Newbie who needs math help

[toddandleah]

Hi everyone,

My name is Leah, I need some serious math help. This may be a somewhat long post for a first-timer, but I want to paint a clear picture, and hopefully get some helpful feedback. First of all, my husband and I are not mathy people. He's got the english degree, and I've got the music degree. My son (7 yrs, 2nd grade) has been struggling with math. He's a bright, blessed with an extra measure of energy boy, strong in reading/writing, doesn't have to work at language arts at all. We started with Saxon and suffered for a year. I gave it another month in 1st grade, and decided we needed to change. We switched to a skills mastery approach and that has been helpful. This year we are using Math Mammoth, but I'm unsure about continuing with it. Below I've made some observations of how he is when it comes to math. Maybe someone out there has some similar experiences and can offer some pointers, or maybe suggest some things that work.

I don't expect my kiddo to be a math whiz. I can see that it isn't his strength, and that he's not gifted in that way. So it is actually something he has to work at - and he doesn't like that. But he still has to learn math. It may be a question of waiting for it to click with him eventually. But when the weight of teaching falls to me, I'm trying to be sure that I have done everything possible to put him in a position to succeed at this, and not hate math all his days.

 

So here we go:

1. Can become easily overwhelmed by a lot of problems on the page.

2. Seems more interested in playing with manipulatives than using them as tools to solve problems.

3. Gets hot and sweaty when at work - this is the ONLY subject he complains about being hot.

4. Gives up. If he believes the work will be hard, he immediately says he can't do it, and the wall goes up. The rest of the lesson is a fight of trying to keep him calm and work through the problems - will continue to believe that it is too hard even when he is getting the answers right. I will break the problem down into steps and ask questions that he can answer, and we'll work through the problem that way - but he still resists it.

5. Once frustrated, he forgets strategies to solve simple problems. Will look at something like 2 + 4 as if he's never seen it before and doesn't begin to know how to figure it out.

6. Counts on his fingers, and counts backwards when doing subtraction.

7. A typical week will go something like this: Day 1 of new material, meltdown, Day 2 frustration/possible meltdown, Day 3 not so bad - still complaining, Day 4 "I got it mom, I know how to do it." It also goes that way based on the day of the week. Mon. bad day (even if it is review of material from the week before), Tue. bad day, Wed. not so bad, Thurs pretty good.

8. Is more willing to do math when it comes in the form of a computer game.

9. Will make careless mistakes, get the answer wrong, and give up.

10. Misses a problem, the world ends, regardless of how many he got right.

11. Doesn't want to listen to an explanation. "Just let me do it myself." But then if he gets it wrong, he won't listen to why and how to do it right. Or if he gets the answer right but the methodology was wrong - he still doesn't want to listen to how to do it correctly.

12. Likes timed work, but only if he feels confident he can finish it in time. He will insist I set the timer, but if the work is hard he will either panic and shut-down, or if it is semi-hard he will simply turn off the time and finish the problems.

 

I realize there is no perfect curriculum, but I just don't know what to do anymore. I know that some of this is a maturity issue. He needs more time to learn to deal with the physical discomfort of doing something that is hard for him. And maybe this is just the way a 7 yr old deals with it. But it's getting to where we both hate the subject altogether, and considering that we're only dealing with addition and subtraction - that doesn't bode well for the rest of our schooling years.

 

Again, sorry this is long. Any help would be great.

 

Leah

[twoxcell]

Have you looked at Math U See or Singapore. My sister just switched to Math U See with her 7 year old. He hated math before, and now he is actually enjoying it. I'm planning to switch my kids to Singapore with MEP also.

[walkermamaof4]

I actually was thinking Rightstart might be helpful bc/ the abacus is so visual and because the games are fun, fun, fun. My kids ask to do the games and the games get the facts into their heads without the drill, drill, drill of pages of problems. It would eliminate the trouble of many problems to a page too.

[AngieW in Texas]

I would look into Math-U-See, Singapore, Right Start, or maybe Miquon.

 

You might also want to check into Carnival Countdown and Zoo Zillions (math computer games). These aren't complete programs, but they do cover K-2nd math topics in a fun way. Singapore has computer games that sort of coordinate with it (Rainbow Rock is the level your ds would be at), but they aren't as fun as Carnival Countdown or Zoo Zillions.

 

You should take a look at the math computer programs available through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Their website is down until 5:30pm today (Saturday) for maintenance.

http://www.homeschoolbuyerscoop.com

[Disney Dreaming]

My dd shows some of the same things and is the same age. Here is my problem with going to something "different" like MUS(which I think is a great program after looking at it and still may in 3rd grade), I may have to put dd back into ps someday and the math she would do would be like Saxon, A Beka, Horizons, etc.. I have bought the Flashmaster and am making her do this every day we do school. I make her do it 2x on whatever level I have her work on. I plan on doing this for another year and may go to MUS after that if I don't see her improving. She still counts on her fingers when she does adding and subtracting and sometimes that wall comes up but I want to try and give her a chance. I know I didn't know my facts by heart until I was much older. We did Saxon(whole yr), A Beka(briefly), and Horizons(briefly) for 1st grade. I am using the rest of the A Beka this summer and will use BJU and A Beka in 2nd grade. Only you know your son, this is just my opinion :)

[JulieD]

My son is not mathy, and we have done well with RightStart. I like how it helps me to teach math, and the abacus is not nearly as fun to play with as blocks.

 

Also, we sandwich math in our day. Starting and ending with something fun and easy (piano, read alouds, science, art) has worked best for us.

[Cleopatra]

I don't have suggestions but I do have a little encouragement .....

 

I remember seeing a post on the forums regarding delayed math. A number of people posted who didn't beginning formal math with their dc until they were 10 years old. At the present time their dc were anywhere from 13 - 17 yrs old and all of them had completely caught up and only one was a year behind. It was illuminating!

 

Okay, perhaps one suggestion :001_smile: ..... your one task is to try to make math more enjoyable for him so it doesn't become something he dreads and hates. Why don't you take a break and play store with him? You could also try some board games that involve numbers. I sometimes used these games with my dd http://www.planet.eon.net/~boxcars/prdts.htm If I had it to do over again I would definitely add more real life situations to my dd's math program; if I had, I think she would have a better understanding of math now.

 

Best wishes!

[Aludlam]

I too think that MUS might be a good fit for him. The simple black and white pages are a huge plus. We have used MUS for 2 years (dd8), but are moving back to Horizons b/c my little wanted colorful pages with a spiral approach.

 

Angela

[Disney Dreaming]

My dd entered ps third grade this year and her math scores were at the top of the class. She was 1/2 through gamma btw.

 

Any transition in math programs is going to cause you to have to do a bit of catch up work in one way or another. There is no way around that. Unless ps reentry is an imminent and real thing, choosing a math program based on "maybe" and "someday" is probably not the best way to go.

 

Not that I am saying that you need to do MUS necessarily, but that if it is the best program for a child, then getting that good foundation is going to be of more benefit then keeping them on a similar track to the ps. (just my experience from teaching a ps kid for 2 years. I wasted 1.5 years trying to keep him on the same track as the school. When I finally put him in MUS things started to click. It was really sad that he lost all of that time.)

 

Of course if your ps are like mine they use garbage like TERC Investigations :glare: and only a nut would want to keep time with that nonsense. (not that I have strong opinions about that math program or anything.....)

 

Thanks for that info since I may have to move dd to MUS. It's good to know that the math scores were good, I have heard of some not being good so at least I know it's not the curriculum!

 

Our ps are one of the best in the state, actually scoring in the 90 percentiles in almost every subject elementary school to SATs. I had to pull dd out because she wasn't reading at the end of K. I knew she wouldn't get the attention she needed in school so I pulled her out. I plan on homeschooling until at least middle school but the expense may keep me from doing so at some point.

[kbed0849]

I would strongly recommend Rightstart. It uses lots of games and has little repetition for the sake of repetition. My son hated math when we used Saxon. He is doing very well with RightStart. I looked into MathUSee but didn't want all those blocks around. It may work for some people. But, at the time we had 4 children 5 and under. I have too many little things to keep up with already. The abacus is self-contained!! Good Luck

[Disney Dreaming]

Our schools are some of the best in the state as well. I actually love dd's school. That doesn't' stop them from using a horrible math program. Thankfully her teacher this year was an older gentleman who wasn't afraid to "supplement" a lot. When you put her back in, if you see that they use TERC Investigations or Everyday Math you will probably want to keep doing math at home. That's what we do.

 

Thanks for the info!

[Guest]

You sound like you have an outstanding comprehension of your child's strengths and difficulties. If you have a child who is strong in language arts, who likes to play with manipulatives, and who does better with computer games, play to those strengths.

 

Marilyn Burns (at http://www.mathsolutions.com ) has the most wonderful, varied programs for elementary math. One series is Math and Literature. These are not workbooks or worksheets, but a series of more detailed activities that use kids' picture books as their take-off points. There's a series for fiction, and one for non-fiction. They do exactly the same kind of math your child would get through a regular program -- only not the repetitive worksheet problems.

 

There are some terrific children's math books outside that program: the Sir Cumference books on basic geometry are so good that my daughter acted them out multiple times. Measuring Penny and It's Probably Penny, by Lorreen Leedy, are also a huge amount of fun. Leedy also has books on addition and subtraction. You probably have seen or read about Greg Tang's picture books on beginning multiplication.

 

Peggy Kaye approaches basic math and the memorization of math facts and processes through games, in Games For Math -- a terrific, easy, fun book using simple things like colored pencils or crayons, chalk, dice, money, paper cups, etc.

 

Many kids who struggle over math facts may be quite good at more conceptual, spatial types of math. It's easy to forget -- because of the emphasis of curricula on computation -- that these are very important for higher math skills. And you can approach these through games too. ThinkFun has some really good-looking and fun spatial games they sell at bookstores and on the web. Tangrams and origami, the card game Set, checkers and beginner chess, RushHour, changeable maze games -- these are all great ways to cultivate spatial and geometric skills. If your son really likes to play with manipulatives, then again, work with that rather than against it and go for math in games form.

 

My daughter never used a formal math curriculum -- that is, with textbook, workbooks, worksheets -- until around 6th grade. This was because of her severe dysgraphia and vision problems rather than because of any philosophical theory on my part. We did nearly all of Marilyn Burns's lesson books informally, sometimes orally, sometimes using a whiteboard or blank paper; we played games instead of doing workbook math every day. But it may make you feel better to know that she was able to go from this type of thing to textbooks with no problem at all, and now, in 8th grade, is finishing up perfectly conventional advanced algebra. Letting your son work with math in ways that may make it easier for both of you, at least for a while, will not make him fall irreparably behind or make him unable to do more traditional math. And while I had to circumvent a lot of written math, you don't have to; Marilyn Burns's books and Peggy Kaye's games in particular are a good way to mix appealing approaches and conceptual understanding with a lot of practice.

[shinyhappypeople]

Hi everyone,

 

8. Is more willing to do math when it comes in the form of a computer game.

 

Hi Leah,

 

Sounds like he's telling you that he's not a workbook kid and but he learns best through games. I think that fighting his natural inclinations is only going to frustrate you both.

 

I strongly encourage you to try dropping the formal math studies for a year and try a more organic, living math approach. The info here is very helpful: Transitioning to Living Math.

 

Also, go check out Time 4 Learning. It's a computer-based curriculum.

 

Here are some board games he might enjoy:

 

Sum Swamp (addition & subtraction)

Money Bags (money, counting coins)

Dino Math Tracks Game (place value)

 

Educationallearninggames.com has many wonderful options, too -- and not just for math.

 

One last thing. Have you read Ruth Beechick's book "The 3 R's"? Her advice on learning math in the early grades is excellent. I think you'll find a lot of helpful information there.

[siloam]

Leah,

 

I would go with Right Start. I know that the manipulatives will be a problem for a while, but they will also get boring. It is probably actually a sign that he is a hands on learner. He just needs to get board of them and learn to refocus on the task at hand.

 

My guess is he is dyscalculic to some degree. Thus the recall problems. Many of the things you list are common to the dyslexia family: easily overwhelmed, needs to know they will succeed, need hands on but doesn't necessarily like that he needs them, wants to work on his own even through he needs help (to save face). I am the same way with English that your ds is with math. Though I was still counting on my fingers as an adult.

 

My bet is it will be a battle no matter what, might as well use something that plays to his needs. He probably needs the hands on, RS has limited worksheets and limited amount of problems on a worksheet, it has the games to lean math facts with and does a good job of explaining why.

 

Also if you know he is having a recall problem, then just give him the answer. I personally can go to introduce a friend that I have known for 20 years and I won't be able to remember their name for the life of me. I know I know it, but in the stress of the moment I just can't bring it to mind. This is the same thing that happens with academics, and truth is the more stressed we get the harder it gets to remember. Just giving us the answer usually ends the cycle, and it doesn't effect long term understanding because we usually do know the material, just can't recall it right then. That is why he is so defensive, and wants to work on his own. He knows he knows it.

 

Heather

[skaterbabs]

Ill be the voice of dissension here. ;) CLE.

 

 

It's clearly laid out with lots of white space on the page, limited manipulatives (but there are some, especially in the 100 level), academically it's top-notch, but it's very gentle with lots of repetition. It works equally well for my accelerated child and my child who is a year behind with minimal changes from me. It's also inexpensive, so you could try a lightunit or three just to see if he'd do well.

 

I'd say to use CLE for his main lessons and then add in some computer games for learning his basic math facts rather than using their flashcards.

Edited June 26, 2010 by skaterbabs

[toddandleah]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I confess, I'm beginning to feel really discouraged. We've been struggling with it for so long, that I'm really beginning to doubt my ability to choose anything. And at the same time I don't feel like it's a good idea to go on jumping about from one to another. I want to settle on something and put this whole math thing to bed.

 

Ug!

[Guest]

Honey, he is only 7 yo. If you have been struggling with math for a long time then maybe you started formal math too early and he just isn't ready. Deep Breaths. If you didn't do formal math again until he turned 8, you would be fine. He would be fine. A year later you wouldn't know the difference. Really, I promise.

 

This is exactly true. I know it seems very, very difficult to accept because we are so used to thinking inside the curriculum, so to speak, and we wonder how a year's worth of work can possibly be made up. But part of the reason such extensive drill and repetition and plugging along is necessary in the earliest years is that many, many children are not ready for paper-and-pencil math and it takes all that work to get them through it. Kids who come to structured, formal math later zip through it because they are not struggling with against what they're ready for developmentally.

 

As I said in an earlier post, if you read math picture books, keep counting, adding, subtracting informally around the house, play math games from Peggy Kaye's books or the games another poster mentioned, play card games like War (you can lay down two cards each time and add them or subtract them too), he will have THAT SAME PRACTICE and exposure that comes through paper-and-pencil work that he currently resists. Get him a couple of math computer games and give him time on those as a "reward" for doing other schoolwork.

 

It really, truly does work. Give yourselves both a break for six months or a year and see.

[toddandleah]

Honey, he is only 7 yo. If you have been struggling with math for a long time then maybe you started formal math too early and he just isn't ready. Deep Breaths. If you didn't do formal math again until he turned 8, you would be fine. He would be fine. A year later you wouldn't know the difference. Really, I promise.

 

 

I've no doubt I started formal math too early, I just didn't know it at the time. If only we could start this whole thing knowing the stuff you only learn through experience :)

[Catherine]

His older brothers are blessed with "math intuition" and really did not need to be "taught" much arithmetic. It was "already there" when I looked.

 

Not my little guy! In the middle of first grade I found Rightstart for him and have not looked back. Math was still a struggle at times, but RS is nice in that it's easy to "camp out" (you'll see this term if you join the RS yahoogroup) at one place, play the games (RS drills with games) and chip away at a concept until they are ready to move on.

 

What I also learned is that concepts are NOT his problem-he flew through the lessons on pattern recognition and fractions (he just turned 9)-but he still struggles to remember facts, to work quickly, and we haven't even attempted short division yet. MANY children have more difficulty with arithmetic than with mathematics, and I think my son is one of these people. So patient drilling, at tolerable pace, is needed.

 

You might try joining the RS yahoogroup to learn more about problems kids face with the program and how parents handle them. It's been an excellent math curriculum for my non-math-intuitive child.

[kalanamak]

Hi Leah,

 

Sounds like he's telling you that he's not a workbook kid and but he learns best through games. I think that fighting his natural inclinations is only going to frustrate you both.

 

Here are some board games he might enjoy:

 

Sum Swamp (addition & subtraction)

Money Bags (money, counting coins)

Dino Math Tracks Game (place value)

 

 

 

:iagree: My boy is variably mathy. Some topics he gets before I finish the diagram, others have taken weeks. He came up with the concept for negative numbers when he was 5, and can't remember 6+7 some days. (The game Zeus on the Loose is helping that!)

 

I used the games above, and also a lot of money games (he likes money). For that age, I think solidifying a bit of very basic number SENSE is crucial, and you ought to take the time to do it now, because he will hit a wall with simply memorizing algorithms later.

 

I'm not expert, but it is the sense I get from all the readings I've done, and it makes sense when you have a child in front of you who isn't grasping something. Back up. Find the sticky spot. For us, a little math every day has helped.

 

One of the things I did for myself was go through early math as if I were a child, and use the manipulatives and the place value mats. It opened my mind.

 

HTH

 

p.s. I wish my boy would have used his fingers. He insisted in doing it all in his head (often wrong) and would clamp his eyes shut if I tried to show him with fingers, etc.

[Corraleno]

Honey, he is only 7 yo. If you have been struggling with math for a long time then maybe you started formal math too early and he just isn't ready. Deep Breaths. If you didn't do formal math again until he turned 8, you would be fine. He would be fine. A year later you wouldn't know the difference. Really, I promise.

This is SO true! I think it can be really hard for parents who feel like their child is struggling and already "behind" to just relax for a while, but often it really is the most effective approach. There's sooo much review and repetition in the elementary years, a student really could learn it all in a year or two in middle school, if that's how long it takes them to be truly ready for it.

 

My DS was a year "behind" in PS — he was doing remedial 3rd grade math in 4th, and still doing poorly. I pulled him out to homeschool and he'll be starting Algebra next year in 7th. I actually think the years he spent doing "school math" did more damage than good, because they convinced him he was stupid and hated math.

 

I think all the suggestions for games and "living math" are great. Try Right Start if you really want a formal curriculum. When he's a little older, he may find that Life of Fred's "math-as-literature" program will be right up his alley — in fact, the author says he's currently working on lower elementary books, so he may be able to start even sooner.

 

Jackie

[smilesonly]

You sound like you have an outstanding comprehension of your child's strengths and difficulties. If you have a child who is strong in language arts, who likes to play with manipulatives, and who does better with computer games, play to those strengths.

 

Marilyn Burns (at http://www.mathsolutions.com ) has the most wonderful, varied programs for elementary math. One series is Math and Literature. These are not workbooks or worksheets, but a series of more detailed activities that use kids' picture books as their take-off points. There's a series for fiction, and one for non-fiction. They do exactly the same kind of math your child would get through a regular program -- only not the repetitive worksheet problems.

 

There are some terrific children's math books outside that program: the Sir Cumference books on basic geometry are so good that my daughter acted them out multiple times. Measuring Penny and It's Probably Penny, by Lorreen Leedy, are also a huge amount of fun. Leedy also has books on addition and subtraction. You probably have seen or read about Greg Tang's picture books on beginning multiplication.

 

Peggy Kaye approaches basic math and the memorization of math facts and processes through games, in Games For Math -- a terrific, easy, fun book using simple things like colored pencils or crayons, chalk, dice, money, paper cups, etc.

 

Many kids who struggle over math facts may be quite good at more conceptual, spatial types of math. It's easy to forget -- because of the emphasis of curricula on computation -- that these are very important for higher math skills. And you can approach these through games too. ThinkFun has some really good-looking and fun spatial games they sell at bookstores and on the web. Tangrams and origami, the card game Set, checkers and beginner chess, RushHour, changeable maze games -- these are all great ways to cultivate spatial and geometric skills. If your son really likes to play with manipulatives, then again, work with that rather than against it and go for math in games form.

 

My daughter never used a formal math curriculum -- that is, with textbook, workbooks, worksheets -- until around 6th grade. This was because of her severe dysgraphia and vision problems rather than because of any philosophical theory on my part. We did nearly all of Marilyn Burns's lesson books informally, sometimes orally, sometimes using a whiteboard or blank paper; we played games instead of doing workbook math every day. But it may make you feel better to know that she was able to go from this type of thing to textbooks with no problem at all, and now, in 8th grade, is finishing up perfectly conventional advanced algebra. Letting your son work with math in ways that may make it easier for both of you, at least for a while, will not make him fall irreparably behind or make him unable to do more traditional math. And while I had to circumvent a lot of written math, you don't have to; Marilyn Burns's books and Peggy Kaye's games in particular are a good way to mix appealing approaches and conceptual understanding with a lot of practice.

 

I'm not the OP,but I wanted to tell you that I REALLY, REALLY appreciate you sharing this. On a message board where it is common to see REALLY young dc doing upper-level math-it can all just be so overwhelming to those of us that have dc struggling in one or more areas. Your post delivers hope and perspective! Thank you!!:grouphug:

[Soror]

No big advice but your son reminds me a lot of mine. He is just about to turn 6- we haven't done any formal math yet but are starting RS math here in a month or so as it seems like it will be a good fit for his personality/learning style- I hope I'm right!

[toddandleah]

I've been looking at RightStart the last couple days as some of you have recommended. I worry that it will be abstract - the whole visualizing things and the change in how one counts. Will it frustrate him since he has already been doing it the other way, i.e. now i have to tell him, 12 isn't "twelve" but "ten-2". Or will the frustration of thinking things a little differently just be part of the transition time?

What about taking it easy for the rest of the year (we do a calendar year, so he'll actually start 3rd grade in January), and then start RS in January - would that make for a smoother transition? But if I continue with math game type things, will that interfere with starting something so totally different in Jan?

[selh09]

Have you looked at Math on the Level?

 

MoTL allows you to work at your child's math level and pace. It has the child use manipulatives and then moves them to pencil and paper. As for "worksheets", there are none. You as the parent make up your child's worksheets based on what he or she is working on, and the "worksheets" only consist of 5 problems a day. MoTL is very much a living hands on math. We are using it and loving it!

 

Here's the link to Math on the Level

http://www.mathonthelevel.com/

 

HTH!

[2squared]

I worry that it will be abstract - the whole visualizing things and the change in how one counts. Will it frustrate him since he has already been doing it the other way, i.e. now i have to tell him, 12 isn't "twelve" but "ten-2". Or will the frustration of thinking things a little differently just be part of the transition time?

 

My guess is that he won't have any frustration. Calling 12 one-ten-two is just another way to say the same thing. My kids knew their numbers before we started RS, and they didn't have any issues. I also think the numbering system is very important to understanding place value easily. I think you will soon appreciate the RS numbering system.

[Lovedtodeath]

A lot of these behaviors sound a lot like what I found in Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties. He could have issues with math caused by his vision or the way his brain processes visual information. We are doing visual perception exercises with Emily and I really think it is already helping. If you look up dycalculia you may find some familiar behaviors as well. The thing is that remediating a vision problem will help much much more than getting a different math program, so I just like to make sure that you are aware of it. KWIM?

 

Another thing that I have found in a couple of books and websites is that kids with visual perception problems do better with an abacus than with rods (MUS or Miquon), so knowing is helpful in that respect as well.

 

Hi everyone,

My name is Leah, I need some serious math help. This may be a somewhat long post for a first-timer, but I want to paint a clear picture, and hopefully get some helpful feedback. First of all, my husband and I are not mathy people. He's got the english degree, and I've got the music degree. My son (7 yrs, 2nd grade) has been struggling with math. He's a bright, blessed with an extra measure of energy boy, strong in reading/writing, doesn't have to work at language arts at all. We started with Saxon and suffered for a year. I gave it another month in 1st grade, and decided we needed to change. We switched to a skills mastery approach and that has been helpful. This year we are using Math Mammoth, but I'm unsure about continuing with it. Below I've made some observations of how he is when it comes to math. Maybe someone out there has some similar experiences and can offer some pointers, or maybe suggest some things that work.

I don't expect my kiddo to be a math whiz. I can see that it isn't his strength, and that he's not gifted in that way. So it is actually something he has to work at - and he doesn't like that. But he still has to learn math. It may be a question of waiting for it to click with him eventually. But when the weight of teaching falls to me, I'm trying to be sure that I have done everything possible to put him in a position to succeed at this, and not hate math all his days.

 

So here we go:

1. Can become easily overwhelmed by a lot of problems on the page.

2. Seems more interested in playing with manipulatives than using them as tools to solve problems.

3. Gets hot and sweaty when at work - this is the ONLY subject he complains about being hot.

4. Gives up. If he believes the work will be hard, he immediately says he can't do it, and the wall goes up. The rest of the lesson is a fight of trying to keep him calm and work through the problems - will continue to believe that it is too hard even when he is getting the answers right. I will break the problem down into steps and ask questions that he can answer, and we'll work through the problem that way - but he still resists it.

5. Once frustrated, he forgets strategies to solve simple problems. Will look at something like 2 + 4 as if he's never seen it before and doesn't begin to know how to figure it out.

6. Counts on his fingers, and counts backwards when doing subtraction.

7. A typical week will go something like this: Day 1 of new material, meltdown, Day 2 frustration/possible meltdown, Day 3 not so bad - still complaining, Day 4 "I got it mom, I know how to do it." It also goes that way based on the day of the week. Mon. bad day (even if it is review of material from the week before), Tue. bad day, Wed. not so bad, Thurs pretty good.

8. Is more willing to do math when it comes in the form of a computer game.

9. Will make careless mistakes, get the answer wrong, and give up.

10. Misses a problem, the world ends, regardless of how many he got right.

11. Doesn't want to listen to an explanation. "Just let me do it myself." But then if he gets it wrong, he won't listen to why and how to do it right. Or if he gets the answer right but the methodology was wrong - he still doesn't want to listen to how to do it correctly.

12. Likes timed work, but only if he feels confident he can finish it in time. He will insist I set the timer, but if the work is hard he will either panic and shut-down, or if it is semi-hard he will simply turn off the time and finish the problems.

 

I realize there is no perfect curriculum, but I just don't know what to do anymore. I know that some of this is a maturity issue. He needs more time to learn to deal with the physical discomfort of doing something that is hard for him. And maybe this is just the way a 7 yr old deals with it. But it's getting to where we both hate the subject altogether, and considering that we're only dealing with addition and subtraction - that doesn't bode well for the rest of our schooling years.

 

Again, sorry this is long. Any help would be great.

 

Leah

[Guest momma23]

I have to agree with Lovedtodeath, it sounds as if you might want to check out vision and/or perception difficulties for math. My ds sounds similar, and frankly for math I used almost exclusively computer-based learning. Quarter-mile math is great for drilling facts, and there is a wealth of online resources available. My son does receive help for his processing, and he can now handle much more pencil and paper math. Good luck, I know how difficult it can be!:)