dd is loosing what little ground we gained

[SeekingSimplicity]

in math this past year.

 

She's 10 and has really struggled with learning her facts. We worked so hard this past year, and thought we were finally getting somewhere. The other day I asked her what 3x3 was, she couldn't remember. Today in the store, she couldn't figure out how to make $.31 out of the change she had.

 

We really need to practice some more this summer. Got any good resources that might help?

[Denisemomof4]

what helped to cement in my dd's retention of her times tables was Timez Attack. She loved it at first, then she dreaded it. I made her do it for 20 minutes every morning and then we moved on to math. I switched her curriculum 3 times before settling with Math U See. This program is a perfect fit for her.

 

Does your daughter skip count? Dd learned to skip count with the MUS skip counting cd. She then moved on to multiplication. We were inconsistent last year as I had so much going on, but this year she's doing well and remembers all her facts. I love that MUS isn't like other programs I've used where there are several TYPES of problems sprinkled through out a lesson. Working mainly on multiplication for a year helped, and this year we moved on to division. We just ordered our next level which will be fractions. I find this way of teaching math to be a perfect fit. I used Saxon before we switched, and Saxon would have been a miserable failure for her.

[Ellie]

It might help if we knew what you've been using up to now. :-)

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

I learned the hard way to NOT stop math during the summer -- the pain in the fall was far too great (for ds and I) to ever want to repeat.

 

I do several things: generate worksheets from online math websites like

 

aplusmath.com

math-drills.com

mathfactcafe.com

 

I've also had my son work back through reviews from the previous year's material.

 

And, we play math games (math war, etc)

 

This summer, we are not just reviewing but slowing moving forward in the next level's math.

[StephanieZ]

Forgive me if this is too frank. . . But. . .

 

to be honest, IF my child was a) struggling/behind in math OR b) losing ground in math. . . & it sounds like you are saying your dd fits both a) & b) . . .

 

THEN. . . I would absolutely be doing math daily year round. At least 5, if not 6, days every week (barring a handful of major holiDAYs and possibly 1-2 full holiWEEKs). . .

 

So, if I were you, I'd be doing math, full-on, at least 30 min daily, if not twice daily. From now on. Also, if your dd does not have significant LD, then I would reassess your math choices b/c those gaps sound much too basic for a 10yo (even on holiday) unless there is some exceptional circumstance.

 

FWIW, my kids do math year round despite being advanced in math. I just think it is the sensible approach for numerous reasons.

[KarenNC]

I've switched from Singapore to Saxon because of my daughter's need for a *lot* of repetition to cement math material. On her most recent testing (just before we started Saxon), her lowest area was math computation because she was just too slow. Each lesson in Saxon is starting out with a fact drill, some mental math problems, then a word problem or such to solve. This is followed by the lesson, practice on that lesson then a 30 problem set that includes the new material plus review of older material. Even in only 8 lessons I'm seeing an improvement in how quickly and accurately she does the fact drills.

[SeekingSimplicity]

I've used a few different things in the past. Most recently we used Math Mammoth and MEP. This past year, we started out every math class by skip counting forward and backward.

 

We normally do math year around, because if we don't she looses it. (and I've gotten chewed out on here before for saying that I do math year round... so no body throw anything at me OK?) We stopped a couple months ago to take a break, then I was going to start back, but we've been so busy. I rearranged my plans to start again after the 4th, and am looking for some good refresher materials now.

 

She's never been evaluated for an LD. Math is the only subject she has trouble with, she's ahead in everything else.

[Daisy]

My daughter struggles with math. We never stop doing math. We took off a week or so while my husband had surgery but we never go more than a week or so without doing math. We just continue with whatever curriculum we are using. I may cut it down to a half lesson per day or a 30 minutes, but we don't take a complete break from it.

[keptwoman]

While I agree with what others are saying with regards to regular reinforcement, I would think that perhaps a sheet a week through summer is enough. Personally I find we all Neeeeeeeeed the summer break and having daily maths would completely blow that for us. Having said that, our summer break is 4-6 weeks, so much shorter. I would say that it's probably going to be a degree of trial and error as to how much is enough for retention over summer.

 

The other thing is that obviously maths has been a struggle and perhaps she has some kind of LD that makes it so? I find that my son with LDs has some days where everything he has learnt seems to have vacated his head, it's usually tiredness that does it, but sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for it. Usually when this happens I give up for the day, particularly if it's a school day as nothing will be retained, and try again the next day, by which time he has regained his recall. I may be way off base, but it's perhaps something to ponder.

[StephanieZ]

I've gotten chewed out on here before for saying that I do math year round... so no body throw anything at me OK

 

ACK!!!!!! That is horrible on many levels! Especially since it seems to me that many if not most hs'ing families on this board continue math year round! How bizarre!!

 

Do you have Peggy Kaye's Games for Math book? I suggest getting it from the library or purchasing it and spending 20 min a day playing math games. She has many for mult. tables and many for most/all other K-3/4th concepts. There are so many fun ideas. All you need is household items (paper, pen, dice. . .) and a few minutes.

 

So, I'd play math games daily for 20 min or so. Good games can review and preview math concepts, broaden understanding, and get some fact drill in, too -- all in a super fun way.

 

Then, I'd spend 5-8 min a day officially drilling facts. Personally, I like triangular flash cards & wrap-its for daily drill. . .mixing in calculadders and various freebie online worksheets to mix things up.

 

Drill systematically, not randomly. Ie., Master x2 first, then add in x10, then x5, then x3. . . meanwhile you are KEEPING the "mastered" ones by spending, say 30-50% of your drill time reviewing those ones and the other 50-70% of the time on the "new" ones.

 

THEN, I'd spend 30 min a day or so on your main curriculum. (I would be sure you have continuity here. If you have something you are happy with, stick with it. If you are jumping around, then rethink that and try to make a careful choice this year.) Since you've had a long break, you'll likely want to start at the beginning of a year/level . . . and from now on I wouldn't take more than a one week break, EVER. If you must take a longer break, I'd at least spend 10 min/day on math just to keep things fresh.

 

HTH

[gingersmom]

Have you tried Hot dots or a math shark?

 

They both make math fun.

[....]

Hi, SeekingSimplicity,

 

I have an 8 yro and when I pulled her from ps, she had never had any math...None...whatsoever. She could count and that was it. She's also not a math person. :bored: I've managed to cover 2 years of math in 1 year of homeschooling...

 

First of all, I think you need to switch math programs. Have you read Cathy Duffy's book? Do you know your daughter's learning style? It also sounds like your daughter might need something spiral - or something with frequent review.

 

Have you seen Math-U-See? I have a friend who raves about this one.

 

We've just added CLE Math 300 to our schedule and I have to say that I am very, very impressed. It really hits all the bases and there is constant review involved. It's also $3.20 a workbook, which is incredible.

 

Horizons is also spiral and is supposed to be good for a Wiggly Willy. I also feel like it's a little advanced in the early grades, tho.

 

I would not recommend Singapore for your daughter. I think she's going to need something that has a little more repetition and review in it.

I'm not sure if Saxon would work for you, either. I think Cathy Duffy's book pretty much implied that Perfect Paula/Competent Carl work well with Saxon (and not my Wiggly Willy and Social Sue). Maybe someone can recommend Saxon to you based on their experience, but we've never used it.

 

Second, I would start math first thing in the morning. I would make that my first subject of the day. We also do math 4-5 days a week and all year (like the other parent said). If I let my daughter take the summer off, we would be back at Square One, unfortunately. :glare:

 

Those are my suggestions, if you're looking to raise her math level. Maybe someone else will have more curriculum suggestions. My daughter wants to go to veterinary school (or something similar) in the future, so I've told her she needs to up her game because there's gonna be ton of math on the SAT ( yes, I realize we're very far away from that point - LOL! :lol:).