KrissiK Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 DS is doing Singapore Math and he's doing very well. Some days, (most days lately) he just does the workbook without me giving the lesson, no problems, no questions wrong, he just does it. Do I need to give him a lesson? I know, I know, I'm pathetic! I feel like I'm short-changing my kid, but if he knows how to do the work, why waste both our time by giving him a lesson. I'm available to answer questions, but generally, he's just been doin' the work. Does everyone do this and I'm just being a control freak? Is this one of the perks of homeschooling? You don't have to sit through a lesson if you know how to do the work! Sometimes I think it's too easy for him, but some of the parts of 2B have challenged him a bit, so I don't want to rush him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsuz123 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 The same thing is happening with my dd1. I teach her the lesson when a new concept is being taught, but then she might just fly and do the next 4 lessons on her own. I am however right there and try and catch any mistakes immediately and then we go over it. This is one reason I love the Singapore method though. It seems like when a concept is taught, then the next few lessons just build on it. Unlike my daughter's Everyday Math at her ps that tries and teaches 10 concepts at one time - ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 It's hard to say. It is possible that he would do the workbook pages and not really understand the way Singapore teaches mental math. That is the portion I would say you should specifically focus on teaching. I do sometimes let my girls just go at it with their workbooks if I KNOW that they have the conceptual understanding down. I don't waste time teaching something they already know. But I'm always checking the HIG to see if there is something I need to make sure they understand well or concrete ways of showing something. To be honest, it would make me a little nervous to just let my child do only the workbook. I think it's too likely that she would miss out on important concepts. Singapore is different from many math curricula in that it has a heavy focus on mental math. That is it's strength. You may miss out on the best part of the curriculum if you don't expressly teach that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 The only thing I would suggest is to make sure that he actually understands the concepts and isn't just doing the work by rote memory. As long as he is truly understanding everything, just let him fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 We've been doing this too and I DO go back to the textbook on occasion. There are fundamentals in the text that really do need to be taught. The questions can be done without understanding them but sooner or later I find it comes back to haunt you and your child. Singapore math is, like all math, cumulative knowledge and if you miss a block in the foundation, so easy to do with just doing the workbook, it can create problems for the whole wall later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I just thought of something else. What I've been doing lately is quickly going over the textbook with my girls. I do 1-2 problems per concept in the textbook to make sure they "get" it. They know that I'm fine with skipping a bunch of stuff in the textbook so that helps them to "endure" the little bit of time spent on things they might already know (time, money, etc.). Doing this enables me to know for sure what they know and don't know but also keeps us from wasting time. I slow down when they reach a new concept. And I keep checking the HIG to make sure I'm covering all I need to be covering. Oh, and we do the mental math in the back of the HIG - VERY helpful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songsparrow Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 If the work is that easy for him, perhaps you need to move up to a harder level. I know with my daughter (who has an aptitude for math) I purposefully placed her at a level where I need to give her a lesson using the activities in the HIG, and she needs to do the practice, and sometimes I even need to print out additional worksheets. (When we're done, though, she's mastered the concept and is working the problems mentally.) I think this is the correct level for her - it provides a challenge and she's not bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) I would say if he is doing the material the right way. Why not? But if he's flying through it, getting the problems wrong, and not understanding what he's doing ( he's obviously understanding it if he is getting the problems right) then I would stop him in his tracks and start doing the math together. But if he is doing the math correctly then maybe he is just a really great self learner. There are kids that are like that. Edited October 14, 2011 by TracyR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 It's hard to say. It is possible that he would do the workbook pages and not really understand the way Singapore teaches mental math. That is the portion I would say you should specifically focus on teaching. I do sometimes let my girls just go at it with their workbooks if I KNOW that they have the conceptual understanding down. I don't waste time teaching something they already know. But I'm always checking the HIG to see if there is something I need to make sure they understand well or concrete ways of showing something. To be honest, it would make me a little nervous to just let my child do only the workbook. I think it's too likely that she would miss out on important concepts. Singapore is different from many math curricula in that it has a heavy focus on mental math. That is it's strength. You may miss out on the best part of the curriculum if you don't expressly teach that. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I just thought of something else. What I've been doing lately is quickly going over the textbook with my girls. I do 1-2 problems per concept in the textbook to make sure they "get" it. They know that I'm fine with skipping a bunch of stuff in the textbook so that helps them to "endure" the little bit of time spent on things they might already know (time, money, etc.). Doing this enables me to know for sure what they know and don't know but also keeps us from wasting time. I slow down when they reach a new concept. And I keep checking the HIG to make sure I'm covering all I need to be covering. Oh, and we do the mental math in the back of the HIG - VERY helpful!!! :iagree: The mental math in the back of the HIG is important. I wouldn't skip that. I typically go over the textbook with my son and if he has shown me that he understands the concept he moves onto the workbook. My older son will at times (depending on the concept) read the textbook himself and do the workbook on his own, but he still does mental math work with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Well, what he's been doing mostly on his own is the multiplication and now $$. He struggled with the addition and subtraction, so we did all the lessons on that. I've been lagging on the mental math, so thank you for the kick in the pants on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Well, what he's been doing mostly on his own is the multiplication and now $$. He struggled with the addition and subtraction, so we did all the lessons on that. I've been lagging on the mental math, so thank you for the kick in the pants on that. I think the multiplication would be fine to let him do on his own, but I'm not sure about the money section. That is addition and subtraction and if he had difficulty with that, he may need you to guide him through the money section, too. Yes, do the mental math! Here's another "kick." Do it! Do it! It's important! And helpful! It'll make future concepts click more easily.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Personally, if I were going to choose just one of the Singapore books, I'd do the textbook only rather than the workbook only. The strength of Singapore is the conceptual understanding that it fosters. That's missing from the workbook- it's just a bunch of practice exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlestonmom03 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Personally, if I were going to choose just one of the Singapore books, I'd do the textbook only rather than the workbook only. The strength of Singapore is the conceptual understanding that it fosters. That's missing from the workbook- it's just a bunch of practice exercises. :iagree: I was just at a Singapore Math workshop last weekend and this was stated repeatedly. The workbook is there as an assessment. My oldest can do a lot of the workbook and get the right answers quickly - but he is even quicker when he learns the SM methods. Same thing with the Challenging Word Problems book. He can usually come up with the right answer, but he can't explain how he got it. When I go through the worked examples with him and encourage him to use the number bars, he is able to articulate his work and he gets the right answer faster. At the conference, the point was made repeatedly to practice the Singapore method to get the Singapore results: 1. Start with the concrete (using the HIG, do an activity - or a few if your child needs that). Do this before you open the textbook or workbook. 2. Once they "get it", move to the pictorial - this is the point of the textbook. 3. Then, move on to the abstract. This is where your workbook comes in handy. I am by no means a SM expert, but I can tell you that following the method seems to be working in our family - both for the child who gets math very quickly and easily, as well as for the child who really does not. The first will easily go through all three steps in one sessions. The second boy can easily spend a week (or more) on the concrete before it sinks in. But once it is in there, he has it down! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I think it's possible to miss a lot if you are not using the textbook and HIG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.