DawnM Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 UGH! My middle son struggles a bit with math. We switched him from Singapore to MUS at the beginning of the year. This is our 2nd attempt with MUS. I tried it with my oldest for K six years ago. Turns out we are just not MUS people. My middle son now hates it as much as my oldest did. He really wants teaching textbooks and has done all the online samples. I am just afraid that he thinks he can just do it on the computer and guess until he gets it right. I tried to explain to him that there is a workbook AND I can tell how many times he guessed. I don't know what to do....it is costly if it is a mistake...... Thoughts? Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Have you tried the library? We had some problems with various programs and now I use the library as our primary math source. I borrow various books on whatever subject we're going to cover (geometry, fractions, etc). Some are story books from the kid's section, some are GED books, some are 'for Dummies' and most are meant for clarifying for students that aren't doing well. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Well, I can't tell you about teaching textbooks but for someone who is struggling I advise actually teaching and working through the problems together instead of relying on a curriculum to do it for you. Nothing works better than sitting down together, reading through the lesson together and then working through it step by step, together, just like a teacher in a classroom. After we go through something I have my student work a problem with me right at our whiteboard easel. Maybe several problems. If I have one day that I am teaching, the next day will be a short review and then I'll have the student work some problems on their own. Btw, we aren't MUS people either! Singapore never appealed to me. I can't remember why; I think the approach was just too different. I like plain old MCP and Saxon; the more bare bones the better! I just need a good TM to guide me in my teaching! That's is until we get into Algebra and then my husband takes over! I am not a mathie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyBC Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 For elementary TT, the computer gives you two chances to type in the answer and then it is graded as incorrect. When he is done a lesson, you can easily see which ones gave him difficulty and go over that concept with him, or have him watch the solutions for just those problems. It has been fabulous for my struggling student. It has a high re-sale value, I think, so if it doesn't work out, it might not be that expensive a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisperry Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Sounds similar to what has happened with my 8 yo. We started with Singapore which bombed - he needed more review and far less abstract. So we switched to MUS. He did ok but I had to teach him everything. He didn't "get" the DVD. He is a hands-on learner and has attention issues. His mind would just wander and the DVD can't tell ;) but I can. This summer I tried the MEP - briefly just to see. He loved the active part of the lessons but that was about it that worked well. This year we are doing the CLE Math Workbooks and this is BY FAR the best. The review is there. The drill is there. I often use the blocks from the MUS to make the concept more hands-on. Sometimes there is a bit of a struggle with the amount to do everyday but overall it has been a blessing. The biggest hurdle so far this year was to complete the first book - math skills were very rusty from a long break (won't make that mistake again) so there was far less "review" and far more re-learning. Now that we are past that, it is easy-peasy. Oh, and the CLE books are as free from drawings as the MUS but they are very minimal. All easy to read and nothing busy. Again, focus issues on bright and colorful pages. Best thing about CLE? You can try it for super cheap!!!! (I've used Teaching Textbooks. I find it does an adequate job. I felt that it didn't cover enough for me to be happy though even when my 5th grader was doing Math 6. Missing too much in geometry for starters) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisperry Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Wanted to add that I do feel that TT is probably fine as long as you are committed to them - I think there timeline is a little different from the norm. Since we have to do EOG testing, I was uncomfortable with it since the lack of geometry shows in our testing scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 Thanks all. I did actually look briefly at CLE.....I need to place an order for something else through them so maybe I should order a workbook and just see how it goes. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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