Questioning math level

[Spellbound]

I can't tell if he's pushing against perfectionism or hitting a developmental wall. I don't want to push him past developmental readiness but he dislikes his math. When we first started in May he was at 3B in SM and now is at 5B. He understands the concepts, work is in 85%-100% range. I don't hear about it being boring anymore, but I think he likes it being fast and easy. He says he has to "think to hard". "I want it to be like a video game". Yuck. But, when he looks ahead at the concepts coming up, he gets all excited! Any ideas? Do I just keep plugging ahead? Should I switch it up a bit? Honestly, I think some of this is from sitting to long below his level in public school. Although he complains a bit (really, not a lot), when I took him out of school, he had tantrums at the least bit of challenge. So, maybe this is actually an improvement :tongue_smilie:I'm sorry about the running on, I know he's an accelerated child but I hate not having a road map. Holy cow, I think there are 2 perfectionists in this family:lol:

[2smartones]

Have you tried testing with something like www.letsgolearn.com? That will give you a grade level on several areas of math, and it's a fun computer test.

[Spellbound]

Have you used this before? Part of the problem I have is that he can figure out quite a bit. I don't know that that necessarily mean he should be doing it on a regular basis though. Do you know what I mean?

[mammaofbean]

my daughter is only in K, so i am no expert, but we have a similar situation. for quite some time she has coasted through math and a few days ago she was doing something she found hard and tells me, "I used to love math. Now I'm not good at math."

 

maybe i am a jerk, but i think learning to do work that actually challenges her and to chug along even when it is hard is quite healthy and that she will feel accomplished and confident for not giving up. now if the concepts are not coming at all or it is always a struggle i will bring in another approach and slow it down, but still will not go for giving up just because it takes extra effort. i REALLY don't want her to think that she can only be good at something that comes naturally.

[Spellbound]

I totally agree. The easy coast has been a monster to work through. I get a little worried when the kid who has always thought in numbers, doesn't really like doing math. Will it change when he gets past arithmetic? I think he'll get a kick out of pre-algebra myself. I'm not letting him know that I'm worried, but I'm trying to check if 1) The teacher, me, isn't teaching well. 2) Curriculum change is needed. 3) He's moved to a level he's not ready for yet or 4) he's manipulating me because he's right where he should be and is having to put some effort in.:glare: I think I'll do a wait and see approach, but it always helps to listen to been there and done that stories....

[Halcyon]

Your post really resonated with me. My 8 yo has been zipping thru SM ip and CWP but for some reason, he's hit a wall. He understands long division and multiplication, both conceptually and procedurally, but when faced with the challenging word probs, he just stops thinking, making silly guesses and getting frustrated. He just wants to do the easier questions, not because he's not capable of doing the harder ones, but because they require more effort. I know he can do them because when I tell him he'll do an extra word problem for everyone he gets wrong (and I mean doesn't give 100% effort, thinking it through with models, showing his work, etc) he has to another, he magically starts getting them right. He too has always enjoyed math, but when he realizes that sometimes he actually does need to _work_ at a problem, he gets frustrated. For now, we're just going to stick with division word problems and not move on until he is solving them with reasonable facility and less griping ;)

[2smartones]

My oldest hated math even when he was coasting through. I did the DOMA test (linked above) and found he was capable of way more than I was giving him. Now math is a challenge.

 

IMHO, school should be equally challenging for all kids regardless of level or ability. I would push a gifted child the same as a remedial child. I wouldn't expect them to perform at the same level, but I would expect both to learn "how to learn" and "how to meet challenges", if that makes sense. I wouldn't push any child to the point of frustration or resentment, but I would push in an encouraging way to bring out whatever that particular child's "best" may be. If that means dragging one along and accelerating another, so be it. I do this on an individual subject basis as well, so a child who struggles in math may excel in reading, and that's ok.

[Spellbound]

Interesting. I wonder if what I'm seeing is the conflicting effort of 'knowing how to do it', which he does, and the tediousness of developing fluency, similarly to learning math facts. He just recently finished decimal section, which culminated in division of decimal by a decimal. The section was 19 lessons. For, SM that is a LONGGGGG section. Trying for sure, but the fluency is now there. The remaining sections are shorter and look interesting, percentages, angles and algebra. Fun stuff!! I loved math, but I can't remember how I felt about long division or multiplication. I don't think I loved it either. I think I feel better about where he's at and I'll just keep an eye on it. Thanks everyone:001_smile: