dd8.5 struggling in CLE Math 1. Help!

[jkl]

A little background:  Dd is 8 and a half.  She has some fine motor delays, sensory processing issues, and motor planning difficulties.  She receives therapy for all 3 weekly.  We are exploring getting further evals done over the summer (possible ADHD or ASD--her Occupational Therapist says maybe mild forms of either.  I hadn't really thought of Learning Disabilities until recently).  For her K year for math, we did lots of hands on games.  For 1st grade (last year), we started with Miquon which she HATED, bumbled around for awhile and finally had success with Kumon workbooks.  (Unfortunately, it looks like she hasn't retained anything from them at all--but it did stop her from hating math)  

    We are currently finishing up CLE Math 1st grade book 105.  It was going pretty well until this book, but now she is having difficulty with many concepts.  She is struggling with place value when any zeros are involved.  She has been in tears several times over the past few week, saying that zero just means nothing, so it doesn't make sense to her why 13 and 130 and 103 aren't the same number.  We've been spending lots and lots of time building numbers with rods, beans and cups, etc.   She just doesn't seem to understand.  2 digit addition is also frustrating her.  She's struggling with understanding why in a problem like 54 and 32, the 4 and 2 are added and then the 5 and 3.  We have been spending lots of time here building these with rods as well and talking about the ones and tens, but we just can't move forward.  She is also having trouble with more advanced patterns (triangle, square square circle triangle square square circle types of things)  and with telling time when the hour hand is between 2 numbers.  She can add and subtract single numbers pretty well, and we do the flashcards (almost) daily, but she is not recalling the facts without having to figure these out.  I feel like we are stuck.  If it were just 1 or 2 areas of difficulty, I would be fine with stopping and working on them and picking back up, but it's more than that.  I'm getting nervous because she will be in third grade soon and we are stuck in the middle of first grade math.  I know it is unhelpful to think like that, but that thought  keeps creeping in.  Advice?  Obviously, we need to stop and make sure she understands these concepts, but 'm not sure EXACTLY what to do.  Online games? ( suggestions please?)   More Education Unboxed?  Something else?  Help!

[Kiara.I]

So the disclaimer:  I have no experience with this.

However, what I've seen recommended would be:

 

Consider dyscalculia.  And yes, getting further evals. done.

 

In the meantime, what about the Ronit Bird materials?  Pause CLE for a while, and work on the place value through Ronit Bird.

[OneStepAtATime]

Agreed.  Stop.  Put CLE aside for now (and I say this as a lover of CLE math).  

 

Pursue additional evaluations and specifically look at dyscalculia as a possible underlying issue.  

 

Look into Ronit Bird ebooks and books for possible assistance.  

http://www.ronitbird.com/

 

Also maybe Dynamo math.  

http://www.dynamomath.com/

 

Whatever you use, you may need to go VERY slowly, breaking things down into much smaller steps, with LOTS of review.   Possibly you may need to also introduce the BIG picture first, then break everything down into teeny tiny pieces and review, reveiw, review, even as you move forward.  Also, keep in mind that her brain may be maturing at a slower pace in maths so she may need more time for the abstract concepts to make more sense. 

 

Also look at the CSMP program.  It involves mini-computers and less language based learning.

http://stern.buffalostate.edu/CSMPProgram/Primary%20Disk/Start.html

 

You might read My 13th Winter for some understanding of dyscalculia from the perspective of a person with this issue.  If nothing else, it is an interesting read. 

https://www.amazon.com/My-Thirteenth-Winter-Samantha-Abeel/dp/0439339057/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489782348&sr=8-1&keywords=my+13th+winter

 

Also, keep lessons short.  

Edited March 17, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[Rosie_0801]

Another recommendation for CSMP. The minicomputers were invaluable for my dd.

[jkl]

Thank you!  I'll check into all of this!

[Farrar]

At that age with those basic issues, I think you're almost certainly seeing a learning disability. I also vote to put CLE aside until you have more information from the evaluation, even if it takes awhile.

 

In the mean time, CSMP seems like a good suggestion. More with the C-rods. I'd read living math books and play math card games and so forth as well. 

 

Good luck.

[Guest]

Just ditto'ing the others.

 

 

(((()))) to you and your sweet girl. She's right, sometimes things just don't make a lick of sense.

 

Is she progressing steadily with reading and writing?

Edited March 18, 2017 by OKBud

[jkl]

Just ditto'ing the others.

 

 

(((()))) to you and your sweet girl. She's right, sometimes things just don't make a lick of sense.

 

Is she progressing steadily with reading and writing?

 

She is reading at or a little above grade level.  She just took off this year and now we are buddy-reading a Ramona book :)  It's a little too hard for her but she LOVES it  Writing has been a struggle because of her fine motor issues, but we are seeing lots of improvements with OT as far as pencil grip and hand fatigue.  She does copywork daily.  She spends lots of time drawing and writing her own little stories, and they are gradually becoming readable.  She has really come a long way this year in many different areas :)  I hate to see her struggle with math!

[OneStepAtATime]

On a side note, you might look into starting her on typing.  Touch Type Read and Spell is usually on sale through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op and reinforces typing, reading, spelling and building dictation skills but very gently.  It does not emphasize speed, it emphasizes accuracy, which you absolutely want in a typing program, especially with a child with dysgraphia issues.  Speed will eventually come once accuracy of finger placement/body/finger pressure becomes more automatic.  Starting her now, with very short lessons, lots of positive reinforcement, no pressure and no expected type written output for a while will help her build up muscle memory/procedural memory over time without a negative association.  When she gets into higher grades the skill will already be there for her to tap into.

[jkl]

On a side note, you might look into starting her on typing.  Touch Type Read and Spell is usually on sale through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op and reinforces typing, reading, spelling and building dictation skills but very gently.  It does not emphasize speed, it emphasizes accuracy, which you absolutely want in a typing program, especially with a child with dysgraphia issues.  Speed will eventually come once accuracy of finger placement/body/finger pressure becomes more automatic.  Starting her now, with very short lessons, lots of positive reinforcement, no pressure and no expected type written output for a while will help her build up muscle memory/procedural memory over time without a negative association.  When she gets into higher grades the skill will already be there for her to tap into.

 

Thank you! I'll check into this.

[73349]

Here's another explanation of place value. It's the guy from Math-U-See telling about Decimal Street. You could see if it makes sense to her.

[jkl]

Here's another explanation of place value. It's the guy from Math-U-See telling about Decimal Street. You could see if it makes sense to her.

 

Thanks!  I showed her this, and she said she understands it as long as there are no zeroes in it...  Still trying to come up with an exact plan while we wait for the evals (We are on a small break while we get some medical issues taken care of--not dd's issues.)  Last week we played math games and it went ok.  I think I'll order the Ronit Bird Dot book and do some Math Start (I think that's what they are called) books with her.  I'm also looking at Arithmetic Village.

[BooksandBoys]

Thanks! I showed her this, and she said she understands it as long as there are no zeroes in it... Still trying to come up with an exact plan while we wait for the evals (We are on a small break while we get some medical issues taken care of--not dd's issues.) Last week we played math games and it went ok. I think I'll order the Ronit Bird Dot book and do some Math Start (I think that's what they are called) books with her. I'm also looking at Arithmetic Village.

I assume you've done it, but if she understands his Decimal Street when there are no random zeros, maybe you should just build numbers that move from no zeros to zeros within the Decimal Street illustration.

 

So, I draw a Decimal Street for my kids. Each house is big enough for their blocks (c-rods or base-ten here). I also cut out flash cards of the digits 0-9. From there, we build numbers, putting the digits beneath, then we push the digits together. Then we read the number.

 

So, for her, focus on building, many, many times, 99, then adding 2 unit blocks. She'll need to turn that 99 into 101. 98 plus 4 becomes 102. 198 plus 4 is 202. Just sticking on this zero issue and helping her move the blocks through the houses and change the digit cards.

 

I hope the evaluations give you more information. I understand this frustration.