non-teacher-intensive program for easily frustrated child...after Miquon?

[caedmyn]

I'm looking for math for my mathy 9 YO for next year.  He's currently finishing up the last Miquon book.   I've seen a lot of recommendations for Beast Academy, and I think he'd love the comic book format of the teaching material...but I've read that a lot of kids find the harder problem frustrating and he tends to be easily frustrated overall, so I'm not sure if BA is likely to be a good fit or not.  I need something that is NOT teacher intensive, and if BA would require a lot of my time dealing with meltdowns over problems he thinks are too hard, then it won't be a good fit.  Thoughts on whether it's likely to be a good fit, or suggestions for other programs?  We've tried Math Mammoth a couple of times and he doesn't like it so that one won't work.  FWIW he doesn't usually find Miquon frustrating but is definitely finding the purple book to be harder going (and thus more frustrating) than the previous ones.

[Lori D.]

Yes, some of the concepts in the Yellow and Purple books of Miquon are more typically introduced in 4th and even 5th grades. ;)

 

You might consider just using Beast Academy as a supplement, and use a grade down from the "spine" math for added problem-solving practice in a fun way that wouldn't lead to melt-downs.

 

Ideas for "spine" math programs that are totally a different style of math than Miquon, but very straight forward, and esp. the first one is very independent:

- Teaching Textbooks

- Horizons

- Rod & Staff

 

You might also want to check in to Math-U-See for the gentle, incremental teaching aspect and DVD lessons.

 

Singapore was a good fit for DS#1 here who especially loved Miquon, but it might require more of your time than you have to give to math, so you might look at the U.S. version of Math in Focus.

 

Good luck in finding what's the best fit for DS and for you! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Lori D.

[arliemaria]

Are you aware of the Gattegno textbooks? Those are great to go along with or after Miquon.  

[arliemaria]

Yes, some of the concepts in the Yellow and Purple books of Miquon are more typically introduced in 4th and even 5th grades. ;)

 

You might consider just using Beast Academy as a supplement, and use a grade down from the "spine" math for added problem-solving practice in a fun way that wouldn't lead to melt-downs.

 

Ideas for "spine" math programs that are totally a different style of math than Miquon, but very straight forward, and esp. the first one is very independent:

- Teaching Textbooks

- Horizons

- Rod & Staff

 

You might also want to check in to Math-U-See for the gentle, incremental teaching aspect and DVD lessons.

 

Singapore was a good fit for DS#1 here who especially loved Miquon, but it might require more of your time than you have to give to math, so you might look at the U.S. version of Math in Focus.

 

Good luck in finding what's the best fit for DS and for you! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

Lori, We are using BA (currently in BA3), we used some Miquon but mostly Singapore before we began BA.  I'd like to do some more Gattegno/Miquon in the future. Is there a post or a chart that might link up when something is taught in BA and its corresponding book/pages in Miquon?

[Lori D.]

Lori, We are using BA (currently in BA3), we used some Miquon but mostly Singapore before we began BA.  I'd like to do some more Gattegno/Miquon in the future. Is there a post or a chart that might link up when something is taught in BA and its corresponding book/pages in Miquon?

 

No side-by-side chart that I'm aware of, but the list of topics in Miquon (and which color workbook and pages) is in the back of every Miquon workbook (and also here) -- it should be fairly easy to match that up with the BA3 scope and sequence...

 

Perhaps YOU will end up being the kind person to make that side-by-side chart... ;)

Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 21, 2018 by Lori D.

[Ravin]

Key to...books seem to be our low-frustration, non-teacher intensive option which is currently working.

[MeaganS]

For my dd who finished miquon were doing beast academy with some MM for practice with certain topics, right now with multiplying large numbers. She does both fairly independently. And we were very independent miquon users.

 

You could try 2a (2b comes out in the next few weeks). That should be a little on the simpler side but still challenging and would get him used to the format.

 

Otherwise, something written to the student like MM or CLE would probably be my choice. I do have one dd doing TT, but she's my math-challenging kid and I don't know that I would recommend it most yet. It is very incredibly hands off though and definitely fills a need.

[nixpix5]

MUS is low frustration and a natural transition from Miquon.

 

My 6 year old who uses MUS got his hands on some cuisenare rods recently having never seen them before and instantly started telling me the number value of each block and then adding them together putting them in arrays and so forth. He said they were just like MUS blocks but different colors (he did point out 8 was still brown ;) MUS is low stress, super predictable and doesn't overload with problems.

 

Singspore US Edition is also a good choice for low frustration.

 

BA conceptually is a good move but it can be frustrating for kids. Kids need to love math and be able to persist at it.

[eternalsummer]

My mathy 9 year old DS also has a low frustration tolerance.  What we do is Teaching Textbooks on-level (well, a level ahead, b/c TT is a level behind largely) and then BA a level behind.  So he does Beast Academy, whichever problems he feels like, from any of the grade 3 books (we have all of them), 2 or 3 days a week.  Teaching Textbooks is almost too easy for him but it prevents arguments and his natural resistance to anything he thinks might be work.  I think the fact that it is computer-based (we do the online version) has tricked him into thinking it might not be real schoolwork.