Spring Flower Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It looks like the TriMathlon will be held on October 17th this year and you can sign up now. My DD enjoyed doing this last year and DS is excited to participate this year, too! http://www.mathnasiumtrimathlon.com/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Thank you Spring Flower. I've never heard of this before. Can you tell me if it's real competitive? Or just for fun? Are there a lot of questions? Thanks for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportsmom Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm hoping DS10 can participate this year! We didn't know about it until just before the summer - and this is the last year he is eligible to participate. I was going to sign him up yesterday, but I'm still waiting on the season schedule...hoping that we can make it work! Fingers crossed for a morning game. I still have the tab open to register. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 If they have the practice online like in past years, it's exactly like the test. We only had a local site here one year, and I guess they didn't have enough response (or maybe not enough people signed up for Mathnasium classes) since we haven't had one since. We went to a different city to do it the year after, and it was much more competitive and high-pressure. She enjoyed it and got some nice medals and little trinkets out of it, but we decided it wasn't worth driving a couple of hours for (and by 5th grade, science had become a lot more important than math). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Thank you Spring Flower. I've never heard of this before. Can you tell me if it's real competitive? Or just for fun? Are there a lot of questions? Thanks for any input. Our center had about 10 kids in each grade and DD won a medal. The atmosphere was fun and lighthearted and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. The practice tests on the website are exactly like the real exam. http://www.mathnasiumtrimathlon.com/practice-tests 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 No experience, but this looks fun! Last year was my last year with a grade-schooler, but there was no location in my area or we would have been there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Our center had about 10 kids in each grade and DD won a medal. The atmosphere was fun and lighthearted and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. The practice tests on the website are exactly like the real exam. http://www.mathnasiumtrimathlon.com/practice-tests Our center is metropolitan, so there were a lot of kids (close to 40, I think). They allowed even K and 1st graders to take the test. DS did the practice tests for his grade level and also the next higher grade in the weeks before the test. He said that the real test was easier than the practice tests. He got a medal and a goody bag at the center and they had photo ops with the medalists and a mathematician who gave a small speech. DS liked it a lot. It was completely stress free and fun. It took too long, almost 2.5 hours for them to conduct the exam, correct the papers, give out the medals and do the speech etc and I had to wait outside for most of the time. Our center had large platters of snacks from costco for the kids to eat so they were not hungry while they waited! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Well, I guess it depends on the location. The website does make it look fun and stress free. I like the fact that everyone gets a goody bag. I'll have to wait until next year. I'm not sure if my child can sit for 2 1/2 hours. Plus, he'll want to meet and talk to everyone. lol So, not like me. But that's for a different thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 . I was going to sign him up yesterday, but I'm still waiting on the season schedule...hoping that we can make it work! . They have the event on Saturday and Sunday in my area. We went on Sunday as our Saturdays are busy with classes. They have many people marking and about 10 kids per level at the place we went so about an hour per grade level for taking the test and getting the results and medals. The younger kids did it in the morning while the 4th and 5th graders did it at around 2pm and 3pm at the center we were at. Call the mathnasium center you want to sign up at and ask how they are going to run it. It is really YMMV. We would have been able to make it on Saturday after 2pm but not at the 9am time they stated on the website. Both kids found it boring but they won't have known if they would like it until they do it. DS10 age out while DS9 says he is not interested anymore. Math Kangaroo goes up to higher grades so your child can participate for a few more years. Registation is opening on Sept 15th. http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/registration.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm not sure if my child can sit for 2 1/2 hours. Plus, he'll want to meet and talk to everyone. lol So, not like me. Oh no, I did not mean to say that your child needs to sit in one place silently for so long. They only ask that the kids be quiet and sit in their seats during the actual test which was less than 45 minutes. They are then allowed to walk around, get snacks, play board games, read books etc while the instructors grade the test papers. In our center, there were 4 instructors and it took them an hour to grade and tally up the totals for all the kids. Some parents told the center to email them the results and walked away after the testing. So, please go ahead and sign up if your child can take a 30-45 minute test. Even better would be for you to print out the practice test for his grade level (based on age is the test recommendation) and time him to see how long he takes and if he has the motivation to sit for the length of the test. Sorry for the unclear posts before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Oh no problem mathnerd! I misunderstood. If I had been thinking correctly I would have guessed that you meant the whole thing and not just the test. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Yes, the test is broken into three parts, 15 minutes each, so they get a little break in between. Not too painful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportsmom Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 They have the event on Saturday and Sunday in my area. We went on Sunday as our Saturdays are busy with classes. They have many people marking and about 10 kids per level at the place we went so about an hour per grade level for taking the test and getting the results and medals. The younger kids did it in the morning while the 4th and 5th graders did it at around 2pm and 3pm at the center we were at. Call the mathnasium center you want to sign up at and ask how they are going to run it. It is really YMMV. We would have been able to make it on Saturday after 2pm but not at the 9am time they stated on the website. Both kids found it boring but they won't have known if they would like it until they do it. DS10 age out while DS9 says he is not interested anymore. Math Kangaroo goes up to higher grades so your child can participate for a few more years. Registation is opening on Sept 15th. http://www.mathkangaroo.org/mk/registration.html I might call ours to see. Unfortunately, Sundays we are extremely busy with church commitments, so that might be even harder to make. The only date showing online at my location is 10/17, and the start time is 8:30pm, which seems a little late to me. Of course, it might be that they don't expect a huge turnout. Math Kangaroo is definitely on my list to consider for the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'd call and check that. 8:30 AM would seem more likely for something for elementary age kids that will probably take a couple of hours. I believe our first year started about then for registration, but the actual test didn't start until 9:00 or so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 The only date showing online at my location is 10/17, and the start time is 8:30pm, which seems a little late to me. It is likely to be 8:30am instead. This is what my local center says "TriMathlon Date and Start Time: Oct 17, 2015 08:30 am" "TriMathlon Date and Start Time: Oct 17, 2015 08:00 am" "TriMathlon Date and Start Time: Oct 18, 2015 09:30 am" "TriMathlon Date and Start Time: Oct 18, 2015 03:00 pm" The center we signed up at emailed us the exact time about a week before the event. I didn't think it would be staggered by grade levels for my local centers so I didn't call to ask. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 The only date showing online at my location is 10/17, and the start time is 8:30pm, which seems a little late to me. Of course, it might be that they don't expect a huge turnout. It looks like they made a typo while putting out the schedule. We registered for the 9:30 AM event and I cannot imagine elementary age kids taking tests after 8:30 pm and being productive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportsmom Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 In that case, I really hope we have an evening game (going crazy waiting for the schedule). If a morning game DD would have to be at the field by 8am for her 9am game. DS wouldn't be till 11am. Gotta love schedule juggling and running like a maniac from place to place, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikuradesuka Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Very fun! Thanks for this idea! Off to ask dh if we can swing it! There isn't one near us, but there is one near our good friends. Road trip!!! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikuradesuka Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Yay! We are in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks for sharing. :) My 2nd and 5th graders played with the sample tests today and want to try it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikuradesuka Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 On the magic squares section, can the numbers be used more than once in the same equation? And the box of numbers is just a way of listing all the numbers they can use, right? There's nothing more to it than that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikuradesuka Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 And on the mental math section, is it done verbally? Or is it written? Can they see the questions written down? Are they allowed to write anything down on the paper to figure it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 All the questions are written. They write the answer, but aren't allowed to write anything else down. DD says she thinks you can use the numbers more than once on the magic squares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikuradesuka Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Yes, the numbers can be used more than once on the magic square. It is the easiest section of the test IMO. On the mental math section, they can look at the problem on the page but can't make any mark of any kind anywhere on the paper except the final answer on the answer line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YourFidgetyFriend Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 My daughter did one in Nashville the year before last. It wasn't all that interesting to me, but since she scored highest for her grade at the center(and a staff member told me she was highest for the center overall) she's been on me to sign her up again. I weaseled my way out of it last year, but the last one was in the suburbs sort of out of the way and she recently found out they now have a center in Nashville itself practically around the corner so apparently that's what we're doing the 17th. I remember it being pretty laid back. The test didn't take very long for some of the kids and they quietly played games while the others finished. The waiting area was tiny and fit maybe 8 people so it was a bit cramped on the parent's side. However, it was still a small event and I don't think more than 10 kids competed in any grade. The math is pretty basic. My daughter is still a bit irritated 2 years later that she got 1 part of 1 answer wrong on the counting game because she is a little (lot) competitive, but hey, I've been trying to convince her to check her answers for like 4 years. I was a little surprised that no one got all the answers correct but I'm pretty sure that some of the kids could easily do all the problems but are allergic to checking the work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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