Do you count ‘listening to music’ on the phone (w/ headphones) part of your kid’s daily device time? This is a new one for me. I say 1 hr per day (& I’ve allowed 2 hr daily for summer) of device time for my 11 year old. However, she also wants to listen to music while drawing, etc. I’m not yet sure how I feel about that extra time. I’d like to hear your opinions and what your household does in order to get ideas and better formulate a solid policy here.

This is a new thing in my house. My 11 year old has always been an avid reader but she’s recently reading books at dinner and in the car. I’ve had to put limits on those times since I believe it’s rude to not engage in conversation then. She’s become intensely involved in a few book series so I understand the passion, however being socially adept is important too. Anyone else have this situation?

What about that Animaniacs song?

Howdy. We’re planning on seeing a live production of Pericles this summer. Can anyone recommend a tween-friendly book version of it? My daughter’s pretty visual so an illustrated book would be ideal. She likes Shakespeare so text that’s retold but still laced with original lines would also be great. Thanks in advance!

Is the dramatized version by the same author? I’m having trouble finding it on Amazon.

She has had ‘Percy Jackson’ for years but never got into them. However, after watching her read ‘Sisters Grimm’ for the umpteenth time, I suggested them. She read all 5 in 3 days! I ordered the next set per her request. LOL

I’d say no. I think it’s like others said—not liking something & so rushing through it to get it over.

It started with timed tests in 3rd grade in b&m school.

Howdy. My child is a 6th grader who started hating math in 3rd. She’s come some ways in both attitude & computation but still struggles. I’ve noticed that while she applies algorithms correctly, she nonetheless makes errors in computation. For example 6/6 = 6. Once she goes back (I point out the error) she knows immediately the issue. How do you get an 11 year old kid to slow down, pay attention to detail, & review work? I feel like I’ve been at this forever. Thanks!

I ordered the one about middle school math.

Based on a friend’s recommendation I ordered this book too. Has anyone worked with this?

Oh, then yes I have seen this before. Thanks for the reminder.

Sorry but could you give more info. on Blockout? I donmt seem to get anything when I search online. Thanks.

Blackjack sounds like a good idea, especially she’s asked anout that game recently. I’ll look into Blockout too. Thanks.

Good ideas. We’ve touched on some more interesting mathematical ideas in the past. I can review such things again. Playing with math is definitely a priority. We also have played lots of math-based games (like Prime Climb & Sumoku).

Mainly, I suppose. I’m trying to rekindle mental flexibility & at least some level of pleasure with math. I can’t really acurately verbalize better than that for now.

Math facts are not the focus. Continuing to strengthen her facts fluency is important though. My main objective is a sense of comfort & confidence with math & flexibility in solving problems.

It started in 3rd grade when she was timed on arithmetic at public school. She’s still working on math facts, in fact. I think that ‘perform on demand’ environment turned her off. However, she’s coming around slowly as she’s recently said math was getting a bit easier.

We have Penrose, Math Devil, & Phantom. We even have Murderous Maths. Alas, she has never taken to them. I can certainly try again! I will look into your other titles. I so sorely wish she was still mesmerized by math like she used to be. Sigh. She’s only 11 so there is still hope!

So it’s a weirdly worded thread title but I’m looking for a book that’s more narrative in nature and presents a variety of math problems with several different solutions explained. Something like ‘You can find the area this way or that or think about it this way.’ I’d like to pick up this book and read it leisurely at bed time with my (11 yr old) daughter without stress and help her (re) develop some mathematical flexibility.

It’s been nearly 1 month since her birthday & I’d like to thank all for their suggestions! ‘11 Birthdays’ was quite timely & she liked it. ‘Evolution of Calpernia Tate’ is next on her list & I personally am excited to see her reaction since my kid’s such a unique & science-y (esp. animal loving) kid—will they connect? ‘Sisters Grimm’ has been (by far) the most adored though! I got her other books from above & plan to get more for Christmas so this list is quite invaluable. (Now, I just wish I could magically turn her into a Hobbit/Trilogy fan & we’d be all set [to connect through this soul-singing story]). LOL!

There’s a series of uber simple books called ‘From Start to Finish’. We took them out of the library & they covered how food starts & moves along in production. We loved them back when my kiddo was younger.

Thanks, folks! It sounds like this might be a typical issue at this point. I'll continue to work with her on this, showing as much patience as I can muster (LOL).

Yes, we do that. She catches most of the errors, which is something. Perhaps this is something that'll take an insane amount of practice.

I’ve an 11 year old who needs to work on developing common sense when it comes to math. Mental math, estimating—that sort of thing. She goes full steam ahead & doesn’t always use common sense or logic to determine if her answer even makes sense. She’s been dealing with math anxiety for some time, which is most likely the reason for this ‘just get it done’ behavior. Do you have any sites or books that we can use to work through this & develop stronger reasoning skills? Thanks!