Crimson Wife Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/default.html DH decided not to have the kids participate this year (long story) but I wanted to pass it along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 We registered. DD usually takes MK cold, and it tends to be her lowest scoring math competition of the year, but she really likes that it's live with other kids and she likes the t-shirt and to see what the gift is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/default.html DH decided not to have the kids participate this year (long story) but I wanted to pass it along. Thanks for the heads up. Since I saw your post so early, I was able to register with the only public local testing site where most of the seats were taken up by 9:00 AM. I am sure that this is going to be a fun experience for DS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Our local site had 40 seats available this morning. I'm guessing most of the kids who usually do it won't register until this evening, after getting reminders to do so at school, because usually it's pretty full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Thanks for the reminder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Wow, there are shockingly few test centers in California. Our closest one in San Diego is an hour away. Also, do you guys enroll by actual grade or the grade level at which they are working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Wow, there are shockingly few test centers in California. Our closest one in San Diego is an hour away. Also, do you guys enroll by actual grade or the grade level at which they are working? Our state had 2 test centers last year and I don't see any this year. I wonder if more will be added later. I would enroll by actual grade. Many of the questions on the test are above grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Thank you for the heads-up. Mine have never participated in a math contest and this looks like a good place to start (and maybe end, I guess). Plus, there is an open testing site within a mile of us. Any tips on preparation? My dc are perhaps accelerated, but not gifted and I can see they will be nervous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Not only above grade level, but odd. My experience is that MK is a lot more visual and less numerical, at least at the lower grades. My DD does better on Math Counts and AMC 8 and even AMC 10 problems, in many cases, than MK at grade level. She says AOPS (and the above type of problems) are deceptively hard-that usually if you can find the right way to attack it, it turns out to be simple, while MK is deceptively easy-that they seem straightforward but often aren't. The Canadian Math Kangaroo site is much easier to navigate and to find practice problems on than the US one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I wish this happened in my country! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 It doesn't? It's an international competition, and it started in Australia, so it seems like there might be test sites available for your son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Wow, there are shockingly few test centers in California. Our closest one in San Diego is an hour away. Also, do you guys enroll by actual grade or the grade level at which they are working? More centers keep opening until December. Anyone can open a test center if they can reserve a public place to run the test (like a library reading room, conference room etc). Most volunteers who do so restrict admission to their group or club (understandable because of the work that goes into running the contest). In my area, most PTAs in public schools run MK and they restrict the enrollment to the school kids in their schools. Last year, I had no luck finding a test center in California (everyone was restricted or full by October) and seriously considered driving to Portland where there was a huge public test center with openings available. So, I am glad to find a local test center this year before it filled up. I talked to the manager of the local test center and he told me to register my son at the actual grade level he is at even if he was accelerated in math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 There is only one public site in my state. Fortunately, it's only about 20 minutes from my house :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It doesn't? It's an international competition, and it started in Australia, so it seems like there might be test sites available for your son. I thought it originated in France? Regardless... doesn't seem to exist here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It doesn't? It's an international competition, and it started in Australia, so it seems like there might be test sites available for your son. I thought it originated in France? Regardless... doesn't seem to exist here. The idea started in Sydney, Australia but the competition was started in France. "In the early 80's, Peter O'Holloran a math teacher at Sydney, invented a new kind of game in Australian schools: a multiple choice questionnaire, corrected by computer, which meant that thousands of pupils could participate at the same time. It was a tremendous success for the Australian Mathematical National Contest. In 1991, two French teachers (André Deledicq et Jean Pierre Boudine) decided to start the competition in France under the name "Kangaroo" to pay tribute to their Australian friends. In the first edition, 120 000 juniors took part. Ever since the competition has been opened to pupils as well as to senior students, followed by 21 European countries forming altogether "Kangaroo without borders". (link) . Since I saw your post so early, I was able to register with the only public local testing site where most of the seats were taken up by 9:00 AM. Couldn't get a place last year. This year managed to get places for my boys at the Palo Alto site. Plenty of seats left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 The idea started in Sydney, Australia but the competition was started in France. "In the early 80's, Peter O'Holloran a math teacher at Sydney, invented a new kind of game in Australian schools: a multiple choice questionnaire, corrected by computer, which meant that thousands of pupils could participate at the same time. It was a tremendous success for the Australian Mathematical National Contest. In 1991, two French teachers (André Deledicq et Jean Pierre Boudine) decided to start the competition in France under the name "Kangaroo" to pay tribute to their Australian friends. In the first edition, 120 000 juniors took part. Ever since the competition has been opened to pupils as well as to senior students, followed by 21 European countries forming altogether "Kangaroo without borders". (link) that's cool... I did not know that. We participate in the Australian ICAS exams, but no Kangaroo here. Maybe MAF stopped them at the border. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 We have Math Kangaroo in the Netherlands, but I need at least 10 homeschooled kids to be able to participate as a 'school'. At the moment, I only have 3 kids who can participate..... (I also have to buy school materials per 5 pieces of workbooks/studentbooks etc, so my dh keeps saying we need to get one more kid. Adding another 6 kids to be able to participate in Math Kangaroo seems a bit overdone, though :D.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avilma Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I enrolled my daughter too. Plenty of seats available in MA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 We have Math Kangaroo in the Netherlands, but I need at least 10 homeschooled kids to be able to participate as a 'school'. At the moment, I only have 3 kids who can participate..... (I also have to buy school materials per 5 pieces of workbooks/studentbooks etc, so my dh keeps saying we need to get one more kid. Adding another 6 kids to be able to participate in Math Kangaroo seems a bit overdone, though :D.) Do you have to have just homeschoolers? In the US, a public site can be open to anyone, so most of the kids who take it here are PS students, but their school doesn't participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Do you have to have just homeschoolers? In the US, a public site can be open to anyone, so most of the kids who take it here are PS students, but their school doesn't participate. I have to have 10 homeschoolers. In the Netherlands you can only homeschool if your child has never been to school and you file for a religious exemption. By cooperating with a public school (which, btw, can be catholic or protestant or some other religion.....those are all paid for by the government), the local truancy officer *could* construe that as you having no objection to that particular public school and that would then be the end of your legal right to homeschool. I am obviously not going to take that risk :glare: . Last year a friend and I tried to find 10 homeschoolers to participate. She had 3 kids interested, my 3 kids were interested....and we could not find a single other kid. So frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I have to have 10 homeschoolers. In the Netherlands you can only homeschool if your child has never been to school and you file for a religious exemption. By cooperating with a public school (which, btw, can be catholic or protestant or some other religion.....those are all paid for by the government), the local truancy officer *could* construe that as you having no objection to that particular public school and that would then be the end of your legal right to homeschool. I am obviously not going to take that risk :glare: . Last year a friend and I tried to find 10 homeschoolers to participate. She had 3 kids interested, my 3 kids were interested....and we could not find a single other kid. So frustrating. Why do you need to recruit other homeschoolers? You just register a site (in a public building like a library, community hall etc) and it is available on the MK test centers website as open to everyone or as a private testing site depending on your choice. If you open it to everyone, any one looking for testing centers near where you live will click on the link and register their child online. They can be homeschoolers or public schoolers or private schoolers - there is no affiliation because this event is like a "math club contest" and nothing to do with schooling. Basically, you volunteer to open a test center and run it for MK and you enable kids interested in math to participate for fun (and goody bags!). And the test centers get filled fast - so you don't have to worry about searching for kids to participate. Their site lists a bunch of tasks that a site manager needs to do - that needs a lot of time to be put in on the manager's part. BTW/ you do not have to cooperate with any public school for running a MK center. You will basically run something like a local Lego competition or a local baking competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Why do you need to recruit other homeschoolers? You just register a site (in a public building like a library, community hall etc) and it is available on the MK test centers website as open to everyone or as a private testing site depending on your choice. If you open it to everyone, any one looking for testing centers near where you live will click on the link and register their child online. They can be homeschoolers or public schoolers or private schoolers - there is no affiliation because this event is like a "math club contest" and nothing to do with schooling. Basically, you volunteer to open a test center and run it for MK and you enable kids interested in math to participate for fun (and goody bags!). And the test centers get filled fast - so you don't have to worry about searching for kids to participate. Their site lists a bunch of tasks that a site manager needs to do - that needs a lot of time to be put in on the manager's part. BTW/ you do not have to cooperate with any public school for running a MK center. You will basically run something like a local Lego competition or a local baking competition. You are in America? In the Netherlands there are no private testing sites for Math Kangaroo. Everything is arranged through the schools. The Dutch organisation makes it very clear on their website that Math Kangaroo is only open for students enrolled in schools. We had to lobby for a long time to even get permission to participate as a 'homeschool school'. BTW, I just checked: our registration isn't open. Is your competition on March 19th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 You are in America? In the Netherlands there are no private testing sites for Math Kangaroo. Everything is arranged through the schools. The Dutch organisation makes it very clear on their website that Math Kangaroo is only open for students enrolled in schools. We had to lobby for a long time to even get permission to participate as a 'homeschool school'. BTW, I just checked: our registration isn't open. Is your competition on March 19th? Yes, I am in America. Sorry, I did not know that MK has different rules for the Netherlands. So, please take what I said with a big grain of salt. I suggest that you email the president of MK (Maria Omelanczuk, Founder & President, maria@mathkangaroo.org ) if you think that you might be able to run a MK testing site as a person not affiliated to a brick and mortar school (participation by fellow homeschoolers). I don't see why that would be impossible considering it is done in several countries. And, the test dates vary slightly across different countries. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Wow, there are shockingly few test centers in California. Our closest one in San Diego is an hour away. Also, do you guys enroll by actual grade or the grade level at which they are working? I was wondering the same thing - I mean it's California! There may have been more sites last year for the public, but they must have made them private now just for their own students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 that's cool... I did not know that. We participate in the Australian ICAS exams, but no Kangaroo here. Maybe MAF stopped them at the border. I declined the ICAS- I didn't see it would help to do a standardised test on a curriculum that doesn't maths NZ's. The other stuff sounds more fun though. I liked the look of the Borac course even without being able to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I declined the ICAS- I didn't see it would help to do a standardised test on a curriculum that doesn't maths NZ's. The other stuff sounds more fun though. I liked the look of the Borac course even without being able to compete. meh, we don't teach the NZ curriculum (or any country's curriculum) so I figured it would do no harm, and the boy likes competitions. WEG bears no resemblance to NZ curriculum either, ditto many of the other curriculum area cops he likes so much. If it's not your thing that's cool... I quite like them for a low key kind of practice thing. Besides, he likes the shiny medals, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think relatively few schools do the competitions here, at least in elementary school. I suspect it has a lot to do with the emphasis on specific tests. I know the number of sites for the TriMathlon goes down each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think relatively few schools do the competitions here, at least in elementary school. I suspect it has a lot to do with the emphasis on specific tests. I know the number of sites for the TriMathlon goes down each year. Also, there are not so many kids who like competitions in the Elementary levels. I have seen the number of test centers and prep centers go up for Middle school and High school level contests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I also see high schoolers doing them to build their resumes more, and often the high school winners get scholarships or summer program opportunities, so there's more incentive for doing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Yes, I am in America. Sorry, I did not know that MK has different rules for the Netherlands. So, please take what I said with a big grain of salt. I suggest that you email the president of MK (Maria Omelanczuk, Founder & President, maria@mathkangaroo.org ) if you think that you might be able to run a MK testing site as a person not affiliated to a brick and mortar school (participation by fellow homeschoolers). I don't see why that would be impossible considering it is done in several countries. And, the test dates vary slightly across different countries. Good luck. It's okay! Emailing might be a good idea, and maybe I will do that this winter if I can't find other homeschoolers to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FergusonHomeschool Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks for posting this! We have been looking for math competitions to participate in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 meh, we don't teach the NZ curriculum (or any country's curriculum) so I figured it would do no harm, and the boy likes competitions. WEG bears no resemblance to NZ curriculum either, ditto many of the other curriculum area cops he likes so much. If it's not your thing that's cool... I quite like them for a low key kind of practice thing. Besides, he likes the shiny medals, lol! My kids attend school though and I worry it would be used against him. Probably paranoid but I am not feeling very charitable right now. If it weren't for the fact ds7 is slow to adjust I would look at other schools and if it weren't for the fact I have to work I would pull them from school altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 My kids attend school though and I worry it would be used against him. Probably paranoid but I am not feeling very charitable right now. If it weren't for the fact ds7 is slow to adjust I would look at other schools and if it weren't for the fact I have to work I would pull them from school altogether. :-( bummer, sounds like a tough situation. Some schools sign up heaps of kids, some only let their top stdents enter, some offer it to anyone, and some don't use it at all... and sometimes the same school does it differently in different years :-) Mostly no one cares how the kids do, unless they win something cool, and then they can put them in the newsletter :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I declined the ICAS- I didn't see it would help to do a standardised test on a curriculum that doesn't maths NZ's. The other stuff sounds more fun though. I liked the look of the Borac course even without being able to compete. I jumped through all the hoops (there were a lot) to register DD for ICAS as a homeschooler earlier this year. Then she decided to try school. Her school (Steiner) does not do ICAS. I'm pondering sneakily entering her as a homeschooler - if she wants to when the time comes next year. Ironically no Math Kangaroo in Australia :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I jumped through all the hoops (there were a lot) to register DD for ICAS as a homeschooler earlier this year. Then she decided to try school. Her school (Steiner) does not do ICAS. I'm pondering sneakily entering her as a homeschooler - if she wants to when the time comes next year. Ironically no Math Kangaroo in Australia :( We had one child participate with us this year who is not homeschooled, but whose school was not doing the exams, so she joined us. I only co-supervise, not organise, so I don't know how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamppost Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Is this always done at a testing center or can it be administered at home? I'm just asking because the only center in my state shows 300 seats available but the address given is just somebody's private residence- appears to be an apartment. So that makes me wonder if the person who registered the center is just facilitating parents giving the test to their kids at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Is this always done at a testing center or can it be administered at home? I'm just asking because the only center in my state shows 300 seats available but the address given is just somebody's private residence- appears to be an apartment. So that makes me wonder if the person who registered the center is just facilitating parents giving the test to their kids at home? A testing center can be private or public. Many schools administer the test here in a private setting. If that apartment complex had a public recreation room and the facilitator rented that place for the Math Kangaroo, that is quite a common way to run the test. My child will take his test in a public building - I called the person listed as the Manager of that site and checked if it was open to the public and then registered. Just give them a call and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Does the student have to be 1st grade by age, or will they let a K-ager participate as 1st if they can read the questions and do the math? She will turn 6 by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted September 26, 2014 Share Posted September 26, 2014 Does the student have to be 1st grade by age, or will they let a K-ager participate as 1st if they can read the questions and do the math? She will turn 6 by then. You should check with the manager of the specific test site you want to use, but last year that was allowed as long as they could independently take the test (i.e. read it themselves and fill in bubbles). MathK just wanted a note in the comment section when registering that the student was a Kindergartener. Then, next year she would still register as level 1 when she is in first grade. Johanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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