Not sure what to do...

[threeofakind]

Sorry this is long and thank you so much who actually read it all and understand what I'm trying to say!

 

I am really confused and not sure what my next step should be. I have a nine yr old son- 3rd grade. He has been in ps and this is our first yr. hs. He has been the type of kid who is up and down and you never really know if he will get it and eventually does. I was a teacher and he was at my school so I always knew what was going on. He 'struggled' with reading and math- but personally I never worried too much because he was a boy and we don't always provide boys what they need in schools. I would help at home but I realized he was tired and just wanted to be a boy after school. So I asked and was approved to pull him out an hour early and work with him (I was pt and was done by then). He loved it- this was first grade.

 

That's what got me thinking about hs. 2nd grade came and he had a great teacher who did science and lots of hands on stuff- he so enjoyed this- but reading and math were a hit and miss again. Eventually he got there and met the minimum. Overall I was okay if he did not meet the standard- all kids are different and he thrives in other things- building things, sports, etc.

 

Okay all this, I have been using TT with him, and he seems to forget things previously (he also took a couple years to learn and be secure in days of the week and months of the yr. in order)- but one thing is he cannot subtract when there is borrowing and carrying involved- he still looks at the bigger # and subtracts the smaller #- I sit with him most of the time to walk through it but what I am wondering if he just need something that is mastery based rather than spiral based. I wonder (about mastery based) because he struggled with learning the beginning of fractions- so we did games, hands on and lots of reinforcement with it and he is successful with that- but the introducing then practicing it along with other several skills he 'forgets' and frustrates him as well.

 

It's not just math either- I changed up lang. arts- WP now and he seems to be making progress- just focusing on nouns for a month and basic writing skills- with spelling I decided to go with AAS and start at level 1? It's hands on and reinforces with the 3 learning modalities- I think this will help and that you don't move on until they have mastered a step. We have not started it yet as I'm trying to get it set up.

 

I don't know how long we will hs, but I want to make the most of it for him and just wonder if you view him as a kid who needs to be taught through mastery programs?? (I will also add today he could not remember which colors to mix to make certain colors- I know perhaps does not sound like a big deal but he has done many projects for 4 years involving that so it threw me off a little, and this is what I see regularly with skills.) I hope I make sense and there is much more I could write but hopefully this is enough. Thank you, thank you!:)

[MerryAtHope]

From your description it sounds like mastery-based as well as hands-on and incremental programs would work well for him. I would also add in review to keep things fresh in his mind. AAS has this built in and might give you ideas for how to structure review in other programs if it's not built in. MUS is hands on and mastery-based, that might be something to look at for math.

 

For my kids, putting a down arrow next to their subtraction problems helped with keeping the order correct. But also we did LOTS of hands on with this using base-10 blocks. I had them trade in a 10 for 10 1's, or a hundred flat for 10 10-rods in order to be able to take the correct number away. Some days we ONLY did problems with manipulatives, then gradually I showed them what it looked like in writing, and over the course of days I first taught them the steps orally, then showed in writing, then had them talk me through what to do with the blocks, then talk me through what to do in writing, until finally they could write it--and eventually they didn't need the blocks. Make things concrete for him for as long as he needs.

 

Hope that gives you some places to start! Merry :-)

[threeofakind]

Thank you Merry, it gives me assurance I'm thinking the right direction for him, and will look into MUS. My girls have been so different from him, so I want to assure I'm providing him with what he needs!

[....]

You're describing my 3rd grade son! Everything needs to be hands-on or he has absolutely no retention.

 

If you've read Boys Adrift, that doctor says that before 4th grade, a lot of boys are below grade level. During 4th grade, they catch up to grade level. I try to keep that in mind. Also, the CT scan evidence he presented was compelling.

 

Here's a list of big hits for my son over the past 3 years:

 

Miquon (once again, hands-on math)

Kitchen Table Math + a dry erase board

Snap Circuits

those Thames and Kosmos science kits

science kits from Home Science Tools

Webster's Speller

Writing with Ease

Primary Language Lessons

Farmer Boy Unit Study

Sign of the Beaver Unit Study (I think he might have cried when this ended :tongue_smilie:)

Apologia Zoology 1, 2 and 3

Dover's American Revolution coloring book

 

also look at:

 

Hands-On Equations

we just started a Math Diary (there are a couple of threads about it)

[speedmom4]

I think you have gotten some really good advice already. I also understand having a child who learns differently. My oldest ds had a stroke at birth and has brain damage from it. He is quite bright but it has taken me a very long time to "figure" him out. He is still hit and miss but it is getting much much better. I think a lot of it has to do with maturity.

 

I would also recommend AAS. It is incremental, mastery, and spiral all at the same time. Both of my ds have been using this and making tons of progress.

 

We tried a mastery approach to math but would soon be frustrated with how much my ds forgot when we moved onto something new. You might want to have two math programs (like MUS and TT). You could use MUS to teach topics and go back over things when your son is "stuck" but keep the spiral approach. I have found that my ds is doing so much better with a spiral approach because we keep going over and over the same concepts just adding extra information each time it is revisited.

 

Also, I found that both my boys can remember stories well but not "facts". So I found Times Tales from Trigger Memory. They teach the upper times tables through stories. Now if my boys forget what 9 x 8 is we just think about what story that was and they remember that the answer is 72. They needed something to reference to not just pure memory.

 

I have found with 3 of my 4 children that maturity has solved many of the "issues" they seemed to have when they were younger.

 

God Bless,

Elise in NC

[NotSoObvious]

It took my daughter about a year to learn how to regroup in subtraction. She never got it in PS 2nd grade and we had to start over when I brought her home for third. That was just last year and she is almost at grade level now, working on long division. For math, I'd choose something very systematic and hands-on where you are there with him 100% of the time, at least in the beginning. You are going to need to see where he makes mistakes and stop him. It won't do any good to let him practice his mistakes, with you correcting later. My daughter doesn't learn well from a computer, for whatever reason.

 

AAS is amazing. If you are consistent and always do the review, I think you'll be very impressed.

 

Good luck! My dd takes a long time to master something, too. Finding the right program and sticking with it was the key for us.

[threeofakind]

Thank you for the encouragement and advice everyone! I think he is a lot like his dad and the girls are like me, and I am so glad we are hs this year and next (I hope!). As someone who is so close to the situation it's nice to have someone on the outside looking in. When I taught it was nice to have others to talk to, and get feedback so it's nice to have this as a home schooler! Thanks and I will look into ideas and programs!

[momto2Cs]

You might look at Math Mammoth too, maybe the topical Blue series so you could add in just what he needs. I use it with my kids and go heavy on manipulatives with my dd8. Prior to this shift, we were using Teaching Textbooks as well. My son (10) does really well with it, but my dd, who really fits your son's description, doesn't. She is doing really well with hands-on math though. If she can see it and do it prior to writing it, she seems to understand it.