Renny30 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Hello, I'm new to homeschooling. My DS, age 8, and I have have been homeschooling since August 1st. He is in 3rd grade, but we're doing 2nd grade math because he's been behind in math for a few years. He has an hour of group tutoring in math 3 days a week with 4 other children at our coop. We're using Harcourt's 2005 math text and workbook. I supplement at home with Math Mammoth, Time4Learning (which I think we'll stop soon - he guesses), and I use Youtube videos to help reteach as necessary. He's always hated math, but now likes it because at home we're moving at a slower pace. We pretty much went back to the basics and worked on learning the numbers and place value. He has really done well over past few months. We have progressed to two digit addition - regrouping and subtraction but he's still counting on his fingers. He will count 4 plus 1 to get 5 or use his Abacus for any problems that he has using numbers over 10. I've tried very hard to get him to use mental math and he'll do it some while we're counting together, but if I leave him alone to work independently he goes back to counting on his fingers or using his Abacus. I've tried removing the Abacus, but he gets frustrated and shuts down. He says his brain won't do it. I'm not sure this is connected, but I'll share to be thorough, reading has been an issue. He's reading on about a 2nd grade level. Not terribly behind, but concerning for me. I just ordered Logic of English Essentials to help with that, but honestly, he's made progress by leaps and bounds in reading just in the past two months. He's transitioned to chapter books with the help of his love for the Magic Tree House series. But overall, he really does not like to read. He has a great fantastic memory. I think most of his ability to read and spell are because he's already learned the Fry list through 500. When he doesn't know a word he won't decode it unless it's short. He struggles with decoding the multi-letter phonograms and doesn't get the silent e words without help. I'm really hoping LOE will help with this. I think it's just a matter of learning it. DS has had a PPD-NOS diagnosis for about 4 years and we've had no other testing since then other than speech assessments - he has receptive and expressive language disorder. He received his diagnosis at the Marcus Autism Center here in Atlanta and was tested through the public school prior to that and determined to have a significant developmental delay and received services under autism in special ed pre-K4 and K. He attended a small private school for 1st and 2nd grade because I classroom size in PS was an issue. I knew he'd disappear but the private school was too advanced. We had 2 hours a night of homework. It was too much. This is why we're homeschooling. I have an appointment next month for further testing, but I'm not sure I want to keep it. He's very high functioning. Doing fairly well socially with the kids at coop. He's not excluded and he's happy. Kids want to get in our car for field trips. We're reading lots of social stories. The reason I'm thinking he doesn't need the testing is because I'm getting the sense that's he's a late bloomer and that we've found our solution to his issues in homeschooling. His tutor (his former 1st grade teacher) agrees and has always told me to be patient. I don't want to spend $1000 for testing that quite frankly as a single parent I do not have. I'm not being cheap. Like many of us, I've spent a small fortune on my kiddo. It's really my instincts saying I don't need him tested, so I'm trusting that. But I'm also open to sound advice in this area. My question is, what kinds of things can I do to help with the math? Should I have him memorize the addition facts? I really didn't want to do that, because I want him to understand math. I'm concerned we'll regret that later, but I honestly don't know. Maybe that's a way it's done and I just don't know about it. I've always been good at math. It just clicks, so breaking things down into smaller pieces to make it easier to understand is not a strength of mine, but with God's help and forums like this I'm really learning. I'd appreciate any tips. Thanks in advance. Sorry to be so long. I thought background information could help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Welcome! And hugs! What additional evaluations are you looking at getting? And through where? Honestly, I would probably get the evals, depending on what they were for and through whom, as long as it isn't a question of food vs evals or something like that. Since money is tight, though, and he is making progress as a homeschooler, I guess I would probably wait, then, but I wouldn't write them off as a never thing. Maybe further down the road... Even with a high functioning child, you might be better off getting the additional evaluations at some point so you have a clearer picture of what all is going on. Getting solid answers and a stronger idea of what might be the underlying cause(s) when he struggles (and hopefully also finding what his strengths are) will theoretically give you a much better idea of how to help. If he runs into snags just hopping curriculum and guessing may lead to some really hard times. As for math, well Ronit Bird's Overcoming Difficulties with Numbers might be a big help. Math U See might also be a good program to use. And by the way, using an Abacus is actually a good thing, as I understand it. A lot of strong math programs use it. Eventually, hopefully, he will be able to manipulate the abacus in his head and not need the physical version anymore. Math facts may or may not ever be able to be memorized, depending on underlying issues. Being able to mentally manipulate a virtual abacus could help with that. I have to run but I will try to check in later.... Edited to add, I am trying to get additional evals myself. Just haven't been able to make it happen yet. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Which abacus is he using because there is a huge difference between the Right Start abacus (Slavonic) and the Soroban (Japanese)? The Soroban abacus lends itself well to mental math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 The first 4 years of Ray's Arithmetic is intended to be done mentally. You read it to the child and they tell you the answers. Ray's Primary Arithmetic (1st-2nd) Ray's Intellectual Arithmetic (3rd-4th) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny30 Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Which abacus is he using because there is a huge difference between the Right Start abacus (Slavonic) and the Soroban (Japanese)? The Soroban abacus lends itself well to mental math. He has a Right Start Abacus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny30 Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 The first 4 years of Ray's Arithmetic is intended to be done mentally. You read it to the child and they tell you the answers. Ray's Primary Arithmetic (1st-2nd) Ray's Intellectual Arithmetic (3rd-4th) Thank you. I've sent the 1st one to my Kindle. I'll read it and give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny30 Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Welcome! And hugs! What additional evaluations are you looking at getting? And through where? Honestly, I would probably get the evals, depending on what they were for and through whom, as long as it isn't a question of food vs evals or something like that. Since money is tight, though, and he is making progress as a homeschooler, I guess I would probably wait, then, but I wouldn't write them off as a never thing. Maybe further down the road... Even with a high functioning child, you might be better off getting the additional evaluations at some point so you have a clearer picture of what all is going on. Getting solid answers and a stronger idea of what might be the underlying cause(s) when he struggles (and hopefully also finding what his strengths are) will theoretically give you a much better idea of how to help. If he runs into snags just hopping curriculum and guessing may lead to some really hard times. As for math, well Ronit Bird's Overcoming Difficulties with Numbers might be a big help. Math U See might also be a good program to use. And by the way, using an Abacus is actually a good thing, as I understand it. A lot of strong math programs use it. Eventually, hopefully, he will be able to manipulate the abacus in his head and not need the physical version anymore. Math facts may or may not ever be able to be memorized, depending on underlying issues. Being able to mentally manipulate a virtual abacus could help with that. I have to run but I will try to check in later.... Edited to add, I am trying to get additional evals myself. Just haven't been able to make it happen yet. :) Thanks for the welcome. The evaluation he is having includes auditory processing, cognitive functioning, memory function, language and attention. I was thinking maybe down the line. He is on the waiting list for testing through Child Find, but I made this appointment because I didn't want to wait 6 months for the school system. Now I'm thinking I may do that. 6 months is not that long. I waited 9 months for the Marcus Autism Center and we are making really good progress. I'm thinking I'll be even more knowledgeable about what I'm seeing as a parent if I wait. I'm still learning about him myself. I'll look at that book. I've spent most of my time reading about phonics programs. Now I need to do my research about math. He has a great memory. He might be able to memorize the addition and subtraction facts. I really appreciate the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Your DS sounds like he needs to practice subitizing, which is a fundamental skill for math understanding. Ronit Bird sells inexpensive e-books for the Ipad that may benefit your DS. Here is the first one. You can email the author directly if you have any questions. I have and she is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandyKC Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 My question is, what kinds of things can I do to help with the math? Should I have him memorize the addition facts? I really didn't want to do that, because I want him to understand math. I'm concerned we'll regret that later, but I honestly don't know. Maybe that's a way it's done and I just don't know about it. I've always been good at math. It just clicks, so breaking things down into smaller pieces to make it easier to understand is not a strength of mine, but with God's help and forums like this I'm really learning. I'd appreciate any tips. Thanks in advance. Sorry to be so long. I thought background information could help. Happy to see another Atlanta-area HSer here! :D Do you know what kind of learner your son is.. visual, kinesthetic, tactile, auditory? I'm wondering if a program like Touch Math would be good for him? Or for math fact memorization, the program Reflex Math if he likes the computer or audio-visual. Having some degree of fluency with math facts will help him as he gets into higher levels of math, so any amount of advancement you can help him make with math facts will help him in the long run. I've shared the process our neuropsych gave us for math fact memorization on my website. It's an approach with flash cards, but not using them in the traditional way. You can also do it with a "memory" matching kind of game because sometimes its initially easier to recognize the facts, then work towards from memory recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny30 Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Happy to see another Atlanta-area HSer here! :D Do you know what kind of learner your son is.. visual, kinesthetic, tactile, auditory? I'm wondering if a program like Touch Math would be good for him? Or for math fact memorization, the program Reflex Math if he likes the computer or audio-visual. Having some degree of fluency with math facts will help him as he gets into higher levels of math, so any amount of advancement you can help him make with math facts will help him in the long run. I've shared the process our neuropsych gave us for math fact memorization on my website. It's an approach with flash cards, but not using them in the traditional way. You can also do it with a "memory" matching kind of game because sometimes its initially easier to recognize the facts, then work towards from memory recall. Hi Sandy, Thank you. He's more of a visual and tactile learner. Kinesthetic too, but not auditory. I tried Touch Math with him, but he didn't like the idea of touching dots. I'm trying to limit screen time a bit, but I'll look at Reflex Math and will definitely look at the article. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renny30 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 I have an update. My iPad has been dead. I took it to the Apple store this weekend because I wanted to get the book by Ronit Bird and I see it's only available in iBooks. I picked it up today, downloaded a flashcard app with the intention of having my son drill and memorize, because I've found out from doing some research that memorization isn't a bad thing to do with addition facts. So I give him the iPad to do addition drills. First of all, he knew quite a few of the facts right off. As the numbers got higher - 6, 7 and 8's) he started closing his eyes and picturing the answers. He didn't use his fingers at all. I feel like I'm talking about a different kid. I swear I've never seen him do that. Every time he has math to do on a worksheet he starts counting on his fingers, or using the Abacus but with the cards he used mental math. Isn't that interesting? I don't know why I'm surprised. He surprises me all the time. I'm going to read Bird's book and start playing some of those math games with him. I also spiraled back to base blocks and number lines today. I am waiting for the Reflex Math folks to approve me for a trial. He really likes math so getting him to do it is not a problem. He hated it when he was in regular school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have an update. My iPad has been dead. I took it to the Apple store this weekend because I wanted to get the book by Ronit Bird and I see it's only available in iBooks. I picked it up today, downloaded a flashcard app with the intention of having my son drill and memorize, because I've found out from doing some research that memorization isn't a bad thing to do with addition facts. So I give him the iPad to do addition drills. First of all, he knew quite a few of the facts right off. As the numbers got higher - 6, 7 and 8's) he started closing his eyes and picturing the answers. He didn't use his fingers at all. I feel like I'm talking about a different kid. I swear I've never seen him do that. Every time he has math to do on a worksheet he starts counting on his fingers, or using the Abacus but with the cards he used mental math. Isn't that interesting? I don't know why I'm surprised. He surprises me all the time. I'm going to read Bird's book and start playing some of those math games with him. I also spiraled back to base blocks and number lines today. I am waiting for the Reflex Math folks to approve me for a trial. He really likes math so getting him to do it is not a problem. He hated it when he was in regular school. Missed the update until now. Good luck. I hope things are going well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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