Stacia Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Ds is very bright & does really well in every topic except math. It just doesn't seem to sink in & he has a very hard time remembering/understanding anything math-related. He just turned 13yo, is finishing 7th grade, & I'm wondering what, what, what to do about math for our upcoming year. The plan is that he will be homeschooled through 8th grade, then will start attending our local public school. (At that time, I would assume/hope he would go into an on-level math course for 9th graders, which would be Algebra.) In previous years, I used Math U See with my daughter (who is now in 10th grade at the public school) & it worked great for her. She started on an accelerated math track when entering high school & has done very well. Ds always seemed to struggle w/ Math U See, so for the past two years (6th & 7th grades), we've used Teaching Textbooks. He loves the format/lesson style of TT, but, imo, he is still not really grasping/understanding a lot of math. Kwim? So, even though he likes it, I don't feel comfortable that it is the right program for him. I'm looking at Singapore (used it w/ my dd some when she was young) & am thinking their Discovering Mathematics Common Core middle school program might work for 8th grade. It might be tough for him, but I'm thinking he needs a total switch from what we've been doing. Maybe Singapore's way of explaining it would be what makes the light bulb turn on for him? Pros? Cons? Other programs that I should consider? Anything that helped your non-mathy middle-schooler actually grasp math??? I'm feeling completely lost as to how I should help my kid in math at this point. :willy_nilly: Any help or advice much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I would not recommend jumping into Singapore at the middle school level unless switching from a very similar program like MiF, MM, or Right Start. Defintely not from TT or MUS. On one of the other subforums (I think it was the Learning Challenges board but I'm not 100% sure), there was a recommendation for this program that looks very intriguing: http://www.learnmathfastbooks.com/whats-inside-each-volume.html I would look at getting volume 3 and possibly volume 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Singapore DM is actually pretty challenging. My dd has been using it for 7th and 8th grade. It also covers algebra and geometry topics which you may or may not be interested in. My 8th grader is also going into a public high school next year, so I understand about wanting to prepare a child for that (mine will be going into geometry as that is becoming the standard for Oregon freshmen). One option for you is to look for a good pre-algebra program to make sure he's ready for algebra. We liked the looks of Dolciani and would have used that if we hadn't gone with Singapore--very straight-forward, no nonsense, clear, logical explanations. We like the Singapore program a lot, and I think dd is getting a strong math education from it, so I don't necessarily want to discourage you from it. It is most likely more challenging than what your son will get in a public school algebra 1 class--so if you want to over-prepare him so 9th grade will seem easy in comparison, that's an option. I used to teach high school math so I can honestly tell my daughter that many of these problems would be tough for high school sophomores. It was a big jump up from what dd had been doing in Singapore 1-6. First several chapters were hard for her and she didn't master skills like working with negatives the first time around--had to keep working on it. She liked taking a break from the algebra with the geometry chapters--I am now a fan of the integrated approach to math. Had she not been able to step up to this level, our plan B was to do the Dolciani and then probably follow that up with a traditional algebra course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 My kids have thrived with Derek Owens. He offers courses from pre-algebra through calculus and you can start any time. The pre-algebra course can be done at home and graded by a parent. With higher level courses, the work is sent in to Derek, graded, recorded online and returned. All his courses are on the internet - video based plus a printed workbook that you can purchase at lulu. The student also prints out additional homework from pdf files. Jumping into Singapore Math at a this late a date would be frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 My son struggled/struggles with Math. We finally ended up with a mixture of TT and LOF and that has done really well. We still had some gaps from him just not getting comfortable with his basic math facts. I started my dd on Math reflex (1st grader) and with the 2 week trial thought, why not and put my 6th grader on there as well. He LOVES it. We have done a month of addition and subtraction and he is at the 100% mark, I am switching him to multiplication and division. It just gets those basics down pat and fast in fun games. Doing those basics, has shown an overall improvement in his Math. The other thing we started at the same time is Khan Academy. He does that for 20 minutes every day. It is filling in the holes, and he enjoys it. We also introduced Penrose the Cat. So, I guess what I am saying is maybe add some living Math Books, and computer remediation in and see if that helps. If you started that now alongside TT, he could maybe do Jousting Armadillos next year? It is not as rigorous of a Pre A as AOPS, but you could contact the counselor at your local school and see what he needs to have mastered to go into their 9th grade Algebra. Spend next year working on that list with a variety of resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 His best bet may be for you to go way back to basic math patterns and review those for the next couple of months at least. If he has trouble with subitization skills and "feeling" basic math patterns then just pressing forward may not address the real issue at all. I have a 7th grader who struggle with math her whole life. Going back to basic subitization skills then moving forward from there is starting to help her finally make sense of math. She actually enjoys math now, and those critical connections that were missing before are starting to take place. And I agree with others, switching to a completely different program in middle school could be a total nightmare. If you were going to switch curriculum systems completely, I would give a placement test and place him wherever it said to go, even if it meant back at 2nd grade level material. If approaching math from a completely different perspective, and starting with the very basics, actually helped him make those missing connections then he might be able to move through the more advanced elementary and middle school math at a faster pace later on. I suggest you read a couple of the following books before you start hopping curriculums. They were very helpful to me and to many parents on TWTM that have kids struggling in math. You might also post on the Learning Challenges board. And read past posts over there. Tons of great info to help out.... http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Learns-Mathematics-David-Anthony/dp/1412953065/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397757269&sr=1-1&keywords=how+the+brain+learns+mathematics http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Difficulties-Number-Supporting-Dyscalculia/dp/1848607113/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397757298&sr=1-1&keywords=ronit+bird http://www.amazon.com/The-Dyscalculia-Toolkit-Supporting-Difficulties/dp/1446267199/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=17Q6NVW1JTNGR4X3KR3X Best wishes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I also agree that jumping into SM at this point isn't a great idea. Have you considered Saxon pre-A? I am saying this not having used Saxon, so who knows if this is useful to you. But, lately I have spoken to a couple parents of kids who had been struggling with math (one who slogged through SM) do very well with Saxon pre-A and Algebra. Their kids could manage it, seemed to be retaining it and were progressing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I also agree that jumping into SM at this point isn't a great idea. Have you considered Saxon pre-A? I am saying this not having used Saxon, so who knows if this is useful to you. But, lately I have spoken to a couple parents of kids who had been struggling with math (one who slogged through SM) do very well with Saxon pre-A and Algebra. Their kids could manage it, seemed to be retaining it and were progressing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Is it possible to take a math placement test to see where his holes in understanding actually are? Saxon has a placement test online (cbd for one has it). Hoizon's math from AOP also has a placement test. It MIGHT help you decide what and/or where to start. Depending upon the area that needs work, you might be able to use Key to, or LOF to help plug holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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