jtap04 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I am about to purchase math U See Gamma for my dd9. How much does it use the blocks? I bought the fraction overlays for Epsilon and my dd11 used them for the first few lessons and that was it. Wondering if it is worth it. Also, does anyone know if Base 10 blocks are the same or similar or if there are generics of the blocks? trying to keep costs down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 They are absolutely necessary and used throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandty Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Depends on the child. We didn't use them in Gamma, but used them in all the books up until that point. We watched them being used on the DVD, but ds was not interested in building anything when he did his lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-2-7 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 We also didn't use the blocks for Gamma. It really does depend on the kid though. None of mine like the blocks. They think its "babyish". I guess that's ok since its spurring them to commit all their facts to memory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 (edited) Depends on the child. We didn't use them in Gamma, but used them in all the books up until that point. We watched them being used on the DVD, but ds was not interested in building anything when he did his lessons. :iagree: This is what we have done as well. I really think it depends on your children. My children have them available, but after having used them for years, they don't pull them out very often anymore. Edited May 30, 2011 by Roxy Roller Adding content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Depends on the child. :iagree:, too. My son is still in Beta, but he almost never uses the blocks. Sometimes he'll use them when covering something completely new, but for the most part, they just sit there in their expensive boxes. (I went all out when buying the blocks, but then again, I've got two more coming, so I'm sure I'll get use out of them eventually!) What's really funny is that my son is newly turned 7 and just finishing first grade, and, according to Ruth Beechick, is not of an age to be able to understand numbers conceptually at all. And yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtap04 Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Thank you all! This is our first year homeschooling. we tried many math programs before Math U See...we love MUS, my kids just don't seem to use the manipulatives! Glad it's not just mine! Thanks for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyWifeandMommy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 my oldest quick using them in Gamma but my younger ones still use them. Even though I don't think my daughte will be using the fraction overlays much I am still going to purchase them because I could be wrong and she'd end up wanting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 We used the blocks quite a bit when learning 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication (my son was quite intrigued by the visual of the blocks on this; it helped make sense). But you could easily make your own cardboard cut-outs for a lesson or two if you needed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 We didn't use them much at all, but I was surprised when my son would pull out the manipulatives regularly with algebra even though he understood it without them. By the way, finding the factors if a polynomial is shockingly easy using the blocks and is pretty much identical, manipulative-wise, to finding finding factors in multiplication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnL Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 My dd was in public school through 3rd grade and this year, 4th grade, was her first year homeschooling. I started her on Delta, but 2/3 of the way through Delta, I found she needed to go back through some of Gamma. And if it weren't for those blocks, she would never have mastered multiple digit multiplication. She also thought the blocks were babyish and balked at using them. When watching the Gamma DVD, one lesson we heard the students answering the math problem without having even worked it out yet. She felt the students were scripted. LOL After mastering the blocks, she fully understood it all. But the blocks were the key, for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 When watching the Gamma DVD, one lesson we heard the students answering the math problem without having even worked it out yet. She felt the students were scripted. LOL After mastering the blocks, she fully understood it all. But the blocks were the key, for her. I think they have all sorts of grade levels in the room, so I think some of them just worked out the answer very quickly. That's always been how I've seen it, anyway. We have used the blocks for the first few Gamma lessons and will likely break them out again this fall when we hit the multiple-digit multiplication, but overall we haven't used them much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLittleTime Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I'd say they are necessary. You never know when your kids might need them to understand a concept. We used them heavily for Alpha, hardly at all for Beta, a wee bit in Gamma, and only in 2 lessons in Delta so far. However, we hit a lesson last week in Delta that had my son scratching his head until we got out the manipulatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Wow, so the blocks really may be helpful again in the future, even for the son who's no longer using them in Beta. That's good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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