Math help w/ 5 yr kindergarten

[Guest zbryndi]

This is our first year home schooling and i am doing Kinder and Pre-K(just letters and numbers and crafts). But anyways i can not for the life of me get my 5 yr old to understand math.

 

we are currently using the kumon books, but DD is starting to hate worksheets.

 

we have tried using blocks, but if the blocks are different colors she gets all mind blown and cant figure it out. she cant get teh concept of counting on her fingers. and i have tried the dots ont he numbers and she cant figure that out either. we have tried doing on the computer in some online games, and only online cuz she lovves to do her reading on starfall.com and flies thru it like no other. but she doesnt get the math at all.

 

we are doing great with reading and writing and crafts(dont do history or science yet)

 

so i was wondering what some of other ppl would think would be a great curriculum. we dont have alot of money but i can try and get what i need.

i did find math-u-see and was wondering if this would be a good one but didnt want to spend so much money and not have it work out!!

 

Please help us!! She is in tears cuz she cant figure it out an dim so frustrated cuz she cant figure it out!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us!!!

[mammaofbean]

what are your goals? counting? number recognition?

for counting i would give her a number of items you know she can count and have her count them everyday for a few days, then give her one more to add to her collection, etc. get to about 30 and then start using the collection to match to other items, to take away, to bring together, to compare quantities, to make simple patterns. for number recognition make or buy a hundred chart and count with her while pointing at the numbers- up to 10, then 20, then add counting down. add more numbers to you counting only when she feels ready, once she gets the pattern you can start skip counting by 10's.

[Guest zbryndi]

she knows her number recognition. she went to prek last year in a private school and knows all her numbers up to 30 i believe. but maybe we should do like what your saying, but then i hope she doesnt get bored with it.

[Momma H]

Try Math Mastermind. Fun, hands on stuff.

[kathkath]

I'm a fan of "Math their way" and kathy richardson's "developing number concepts using unifix cubes." You can get them both cheap used on amazon and give fantastic hands-on concept-based activities that will make all the paper-pencil stuff come more naturally a bit down the road. There are a lot of free printable resources that go along with it that you can find if you google "math their way summary newsletter" and "math their way blackline masters.' They may not make much sense without the mtw book though so I highly recommend getting it. It's not a hs curriculum but can be used at home with real objects.

[Chris in VA]

It's probably maturational. It doesn't even seem like she's conserving number yet--the idea that you can change the placement or the physical characteristics of the objects being counted, and still come up with the same number of objects.

Although some of Piaget's work has been updated ("discredited," in some academic circles), this developmental psychologist laid the groundwork for understanding many aspects of learning in young children.

 

Give her time. She recognizes and can name numbers, but this doesn't mean she can understand what they represent.

 

She is not behind, truly. Expect a lot of growth this year, as her brain develops.

 

Calm down, don't force, lay off. Provide lots of natural, stress-free, play-based experiences.

[LoveBaby]

I wouldn't get a formal curriculum for a 5yo., but I'm coming from the "better late than early" camp.

 

Count plates when setting the table, how many M&M's do you have, now eat 3, how many do we have now? Counting with her each time. Stack blocks. Count bears.

 

Get dominoes and have her count the dots and match the domino to the number you have written. So 7 dots...match that to a "7" card...etc. Lay out number cards 1-3 to start, then move up. Have her count out M&M's onto the cards. 1 M&M on the "1" etc. She gets to eat them when she's done!! Help her "see" that three bears = "3".

 

Put the workbooks away and just let her play with numbers for awhile, don't worry so much about "finishing" a book. It won't do either of you any good if she's already burned out on math by age 6.

 

:grouphug:

[Old Dominion Heather]

Put it all away and just count things until January. Start a number line and add one number each day. Tell her when you get to 100, you will have a tea party.

 

Let her make groups of tens of things. Ask her to find 10 rocks, sticks, flowers, whatever. There is plenty of time for written work later.

[Dawn in OH]

I wouldn't get a formal curriculum for a 5yo., but I'm coming from the "better late than early" camp.

 

Count plates when setting the table, how many M&M's do you have, now eat 3, how many do we have now? Counting with her each time. Stack blocks. Count bears.

 

 

:grouphug:

 

My children all had trouble with number values until I brought out M&M's and Goldfish. Suddenly it all became clear to them.

 

In the early stage, where my 3 year old is, the rule is; You can eat as many M&M's as you can count. He learned to count to 10 very quickly.

 

They were stumped on subtraction until I said: "You have 5 cookies. Daddy eats 3 of those cookies. How many cookies do you have left?"

 

Them: "2 cookies and 1 bad Daddy!"

 

I personally wouldn't bother with worksheets yet. Do FUN math. Count things. You don't need anything on paper right now.

[Guest zbryndi]

Thanky ou guys so much, i never thought of doing that, like i said we are really new to this, this is our first year, but thats what i will do!!! thak you all so much and D will love you all to cuz he did not want to spend money yet!!

[twoxcell]

If you want to buy anything invest in some manipulatives right now, and keep it hands on. We love cuisenaire rods, base ten blocks, counting bears, geo boards, play clocks, etc. My dd is a very hands on girl, so that is what we do most days for math. I'm also having her practice writing numbers, and we use MEP maths a few days a week.

[lionfamily1999]

I wasn't sure where she was, so I'll go with counting...;)

 

My youngest had a hard time understanding the concept of counting objects. He could count, but it didn't matter if he had one cheerio or a hundred he would count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." The hive recommended stickers :D and they were VERY right. One sticker, they stick it to the paper. Now, two stickers &tc. We also got a sticker counting book from someone on here and that was a fantastic start. The stickers slow them down and give them a concrete thing to count.

 

Same ds, uses Singapore's K program. There's writing and counting and they have a set of story books too with hints for having them use math while they're looking at the pictures.

 

Oh and :chillpill: it might take a bit to get warmed up to math, and that's okay.

[mom24boys]

I have a friend that prints out a calendar each month. Then, each day they put a penny on the day and count how many days they have this month. This kind of combines counting, money, and calendar...all in one!

 

The next step would be to change out 5 pennies for a nickle, etc. Now she is doing what is one more (tomorrow) and what is one less (yesterday) rather than counting all the days.

 

Obviously, she's not there yet, but I bet it won't take long. No stress!

[Guest zbryndi]

thank you guys so much! they are all great ideas and i need to start doing it, thank you all so much!!!

[MeganW]

I have a friend that prints out a calendar each month. Then, each day they put a penny on the day and count how many days they have this month.

Obviously, she's not there yet, but I bet it won't take long. No stress!

 

We do something similar. Each kid has a calendar that I printed in Excel. I use pale gray print, and have the child trace the lines dividing the sheet into blocks, the numbers, and the days of the week first letters (Su M Tu W Th F Sa).

 

I buy a different box of those seasonal foam stickers from Michael's each month with a 40% off coupon, so they are less than $5 for a HUGE box (plenty for all 4 kids plus me plus tons leftover). Last month we had leaves, this month we have Halloween stuff.

 

I started a pattern for each kid, and they continue it. I made it a little different for each kid so they couldn't copy. Last month was an AB pattern, this month ABC. So one kid is Frankenstein, bat, jack o lantern; one kid is bat, mummy, skull & crossbones, etc.

 

On the back of each calendar, I have a graph printed with weather clipart at the bottom (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, foggy) and the kids color one square each day indicating that day's weather. Then we talk about which has the most, which has the least, etc.

[nicholsonhomeschool]

You might want to check out Peggy Kaye's "Games for Math." I bought a used copy and have gotten a lot of use out of it -- lots of games and crafts that will get you away from the worksheets.

[Farrar]

You might want to check out Peggy Kaye's "Games for Math." I bought a used copy and have gotten a lot of use out of it -- lots of games and crafts that will get you away from the worksheets.

:iagree:

 

Also, just get some math games. I highly recommend the game Bzz Out for a 4-5 year old. It's made by Gamewright Games - I don't think they make it anymore, but I'll bet you can find it. It teaches thinking about bigger and smaller numbers because you have to try to trade to get the biggest card. Gamewright makes a couple of others that include basic number sense, including Too Many Monkeys and King Toad. My kids enjoyed all those when they were 4 to 5 yo (and even now, as they're only 6 - though they're not as into Bzz Out now).

 

Also, you can get good strategy games. Someone already mentioned Mastermind (there's also a kids version, though I think it's sort of too simple). There's also Sequence for Kids, Gobblet Gobblers, Castle Logix, Royal Rescue, Rush Hour Jr, and lots of others. We also like Mighty Mind, which deals with spatial relationships (good for geometry).

 

Also, we did a lot of number mazes last year for K - the kids were really into them. You can find them here.

[Aurelia]

If you really want a curriculum, Right Start A is a good choice. There are very few worksheets and Ariel really enjoyed it, plus she got a good, solid foundation in math.

[stripe]

MEP reception has the children do arithmetic up to the number 5, with lots of games and activities, and it's free.

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

 

There are lots of suggestions in the lesson plans so be sure to read them instead of just using it as worksheets.

[skueppers]

MEP reception has the children do arithmetic up to the number 5, with lots of games and activities, and it's free.

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

 

There are lots of suggestions in the lesson plans so be sure to read them instead of just using it as worksheets.

 

:iagree:

 

MEP is great, don't let the price fool you!

[skueppers]

Also, you can get good strategy games. Someone already mentioned Mastermind (there's also a kids version, though I think it's sort of too simple). There's also Sequence for Kids, Gobblet Gobblers, Castle Logix, Royal Rescue, Rush Hour Jr, and lots of others. We also like Mighty Mind, which deals with spatial relationships (good for geometry).

 

I agree, strategy games are excellent. They may not look like they have anything to do with math, but they require the same kind of thinking.

 

I haven't played all of these, though I can definitely recommend Sequence for Kids, Gobblet Gobblers/Gobblet Junior, Mighty Mind, and Rush Hour Jr. Set is another good game for developing mathematical thinking, as it deals with detecting patterns.