diaperjoys Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 We got our Latin Centered Curriculum book today, and it looks great! One thing I noticed right off is the suggested schedule for K-2 lists 20 minutes for math. Does that really work for most kiddos? My son is 5 and way ahead in reading, but average in math. We use BJU 1, and last year I did oral drill, then the lesson sheet (both sides) then the review sheet (both sides). And that really felt like a lot of seatwork for that age. I'd love to trim down the assignments, set a timer, and shelve it for the day when the time is up. If he's moderately successful at staying on task, would 20 min be a realistic amount of time to acheive good solid progress?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malenki Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 20 minutes is plenty here to finish but it may depend on the program. We're doing Saxon 2 and we do the meeting book/calendar, drill sheet (25 problems), introduce new topics, and then he does the worksheet. For us, we've been making steady progress and he understands what he's doing. So I'd count that as successful but we're also only talking about an 8 year old, so as time goes on I expect we'll spend more time. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 For K and 1st grade? Yes, we rarely spend more than 20 minutes on math at those ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Not an LCC'er, but I spend less than 20 mins on math with my K'er. Even though it is his favorite subject and we do more than 1 lesson/day, we still don't need to spend more than 15 mins doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Don't stress about time/schedules. I find that a math lesson can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes depending on attitude of the child and difficulty of the concept. I generally schedule about 15 minutes. Good luck.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 We didn't routinely go past 20 minutes for math until at least 4th grade. dd did Saxon 7/6 this year in 5th, and 30-40 minutes was enough almost all of the time. We don't assign all problems. The BJU does sound like quite a bit of seatwork/repetitive work. I don't know if their worksheets are set up the same way as Saxon - - is the 2nd side 'more of the same,' that is, homework or review? If so, have him do the 1st side routinely, and if he misses any, do the same type problem on the 2nd side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 20 minutes for K? Yep, sounds pretty good. I found lessons in 1st (depending on program, of course) could go longer, though I'd keep it less than 45 minutes or the kid could decide Math is his/her most "hated" subject. In 2nd, we spent 30-45 minutes per lesson depending on the skill, attitude, and how much "hands on" we did. I also sometimes combined two lessons into one day. I think it depends on your child and the math program. I found myself spending an hour on math in 1st grade some days and realized it was too much. Once I cut the lesson short & picked up there the next day, all of us were much happier. This summer, my math lessons for the kids (going-into-1st & going-into-3rd) aren't much longer than 20 minutes each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 20 minutes is plenty for K-2. But I will add that in no HS program is anything written in stone. Try to think in terms of guidelines and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 20 minutes is plenty for K-2. But I will add that in no HS program is anything written in stone. Try to think in terms of guidelines and suggestions. Yep. Not even Drew follows those plans as written :) But truly, I've had four kids come up through 1st grade, and in my experience at that age @20 minutes was plenty. I don't think we ever timed it ... we just did as much of the lesson as we could without having them get frustrated or bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 And don't forget that Math can be "living math" too. So, check out Greg Tang's books (you can purchase 5 of them from Scholastic's if you call for about $20) and the Sir Cumference series by Cindy Neuschwander (and she has other math books, too!) And, my son loves playing with his abacus (a Doug And Melissa one) and cubes and other things, that are helping to set math up in his head. Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 My 5th grader is moving through Singapore math at the rate of two books/year (that's one level) and works for just 20 minutes/day on math. That 20 minutes includes my presentation time, her work, and my time to check her work. The only math she does outside of that 20 minutes is Daily Math Practice from Evan-Moor, and that takes less than 5 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenadina Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We follow LCC and use Rightstart. We only rarely go over 20 min, and when we do, it's usually because we're playing a game :) We are definitely progressing at a good clip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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