Huh? I am confused...(long)

[Melinda]

I had Hannah (6yo) in SM up until a couple weeks ago. She was in 1B and hit a wall, where I just could not get through to her. She was doing great until she got to exercise 23 (problems like 7+8, 9+9, 8+5, etc). When we got to that point, she sort of shut down and was not able to move forward. I know the level of math Hannah is working at is not accelerated at this point, but I felt more comfortable posting something like this here than the K-8 board.

 

We cycled through the math programs we own and have access to (SM, Right Start, Saxon) and nothing seemed to be a good fit for her.

 

Three weeks ago, I decided to try MUS with her (we had the primer level and the blocks from trying it with Jared). She was able to go through the primer level in maybe 4 days (watched the DVD for a couple lessons and then did the rest of the level without help).

 

When I saw that MUS was really working for her, I went ahead and ordered Alpha through Zeta. As soon as all of the new stuff got here, she could not wait to start. So we did. She went through the entire Alpha level in two weeks. I had her watch the DVD for about half of the lessons, but she did the entire thing without help (including the "extra fun" pages and tests) and finished yesterday.

 

She begged me to let her start on Beta, so I did, at which point she completed the first 2 lessons and tests. She said she wanted to be done, and I told her I thought it was a good idea to stop for the day.

 

Last night, she found the SM book that gave her such fits 3 (!) weeks ago and asked if she could try it. I said that of course she could. I doubted that she would be successful with it at this point, but asked if she wanted help. Nope, she wanted to figure it out alone.

 

She sat there for maybe 10 min and did exercises 22-25 (and got every question right -- color me shocked). So now I sort of feel like if she can handle SM, maybe I should just put her back there.

 

Anyhow, on to my questions...

 

Is it really as simple as just getting her over a tough spot? Is it just because she has more confidence with her math skills? Do you think this is a permanent change? Should I stick with the MUS and just be happy it's working so well for her?

Edited January 27, 2011 by Melinda
typo

[Donna]

I think sometimes kids just aren't ready to "get" something and maybe looking at it from a different angle or putting it away and coming back to it later was all she needed. (I am still like this when dealing with a problem or challenge.)

 

I don't see a problem with doing whichever math program she seems to like best or some combination of both. She is at the age where often visual learning works best and some kids are just visual learners no matter what age. I have often used a variety of programs/methods to help my kids learn something challenging.

 

Good for her to figure it out on her own. :001_smile:

[LisaKinVA]

I have 3 different math programs for my oldest... when he hits a rough patch we switch to a different approach for the concept. Sometimes that helps, other times its simply giving him time to get there (by moving on, if possible, to something else and coming back later).

[MelanieM]

Sometimes kids just need a little time for their abilities to mature enough to handle the new skill. It's quite possible that you could have put all the math away for three weeks and she would have been able to pick up the SM and do the problems without trouble.

[catz]

I do think Singapore's a really great curriculum (as someone who has a math degree and has explored too many math curricula to list). Plenty of families use multiple curriculum and go back and forth as needed. I have pulled much more manipulative use into early Singapore when conceptual understanding hasn't been there.

 

My 6 yo daughter is in a similar place finishing 1B, and I think she'll be ready to move on to 2A/2B without problem. Sometimes a bunch of things come together at once - writing, patience, conceptual understanding. My son finished 6B last spring and he went in fits and starts going through the Singapore series. I think that's normal. I think especially visual spatial learners tend to take big leaps all at once (which my kids are).

[Melinda]

Thanks, all!

[Dmmetler]

I agree-I've seen my DD do this with many things. She'll fuss, she'll fume, she'll claim she's never going to get it, and she truly doesn't seem to understand, and then....a few days or weeks later, she's got it. Even if we don't look at it at all. I've been known to go on to the next section of Singapore, and then, when we get to the review, see what happens. A lot of times, she can do the review, and then the IP problems from that section, even though she couldn't do them at the time. I also see it in dance and in piano. "It's too hard, I don't get it, I don't understand, I'm not going to do it", and then, a week or two later, after doing something else..."This is easy".

[StephanieZ]

IME, there is an element of 'getting over a rough spot' in early primary math with young kids. That was the main benefit of using Miquon and SM at the same time (independently of each other, however). When the kids were young and hit those tricky spots, we'd just switch over to doing the OTHER program for a few days while the ideas gelled. Without fail, when we came back to the 'tricky' topic, it was easy peasy.

 

FWIW, we did SM & Miquon as separate subjects daily. I expected 2 exercises TOTAL each day -- one each, or two in one. If they got too far 'ahead' in one, I'd just hold off on giving the child the NEXT book in that series for a couple/few weeks while they did extra on the 'behind' book. That allowed them such freedom & control & worked extremely well for all 3 dc.

 

Since you've already invested in MUS, you might use it like I did Miquon. . .

 

HTH