!!panic help!!!

[Lolly]

Math. I think one mistake people tend to make here is to jump around from program to program. If there is a definite problem, switch. If you like it and the problem seems to just be that math is a weakness, stick it out. Just keep working. Some kids just have a humongous difficulty with their basic facts. I have one dd, now 15 who had extreme difficulty in that area. She has started algebra this year. Guess what? She is doing great. I am totally amazed. I let her use a calculator for most problems. She has no problems with the concepts. Just keep plugging away. It will be okay. Oh, a caution. I would recommend setting a time limit to work on math. Don't let it drag on all day. That really does no good. One other bit of advice is to not let his lack of knowledge for basic facts limit his work. Work on those separately with drill. Allow him to use fact charts when working on his daily work. This serves two purposes. First, it allows him to progress in his math skills. Second, it allows him to practice his facts correctly and actually help to master them.

 

Rod and Staff. There is a reason the punctuation is at the end of the book. If you don't know how the words are working in the sentences, you cannot know how to punctuate them. R&S really builds from chapter to chapter. I always use it straight through. That is not to say that it can't be done. There are definitely many exercises that do not build on previous ones. Again, we just keep plugging along here until the book is finished. Sometimes, if the lesson is pretty easy, we will just do two that day orally. It keeps us more on track because of days we don't get to have school. Also, realize that using R&S, your children will have all the grammar they need to know EVER (imho) at the end of the seventh grade book. When we had a really rough year, we only made it through half the book. We dropped it for the summer and redid the book the next year going through the first half fairly quickly. It made for a nicely paced year the second year!

[pamd]

Math. I think one mistake people tend to make here is to jump around from program to program. If there is a definite problem, switch. If you like it and the problem seems to just be that math is a weakness, stick it out. Just keep working. Some kids just have a humongous difficulty with their basic facts. I have one dd, now 15 who had extreme difficulty in that area. She has started algebra this year. Guess what? She is doing great. I am totally amazed. I let her use a calculator for most problems. She has no problems with the concepts. Just keep plugging away. It will be okay. Oh, a caution. I would recommend setting a time limit to work on math. Don't let it drag on all day. That really does no good. One other bit of advice is to not let his lack of knowledge for basic facts limit his work. Work on those separately with drill. Allow him to use fact charts when working on his daily work. This serves two purposes. First, it allows him to progress in his math skills. Second, it allows him to practice his facts correctly and actually help to master them.

 

Rod and Staff. There is a reason the punctuation is at the end of the book. If you don't know how the words are working in the sentences, you cannot know how to punctuate them. R&S really builds from chapter to chapter. I always use it straight through. That is not to say that it can't be done. There are definitely many exercises that do not build on previous ones. Again, we just keep plugging along here until the book is finished. Sometimes, if the lesson is pretty easy, we will just do two that day orally. It keeps us more on track because of days we don't get to have school. Also, realize that using R&S, your children will have all the grammar they need to know EVER (imho) at the end of the seventh grade book. When we had a really rough year, we only made it through half the book. We dropped it for the summer and redid the book the next year going through the first half fairly quickly. It made for a nicely paced year the second year!

 

Wow Lolly, Thank you so much that was very informative. I appreciate you taking time to share your wisdom. That is what I think I am going to do. Keep plugging and do some drill/skill training and not do it all day. Thanks also for the R&S information as well that is what I am going to do. Keep plugging one day at a time. We hslrs most all be mental. I can't believe how we are so supportive one day. lol And the next day I am having a break down. This forum is awesome and all of you hslrs taking from your busy schedules to help others. Wow!!! How blessed am I and thank you for this forum!!!!:tongue_smilie:

[Ellie]

I didn't take any testing when I started last year because he did eog's with the ps.

The Saxon placement test is specific to Saxon and has nothing to do with EOG testing. :-)

He was low in LA and Math. Should have been a clue huh!!!:lol: Even though he passed with honor roll. Don't understand.

All parts of "LA"? Reading skills? Spelling? Writing? what? And your experience is common. MANY hsers take their high-achieving children out of school only to find that the dc are far below where they were supposed to be.

I guess that is why I am not sure what to do at this point besides be put in an insane hospital:bigear: I am so sick of buying curriculum and I do think we need to get something and stick with it. I feel like it is all my fault but things where not working and clicking and a lot of yelling and fighting. I know there has got to be an easier way. I don't feel like I can do worse then ps I think?!!:confused:

:grouphug:

 

Listen, you're trying to make up what your ds lost when he was in school, so don't beat yourself up, k? If the school had ben doing its job in the first place we wouldn't be having this discussion.:glare:

 

Why don't you just put everything away for awhile and just have some mommy/child time. Read some good books aloud, take some field trips, let ds sleep in the morning until he finishes sleeping, just relax. It's possible that something you already have is what you need; you've just felt too much pressure to Get Things Done. Maybe you could take some time to read through and evaluate everything, and start again in a couple of months, all fresh and new.

[zookeeperof3]

Can you tell me how you do your R&S do you go Ch. by Ch. or skip around?

 

We go through Rod & Staff from the first lesson - to the last lesson. I don't skip. They are in the book in order because someone decided that's how it should be done! My son is doing very well this year in R&S. He's now doing it independently which shocked me, but he's doing great with it. We also use the Spelling program, it compliments the English book well.

Kim

[EppieJ]

While you're doing your "drill/skill training" try to make it fun. Kids remember better what they enjoy (I know I do!) Check out http://www.bigbrainz.com/ for fun multiplication drill. Here's a couple more sites that I've recently discovered that are more fun than your basic flash card:

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

http://www.thatquiz.org/

 

You could also check out programs like JumpStart, Reader Rabbit Math or Math Blaster. We used several of those as fun practice.

 

Hope this helps. As I'm writing this, I realize I'm not sure of the age of your ds. :blushing:

[pamd]

Thank you that was words of wisdom. I don't know why we beat ourselves up so bad, I know it is because we care so much. Thanks again for your help.

[pamd]

Thank you for the websites. I love free. My ds is 10 and he I think I do need to add some fun games. I bought them just haven't used them. lol I appreciate your time and sharing with me.

[EppieJ]

Deep breath....

 

One thing I'm working on is remembering that ds does not have to learn everything right now. You know what some of the trouble spots are. I would suggest (albeit in my lack of experience) choosing one to focus on now. Keep pluggin' away at all your subjects, but don't stress over math concepts and punctuation and....Choose one to put extra focus on for now.

 

Or...

 

Take a deep breath and make sure that your stress level is in check. If you are stressed, odds are ds is, too, and it's hard to learn anything like that.

 

How many subjects are you doing? Are you trying (like me) to fit too much into a day, and get flustered when it doesn't all get done?

 

Perhaps you could set some things aside for now, to allow more time and energy for working on the trouble spots.

 

Just a thought.

[lovedbyGod]

If you like the Saxon approach, and have tried many other programs, I would just plod along, but more slowly - perhaps the warm-up, drill sheet, lesson practice one day and mixed practice the next day (alternating). With maybe extra emphasis on areas that need help (don't forget there are the Supplementary practice sections). Or, you could do a regular lesson, then if there is a hard concept, just focus on that one the next day without worrying about doing a regular lesson.

 

I think if you follow the Saxon program rigidly and all the way through to grade 12, you end up finishing early anyway (can't remember). I would guard against the tendency to try and finish a program just to be done on time (though I am very much like this myself) at the expense of real learning and the fun that can go along with it if there's less stress. The worst thing that can happen if you finish more slowly is...a bit of lost time, maybe, if that; whereas the worst thing if you push when he's not ready is he'll learn to hate math and be anxious about it. In the 3rd edn of WTM there is a note about kids with special needs (not suggesting your child fits in that category, but the advice is still worthwhile) that it's ok to take more time for things if you need to.

 

Having said all this, there is another math program available in Canada called JUMP (for Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies) which was begun by a math teacher who had always done poorly at math, and its initial purpose was remedial math in public schools. Now it's available for homeschoolers. I don't know that much about it, but it's fairly incremental I believe (not sure how it would compare to Saxon's "incremental-ness" :)

 

HTH

 

Sandra

[pamd]

I purchased the MM 3a and when we begin this morning I realized, he can get the answer but it takes awhile and he has to count on his fingers. I believe it is lack of memorization. I agree with you that I need to drop some things and focus on Math and English. Do you think we will be o.k. if we just focus on these 2 subjects and go back to 1st or 2nd grade worksheets and games and flashcards to get addition and subtraction down. This is what I did last year when I found out he didn't know his multiplication and he is doing well. He gets very frustrated that he doesn't know his addition and subtraction and gets upset. I tell him it is not his fault that he has not be taught to memorize and ps didn't spend enough time on the basics. What is your thought on this?

[pamd]

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate them very much. I will check into the math.

[zookeeperof3]

Keep doing what you are doing. Just work with him on the basic math facts. What I do is drill/review addition ( flash cards/ fact wheels/ pc game), then I give him a page of addition problems 15-20 problems and tell him to do his best, then I leave the room. I leave so that he doesn't feel like I'm watching over his shoulder or babying him. I have him do the page of math immediately after the drill so that he has a chance to apply what he learned on paper immediately. The next day do subtraction the same way. etc etc

 

Hope that helped!

Kim

[pamd]

Thanks Kim that did help, and it is nice to know when your not alone. Did you see the thread on math from PamL that had a website to knowing Math? Just thought I'd share. Again I really appreciate all the help.

[EppieJ]

If you do decide to drill with first or second grade pages, I would check to be sure they don't actually say first or second grade on the page. And be careful how you refer to the pages. Make it "addition practice" but not "first grade addition". Just considering the psyche of your 10 yr. old boy. Sounds like he's already frustrated by this; no need to add to it. KWIM?

 

Here's something I ran across that may help:

 

http://www.mrsbogucki.com/aemes/resource/apps/madmath/

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/math-drills-minute.html

[zookeeperof3]

Your Welcome! Yes, I saw about the Knowing Math program. What we are doing now is working for us, so I'm not changing! Things will work out for you too, it just stakes time.

Kim

[pamd]

If you do decide to drill with first or second grade pages, I would check to be sure they don't actually say first or second grade on the page. And be careful how you refer to the pages. Make it "addition practice" but not "first grade addition". Just considering the psyche of your 10 yr. old boy. Sounds like he's already frustrated by this; no need to add to it. KWIM?

 

Here's something I ran across that may help:

 

http://www.mrsbogucki.com/aemes/resource/apps/madmath/

http://themathworksheetsite.com/

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/math-drills-minute.html

Thank you so much for these sites and your thoughts. I do try not to let him know grade levels. I do not want to frustrate him. What is KWIM?

[pamd]

Kim,

Thanks I am so thankful for you and everyone else who has helped encourage and lift me up with great support and suggestions.

[EppieJ]

Thank you so much for these sites and your thoughts. I do try not to let him know grade levels. I do not want to frustrate him. What is KWIM?

 

 

Glad to help!

 

Know What I Mean?

[zookeeperof3]

Happy to help!