program in this, our first year of homeschooling. I can tell because of their learning styles that even though they are a year apart in age the younger one is just as ready (if not more so…) for math then the older. I am wondering since RS is sightly teacher intensive and I would be directly involved in teaching if I should just get two abacus (es?, what is the plural of abacus? :o) and teach them right together or if this would be bad idea?
I guess I am asking in terms of those of you who use RS and also just those of you who have experience teaching children close tothether in age and/or ability. Would it foster competition or insecurity to combine them do you think?
Trying to think this through…Thanks!
I just wanted to chime in here too…I’m using Singapore with my 2 children, who are 18 months/1 grade apart. So far it’s gone well. We’ve only done about a weeks worth, though! Would like to hear other responses!
My children are close in age as well (17 mos. apart), but we do not do math together, and here’s why:
First, my kiddos have completely opposite personalities. Ds catches on quickly, gets his work done, and gets through 1 1/2 math programs a year. Dd works more slowly, needs some help catching on, and tends to take her time with the lessons. It would be impossible for me to keep them on the same page and at the same level for an entire school year, so I would end up teaching them separately anyway.
Second, I wouldn’t want my dd to feel like she wasn’t as smart or proficient in math as her big brother. If he was zooming right along and she was struggling, it might cause her to feel a little inadequate or to compare herself to him. I want each of my children to feel comfortable working at their own pace, not like it’s a race or competition to see who’s better.
Thirdly, it is important to us to treat our children in a way that reflects their birth order. As the older child, my son should have the privilege of doing certain things first, IMO. If they were sent to school, I wouldn’t put them in the same grade or class. He would have started school first, and she would follow the next year. Even though our kids are very, very close in age, we make it a point not to treat them like twins and do not expect them to be at the same place in each subject.
Anyway, that’s my two cents’ worth. Hope it’s helpful!
Blessings,
Lindsey
I have two boys, 14 months apart in age. They are in 2nd and 3rd grade. I do teach math together. My younger ds caught up so quickly with my older ds (who didn’t mind that at all) two years ago that it just made it easier to do math together. I don’t use RS. We use MEP. Actually I teach them every subject together with the exception of language arts. They are both happy with the way we do that.
So, yes I teach them math together. I have done this for the last two years and plan to continue this way. There have been no issues between them with teaching them together. Math is fun for both boys, their favorite subject.
Carrie
I would say, as long as they are on the same level, and you’re not slowing down for one or speeding up for the other just to keep them together, it would be fine. My oldest 2 girls are also 16 mths apart, but they are in separate math. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if the younger one eventually catches up, perhaps even surpassing, her older sister. If that happens, we will discuss it, but I would rather go at their own pace than go by grade level or age, kwim? DD#2 is a very science, math, logical person, so this works for her. I could have started her in math with her sister the year prior, but she wasn’t 6 yet. 😛 I think that’s why she is flying through her 1st grade math so quickly.
HTH,
Sara 🙂
I teach my two oldest together (4 months apart) and so far it’s worked (2+ years in RS). I bought FOUR abacuses. One for each kid so that when older brothers are working, younger brothers can pretend. There have been moments when I’ve had to slow down for one brother, but we just played games as a group for a few days and then moved on. If they ever show real signs of needing to separate, we will.
#3 son has listened in on his older brothers and will often shout out the answer before them, even though he’s just sitting on the floor playing Legos or whatever. He’s moving very quickly through Level A, “But mom, I KNOW this already.” Now #4 is sitting in on #3’s lessons (just because he likes to be near him) and he’s starting to answer!
I haven’t seen any competition in math, but we also work really hard not to say things like, “Your brother got them all right and you didn’t” or “Why can’t you get this when he can?” We also don’t allow any comments like “That’s so easy” when someone is struggling. I alternate questions for the Warm Ups. I’ll ask one boy the first question, then turn to the second and ask him and so on and so forth. Sometimes I give them a white board with the questions written out and they work on them separately for a few minutes and then we do the main lesson together.
I’ve found that as long as I stay on top of the games, giving them plenty of “practice”, they do just fine.
Thanks for the help ladies :o)
Lindsey- I totally get what you are saying about birth order and privileges. I purposefully held off my second daughter about 5 months when I started phonics with the first. I could just tell that it would be a really sensitive issue for them to be at the same level in reading.
Having said that I haven’t been making a big deal about starting math and have actually just referred to it as “number games” most of the time (which is part of why I picked RS with all the hands on). That is why I’m wondering about just doing the lessons together….maybe I’ll try it for a while and see how it goes, I can always modify!
Crazy4boys-I had to smile at the mental picture of your four little guys with their abacuses! I hadn’t even thought about getting extras for the little ones but they’d probably love it :o) Good to hear that the combining has worked well for you and some others…
We use a combination of MUS and RS. You do need an abacus for each child if you are going to do any teaching together. Do not make the same mistake I did and think you can use the jr. abacus for your younger child. It is so tiny, it is almost a joke. She is using it to “teach” math to her baby dolls. We had to order the second AL abacus in regular size for her. I have found that at the beginning, my two are okay at math together. But, I am starting to think I may need to separate them soon. So far it is still together. You do have to watch that you are not holding one back or going too quickly for the other. I second that about the games and lots of practice. That is why I supplement MUS with RS using the two books about Activities for the AL Abacus and the RS games. It is so nice to have the three of us playing the games together. But, my youngest child is advanced and catches on quickly. I try not to make it a competition. They both watch the MUS dvd together, too. But sometimes I’ll use an easier worksheet for my youngest or have her do fewer problems, while working with her enough to know if she understands or not.
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