MUS, Saxon, TT or something else-help!!!

[happyWImom]

I am so discouraged & feel like such a failure when it comes to teaching my dd math. I feel like I've tried everything, and nothing seems to click. I'm sure that had I stuck with something longer, we would be in a much better place. We've tried CLE, Saxon, RS, MUS and are currently using Singapore. The sad fact is, we are now 2 years behind. Dd is 9, soon to be 10, and here is what she knows: counting into the 1000's, skip counting by 2,5,10, some fractions (from cooking), her add. doubles, telling time, fairly good with money, basic add & basic subtraction, the concept of multiplication, but we are just beginning the facts. Here is the problem. We did start double digit add & sub, but not carrying yet. And while she gets the basics, the mental math is just not there. She can do the problems, but she really has to think about it, and struggles if under pressure.

 

So, I feel I need something that will really cement the facts before moving on, and I'm not sure which curriculum to use, or which level. She feels like a baby doing the lower levels, but I hate to skip over things that will help her in the future. 2 of the main programs I'm looking at are MUS & Saxon. Even though I've used them before, I don't feel I gave them a chance. Both times, I stopped because math was taking a looong time to get done, and I was having to do the long lessons with my ds, too, plus teach reading, and so I finally gave up & tried to find something quicker-IT"S ALL MY FAULT!! Anyway, I like that Saxon has them practice the oral stuff daily, like counting to a certain number forward & backwards, skip counting, etc... and the meeting strip stuff, as well as the way the explain things, and the spiral learning aspect. If I do Saxon, do I put her in Saxon 3, even if we haven't done carrying or a ton of double digit addition?

 

Or, MUS. I do like the way they really teach the concepts, and I am not a math person at all, so I like the dvd teaching, as well as the manipulatives used. But, would we have to start back in Alpha, and how long would it take us to get to multiplication????

 

I also recently came across Math-It, and wondered if it would help us get up to speed. If it did, I was thinking maybe TT was the way to go, then it takes me out of the "equation". (ha,ha) Since I am a huge part of the problem, obviously.

 

Please help; I feel like I'm drowning, and taking dd down with me.

[chepyl]

I would sign her up for a free program like xtramath.org. Have her do the drills daily. This will help cement the facts in her head. Then do placement tests for a couple of programs you are considering. Look for her weak spots and focus.on those through the end of the year.

 

I might even drop the curriculum to focus on what she needs to get down before moving forward. Do problems on a board rather than paper. Get some manipulatives and cement place value in her head, then work on regrouping in multi-digit addition and subtraction. I loved School Zone's Big Math 1-2 software for this concept. It is games where they move beans around as they add and subtract. You can get just the software or software and workbook on Amazon.

 

I have not looked extensively at MM, but I did purchase the geometry for 1-3 grades. You may be able to just get the addition and subtraction, I don't know. Then it isn't a grade level, but a topic for multiple grade levels.

 

Work for short time periods, just a few practice problems a day and work through the summer if you need to. Then do placement tests again. If you need to not be apart of math after that, go with teaching textbooks. I do think you need to be involved in catching her up. Either that, or hire a tutor for her for the summer. Could you take her to a Sylvan or Kumon center? Either way, fill in the gaps, then change curriculum or you will still have those holes.

[ErinD]

Just a quick vote for TT here. We have tried a few different ones and this is the only one that did not turn into a weeping child on a regular basis. She loves it, and I love that in effect someone else is telling her what to do - less tendency to resist!

 

We love it so much that we plan to buy this for math each year even if we have a tight-budget year and can't buy anything else.

[mindygz]

My dd9.5 (4th grade) was in a somewhat similar spot at the beginning of the year. She had extreme math dislike, so that everytime we sat down together to do it there was much complaining and frustration. We had used MUS up until last year when I tried MM because we were so stuck in multiplication. I was frustrated because she wasn't "getting" multiplication (at least not getting the facts mastered) and in MUS there really isn't much to do until you get those facts done. MM covers a lot of other topics and I liked that it wasn't just the one thing we were having such a hard time with.

 

We had the opportunity to get reimbursed for TT and so I bought it in October. It has been really really good for us, largely because like you said, it takes me out of the equation. The way that it talks through each problem one at a time is really good for my daughter, who tends to get overwhelmed by looking at a large number of problems on a page. I have been supplementing a bit with MM and also Evan Moor Daily Math problems just to try and see that she is getting exposure to a variety of concepts. Doing the Daily Math with her helps me keep an eye on things she may not have fully figured out yet, since I am fairly hands-off with her doing the TT now. There is a good chance she would be okay for the appropriate level of TT, as it does quite a bit of review. You can get pretests online.

 

Hope that is helpful! I feel your pain and hope you can find something that works for both of you. You are welcome to PM me if you want to talk any more about it. :grouphug:

[tomandlorih]

I agree it sounds like TT would be perfect for your dd.. We are almost through TT3 and from what you described that she knows she could easily do the lessons which would give her confidence and it's "3" so not "remedial" at all. We also use MUS for the mastery angle though.

 

That being said, any math program is going to be difficult/frustrating until she gets her basic facts down(at least addition and subtraction). I also use http://www.xtramath.org for my dd but you stated that she doesn't like pressure which there is a timed element to xtramath since it is striving for mastery(an answer under 3 seconds) of the facts. However, once my dd got some of the facts down, she did really like to see if she could make more of her grid green(indicating mastery) and felt VERY accomplished when she was finally able to print her first certificate of a completed program.

 

Perhaps you could start her with not timed flashcards at home? Although, this did not work for us and I had to "take myself out of it" and make her do the xtramath before she was forced to commit them to memory=D

 

Hope that helps and good luck! Lori

[SunnyDays]

Tammi, we're kind of in the same boat... I feel like the Goldilocks of Math, LOL, looking for something that's just right. :D Here, DS is not behind, and in fact he's quite mathy, but I don't want it to get to that point... I need to find something and stick with it.

 

I was just curious about something... you said you tried CLE and it didn't take. Why was that? On paper, it sounds like what you need... spiral program, builds in drill and fact review, and it's reasonably independent. So I was wondering why that didn't work?

 

I admit I've heard mixed reviews on TT, but I do think it works well for a lot of kids. It sounds like this may be a good option for your daughter to get going and stick with it. Good luck!!

[happyWImom]

Tammi, we're kind of in the same boat... I feel like the Goldilocks of Math, LOL, looking for something that's just right. :D Here, DS is not behind, and in fact he's quite mathy, but I don't want it to get to that point... I need to find something and stick with it.

 

I was just curious about something... you said you tried CLE and it didn't take. Why was that? On paper, it sounds like what you need... spiral program, builds in drill and fact review, and it's reasonably independent. So I was wondering why that didn't work?

 

I admit I've heard mixed reviews on TT, but I do think it works well for a lot of kids. It sounds like this may be a good option for your daughter to get going and stick with it. Good luck!!

 

I was thinking CLE would be the thing, and I really liked it. We've used some of their other products. Anyway, dd got frustrated with it, because

some of it she didn't understand, and the flashcards & time tests made her feel dumb. So it was like pulling teeth.

 

Honestly, I think Saxon would probably teach her more/the best, but at this point, with her hating math so, I think she would despise it because it is so lengthy. I was looking at my Saxon 2 TM, and there are so many things to do before the actual lesson (meeting book, meeting strip, counting forward/backwards, weather graph, #of day stuff)plus the lesson, plus the worksheets-I just think it would intensify her hatred. Sigh.

 

I know, I am the teacher & parent here, and it isn't all about what she "likes", but she has anxiety, OCD, and anger issues, which we are working on, but which also make school more difficult, so I'm trying to minimize the frustration.:001_smile:

[edeemarie]

My son, who has always loved math, was getting frustrated with it lately because of the multiplication issue. We are using McRuffy, which I love and would highly recommend, but he needed some extra help with the multiplication and division. He is a perfectionist and gets very upset when he gets anything wrong! We love music in our house so I set the multiples of different numbers to songs- for instance, "twinkle, twinkle, little star" became "7,14,21". Now he is doing much better at his facts and doesn't get so frustrated! Have you looked into McRuffy at all? They, like Saxon, have a spiral approach and include manipulatives and games. They also have the timed tests, but until he has really mastered his facts I just have him do them without timing it so that he doesn't get frustrated! This seems like a hard age for math because they are learning so many things and it seems like if they fall back on one things it sets everything else off too! Best of luck finding a good math program that works!

[SunnyDays]

I know we're the parent and they're the kids, but if they're miserable, so are we. If your daughter is already frustrated with math, I don't know that the drill of Saxon would help that any.

 

Someone alluded to this in a previous post... have you considered setting aside formal math for a bit, and just doing drill on facts?? You could try timezattack, or a bookstore workbook, or flashcards, or whatever method helps the most. Just a thought. It's not easy!! ((Hugs))