Math Competitions

[mom2vikha]

Hi Hive,

 

Let's talk Math competitions. DD expressed interest in Math Competitions today. I have questions for moms with Mathy kids.

 

1. What is the best competiton to start with? AMC 8, Mathcounts ( but don't have homeschool team) or ?????

 

2. Best resources

 

3. Do I need a tutor to be successful in the field? Or self prep enough? I am a software engineer and can teach through calculus but not competitive Math. I feel like it is totally different ball game. I feel so dumb just looking at them.

 

Can I get advice and suggestions?

[Pegs]

1. I don't know about the best place to start, but we have found the competitions and prep materials at https://edfinity.com/competitions to be a good introduction to competitions. (Bear in mind that my child is a few years younger than yours, though.) I think the Enigma completion at the link is still open, actually, so you could dive right in!

 

2. Again, I don't feel confident recommending The Best, but I can suggest past papers, Alcumus at AoPS, AoPS in general.

 

3. Why not just get started and see how you both go? Or perhaps there's a math circle or similar nearby in which your DD can participate.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what other, more knowledgeable posters here contribute. :)

[gstharr]

My 6th grader has been doing Math Kangaroo for several years. Always placing in the top 20 with minimal preparation.  Participated in the recent AMC8.   He did ok. At this level, it requires geekness or coaching to be competitive.  We probably will not do more unless he joins a team.

[Kathy in Richmond]

I'd also suggest starting with Math Kangaroo.This year's competition was last week, but you could participate next year, and you'd have plenty of time to prepare.

 

MOEMS is wonderful if you can get enough kids together to form a team (only teams can participate); if not, their prep materials are still very worthwhile. You can find them in the AoPS bookstore's MOEMS section.

 

The next level up would be MathCounts and AMC8. I'd suggest doing some old papers (MC; MC Handbook; AMC8) at home first before signing her up, just to make sure they're the right level. MathCounts participation requires grade level to be 6 to 8.

 

As another poster mentioned, check locally to see if a math circle is available. They often host various math competitions, and your daughter could meet and learn with other math-loving kids all year long.

 

Have fun!

[mom2vikha]

1. I don't know about the best place to start, but we have found the competitions and prep materials at https://edfinity.com/competitions to be a good introduction to competitions. (Bear in mind that my child is a few years younger than yours, though.) I think the Enigma completion at the link is still open, actually, so you could dive right in!

 

2. Again, I don't feel confident recommending The Best, but I can suggest past papers, Alcumus at AoPS, AoPS in general.

 

3. Why not just get started and see how you both go? Or perhaps there's a math circle or similar nearby in which your DD can participate.

 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what other, more knowledgeable posters here contribute. :)

she has done competitions of low challenge level like PSIA and have always won state. Not coached by me though. She wants something more. Hard one ( her words). Lol

[mom2vikha]

I'd also suggest starting with Math Kangaroo.This year's competition was last week, but you could participate next year, and you'd have plenty of time to prepare.

 

MOEMS is wonderful if you can get enough kids together to form a team (only teams can participate); if not, their prep materials are still very worthwhile. You can find them in the AoPS bookstore's MOEMS section.

 

The next level up would be MathCounts and AMC8. I'd suggest doing some old papers (MC; MC Handbook; AMC8) at home first before signing her up, just to make sure they're the right level. MathCounts participation requires grade level to be 6 to 8.

 

As another poster mentioned, check locally to see if a math circle is available. They often host various math competitions, and your daughter could meet and learn with other math-loving kids all year long.

 

Have fun!

After I posted here, I researched and found a place where they coach for AMC 8 and Mathcounts and they have aath circle. Yayyy.

Going to check it out today. Thanks a lot.

[mom2vikha]

My 6th grader has been doing Math Kangaroo for several years. Always placing in the top 20 with minimal preparation. Participated in the recent AMC8. He did ok. At this level, it requires geekness or coaching to be competitive. We probably will not do more unless he joins a team.

I agree. It seems really hard. I cannot believe I suck at it myself. And your 6th grader should have done much better than me I bet. So proud of yours.

[JoJosMom]

Just an FYI:  You can do MathCounts as an individual homeschooler.  Ask me how I know.  :laugh:

 

The grade range for competition is 6th through 8th grade, and they will send you prep materials when you sign up.  Which isn't much use when you sign up right before the chapter competition and the materials arrive the week before (ask me how I know :laugh: ), but you should be able to do much with them if you sign up in advance!

 

Also, the AoPS website has a MathCounts trainer (free, similar to Alcumus) that is good for prep.

 

Good luck to your DD!

[mom2vikha]

Just an FYI: You can do MathCounts as an individual homeschooler. Ask me how I know. :laugh:

 

The grade range for competition is 6th through 8th grade, and they will send you prep materials when you sign up. Which isn't much use when you sign up right before the chapter competition and the materials arrive the week before (ask me how I know :laugh: ), but you should be able to do much with them if you sign up in advance!

 

Also, the AoPS website has a MathCounts trainer (free, similar to Alcumus) that is good for prep.

 

Good luck to your DD!

Haha! Looks like you had some amazing experience with this. I am glad she brought this up in advance. I do have Competition Math for middle school and basics of problem solving level 1 from Aops. Do you think this along with sample tests from Aops site will suffice for first timers?

I did call about the AMC 8 coaching place. On second thought we do lot of EC and don't want to add one more class. So thought this might work for first year????? Opinions please

[Lilaclady]

I think what you have up there should be good. Amc 8 is in November so you have time. Most of the math competitions are winding down now but start up in September so if you start preparing now, she should be good. You can start looking in the summer to see when registration starts.

Make sure she is ok with not scoring the highest score. Most of these competitions are hard especially for a first timer.

[mom2vikha]

I think what you have up there should be good. Amc 8 is in November so you have time. Most of the math competitions are winding down now but start up in September so if you start preparing now, she should be good. You can start looking in the summer to see when registration starts.

Make sure she is ok with not scoring the highest score. Most of these competitions are hard especially for a first timer.

yes. That's a good point. I do have to talk about scores to her. Thanks for the heads up. She is so self critical.

[Julie of KY]

For middle school, Mathcounts is more fun if you can find some people to do it with you. My mathy boy started as an individual as a 6th grader. We then began collecting some friends to do it with him and now I've been coaching a Mathcounts team for seven years.

 

Some great preps:

AoPS curriculum

Alcumus (haven't actuallly played around with the Mathcounts trainer yet)

Mathcount minis (google this - it's a worksheet for each video)

Competition math for MIddle School students by James Batterson

Edited March 23, 2017 by Julie of KY

[mom2vikha]

For middle school, Mathcounts is more fun if you can find some people to do it with you. My mathy boy started as an individual as a 6th grader. We then began collecting some friends to do it with him and now I've been coaching a Mathcounts team for seven years.

 

Some great preps:

AoPS curriculum

Alcumus (haven't actuallly played around with the Mathcounts trainer yet)

Mathcount minis (google this - it's a worksheet for each video)

Competition math for MIddle School students by James Batterson

Thank you so much. I already got Math for middle school, I ordered the problem solving basics 1 and order introduction to Algebra to practice with her after finishing Jacobs in a month. Thank you for all the resources. Will definitely check out the mathcount minis.

 

Thanks

[TerriM]

Practice practice practice.  Most of these competitions have past tests online, so I'd recommend that she take one, then read all the solutions.  Take another, read all the solutions.... etc.  By the time she's done 20 years worth, she should have it down.

[epi]

Practice practice practice.  Most of these competitions have past tests online, so I'd recommend that she take one, then read all the solutions.  Take another, read all the solutions.... etc.  By the time she's done 20 years worth, she should have it down.

 

On the other hand, you can focus on learning math generally, then for a contest just familiarize yourself with the format.

 

[mom2vikha]

Practice practice practice. Most of these competitions have past tests online, so I'd recommend that she take one, then read all the solutions. Take another, read all the solutions.... etc. By the time she's done 20 years worth, she should have it down.

I already have her working on " Math competition for middle school" and over the summer work on the actual tests themselves. Thanks a lot

[mom2vikha]

On the other hand, you can focus on learning math generally, then for a contest just familiarize yourself with the format.

 

She is a perfectionist. If she goes in without knowing atleast a few, momma won't hear the end of it. Lol

[DocMom]

Is there a list of the math competitions available?

 

[mumto2]

Mathcounts was wonderful! A friend managed to get a team together for ds's last year of being eligible. Dd was the assistant coach. Two mathy kids and two less mathy. One was actually all about the pizza and shirt but did his best. You get to compete in a few more things with a team....a verbal speed round (can't remember the right name) which ds loved. If you can get a team together it is more fun.

 

 

Past tests are the best for studying for all the competitions we did.

[mom2vikha]

Would love to do Mathcounts team. But we are very limited on time to commit with other kids. She has multiple activities and is super busy. Mathcounts seems tempting reallyâ¤ï¸

[mumto2]

Would love to do Mathcounts team. But we are very limited on time to commit with other kids. She has multiple activities and is super busy. Mathcounts seems tempting reallyâ¤ï¸

I just want to say it doesn't need to be a two hour practice each week for the school year. Our team didn't do much together practice because of my dc's. They worked individually through a few old exams and met as a team maybe 4 times before the day to practice for each round and go over some of the missed questions. Dd met with the less mathy guy for a few extra tutorials and he actually did quite well on the day. The team actually received a group medal but the two mathy guys also received individual medals. I think getting people to participate in a lite version is a bit easier.

[daijobu]

PPs have already written this, but it bears repeating.  The best way to prepare for math competitions is to do them.  A not so good way to prepare is to accelerate math instruction.  Case in point:

 

I had 2 students on my MathCounts team this year who were in 8th grade and studying precalculus.  So they were on track to take calculus as freshmen.  Wow.  

 

I assumed these two would be my high performers, but when I gave them a placement test to see who would be on the team, I had a 6th grader who out-scored them.  And he wasn't even particularly gifted in math, but he had been on my MOEMS team, where the exams are much easier than MathCounts, but generally of the same variety.   Even the elementary-level MOEMS exam was better preparation than training in advanced math.  

 

My 8th grade precalc students did so poorly, I was really surprised, but it drove home to me how different math competitions can be from learning an algorithm, practicing it dozens of times, taking a test and moving on, never to use it again.  

[daijobu]

Would love to do Mathcounts team. But we are very limited on time to commit with other kids. She has multiple activities and is super busy. Mathcounts seems tempting reallyâ¤ï¸

 

If you are doing any sort of prep for competition math, and you don't have a lot of time, then you can register to participate in the chapter competition.  It's one Saturday in February, and that's it.  Unless you qualify for state, then it's another Saturday in March.  Unless you qualify for nationals...

 

It's more fun with a team, but you can also show up as an individual competitor.  

[mom2vikha]

I just want to say it doesn't need to be a two hour practice each week for the school year. Our team didn't do much together practice because of my dc's. They worked individually through a few old exams and met as a team maybe 4 times before the day to practice for each round and go over some of the missed questions. Dd met with the less mathy guy for a few extra tutorials and he actually did quite well on the day. The team actually received a group medal but the two mathy guys also received individual medals. I think getting people to participate in a lite version is a bit easier.

Oh! Really? This might work. I will see if I can make up a team then... Priceless info on this forum.

[mom2vikha]

PPs have already written this, but it bears repeating. The best way to prepare for math competitions is to do them. A not so good way to prepare is to accelerate math instruction. Case in point:

 

I had 2 students on my MathCounts team this year who were in 8th grade and studying precalculus. So they were on track to take calculus as freshmen. Wow.

 

I assumed these two would be my high performers, but when I gave them a placement test to see who would be on the team, I had a 6th grader who out-scored them. And he wasn't even particularly gifted in math, but he had been on my MOEMS team, where the exams are much easier than MathCounts, but generally of the same variety. Even the elementary-level MOEMS exam was better preparation than training in advanced math.

 

My 8th grade precalc students did so poorly, I was really surprised, but it drove home to me how different math competitions can be from learning an algorithm, practicing it dozens of times, taking a test and moving on, never to use it again.

Yes! This. This is why. Even though we were not doing much math competitons, I always insist on word problems ann puzzling through them even if she doesn't arrive on right answer. Very good example.

[mom2vikha]

If you are doing any sort of prep for competition math, and you don't have a lot of time, then you can register to participate in the chapter competition. It's one Saturday in February, and that's it. Unless you qualify for state, then it's another Saturday in March. Unless you qualify for nationals...

 

It's more fun with a team, but you can also show up as an individual competitor.

So she can do Mathcounts as an individual? Am I right?

[epi]

Our kid will do MathCounts as an individual.

 

[mom2vikha]

Our kid will do MathCounts as an individual.

maybe we will try that. Do you mind me asking when it is usually conducted?

[epi]

Our kid will do MathCounts as an individual.

 

 

maybe we will try that. Do you mind me asking when it is usually conducted?

 

It's in our future, haven't done it yet, but here's the website

https://www.mathcounts.org/programs/competition-series

[daijobu]

MathCounts chapter competition is on a Saturday in February, unless there is a snow date, it may run into March.  Take a look at the MC competition series part of the website.  (The video competition is also fun.)  You can contact your state or chapter coordinator to make sure you know which chapter you are in.  (It can sometimes vary year to year.)  Then next fall check back and complete you registration by the deadline which I believe in mid December.  If your student has a friend who wants to join her, do it.  A lot of B&M schools show up with a full 10 person team, so it's more fun to arrive knowing at least one person.  

 

The chapter competition is a lot of fun.  

[mom2vikha]

It's in our future, haven't done it yet, but here's the website

https://www.mathcounts.org/programs/competition-series

Thanks. It really helps. Edited March 27, 2017 by mom2vikha

[mom2vikha]

MathCounts chapter competition is on a Saturday in February, unless there is a snow date, it may run into March. Take a look at the MC competition series part of the website. (The video competition is also fun.) You can contact your state or chapter coordinator to make sure you know which chapter you are in. (It can sometimes vary year to year.) Then next fall check back and complete you registration by the deadline which I believe in mid December. If your student has a friend who wants to join her, do it. A lot of B&M schools show up with a full 10 person team, so it's more fun to arrive knowing at least one person.

 

The chapter competition is a lot of fun.

Awesome. I already asked around and posted on my FB page about it. Hope I get few kids to make it fun.