brasilmom Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Hello all, I recently changed math curriculum for my dd and she is doing very well. Last Friday we covered tens and digits and she told me "that was easy mom". Perfect. On Monday, as I did a little review before moving along, she could not dot it at all. So, we tried again yesterday and today. Now, I feel that she knows the subject and is just getting her mind confused over the placement. So, instead of frustrating me and her further, I want to ask for some advice. What would be best in this case? I am considering moving to the next part of the tens and digits, so maybe another view of it will help her. The only fear I have is to move too fast and get her to move along and not completely comprehend the concept and suffer later. She is kindergarden age but doing most 1st grade stuff. I know that there is a lot of time ahead of us, nonetheless I want to pave the road so she can have a smooth ride. Thanks for your help. Be well Miriam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I made the mistake of rushing my older DD ahead because she's so smart and this should be "easy." BIG, BIG, BIG mistake. I pushed her through stuff so fast, thinking that she understood it well enough. Long story short, we've spent most of this year remediating first grade math (she's in 2nd). Take the time now. This is a marathon not a sprint. And even very bright or so-called "gifted" kids run into little roadblocks now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brasilmom Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thank you. I may even take a day or two off and then give it another try. I know that if I am not a math person today was in part due to not being able to understand the concept and still have to move forward along with the class. Not a good recipe. Be well Miriam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerMom Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 At this age I think exposure is better than depth. Maybe take a break and work on geometry (shapes) or number order, play some math games for math facts, telling time, or ??? Maybe spend 5 min each day reviewing a couple simple (easy for her) place value problems, but don't try to move it forward. Place value is an abstract idea and whether her brain can wrap itself around (and stick!) is iffy at her age and has absolutely nothing to do with how smart she is or how good she will be at math later. When she's ready it'll click, just keep exposing her to the ideas and when it is consistently easy for her, then start back up working those lessons. Treat math like a diverse buffet instead of a path and you and dd will probably have more fun. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 One thing I've done with my son is to use manipulatives when starting a concept if he seems to have ANY struggling with it. So for instance when we did subtraction with borrowing, I illustrated it with the manipulatives, wrote the "traditional" math on a piece of paper for him to see, then had him try some problems. The first day, he just did the problems using the manipulatives with no writing at all (base 10 blocks). The second day I had him do a few problems with the manipulatives, then write the math as well based on his physical work. The third day I had him try just the writing... and we were quickly back to the blocks :) Then he started getting it. If he gets a problem wrong and it seems to be a conceptual error - it's back to the hands-on where he demonstrates it to me. Then he can write. I really really like using manipulatives at the early levels to really get a better understanding of what the abstraction of the numbers means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brasilmom Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thank you for all the replies. I was looking on the teacher's guide and today we are going to try a new game using more manipulatives. I think this will help her. Then we can try more games tomorrow. Next week we can give it another try before heading further in to the material. Thanks again. Be well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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