How to accelerate a student?

[pbajgrow]

I have a gifted child. I have taught 2 others before him and his brain is starting to scare me (in a good way!) He is in kindergarten. I've already skipped K math and went straight to 1st grade. He is going through Saxon 1 with ease and almost boredom. I honestly think he just likes to do it so he can sit with me, and not because it's engaging him. He constantly comes up to me during the day with math facts that he's figured out while playing upstairs in the playroom. Just this morning he came up to me and said, "Mom, I know what 4+4+4 is!" And he does. When I am drilling his brother I have to make sure he is not in the room or he'll tell the older brother the answers. For instance, he's known his double facts for at least a year now.

 

My question is how do you accelerate a little 5 year old who clearly has the brain power to handle it? Is there a special curriculum for these guys, or do I just keep up with Saxon and skip over the redundant things?" My struggle is that he is 5. The stay-at-home, homeschooling mom in me says to let him still play more than learn, which no matter what I will do. But the other side of me is yelling this kid can do things that his sister (who is also great at math) couldn't do until 2nd grade.

 

Thanks ahead of time for any advice. Jen Grow

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I'm using a combination of Math on the Level and Activties for the AL Abacus (from the author of Right Start) with my oldest. We only work on topics as long as dd needs to understand and the activities are lots of fun too.

[Jen500]

Have you considered Singapore Math? I think it's easy to accelerate as needed.

[abbeyej]

Well, you certainly have options. You could skim through upcoming Saxon lessons till you come to one you think might be challenging and work through it. You could give him the assessments only, until he makes less than 80% (though it sounds as if even that might be wasting his time)... You could consider Singapore, which can be moved through more quickly because there are so very few problems per lesson.

 

When ds was 5, I dropped Saxon (it was too slow for him *and* I didn't like their lack of focus on place value) and we moved to Horizons and moved through it very quickly (doubling up on lessons and occasionally crossing out some duplicate problems). We eventually added in Singapore as a supplement and he did other supplementary materials and Math Olympiad along the way. I don't regret any of the racing through that we did in those years. :)

 

Saxon 1 is often used a kindergarten program, so for a very mathy kid, I can certainly see how it wouldn't be meaty enough to be satisfying.

 

I think you can use any number of resources and find something good for him -- just don't be worried about moving quickly! He'll certainly let you know if it's just "too much". :)

[lionfamily1999]

MEP is excellent and free, which means you won't have to buy another set if he speeds through them ;)

 

Also, have you considered just getting math workbooks for right now, until you figure out where his level is? They're so much cheaper and if he only does a few pages before he flies to the next step, you're only out a dollar or two. With workbooks, you could also let him sit and do them as he wishes and see just how far he can fly on his own.

[nmoira]

My question is how do you accelerate a little 5 year old who clearly has the brain power to handle it? Is there a special curriculum for these guys, or do I just keep up with Saxon and skip over the redundant things?"

Most parents of math adept children end up jettisoning Saxon because its incremental nature is not a good fit for kids who just "get it." Singapore is more adaptable: the child can do as much or as little work in the workbooks before moving on to more challenging material in the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems books (a replacement for the now OOP CWP is expected from SingaporeMath.com next year).

 

In DD the Elder's case, even Singapore wasn't enough. She took a break from 4A to do the Fractions and Decimals & Percents Life of Fred books and didn't want to go back. She's now engaged in some interesting diversions until I give the go-ahead to move into Algebra.

 

Alternately, you may wish to check out the EPGY threads in the accelerated forum. A number of parents there are part of their new (and affordable) Open Enrollment Program. It's a computer based program designed for math adept kids.

[daybreaking]

We, too, used Saxon in K and our DS, too, flew through it. What I found with my son, however, was that he is very bright with higher level thinking, figuring things, etc., but wasn't having fast recall of the basic math facts. What worked for us was to switch to R&S for the math facts and then use Singapore for the higher level thinking. It's been a great fit for us. Saxon was very cumbersome and I felt it held DS back. R&S is so simple to implement, it gives us more time for us to experiment with more advanced topics.

[angela in ohio]

If you used A Beka Kindergarten with him, Saxon 1 is probably a complete review. I would skip him ahead to Saxon 2, if you have your heart set on Saxon, or go back to A Beka and do grade 1. (Many people use Saxon a year ahead.)

[MissKNG]

We use The Critical Thinking Company math books as a supplement with Singapore. CTC math books seem advanced and it's easy to skip pages when you don't need the repetition.

[pbajgrow]

I started him on Abeka K5 in Aug. I skipped to the middle of the book a few days into it because it was like trying to teach a second grader the value of each number, which you should be teaching a normal kindergartener. He was always done before I could make a cup of tea, without my help! I switched him to Saxon 1 within the a month,since we already were doing it with his older brother, ds 7. Ds 7 is going the normal pace, needing the extra drill to memorize the new facts. It's ds5 who is gifted.

 

I also wanted to mention that I'm not one to push them farther than they need to go. If anything, he's pushing me! I still only do an hour a day with him. He's 5!! I'm just trying to find the balance of how much to do and what to teach when and how fast. If that makes sense. I also wanted to differentiate between those with good intentions that start to pile things on from all sides and try to make the kids accelerate. Like I said, he does the pushing and accelerating on his own. I just want direction on how to steer him!

[The Governess]

I think Singapore is a good choice. You can breeze through the workbook sections that are easy for him, and then do Intensive Practice problems for any parts where a little more is needed. There isn't really much review if you don't do the end-of-unit tests.

 

From what I have heard, Singapore 1 is a little more advanced than Saxon 1. I think that a lot of people use Saxon 1 for K math. A private classical school I looked into at one time used Saxon and they always used a level ahead of the actual grade. Here is the scope & sequence for Singapore 1a if you want to compare:

 

Unit 1: Reviewing numbers 0 to 10 (very basic)

Unit 2: Number bonds 0 to 10

Unit 3: Addition to 10

Unit 4: Subtraction to 10

Unit 5: Position, Direction, Ordinal Numbers

Unit 6: Number to 20, Addition and Subtraction within 20

Unit 7: Shapes

Unit 8: Length

Unit 9: Weight

Unit 10: Capacity

 

I have heard that 1b is a big leap from 1a. Haven't bought that one yet though. :D

 

If you don't want to buy a new curriculum, I would just continue with Saxon but skip most of the review problems and let him keep going with the new material until he gets stuck on something or doesn't show a clear understanding. :001_smile:

[Mandy in TN]

If you search the accelerated board, do an advanced search for threads with math in the title and you will hit the jackpot on math recs.

 

I have a 6yo/ 1st grade ds who loves numbers. We keep coming back to a Saxon/ Kumon combo. It is what works for us. Kumon satisfies ds's desire to do page after page of the same kind of problem. It is like he hits a rhythm that he really enjoys. It reminds me of children who like to repeat nursery rhymes or tongue twisters. Saxon provides the continual review of a variety of topics that allows me to feel comfortable with him working ahead of grade level. Currently, he is also using Key to Fractions.

 

However, Saxon and Kumon are not favorites on the accelerated board. Many people say that programs like Kumon or MUS that stick with a single topic bore their accelerated child. They also say that the repetition in Saxon or Horizons aggravates their accelerated child. I haven't found this to be the case. My little guy will do any math I put in front of him, including workbooks clearly below where he is working, and be excited about it.

 

On the accelerated board Singapore is a favorite. Parents like how the concepts are introduced and that the workbooks are slim enough that their accelerated child can work through them at a fairly fast clip receiving good exposure to a variety of topics but not spending so long on a topic that they become bored.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Reya]

First--don't do Saxon, for many, MANY reasons.

 

RightStart would be much more appropriate. Start with B because it repeats everything in A. Once you get through 4th grade, you're pretty much ready for pre-algebra.

[8filltheheart]

I agree with all those that suggested dumping Saxon. It moves slowly and has so much repetition that it can cause good math students aggravation.

 

Your ds sounds like my 13 yos when he was that age. He taught himself all of his multiplication tables through simple observation when he was 6. He would walk around and point at things and say "mom, did you know that 5 rows of 3 is 15" etc.

 

I made the decision to have him completely skip Horizons 2nd grade books and put him in Horizons 3. He progressed through Horizons at his own pace and finished with Horizons 6 in 4th grade.

 

I am definitely not one for pushing my kids or spending too much time on academics when they are younger. He never spent more time on "school" math than 30-45 mins per day.

 

We do spend lots of time playing strategy games (I have shared this a lot......but I think learning how to think via strategy is a huge boon to mathematical and scientific mental processes.)

 

Once they hit 4th grade level......check out Art of Problem Solving for their different math programs. My ds is active in Math Counts and is taking their Numbers and Probability course for fun!! (He is taking alg 2 for math for school.)

 

The best advice anyone can give you is to simply meet him where he is. I wouldn't stiffle his progression nor would I look for rapidly progressing him. Follow his lead and have fun.

[Donna]

When my dd was 5yo she was very similar to your ds...she just got math. I tried many of the programs recommended on the accelerated learner board because I was panicky about what to do with her. She always seemed a step ahead of me. It turned out that none of the other programs worked for her (Singapore, MUS, Right Start) for different reasons. We returned to Saxon and I modified it for her by taking out the repetition, giving her fewer review problems, making some problems go to the next level, and skipping lessons with information already mastered.

 

She flew through Saxon 1 and 2 plus half of Saxon 3 that year. Last year I slowed her down so she could solidify her multiplication and division facts. We finished Saxon 3 and 54. I added in Singapore Challenging Word Problems as well. This year she is doing Saxon 65 and also beginning Hands On Equations to introduce Algebra concepts. Math is going well.

 

All of that to tell you that every child is different and responds best to a different program. Just find what works for yours and/or adapt as necessary. It is easy to drive yourself crazy always thinking there is something better out there.

[Caribbean Queen]

My struggle is that he is 5. The stay-at-home, homeschooling mom in me says to let him still play more than learn, which no matter what I will do. But the other side of me is yelling this kid can do things that his sister (who is also great at math) couldn't do until 2nd grade.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice. Jen Grow

 

I think that when you have a child who learns fast you can spend less than the average amount of time on Math - and still accelerate. You can skip the tedious stuff because your child really won't need all that 'practice.' Your child can have interesting, brief lessons, learn a lot and still have more time to play.

 

When my son was 5 we did math for about 15 minutes a day, about 5 days a week. He did Math only as he was willing to do it. He didn't want to do written work so he barely did any. He enjoyed games, manipulatives, oral drill and other ways to learn math. We went at his pace, which was accelerated. Now he is doing a first grade workbook because it has Diego from Go Diego Go on it and it has stickers. :D

He wants to do it, and I think it's an nice, easy intro into doing workbooks. Our oral work, games, manipulative work etc. is still accelerated.

[Pamela H in Texas]

It really depends....

 

You can skip problems, lessons, books. You can also simply go faster. If it takes 10 minutes to do a lesson, do two...even switching programs, you'll probably have to do something or a few somethings.

 

I ALWAYS use more than one program (my daughter says that is because I believe in child torture; however, it *worked* as she finished through Calc II and Stats at 16). Certain programs I may cut a little out of and others I may have them do two or three lessons at a time. We may have skipped a certain level in certain materials but we got every level between the materials.

 

With Gregory, we're just trucking through Horizon Math. He's had 30 days of school and is on lesson 60some. We added MUS last week and he's finished a few lessons (each lesson has enough work to take 4-8 days if the kid needs it). I skip VERY little with him. With my son, I skipped less and with my daughter I skipped more. Whatever works for the kid.

 

We also do enrichment. Kids LOVE neat things. Hands On Equations is good for a child on a 3rd grade level or so. Before that, you might teach a kindergartener how to multiply 11s. Things like radius and diameter are fun. Measuring, doubling/halving recipes, etc is enjoyable. Games and real life math can broaden skills. Music is very tied to math.

 

Another option is to make other aspects of the curriculum broader and more involved. It might be perfectly okay for math to be 10 minutes and include going over two lessons, but then the other 10-20 minutes you usually would use, you might use for completely different things like more indepth history or science, projects, odd facts like the composition of water, music and art history, etc. There is nothign that says that math needs to be 25 minutes long. It is perfect okay to study genetics instead if the math lesson for today is complete.

[pbajgrow]

Wow! Everyone of you spoke something to me! Thank you so much for all the advice. I have a lot of thinking and researching to do, as well as the most important, PRAYING!!! God certainly knew what He was doing when he made this kid and He'll tell me what to choose! If anyone else want to chime in, I'm still all:bigear:

[Scarlett]

Just this morning he came up to me and said, "Mom, I know what 4+4+4 is!" And he does.

 

My son is 9 1/2 now. 4th grade level doing 5th grade math in K12 which is a solid math program and a bit ahead of public school. He was like your little one at that age. I remember when he was 4 we were in the grocery store check out line and I saw him counting on is fingers. I said, 'whacha doing son?' He says, 'oh, nutin'. Just making sure three 3's is 9.' :)

 

Flash foward. Doing fractions. Adding with unlike denominators. I turned to the first page and he figured the first problem it IN HIS HEAD in about 30 seconds.

 

So I feel your pain/joy. My biggest problem with my ds9 is that has trouble focusing when he needs to because most math problems just 'come' to him. So at this point, for you, I think I'd work up the ladder until I find some problems that require effort for your son.

[lotsofpumpkins]

We, too, used Saxon in K and our DS, too, flew through it. What I found with my son, however, was that he is very bright with higher level thinking, figuring things, etc., but wasn't having fast recall of the basic math facts. What worked for us was to switch to R&S for the math facts and then use Singapore for the higher level thinking. It's been a great fit for us. Saxon was very cumbersome and I felt it held DS back. R&S is so simple to implement, it gives us more time for us to experiment with more advanced topics.

 

Math comes easily to my 6 year old too, but we also needed more work on the basic math facts. We use R&S and Singapore here too. Ds is not bored with R&S at all; he loves those speed drills!