It took me 11 years to do this as a home schooler

[johnandtinagilbert]

Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

 

I just realized we're spending 3 weeks on drill and practice of multiplication facts and I'm totally cool with that. A couple of years ago, I'd have been so stressed and made poor ds do a zillion pages a day to "catch up."

 

Go me! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :D

[JessReplanted]

Good for you! Our curriculum has us moving to multiplication & division, so I have been using every ounce of add/sub. review before we make that jump. My son gets so easily overwhelmed. I think it's important for him to have a good handle on what we are doing before we jump to something new.

[Guest aquiverfull]

Oh My goodness Tina! This couldn't have been a more timely post. This is me right now exactly!!! We've been homeschooling for 8 years and I have for the first time stopped the Math workbooks we were doing and we are going back and doing MM Blue to really solidfy things that she has been missing all this time. We are back in Measurement right now doing only that.

[shanvan]

Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

 

I just realized we're spending 3 weeks on drill and practice of multiplication facts and I'm totally cool with that. A couple of years ago, I'd have been so stressed and made poor ds do a zillion pages a day to "catch up."

 

Go me! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :D

 

Congrats, Tina! It took me about 7 years to come to that point with addition and subtraction with my 2nd DD. I did fret a little about not moving forward in the curriculum, but I managed to keep myself from caving to that feeling of pressure. It was the wisest math decision I ever made. I wish my poor DS had had that experience. Once DD got back to the curriculum she just flew through it.

 

We are facing multiplication and division soon and I was just thinking the other day that I will do the same thing with her and stop the curriculum until she has a thorough command of math facts. It's great when we are able to focus on needs without feeling like we are 'behind'.

 

Shannon

[Aludlam]

Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

 

I just realized we're spending 3 weeks on drill and practice of multiplication facts and I'm totally cool with that. A couple of years ago, I'd have been so stressed and made poor ds do a zillion pages a day to "catch up."

 

Go me! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :D

 

 

Interesting ..... so what do you guys do for "math"? Follow a program? Book? Do your own? Interested b/c I just threw my "MASTER" plan book that I spent the whole summer writing --- out the window. Well, I'm using it more as a "guide" book these days. But, I'm really happy with math -- Horizons -regular speed, MUS - half speed. It's working like a dream here.

[Rene']

 

Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

I have just decided to do this as well! I've been reading the book How To Tutor by Samuel Blumenfeld and he makes a strong case for teaching "arithmetic" as a strong foundation and leaving "mathmatics" until later. I didn't even know there was a difference between the two. So we are going to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division until we have them down cold. I'm planning to use the lessons from How To Tutor, supplementing with MM's blue books.

[Aludlam]

I have just decided to do this as well! I've been reading the book How To Tutor by Samuel Blumenfeld and he makes a strong case for teaching "arithmetic" as a strong foundation and leaving "mathmatics" until later. I didn't even know there was a difference between the two. So we are going to do addition' date=' subtraction, multiplication and division until we have them down cold. I'm planning to use the lessons from How To Tutor, supplementing with MM's blue books.[/quote']

 

 

Would you might giving more details on this? Intriguing......

[shanvan]

Interesting ..... so what do you guys do for "math"? Follow a program? Book? Do your own? Interested b/c I just threw my "MASTER" plan book that I spent the whole summer writing --- out the window. Well, I'm using it more as a "guide" book these days. But, I'm really happy with math -- Horizons -regular speed, MUS - half speed. It's working like a dream here.

 

We are headed out for skating lessons, but I'll pop in later to tell how I handle it. The short answer is, I make my own drill sheets, keep a chart, drill orally, and use online drills.

 

Shannon

[Donna T.]

I have just decided to do this as well! I've been reading the book How To Tutor by Samuel Blumenfeld and he makes a strong case for teaching "arithmetic" as a strong foundation and leaving "mathmatics" until later. I didn't even know there was a difference between the two. So we are going to do addition' date=' subtraction, multiplication and division until we have them down cold. I'm planning to use the lessons from How To Tutor, supplementing with MM's blue books.[/quote']

 

Have you seen the workbooks? I used one of them a few years ago and loved it.

[Tammyla]

:hurray::hurray::hurray: I'm glad to hear your good news. Experience often adds wisdom along with a comfort of knowing what to worry over.

 

 

QUOTE=johnandtinagilbert;2149972]Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

 

I just realized we're spending 3 weeks on drill and practice of multiplication facts and I'm totally cool with that. A couple of years ago, I'd have been so stressed and made poor ds do a zillion pages a day to "catch up."

 

Go me! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :D

[ColoradoMom]

I have done the same over the years and this week is re-group week for algebra for us with worksheets to cement down the basics before moving on. That is the point of homeschool, right? Go at your own pace...

 

Good for you and best of luck! :001_smile:

[Dina in Oklahoma]

Tina~

 

IT MUST BE IN THE WATER!!! I also reached this point but still have a few moments of relapse . . . this morning for example!:tongue_smilie:

 

We are Rod and Staff lovers but wanted DD to have a better understanding of processes she was performing. So, I bit the bullet and invested in Math on the Level as a supplement. The difference has been amazing!

 

We work on a concept using MOTL then follow it up with practice from R&S on different days. DD is also reinforcing her knowledge of multiplication and like your DC we have been on them for a bit. I started to panic this morning then I read your post. THANK YOU for your incredible timing!

 

I wish I knew why I can't fully relax with not being "on schedule" even though I can clearly see the results and truely believe that mastering the foundational level of arithmatic is critical to being able to work upper level math.

 

Thanks again for sharing -- you saved my day!

 

Dina :001_smile:

Edited November 2, 2010 by Dina in Oklahoma

[Carol in Cal.]

This is good, but realize that it is not the best choice for every child.

 

My DD needed spiral rather than mastery math. I had to separate facts practice from math for years--she learned and forgot those facts at least 2-3 times. If I had stopped and waited for her to 'really learn them' she would never have gotten into algebra.

 

Children are different from each other.

 

Kudos to you for teaching your actual child rather than some theoretical one, and kudos to me for teaching mine.

[LindaOz]

Stop the math workbook and focus intently on one skill until it is mastered. :o

 

I just realized we're spending 3 weeks on drill and practice of multiplication facts and I'm totally cool with that. A couple of years ago, I'd have been so stressed and made poor ds do a zillion pages a day to "catch up."

 

Go me! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! :D

 

That's cool. It took me until child #4 to really start doing that. Well, what a difference - stop, do lots of practice, master something, totally get it, get the book back out, move on. Recipe for success, I reckon :001_smile:

[johnandtinagilbert]

Tina~

 

IT MUST BE IN THE WATER!!! I also reached this point but still have a few moments of relapse . . . this morning for example!:tongue_smilie:

 

We are Rod and Staff lovers but wanted DD to have a better understanding of processes she was performing. So, I bit the bullet and invested in Math on the Level as a supplement. The difference has been amazing!

 

We work on a concept using MOTL then follow it up with practice from R&S on different days. DD is also reinforcing her knowledge of multiplication and like your DC we have been on them for a bit. I started to panic this morning then I read your post. THANK YOU for your incredible timing!

 

I wish I knew why I can't fully relax with not being "on schedule" even though I can clearly see the results and truely believe that mastering the foundational level of arithmatic is critical to being able to work upper level math.

 

Thanks again for sharing -- you saved my day!

 

Dina :001_smile:

I love when timing works out like that! So glad to encourage.

 

This is good, but realize that it is not the best choice for every child.

 

My DD needed spiral rather than mastery math. I had to separate facts practice from math for years--she learned and forgot those facts at least 2-3 times. If I had stopped and waited for her to 'really learn them' she would never have gotten into algebra.

 

Children are different from each other.

 

Kudos to you for teaching your actual child rather than some theoretical one, and kudos to me for teaching mine.

We need spiral too. I'm talking about not being able to move forward in our spiral workbook b/c more practice is needed in the foundation of a skill...like multiplying single digit numbers. It's hard to work out multiplying 2 digit numbers when you're still taking forever with 8x5...82x6 is far too daunting. We're stopping until the whole single digit mulitplication is a breeze (mostly b/c they'll be memorized) so we can move on. You may call this extra practice ;) I didn't mean to imply mastery is the best approach, I actually prefer one skill at a time, with lots of spiral review! Then build on that skill and do more review :) Edited November 2, 2010 by johnandtinagilbert

[Guest]

I did this with mine using TouchMath pages for 2 years.

[Rene']

I have just decided to do this as well! I've been reading the book How To Tutor by Samuel Blumenfeld and he makes a strong case for teaching "arithmetic" as a strong foundation and leaving "mathmatics" until later. I didn't even know there was a difference between the two. So we are going to do addition' date=' subtraction, multiplication and division until we have them down cold. I'm planning to use the lessons from How To Tutor, supplementing with MM's blue books.[/quote']Would you might giving more details on this? Intriguing......

 

Blumenfeld says:

 

Among educators today there is a tremendous confusion between what we mean by arithmetic and what we mean by mathematics. Arithmetic is no longer taught as arithmetic. It has been submerged, fragmentized, and scrambled in a much larger area of study called Elementary Mathematics - more popularly known as the New Math. Because of this, students scarcely become aware of the decimal place-value system as a complete arithmetic system quite separate and distinct from the rest of the subject matter in elementary mathematics. The result is that students learn arithmetic very poorly and very haphazardly.

 

This book was originally written in the 1970's. He goes on to say that while we use a great deal of arithmetic in our daily lives, few of us ever use the algebra, geometry and trig that we were taught in school (I never made it to trig...). He does not argue against learning those things, but says that arithmetic should be taught as thoroughly and systematically as possible in the primary grades.

 

He explains that arithmetic is "the tool of economic man" - helping him deal with quantity, money, and measurement, all which we need for practical every day living. Arithmetic is necessary for economics, government, taxes, accounting, business management, etc. Mathematics is used in physics, chemistry, engineering, astronomy, philosophy, metaphysics, etc.

[Rene']

Have you seen the workbooks? I used one of them a few years ago and loved it.

 

I just ordered both the add/subtract and the multi/divide/fractions workbooks! They should be here by the end of the week and I'm excited to get started with them.