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Ok to slow down DS (2nd grade) in math?


Peplophoros
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My DS (rising 2nd grader) was about to start SM 3A this fall when I'm recently beginning to have a change of heart.  I was thinking of doing Math Mammoth 3A/Binstead (which honestly looks like he'll be able to cruise through) and maybe supplement with Miquon.   I guess I'm just feeling like we don't need to rush, and we should maybe take a more relaxed approach to math this year.  Again, my ds was doing very well with SM, but I'm not sure *I* am ready to do long division with him next year!  Plus I'm needing a change from SM for other reasons, like the fact that using at least 3 (and more likely 5) texts for math was so difficult for me with a toddler and baby in the wings.

 

Am I crazy? Should I just keep forging ahead with SM?

 

 

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well, you do not want to bored him with stuff he already know either. There is a fine line between get it deep and really redundant.

Did you use SM IP and CWP?? I will suggest you add the supplement and if the kid gets it.. let him move on

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We used SM Extra Practice (Is this different from IP?) and some of CWP, but not all.

 

IP is VERY different from extra practice. Extra practice is just about the same as workbook. just to get the ball rolling. IP is FUN!! it is puzzle, problem solving and challenging

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I don't understand why you'd do this. My daughter is the same age as your son, and she's working through 4A without that much difficulty. There's nothing about division by single-digit divisors that is beyond a first or second grader who has his multiplication and division facts down securely.

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NASDAQ,

 

I had to laugh at your signature because we do too much History.  I get it.   I'm just not feeling the love for all the workbooks, etc.  Do you really all do the text, workbook, IP, CWP?   I just want it all in one place!  I can't stand flipping from one book to the next...

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I wouldn't slow him down but I would stream line.  What I did last year for my second grader was the Singapore textbook and IP along with Beast 3A and 3B. He pretty much self taught most of math. I would go through the textbook with him and then he would do the section in IP. If he had trouble with certian types of problems we always had more problems in the textbook to do. We never did all the problems just enough to understand the new topic. We would typically do 3-4 weeks of Singapore always ending at the end of a section. So usually 3-4 sections. Then I would give him 3-4 weeks to work on Beast or until he was frustrated. He would read the guide book and work on the problems. For this son, he sets a timer for 40 min for math. When it goes off he finishes the problem he is on and picks up there the next day. He works hard and loves the challenge math gives him. I am available to help him when he is confused or a problem is difficult. I refuse to do it for him but know enough about math to give him good clues to move him along. If I do need to show him I set up another problem to show him the steps. I plan to follow the same procedure this year with Singapore 4A & 4B and Beast 3C& 3D.  

 

I almost forgot, we only do math Mon-Wed, co-op on Thurs and on Fridays my boys do LOF. This child is currently working in fractions. It seems to be a good balance for him.

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NASDAQ,

 

I had to laugh at your signature because we do too much History.  I get it.   I'm just not feeling the love for all the workbooks, etc.  Do you really all do the text, workbook, IP, CWP?   I just want it all in one place!  I can't stand flipping from one book to the next...

 

I don't do IP and she works through CWP on her own, so I don't cart that one around. So basically just the text and the workbook. I guess because my littler one is working on Right Start B right now, SM looks super streamlined :lol:

 

I don't use the teacher guides though. I use the Parker and Baldridge book instead. So that's a bit less flipping.

 

Also, instead of teaching division the way they show it in the 3A book, I teach it as "short division": http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Short-Division

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IP is VERY different from extra practice. Extra practice is just about the same as workbook. just to get the ball rolling. IP is FUN!! it is puzzle, problem solving and challenging

 

I agree. With a child who enjoys math, I would not purposefully slow down and definitely would not back track. However, I would also not let a child speed along while doing what I consider the minimum (working through the bare bones of even a superior curriculum). With a child who excels in math, I prefer to supplement, and the IP/CWP are, IMO, the best place to start. I also sprinkle math into history when possible, make sure we're applying it in science, connecting it to art and nature, etc. Math is everywhere! It is not just found along the one dimensional, sequential, grade K-12 path. With a child who is a natural at math, I think it's almost a crime to let this escape notice.

 

Anyway, I vote switch if you feel the need (MM is a great program), but don't backtrack.

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Another vote for switching, but not going backward.

 

Have you looked at Beast Academy? The grade 3 books would be just right for where your son currently is. And while there are 4 guides and 4 workbooks, you're only working in one guide and one workbook at a time. There is no TM. And the guide can be done sitting on the couch while feeding baby.

 

If you get Math Mammoth, I'd go ahead and get the grade 1-6 bundle when HSBC has it again. Then you could cruise through the parts of 3 he hasn't had, if there are any, and move on to 4. It's ok. Really. :) If your son starts to struggle, you can then step back and do something else. But if he's happy and learning and enjoying it, no need to go backward.

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We're just starting 1st, but I have a math-lover too.

 

I have been using a combination of SM, Dreambox.com, and IXL.com for math. My elder daughter started whizzing through Dreambox when we started using it mid-year, loving every minute of it. I love it because it seems very good at finding their comfort zone & making it fun. Some days she's on the computer before I am even up in the morning, and she's now working 1-2 years ahead depending on the specific topic (e.g. she "got" place value with minimal explanation & applied it on her own to things like figuring out 50 + 50 = 100 based on 5 + 5 = 10). /brag ;)

 

I have no plan to slow her down, though I am also having her do some work in SM & IXL to be sure the basics are practiced & reinforced. Also, I don't push her at all ahead of grade level. I'll explain things when she asks, but if she wants to slow down or focus on a different concept for a while, I'm not going to insist she keep up the accelerated pace (hope that makes sense). As long as I'm confident she really understands the concepts on which higher math will be based, thugh, I don't see any downside in giving her resources to progress as fast as she wants. I was that kid in school, sitting in the corner with the next-grade-up math workbook, and later in the "accelerated" math class. I was still bored with the endless drill of things I already knew (ask me abiut the time I got in trouble for checking off a bunch of 6th grade math assignments on the big wall chart so I culd get on to the harder / more intersting stuff :O ), and one of our homeschooling motivators is avoiding this for our kids should they happen to excel at one subject or another.

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