Free shipping on USA orders over $129!
Using Math U See and Calculadder
- This topic has 6 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 8 months ago by
.
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
- Posts
For all of you Math U See users, (or maybe this would apply to any math program),
We are on Alpha and Calculadder 1 with DD age 7 – she really already knows and understands everything that is taught in Alpha, with the exception of her math facts. What I’m trying to figure out, is this…Do we need to wait for her to learn each set of facts, before we move forward to each new lesson in Alpha?
I had originally thought that we would sail through Alpha and move on to Delta since she already knows and understands addition and subtraction so well. She knows her +0 and +1 facts, and we’ve been using Calculadder and the drill activities on the math u see website.
And that brings me to my other problem…. While she does know these facts, she isn’t able to do the Calculadder pages in the required 2 min. time frame. So, I feel like if we wait until she is able to do it in 2 min., we’ll be spending even longer on the MUS lessons than we already are. She gets all the answers right, in her head without counting in about 3 min…if we drill the facts aloud, she is much faster.
I guess I’m just a bit frustrated right now with Math…I was really excited about using Math U See, but I feel like we’re dragging along instead of sailing on through…I know we don’t really need to go at a fast pace, but, like I said she already knows and understands the concepts, so it feels like we’re going really slowly. I think if we had started from the beginning with MUS, it would feel like a better fit. Sorry…I don’t mean to sound like I don’t like MUS, because I really do! Just trying to figure out if I’m going about this the right way…
Thanks in advance for help with my long-winded question!
Megan
Megan- You should make sure she knows her facts before she moves on. It seems like it will take forever right now, but it actually will help her progress faster as she moves on.
What I did this past year for my 6 year old who did Alpha was to have her keep reviewing with Math U See’s Online Drill Generator. And because we haven’t done math this summer, I’m going to have her review the facts before she starts Beta in September…they do forgot so much when they aren’t using it every day.
As I noticed with my older children who went through other programs before we switched to MUS, just moving on for the sake of moving on, it took us more time in the long run because we had to keep reviewing.
Nanci
Nanci
Thank you Nanci – I guess that’s what I need to remember – we are doing this for success over the long haul…not for the sake of speeding ahead. 🙂
So let me ask you – do you require them to have a certain amount of speed before moving on, or is the fact that they solidly know it enough? She did her +1 page in 2.5 yesterday, so I think we’ll go ahead and move forward…besides, we’ll keep reviewing the facts we’ve learned.
Thanks again!
Megan
Megan- I don’t require any specific time, I can just tell if they know them or not. I found many times this past year while my 6 yo was doing Alpha that I had to send her to the computer to do the Math U See practice drills many times. They really do forget so much so fast at that age.
And what I do at the beginning of the school year is have them re- watch the DVD from the book they just finished as a review.
Nanci
I second the practice drills on the computer. I don’t worry about a specific time, either. I do keep track of the times, and when they kind of quit improving even though they practice and clearly know them, then I move on. Mechanics, whether writing speed or hunting up the number on the keypad, also affect time. Also, I just sing out fact questions during the day in those early years. You will know if she really knows it, or if she needs to work a while, by the look on her face and the speed of her reply.
You want those facts in those basic skills down. You don’t want to be messing with details like that when you hit fractions, percents and algebra later!
I second the practice drills on the computer. I don’t worry about a specific time, either. I do keep track of the times, and when they kind of quit improving even though they practice and clearly know them, then I move on. Mechanics, whether writing speed or hunting up the number on the keypad, also affect time. Also, I just sing out fact questions during the day in those early years. You will know if she really knows it, or if she needs to work a while, by the look on her face and the speed of her reply.
You want those facts in those basic skills down. You don’t want to be messing with details like that when you hit fractions, percents and algebra later!
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
- The topic ‘Using Math U See and Calculadder’ is closed to new replies.