diaperjoys Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Moms of visual learners...can you give me some suggestions for math? We're finishing up CLE grade 2, which I really like. My son, though, dreads math - he sees it as unending with lots of pages, and though he's bright, he's NOT quick with his facts, so math is easily taking him an hour or more. I think he's highly visual - he is riveted by whatever he sees (computer screen, bright lights, video, etc., and quickly forgets anything that he hears. What kind of math programs should I be checking out?? This is for my oldest son, who will be 9yo, 3rd grade in the fall. I was wondering about something like BJU Math with the colorful pages, and maybe even using the DVD format so he could get a flashy presentation with lots of charts & such? But really, I'm at a loss as to where to go next for this youngster. Ideas, please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I haven't used it personally, but have you looked into Math-U-See? It seems very geared toward visual learners :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 CLE can be very visual if you use lots of manipulatives for every concept introduced . I have one visual spatial learner , CLE works great but I do use manips with him . Singapore also works and is more visual and hands-on ( if you use HIG). than CLE . We use both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I am a visual learner and the diagrams and graphics explaining concepts in Singapore makes tons of sense to me. Sometimes I have to try to explain things in another way for my kids and it's difficult because how Singapore is explaining it is so crystal clear anything I come up with seems less clear. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 My VSL works very well with Miquon and MEP, and uses MathRider for fact practice. With Singapore she would just count the pictures and not actually figure out the math or use the number bonds or making ten.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 I have one very visual kid, and I teach everything to him with a white board. Whatever the idea or principle is, I write it out on the board (drawing pictures or diagrams if applicable) so he can read and see it. This can help you with any program you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 My visual learner uses RightStart and MUS. He enjoys both but probably does a bit better with RS so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom2011 Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 We had switched from another program to McRuffy Math during the course of the year, and dd is doing much better with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum2t Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My visual learner has done awesome with RS. The entire concept of this math curriculum is focused on visualization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My sons are both visual, and are doing well with Math-U-SEE. I love the program. You can search on YouTube "Steve Demme MUS" and it pulls up videos of him answering parent questions, so you can get a taste of his approach and style. I really enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Moms of visual learners... I think he's highly visual - he is riveted by whatever he sees (computer screen, bright lights, video, etc., and quickly forgets anything that he hears. What kind of math programs should I be checking out?? This is for my oldest son, who will be 9yo, 3rd grade in the fall. ? Teaching Textbooks?--reasonably flashy video presentation. MathUSee utilizes computer and manipulatives and is good for my visual son--but it is not flashy, for him flashy is not positive. I am thinking to get the RightStart games which someone mentioned even though we are not doing RS as our curriculum. But my son likes games like Speed and Pyramid which involve math and cards. SM is very visual, but in a different way than either TT or MUS. You may need to look at examples of these and see what would be a fit. Your son can "test drive" TT online, visit MUS website (which has math fact drills available btw), and get just one book from SM to try them. I don't know enough about RS to know how to test that. But all of these are quite visual--but different sorts of visual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Bju math is great! It uses lots of manipulatives to teach concepts. They teach he how and why behind facts.we are using the dvd program this year.they are amazing! My issue is that if I'm not sitting with my daughter she doesn't pay attention well. If your so.is good working independently then the dvd program is great. We will be sticking with bju math next year for third grade but not the DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Have you looked at Beast Academy? Muggins Math uses interesting manipulatives to explain concepts, and they have lots of games for practice. (Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at Number Neighbors, Prealgebra for Visual Learners, and Polygons to Polywogs.) Timez Attack and Mythmatical Battles both helped DS memorize his times tables in a painless way. Also, I agree with the PP who suggested explaining everything visually on a whiteboard. I tried at least a dozen math programs with DS and when I asked him what he thought was the most effective, he said it didn't seem to matter what program we used as long as I explained it on the whiteboard! Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moniksca Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I'm using Singapore with my VSL, I like how they explain things. When we need to slow down I use MM for the specific topic, it's really good at breaking things down step by step. We started out with MUS but it was too repetitive for my ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 CLE can be very visual if you use lots of manipulatives for every concept introduced . We do this and use the white board a lot. For memorizing math facts, I have heard that using flash cards that have the answer on them in a different color works really well. That's what we are about to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I use Singapore and sometimes need to use the white board for the CWP book or the difficult problems in the IP book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 We switched over to BJU from RS, and it was a similar thing, needing shorter amounts on the pages, more color. It was very, very good for us. Now we're doing TT, and it's also turning out to be good for us. You might also read "Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World" by Freed. Sometimes that getting overwhelmed with a lot on the page is an attention issue. When you say he forgets what he hears, that can be working memory. You could be seeing the tip of something. Freed claims most ADHD kids are VSL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 We've used BJU, RS, MUS, and just bought Beast. I'd recommend RS over all the others for a visual learner and would say Beast is a must-have for anyone who wants math to seem fun! But I think RS is amazing for Visual folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTaelon Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 TT has been great for my very visual learner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My VSL much prefers Singapore to the other programs I've used with him (MEP and RS). He loved the BA sample as well, though I'm holding off on getting 3A/B until this fall since he isn't quite there yet. One supplemental workbook that he devoured in less than a week was the Critical Thinking Co. Math Analogies Book 1. He wants me to get book 2 but again I'm not convinced he's ready for it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcarolinamom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 We used Horizons Math in K - 1st grade - my very visual dd loved the colored pages and the "not-too-much stuff on a page"..... Here's a link to some sample pages for grade 1: http://www.christianbook.com/horizons-math-grade-1-student-workbook/9781580959230/pd/12054?event=1016AOP|308129|61266#curr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcarolinamom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 http://www.christianbook.com/horizons-math-grade-3-student-workbook/9781580959636/pd/12056?event=1016AOP|308129|61266#curr Sorry - I have no brain today -- here's a sample of Horizon Math 3rd grade level! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Have you looked at Beast Academy? Jackie Excellent suggestion. Beast is wonderful. My visual learners have done well w/ TT (accelerated), SM and Hands-On Equations. We watch Khan Academy often as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofkids&pets Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My ds prefers MUS over RS (even though I liked RS better :)). Ds even enjoys the short video segments when Mr. Demme introduces a new concept. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1shortmomto4 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Mom to VSL kiddo here - and what I've found and learned over this past year (he's in 3rd) is that once they have the concept down they do not need repetitive review and lots of problems each day, but rather time to move on and visit a new concept. I started the year with McRuffy Math and LOF (we read a chapter a day) and we started out great but McRuffy became the same problems day after day - he knows how to add and subtract and he wanted more. So I pulled out a Singapore Math book and he's loving it. I also use HOD with him so it helped that I had the hands-on aspect to add to it although he probably would be just fine reading the textbook and then doing the workbook. I had thought about MUS but looking at the sample pages all I see are problems and more problems - not a good fit. I have TT 4 on my shelf so we are working on multiplication and division in Singapore and I just might give that a whirl next. Ideally, I'd love to find something for the long haul but I think in these early years it is keeping that math interest alive and running with it - no matter how you get it done. Ideally, I need to print out a list of the skills needed for math for grade 3 - cover them and move on. We've recently started using the DreamBox math from homeschool coop and he's enjoying that, too. He loves, loves LOF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threedogfarm Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 We use Singapore Math here with great success. We also use an abacus which helps avoid the use of fingers or counting the pictures. The HIG helps tremendously to present the concepts. I have MM as a back up to go over more information but if I could do it all over again I would probably have not purchased MM because it seems to me that it is mostly repetitive worksheets. I have to say that for both of my kids I have been reducing the volume of math required and they both seem to be benefiting from that approach. Liping Ma's book is a good resource for me--now I can understand better how my children approach math. Very, very helpful. I also let my daughter use the white board. Being able to teach my daughter math in a way that makes sense to her has been one of the best benefits of homeschooling for me (and wasn't even one of the reasons--we started all this for my son!). She is such a good, quiet girl that tries hard and I think that nobody would have caught her issues with math until it was too late. I am so grateful that I was able to see what was happening in the beginning and meet her at her level. I don't think that would have happened if she had remained in a school setting (public or private). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellers Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 TT has been great for my very visual learner. Same here! My DS11 loves doing TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Math Mammoth. It's a worktext, written to the student directly, and it's in color, which is great for the visual learner. My daughter does not like to be "talked at," so we use a lot of independent programs with her. This one has been a good fit ever since we found it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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