I'm seriously considering "ditching" my math curriculum and...

[mama2cntrykids]

just playing math games. Or getting Math Games for Learning (or something like that by Peggy Kayne?). Am I insane? I'm just tired of struggling and fighting and threatening my 1st grader over math! We're using CLE and the amt of work is overwhealming to him. It's three pages per day and it's really NOT that bad because they mix it up and the problems are in a bigger font.

 

It's just met with being bucky and anger and refusal (and then I have to threaten). It's just.not.worth.it. I was even thinking of fun computer games. You know...just to finish out the year. We only have about 8-10 weeks left until we finish anyway. Then next year, we can start fresh??

 

Has anyone ever done this or am I setting him up for failure later on? I don't want him to HATE it so badly and I think if there's some kind of games (computer or homemade), he'll brighten much more. Thoughts?

[JudoMom]

just playing math games. Or getting Math Games for Learning (or something like that by Peggy Kayne?). Am I insane? I'm just tired of struggling and fighting and threatening my 1st grader over math! We're using CLE and the amt of work is overwhealming to him. It's three pages per day and it's really NOT that bad because they mix it up and the problems are in a bigger font.

 

It's just met with being bucky and anger and refusal (and then I have to threaten). It's just.not.worth.it. I was even thinking of fun computer games. You know...just to finish out the year. We only have about 8-10 weeks left until we finish anyway. Then next year, we can start fresh??

 

Has anyone ever done this or am I setting him up for failure later on? I don't want him to HATE it so badly and I think if there's some kind of games (computer or homemade), he'll brighten much more. Thoughts?

 

Something that helped one of my boys was to set a timer. As long as they were working decently for the amount of time on the timer, they could stop when it beeped.

 

Math had turned into this huge, big ordeal for them and they were convinced it would take the rest of their life to finish so why bother. The reality was they could finish in under 20 minutes if they tried. The timer gave them incentive to work hard because when it beeped they were done (even if they didn't finish the lesson) as long as they worked hard. It provided a concrete ending to the torture.

[Ravin]

We just started our Spring semester, and since DD wasn't liking Miquon (she doesn't like the rods), I got something that appealed to her more. There is also no way she'd sit through three pages a day of math, unless she was randomly in the mood. I keep the lessons short, usually striking for having accomplished something but her still wanting a bit more (she's always free do to more after her other core subjects are done).

 

That said, we just took a long winter break (from about 2nd week of December to 3rd week of Feb, after our weeklong foray into the Current Middle Ages at Estrella War), and during the break I limited math to playing some games (DD got quite a few new board games for Yule) and reading Rightstart math storybooks. I think the break did her a lot of good.

[MelanieM]

I don't think you're crazy at all! We are heavy on the math games and living math around here, and it has served us very well. This past September when my daughter was 6 yrs old she placed into Math Mammoth 2b/3a and her prior math experience stemmed from playing games and living life, using workbooks/sheets for fun whenever she wanted. Now my 4.75 yr old is about ready for MM 1a, and his math experience is entirely based on playing dice and card games and talking about math in everday life. In our home, math curriculum is a fun optional activity the kids can play with, and it is working beautifully for us.

 

Math is everywhere, and it's wonderful! Have fun sharing that joy with your kids!

[Heidi]

I would say sure... but I have absolutely no authority on the subject because I am completely new at all of this.

My daughter knows she HAS to do it or else she can just sit there and miss meals until bedtime... but that's just us.

She is doing R&S 1 math. It helps if I read the math problem to her (keeps her focused) and make it a race. She also hated the speed drills until we changed it into the chocolate chip race. A chip for every right answer in one minute. Now she actually enjoys math. She is also starting to see her hard work pay off through her own improvement. I enjoy seeing her improvement. I love this homeschooling thing :)

[Stacy in NJ]

a first grader should be fighting and struggling with math. A formal curriculum may not be necessary. Games can be a good way to teach basic math. Also look at using a less formal program like Miquon or Cuisinaire rods with simple workbooks.

 

A first grader is usually working on number recognition to 100, place value to 100, addition and subtraction. Those topics are really pretty straight forward, and I bet you're quite capable of teaching those with simple tools.

 

Here are a few items you might find helpful:

 

http://www.amazon.com/One-Digit-Addition-Subtraction-Cuisenaire-Workbook/dp/0914040219/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266898723&sr=8-4

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisenaire-Rods-Intro-Set-Wood/dp/B000FFWCOW/ref=pd_sim_b_2

[Just Robyn]

There is a really good post about that here by KarenAnne.

[hopeallgoeswell]

:grouphug:

I feel your pain. I was there last year. DD was doing Abeka 1 (she was 5) and every day consisted of me screaming and her crying. I decided to back off and go. very. slowly. It killed me because she could do the work when she put her mind to it. We spent 5 minutes on the lesson. The rest of math time was spent reading math readers or playing games. Towards the end of the year I figured out she needed a mastery program. We switched to Singapore and it's been GREAT since then! Good luck!

[MIch elle]

We used Structural Arthimetic K-2 which is game based along with Math Games by Kaye and other games.

 

Can you do CLE math without the writing (or very littel) and just teach the concepts?

[HerdingCats]

I only started a formal curriculum this year with my youngest. I know many people even wait longer. Of all my dc, he is the most math smart. I can't help but wonder if I did the olders a disservice by making them do a formal curriculum starting in K. This little guy tested into 4th grade math at the end of 1st grade and all we had done is "life math" and games. I say, "Go for it!"

[prairiegirl]

I want to encourage you to ditch the program. The pain is not worth it. I use a formal program very lightly but is heavier on games and math readers. This is working very well. I wish I had done this with my oldest, who has a major math phobia due to negative math times when she was younger.

 

A few good books to help are Games for Math by Peggy Kaye and Family Math. The living math site is an excellent resource for math readers and other math ideas.

 

Enjoy your math time!

[apCrazy4Jesus]

You could read the new concept together and have her do those few problems. Then create a game out of the some problems from the review section. You could write out some of the problems on index cards and set up stations around the house with her favorite stuffed animals or toys. She could then advance to a finish line where she gets a reward (my kids simply love the thrill of winning, so if you are not into rewards you could leave those out).

[Haiku]

Have you considered the RightStart games? I think those could be very helpful. Were it me, I would take a break from CLE for 2-3 weeks. Then I would reintroduce it and set a timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of work your son could put it away.

 

If that doesn't work, then I'd switch curriculum.

 

Tara

[meet me in paris]

Do it! We take breaks like this every now and again, and it SO helpful... and one of the best things about hs'ing.

[FO4UR]

Do it!:iagree:

 

This is partly why I keep such a hodge podge of math programs.

 

My ds7 has an aversion to math workbooks....he also has vision problems so I know that's part of it for him. We do a lot of things orally, a lot of "you tell me the answer and I'll write," and a whole lot of putting things up on a white board instead. My ds7 is pretty mathy, but you would never know it if he were bound to a workbook.

 

A timer is great for anything "painful" :iagree:

 

Look at MEP for fun puzzles and problems to put up on the board.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

How about using a lap size white board and sit there with him and encourage him on:) You could use different colors and such. Or a chalkboard might be useful. I am not familar with CLE. I also use math games as well.

[Susie in MS]

My 4 1/2 yo LOVES math, but I don't want to squelch that love. She is doing the R&S ABC series -because she wants to-. But I have games for her as well. I plan on continuing with these games thru 2nd grade. She has fun with them. I will probably do R&S *light* -only cuz dd likes wkbks- but will back off when she wants.

I have game ideas I have gotten from the Basically Beechick yahoo loop, and this Domino *game* printed out:

http://www.first-school.ws/THEME/printables/dominoes-math.htm

It can be done with larger Dominoes if you have them. Dice are great too. To teach skip counting I made a large number line to 100, decorated it with frog and flower stickers, and will have dd use a stuffed frog to jump on the line.

At the BB loop there are some word problems you can print out and cut into cards. Use these with a game board. If the word problem is answered correctly then the player can move forward. This can be adjusted for any age by choosing more difficult word problems. Ray's Primary Arithmetic has some fantastic word problems that you can use for this purpose. You can find the book online for free at googlebooks or you can buy it for less than $10 at cbd. Toward the end of the book those problems require deeper thinking. I love it!

I think that math at this age should be fun. Enjoy! :D

[monalisa]

We just got a set of games called Giggle Facts that teaches the addition & subtraction facts. My dd7 loves this so far.

 

http://www.gigglelearn.com/index.html

 

It seemed expensive & I thought about buying it for months because I couldn't find any reviews on it. However, I finally took the plunge because flashcards, etc weren't working. I'm glad I did -- we really like it.

[2_girls_mommy]

My Ker worked through lesson 60 or so of R&S math 1. It moves so slowly at first that it was a good fit, but it does begin to pick up the pace, and it got to be too much to push her on to new skills when she hadn't mastered the others confidently yet. (Like memorizing 2 subtraction family, when we had just started subtraction that week..) I finally realized that she had learned so much already from our daily lessons with it that we could put it away until next year.

 

I have been doing a combo of things. For a while I used the online lesson plans on Core Knowledge web site. They have some math units based on literature. This was a good way to get her enjoying math again since she loves stories and books. Then I just pulled pages from a store K workbook that corresponded.

 

Now we are practicing counting every day and skip counting, writing #s and doing pages from the K workbook. We will slowly add our 1st grade math curric back in next year.

[mama2cntrykids]

Thank you for sooo much encouragement!! I'm ordering Games for Math and Mega-Fun Math Games and Puzzles from Amazon. I'm also considering the Currsiann (sp?) Rods with a manual to help me. I may also go back to Singapore Math but also buy the HIG to go with it as I know it has a lot of ideas.

 

So what if he doesn't learn carrying/borrowing with two or three digit numbers this year, right? He can pick it up next year. I guess I just need a lot of reassurance. I need to know that it's ok to do our own thing sometimes and not worry about a PS scope and sequence as long as they're LEARNING.

 

Coming from PS myself, it's a hard concept for me to let go of, but I need to so that he doesn't hate learning. He's such a bright boy. I would be heart broken if he grew up hating it!

 

I really do appreciate ALL of you!! I am blessed too be part of this on-line community.

[skaterbabs]

CLE has an average of 30 single-digit addition & subtraction problems per lesson at the end of the 100 level. I cut out at least half of them for Dot, leaving her the more complicated multiple-column and story problems for her. We also do not do the speed drills or flash cards.

 

Just because the problems are there, doesn't mean you MUST do them. It's one of the benefits of homeschooling. ;)

[Mommee & Baba]

I've actually got that Peggy book for sale on the used circ. website. If you really do want it.

 

However for math I found that for my k'er and 1st grader that this math is working wonderful for them.. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm I also make alot of lapbooks and hands on file folder games for them and they love it.

[susankenny]

Hi,

 

I would also ditch it. My almost 6 year old uses Cornerstone "Making Math Meaningful", and that's been a very good curriculum for him. It is very hands-on & gentle. We are in the Grade 1 Book. It was recommended by the Simply Charlotte Mason website, so we purchased it. I'm glad we did! When my little boy is in Grade 2, we'll probably switch to a more formal curriculum like R&S or CLE.

 

Susan

[oakmom]

I don't usually use a formal math program with my children until they are about 8 or 9, but we do a lot of math informally. We do Miquon math and Singapore math if they are interested. We play a lot of games and read a lot of math books from the living math site mentioned by another poster. These books send us on a lot of mathematical discussions.For example, at that age my kids loved The Number Devil. Often our dinner conversation is mathematical in nature. My children are all thriving mathematically with this approach.

 

For full disclosure, I have a degree in math education and run a couple of math learning centers.

 

I think that it is amazing what mathematical topics young children can be interested in if you follow their lead.

[Julie in Monterey]

We love Games for Math, by Peggy Kaye. I'm always recommending it on these boards, especially for younger kids. I loan my copy out to my ps friends as well. Don't worry about multi-digit math this year, this is first grade.

 

Games for memorizing math facts will go a long way. Often when my kids say, "NO MORE MATH!", I say, "okay fine, how about some math games?", kids, "YEAH!"

 

Enjoy your first grader and toss the workbooks for now or at least tuck them away into a cupboard!

 

Julie in Monterey

[Karen in CO]

I think ditching it is a great idea, but one thing you need to plan for is how your older will feel if the younger gets to ditch math. My 3rd grader either tolerates or enjoys math depending on the day, but she gets jealous when her sister is doing something fun while she is doing math even though her sister is in K.

[acurtis75]

Have you tried Math u See? I used Horizon K with my daughter and she really didn't like it and didn't learn much. (I found it to be a little boring too). Someone told me about Math u see and now math is one of her favorite subjects. The blocks/manipulatives have become one of her favorite toys to play with. She spends time playing with them on her own after we're done with her lessons for the day. I spent more time than I would like to admit trying to get her to memorize her addition facts with the Horizon book and a CD I bought for her to sing the facts and we got nowhere. She watched the DVD with the MUS curriculum and had them down in a week. There are worksheets to use with each lesson but we don't always use all of them. If she seems to "get it" we skip to the test. If not, we spend more time playing with blocks. Overall we've reduced the time we spend on math by about 75% and she's increased her retention of the material dramatically.

[AngelBee]

:grouphug: Take a break from it for a while.

[oakmom]

I haven't used it, but i just read a great review about Giggle Math games:

 

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/giggle_facts.php