Worried about math

[Mtngrace]

I have a third grade 9 year old daughter who recently got diagnosed with Autism and sensory issues. My son is almost 7 and in first grade. My daughter is 1st grade maybe second grade level in math. We did Christian Light last year first grade level. I don't feel like she gets math. We are doing Math u see now and starting at the Beta level for my daughter and Primer for my son. I am concerned if I ever have to put them back in school they will be behind in math. I looked up the third grade classroom website at our local school and they are doing division and multiplication. I think the math u see will be good because they focus on one thing for a long time. My daughter cannot memorize flash cards to save her life! It's like everytime I show her a flashcard she can't get it right without counting. I guess I am just worried that if I ever put her back in school that she would be so behind she would be held back and she is already older in her grade level.

[wapiti]

This may get missed over here. I strongly suggest asking on the Learning Challenges forum.

[Ellie]

I have a third grade 9 year old daughter who recently got diagnosed with Autism and sensory issues. My son is almost 7 and in first grade. My daughter is 1st grade maybe second grade level in math. We did Christian Light last year first grade level. I don't feel like she gets math. We are doing Math u see now and starting at the Beta level for my daughter and Primer for my son. I am concerned if I ever have to put them back in school they will be behind in math. I looked up the third grade classroom website at our local school and they are doing division and multiplication. I think the math u see will be good because they focus on one thing for a long time. My daughter cannot memorize flash cards to save her life! It's like everytime I show her a flashcard she can't get it right without counting. I guess I am just worried that if I ever put her back in school that she would be so behind she would be held back and she is already older in her grade level.

 

Have you always homeschooled?

 

If you have only recently started MUS, you'll need to allow some time to see changes/improvements.

 

Does MUS require the children to use flash cards to memorize math facts? 

[LEK]

Are you planning on sending your chiildren back to school? If not then I really would not panic over what if's that may or may not happen sometime in the future.

 

As to the current math issue, consider this, would you rather your daughter was a couple of years "behind" in math compared to the local school but really gets it or to keep her struggling and never really get it but by in line with the schools?
My theory is always I would rather they were behind but really get it, ok so if they do end up going to school there may be a bit of catching up to do in some areas but even so, that catching up will be a lot quicker and easier and make a lot more sense if they really have a thorough understanding of the foundations rather than pressing ahead trying to keep up with some arbitrary line someone, who has never met your child, decided was the standard for this age.

[Rosie_0801]

I wouldn't worry about being unable to memorise from flashcards. Most people can't. Better to practice with games.

[Janeway]

Why did you start your son with Primer? He likely should have started with Alpha unless he has some big delays. Primer is a level that most people never even bother with. Alpha is the beginning of the series.

[sbgrace]

You might look into dyscalcula (Ronit Bird materials are good for that) and ask on the learning challenges board.

 

You teach where your child is. Try not to worry about where school kids are. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can go at your child's pace and accommodate or remediate issues. School kids with issues are often just left behind as the content marches forward. You can't rush her, and wouldn't want to if you could.

[Hunter]

Kids who are "behind" at home would be even more "behind" at school.

 

Many kids just cannot do what the people in power think they should. Homeschool or brick and mortar, kids are not keeping up with the expectations.

 

Personally, I have a problem with the expectations. Yup, gifted kids should get lots of deep math. Great. Wonderful. But for normal and LD kids, we need to rethink some stuff instead of just failing and labeling and drugging such a large majority.

[coastalfam]

We use MUS (Primer, Alpha, and Gamma this year). We switch to homeschool last year from public. I have a son with Down syndrome, so am able to speak to your situation generally, but not specifically. My son with Down syndrome (age 10) is using Primer--finally getting math a little bit I think because of the color coded manipulatives help him think of math conceptually rather than symbolically (number symbols), and that is SO important. My Kindergartener, who will be 6 next month, so on the older side, is using Alpha. His fine motor is not perfectly suited to the worksheets yet, but he is more than able to understand the work. If your son can pass the placement test for Alpha on the MUS website, I personally would switch to Alpha for this year, as Primer might be too basic. That will put him in Gamma (multiplication) by third grade. I think he would be in a fantastic position to "catch up" anywhere along the line after using MUS as a backbone program. For your daughter, with math being a struggle, and her autism diagnosis, I think my number one goal for her would be to truly understand math regardless of being close to grade level. If you think she has a chance at learning and understanding math if you go at her pace with a program that will make sense of it for her, then take that opportunity. That is the benefit of homeschooling, and you don't want to loose out on that for her. "If" she ever has to go to public school, you will likely want/need an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for her anyway, so her not working on grade level will be fine. Kids who had disabilities/learning disabilities cannot be held back if they have an IEP--the IEP helps them to be educated with their grade level peers, but at their own level and with needed supports. It is the school's lawful responsibility to provide what is called FAPE: a "Free and APPROPRIATE Public Education." The "Appropriate" part is why she would have an IEP--a customized education plan that would help her to access her education. Actually, if MUS works for her, and she does go to public school in the future, you can probably put in her IEP that she has to use that specific program. So to summarize, if my main concern was keeping my kids on grade level because there might be chance of going to public school in the future, I would focus more on keeping your non-LD son closer to grade level, and not worry about your daughter who has a diagnosis, and would therefore likely qualify for special education (not referring to a classroom placement, but a education plan) and an IEP in the public school setting.
 

Edited October 22, 2016 by coastalfam

[Mtngrace]

What if I don't like teaching MUS? I just don't like it. I don't know.

[Rosie_0801]

What if I don't like teaching MUS? I just don't like it. I don't know.

 

If MUS is the only thing that works, teach it anyway.

 

If it isn't, find something else more palatable?

[Mtngrace]

I don't know that it necessarily is the only thing that works. My kids aren't learning from the video. I watch the video and then forget how to teach it and then the teachers manual isn't scripted so I struggle with explaining something.

[Rosie_0801]

Is there a reason they don't watch the video with you? (I'm not familiar with MUS. Our main program is CSMP.)

[LEK]

What if I don't like teaching MUS? I just don't like it. I don't know.

 

If MUS is working well then I would stick with it, especially considering the past math issues. Basically, it is working where others have failed, stick with it.

 

As to teaching it, my kids watch the dvd (on their own). Unless it is an especially difficult lesson them watching through it once is enough teaching and they go off and do their work. If they did not get the lesson by watching it through once they watch it a second time with me watching too and we talk through it the lesson once it is finished, using the blocks if needed. Very occasionally I have to work through the first worksheet with a child but that is a rarity. In all honesty, them watching through the dvd on their own is sufficient teaching (in my household at least) to do at least 90% of the book so I really do not do a lot of teaching with MUS

[jgrabuskie]

I am working on the same problem with my DS. We tried games but DS8 cried and refused to play because every time he moved it was a monumental task to count out the answer, so the game was not fun. I used all the math tricks help him remember, we tried the three-corner math fact cards, the wrap-it things, the grocery store cards, nothing worked.

 

My DS has Dysgraphia, introvert, and ocd. I came across a theory that some kids learn right brain. Meaning that they need to take a picture of the whole problem to get it into their memory. Simply showing them a card that is incomplete, such as 2 + 2 = ____ is equivalent to an unbaked cake. I had a hard time finding right brain math cards for addition and subtraction. The cards need to be colorful, have the whole problem 2 + 2 = 4, they can also have relevant pictures. I ended up making mine one Saturday afternoon.

 

How we use them. I divide the cards up into piles of 20 and baggie them, labeling the baggies 1,2,3,etc. Week 1 I give DS the #1 pack, he looks at each card saying the entire problem 2 + 2 = 4. He will review all 20 cards for 5 consecutive days. On the last day, we pack that stack away and begin on the next stack next week.

 

So far we have almost completed the addition facts stacks. I have seen a remarkable improvement in DS's ability to complete addition problems. His accuracy has greatly improved, his confidence has boosted and I have noticed a decrease in the amount of time it takes him to complete his daily math work.