AoPS Prealgebra how fast?

[MDL]

How fast are your kids moving through pre-algebra?

 

My son (7th grade) is enjoying it, but his progress seems slow. He loves alcumus, so I am trying to run with that and not pressure him too much.

 

This is our 12th week of school and he is just finishing up chapter 2, which seems very behind if we are intending to finish Pre-a this year (we are, but I’d rather be slow and sure than rush through and have a weak foundation).

 

Can I count on alcumus to ensure he has mastery?

 

I sit with him a couple of times a week and he is fast, sloppy and not really wanting to put pen to paper much.

 

My husband is worried and says I’m not doing enough with him. It’s a fine line with this boy, he is very sensitive to criticism and impatient with helpers. I am thinking I will have Daddy sit with him for the challenge Problems from the book, but worry that will crush my sons confidence.

 

If you’re using this book this year, how are you progressing? Should I spend more time overseeing him?

[....]

It took us 2 full calendar years to get through that book.   :o   I actually worked through the book with my kids.  It does move very slowly, especially if you are doing everything like we were - watching the videos, playing that game in the beginning of each chapter, Alcumus, the starred problems, etc.

 

At one point, I had to show dh the AOPS website where it says their math programs are specifically written for high-performing math students.  That program isn't developmentally appropriate for every kid.  So, I tried to take it easy on the expectations.

[happypamama]

Chapter 2, IIRC, is one that people especially note as being hard and slow. My current seventh grader started the book last year, but it was slow. Granted, last year was really rough all around for all of us, and we didn’t do anywhere near as much work as we’d have liked all around, but I believe he got through 5 or 6 chapters last year. This school year, he’s going a lot faster through it, and I think he will easily finish it and start the Algebra book. Part of that is a more consistent school environment in general, part of it is that I’ve pushed him a little to increase his stamina and work a little more each day, and part is that his brain has matured a little more.

[TracyP]

My oldest spent about 10 mos and it looks like my 2nd child will take about the same. I work(ed) with them. I think it's safe to assume they would be slower on their own. Both kids moved very slowly through the first 5 chapters, then picked up the pace significantly.

 

We haven't used Alcumus.

[boscopup]

My 5th grader started Sept. 15, and we're working on the Chapter 2 Review problems as of today (2 months later). I had intended to do 10 problems today, but he was so "Squirrel!" that I couldn't get him to focus past 4 of them. So it might take a few days. Having done this book with my oldest before, I know it will move faster after we get past this chapter.

 

I am sitting with my son and working with him for the whole thing. He cannot do any part of this independently. I have to scribe most of it (he has dysgraphia). Sometimes I think I'd prefer something I could hand off to him, but he really LIKES the challenge of this, and he wasn't being challenged by other curricula. But if there is any challenge, he can't work independently. He's autistic and hates school in general, so I prefer the less fighting method. Plus he's GOOD at math, so I want to let him work ahead there, since he has to work so hard in the other areas of school work.

 

My oldest did the book in 4th and 5th grade (we had stuff go on that made us slack a bit the 5th grade year), and I had to be at elbow the first couple chapters and even pull in Dolciani for a bit of it, but then he started to get more independent in chapter 3 and I didn't have to use Dolciani anymore.

[athomeontheprairie]

How fast are your kids moving through pre-algebra?

 

My son (7th grade) is enjoying it, but his progress seems slow. He loves alcumus, so I am trying to run with that and not pressure him too much.

 

This is our 12th week of school and he is just finishing up chapter 2, which seems very behind if we are intending to finish Pre-a this year (we are, but I’d rather be slow and sure than rush through and have a weak foundation).

My dd12 is in 7th grade. We will finish chapter 2 tomorrow. I feel like we are moving so darn slow.

BUT, and it's a BIG but, she is working at math for much longer reach day than she ever has. Her mental math has improved leaps and bounds. I'm nearby during math, and often she'll be staring at the wall... But if I ask? She's thinking. One of the problems today was "for an extra challenge, try thing it in your head" (or something similar) so she did. Yay! Hard math!

 

Past threads here warn about chapter 2. I took those to heart. I didn't choose this program for the speed, rather for the quality. I'm ok with it taking time.

 

Also, Fwiw, we do watch all the videos online-he makes math fun. We've really enjoyed him.

 

My suggestion, keep on keeping on! He's got this!

[Targhee]

This is my 2nd child in AoPS preA. Oldest took 18 mo and this guy will likely be a month or two more. First 2 chapters did take longer than most later chapters.

[MDL]

Thank you all! This is very encouraging.

 

He is improving in many areas, he is enjoying it and I just have to remember how valuable that is!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LMD]

Thanks for this thread! Dd has just started working through this too. ☺

[Kendall]

My daughter took at least 18 months as well(6th/7th). I think we did a few other things during those years, but mostly AoPS PreAlgebra. We skipped the challenge problems and toward the end of the book we skipped the review as well. Without those it is still a stronger program than most and I thought going back to some of the challenge problems when she is in Algebra 1 would be a good idea. 

[Cake and Pi]

I recently posted in the AL board about something similar.  My 4th grader is to the challenge problems in chapter 3 and I think (iirc) we're in week 11 or 12 of our school year.  It will probably take him a year and a half to two years to complete if he continues as he is.  He was doing it all independently and moving very, very slowly compared to what he did in other programs.  He was also complaining about it a lot and expressing a general dislike for the program.  Last week we changed to me presenting the lesson problems on the board and guiding him through them instead of him working through them on his own.  I'm also now writing out all of the exercises on graph paper so it's more like a worksheet for him and changing the word problems wording a bit so that they involve topics and characters he prefers.  It's helping a lot!  He also does Alcumus and watches the videos, and we don't skip any problems.  I'd rather him do it thoroughly and take longer.

[daijobu]

Our pace for all the AoPS books was one section per day and then 2-3 days for review problems and another 2-3 days for challenge problems at the end of each chapter.  I worked through all the problems on paper to demonstrate and model good mathematical documentation (lining up equal signs, labeling geometric figures, no stream of consciousness equations).  

 

I'm tutoring a boy who also doesn't enjoy putting pencil to paper, and even when he does he still makes mistakes.  My latest strategy is to work the same problem with him side by side and compare answers at the end.  I want to walk the line between not rubbing it in so much as to be mean, but also pointing out the easy points he's losing due to sloppiness.