why does my 10 yr. old have such a difficult time with math?

[lottie j.y6s4ly]

ok, I know that is a loaded question. Maybe I'm just venting because i'm feeling so frustrated. Please feel free to give advice or opinions.

 

She has done Calvert Math up until about a month ago. We started TT 6 to bridge the gap until we start BJU 6 in the fall. This should be a good thing because it looks like TT 6 is mostly review of what we have done previously. She makes sooooooooo many mistakes when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. I'm talking about the multi digit types of problems that involve more steps. The long division is about to put me right of the edge. She is always forgetting the steps in the long division and just mostly silly error in the others. Is this normal at this age? Just more practice needed? Or something really wrong?

 

ok, I feel a little better. Thanks for listening.

 

Dawn

[Sasharowan]

Maybe she needs more drill in the simple math, one digit adding and multiplying. I find that when my ds12 starts making mistakes in doing higher math, a week or two of drillpages added to his regular math helps to resharpen those skills and reduces steps. I tell him that since he ismaking mistakes in the simple math, he needs more review. Either he really does need the review or else he starts being more careful so as to stop doing the drill sheets.

[Michelle T]

or just with math? Is she trying to rush through her lesson, or is she really not able to do them accurately?

 

My DS has similar problems, but he is very LD. He very frequently confuses the arithmetic symbols, as his visual processing is way below level. One thing that helps is highlighting the symbols for him, or asking him to note what function he will be using before he starts.

 

He always forgets what he is doing halfway through multi-step problems, I have to sit by him and talk him through the problems.

 

Interested to read other replies!

Michelle T

[SBP]

Oh boy do I feel your pain!

 

I have the boy version of your 10-year-old, and he routinely misses 50% of the problems I assign due to careless errors. I have no idea how to fix this and therefore have no suggestions for you, but I'll definitely be watching this thread in the hopes that some wise person will have the magic answer. (Please?) Right now all I can think of to do is make him re-work them, which means that math goes on until half-past forever every single day. :ack2:

 

SBP

[Reya]

She is always forgetting the steps in the long division and just mostly silly error in the others.

 

If she's forgetting steps, then she doesn't understand it. It is normal when you don't understand something to make many errors and forget things. I would strongly recommend changing to a different program and reteaching the areas she is struggling in. My first choice would be RightStart. Second would be Singapore. Without this foundation, it will only get worse.

[Sue G in PA]

Sounds like it might just be she needs to take her time. My dd11 had the same problem. It wasn't that she couldn't get it...she did. It was her handwriting and lack of neatness in her work. Try having her turn the notebook paper sideways (creating columns) and solve the problems that way. It works wonders. Make sure she works carefully and slowly. You might need to sit w/ her a few times to make sure. Graph paper is also a great tool for dc who don't work neatly and carefully. Long division and multiple # multiplication required neatness and care, as does any math problem really. Try this and take a day or 2 each week to just drill problem areas. My ds9 was so frustrated w/ long division so I printed some long div. problems for him and now he LOVES doing them (he actually asked to do some TODAY! :001_huh:). I got the problems off of the math worksheet site that Nestof3 posted. Here is the link:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21409

 

HTH

[klmama]

First, is she bored? Does she hate repetition? One of mine makes the most mistakes when bored. We have to play a game to keep the interest level up when a lot of review is needed. Then, it's a breeze. Too much drill and repetition without a game leads to mistakes galore!

 

You mentioned her problems with long division and forgetting the steps. Does she know short division? I've found it's actually easier for kids to understand, and then they can apply what they know to long division. I allow my dc to do all of their problems with short div. for awhile, so they can get comfortable with it, and then they transition gradually to doing one, then two or three with long division every day. It's worked well here.

[Mallory]

In Nov. we got my 11yo (now 12) sister. She had been out of public school for almost a year and hadn't really done anything.

 

When she got here, I needed something for her to do and ended up with a bunch of workbooks for the most part. Because it was a cheap and easy way to get her doing something, and I didn't know how long she would be staying.

 

She makes careless mistakes all the time. Adding when she should have multiplied, mixing up columns, writing a fraction when the question calls for a percent, and on and on. Even in other subjects- her biggest problem is not reading all of the instructions.

 

I think it is mostly boredom. We have made a big difference in math by letting her pretest out of sections. Our book is set up with little pre and post test for each section of a chapter and if she can pass them with NO mistakes and no help she can skip that section.

 

Since it looks like we may have her for quite some time, I have really done a lot of planning for her school for next year. For math we have decided on Life of Fred. The Fractions and Decimals books should be review, but they should also be an interesting way to do it. I am hoping our more interesting (and more personal) curriculum next year will help with all this carelessness.

[amary]

The first thing that comes to mind is that when the hormones kick in, many of my own children have started having brain fog. There was some research on the web about 6 months ago that specifically talked about the effects of puberty on the brain and how it effected memory and the ability to think logically.

 

At that age we always have had to back up and redrill the basics. Most of them have also struggled with remembering things related to more complicated fraction functions.

 

Just curious, why did you pick BJU math over Horizons or Abeka? It was very popular when we began homeschooling in the 90s, but I rarely hear people mention it these days.

[camibami]

We're having that problem, too, and I have decided to take a year off of Saxon and do MUS to really cement the "whys". She is using ALEKS currently, and while she can learn to do fractions, equations, decimals, etc- she really doesn't get the relationship between muliplying/dividing. Its affecting her ability to understand fractions and decimals- she can do them, but doesn't understand "why" and really struggles with word problems.

 

We're going to do MUS multiplication, division, fraction and decimals next year-ish. Since its review, I am hoping to move through all 4 of those books in a year to a year and a half. Then we can get back to a more traditional math, I hope, because she will truly understand the "whys". I am thinking the manipulatives and intense focus on one operation will really help. I just really don't want her to struggle with higher math because she is shaky on her arithmetic- I had that problem! SO we're taking a year to really focus on math, math, math.

 

I'll let you know how it goes, i have high hopes!

[AngieW in Texas]

Long division was a nightmare here with all of my kids. Short division worked much better.

 

http://www.themathpage.com/ARITH/divide-whole-numbers.htm

[Peela]

I use short division too.

My ds12 has never been really quick or accurate or good at maths. He wasn't too bad with Singapore for quite a while, but then he hit a point where he just struggled a lot.

How much maths is your daughter doing? I have found after a period of time, my kids' brains shut down. Doing a smaller amount of maths, with patience and care, is better than doing a larger amount "for the practice", I have found. When my kids look at a page or two full of sums to get through, my son in particular is likely to start rushing to get them done.

I recently found out that in schools, teachers often only assign and get through about 50% of a maths text- this was in reference to a particular Australian maths text I use with my kids now. That gave me a reality check, as I have made my kids do all of it, and both have been taking a lot longer this year than last. So I am going to just time them again and keep maths within reasonable limits, rather than letting it take as long as it takes, which sometimes can be 2.5 hours for my older. It's just too much.

I guess I a just saying that while daily consistency is important, and practice, a large amount of maths can be self defeating. Don't know if thats relevant to you.

[Isa]

If you continue having your daughter work on the same kinds of problems that she is having difficulty with, both you and your daughter are going to have a hard time breaking the cycle of frustration and failure.

 

I would strongly suggest going back to the basics of simple one digit problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The key is not just to practice them but to add the element of time so that your daughter can do these type of problems in 60-80 facts/minute with two or less errors. Keep working on the same skill every day until she can reach that goal. Have your daughter chart the results so that she can see her improvement, and be motivated to reach that goal of 60-80 facts/minute.

 

Becoming fluent in this way is very important, and your daughter will start seeing dramatic improvements. There was a research study done awhile ago where one group of struggling calculus students was taken back to the basic elements of math (i.e. writing numbers, basic math facts) so that they could work on their fluency. This group (unlike the other group that was given a reward/consequences system), caught up to the level of their peers.

 

Becoming fluent in the basic skills will make the more advanced work so much easier and faster to do.

[lottie j.y6s4ly]

I don't think I've ever had so many responses. Thanks to all of you. I read through all very carefully and am taking all to heart.

 

Sasharon, I think you may be right about basic math. I'm planning on reviewing basic math this summer. We are going to work on cementing the facts. Thank you.

 

Michelle T., I have considered a LD many times. She does seem to frequently make mistakes. Teaching this child to read was a nightmare but somehow it all started to kick in about third grade. She still often seems to misread or not follow directions correctly. She has struggled with spelling but we are finally improving. The handwriting is just downright scary...lol. I'm having difficulty improving that. Do you think I should have her tested? Who does the testing? Would it make any difference? Thanks so much.

 

SBP, you face icon really showed EXACTLY how I was feeling when I wrote the post. Thanks for the response and support.

 

Sue G. in PA, Thanks very much for the link. We have used the graph paper in the past and that does help a lot. Thanks for reminding me.

 

Reya, Thanks for the response and I will look into the math programs you suggested.

 

Kidlovingmama, Yes, she is very bored. I'm not sure that is the only issue or not but she is always bored with anything school related. Because of this, I think she does as little as possible and does it as quickly as possible. I wish she were more motivated to really dig in and try to understand what she is doing. Thank you for your response.

 

Angie in Tx, thanks for the great link. I will try that this week.

 

Camibami, thanks for your response and support. Good luck with your plan. Let us know how it goes.

 

amary, yes, I understand the brain fog. That could very well be part of it. Although, she has always been like this...lol. About BJU, I have been using Calvert all these years. I'm sick to death of it and burnt out. I just started my 2 younger kids on BJU homesat. It is going very well other thank doing a bit of tweaking to shorten day for my 8 yr. old. I'm planning on starting this child on bju homesat in the fall. I'm hoping to help her become more independent and also lighten my load. I'm not completely commited to doing all bju but right now this is what i'm planning.

 

Peela, thank you for responding. Some thing to think about. thanks again.

 

Isa, I think you make be right about working on those basic facts. That is going to be the goal this summer to really cement those basic facts. Thanks you for the excellent post.

 

ok, I think I cover everyone. Again, all these post were very helpful. I can't thank you enough. I was feeling so frustrated and alone when I posted. I'm feeling better know and like I can make a plan to move forward.

 

Dawn

[lottie j.y6s4ly]

just want everyone that responded to get a chance to see

[lottie j.y6s4ly]

ok, i won't bump again...i just want everyone that responded to know how much i appreciated their help...