has anyone else jettisoned math curricula for a year or two?

[serendipitous journey]

Just wondering ... open to advice, cautionary tales, & cetera.

 

Am thinking that since no math curriculum nicely fits our situation (Button's awfully good at math, 6 yo, doesn't like to do schoolwork per se, will crack up if not given school work 6 days a week -- math esp., MUS is too dry, MEP takes too long at his level and is boring below that, Singapore just Not Fun, I want the child to have lots of time playing and having good books read to him and savoring the fun in things -- numbers included) -- at any rate, am thinking that we might just abandon math curricula for the moment.

 

We've pretty much got long division down, will hammer it in with a few problems a day over the next month or so, which wraps up our basic operations. Button likes the Key to ... series just fine, so I thought I might just keep his operational and mental math skills strong with practice problems daily (written for operational, oral mental math), keep up our facts drill, work through the Key to books, read living math, and start Russian Math and some other stuff 3-12 months from now when we get antsy.

 

Does that sound a good idea? a horrid one? -- also, Singapore CWP and Zaccaro's books are NOT well-received by Button. He doesn't know they are fun :D.

 

totally :bigear:. I am not usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal.

[LittleIzumi]

Now that he's got long division down, what about Life of Fred Fractions & Decimals & Percents?

[TippyCanoe]

.

[2smartones]

I'll second the idea of "math books". There are lots of picture books that are full of math, but still fun to read without realizing you're learning something. Look in the juvenile non-fiction section of your library under math topics.

[TippyCanoe]

.

[quark]

Does that sound a good idea? a horrid one? -- also, Singapore CWP and Zaccaro's books are NOT well-received by Button. He doesn't know they are fun :D.

 

totally :bigear:. I am not usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal.

 

My guy didn't like CWP or Zaccaro either.

 

Has Button read The Number Devil yet? Giving it to DS a few years ago opened up a whole new understanding of math for him. If he likes The Number Devil, you could follow it up with the Penrose books by Pappas or introduce Penrose first followed by Number Devil.

[NittanyJen]

Penrose the Mathematical Cat?

 

Fun book!

[Beth in SW WA]

My guy didn't like CWP or Zaccaro either.

 

Has Button read The Number Devil yet? Giving it to DS a few years ago opened up a whole new understanding of math for him. If he likes The Number Devil, you could follow it up with the Penrose books by Pappas or introduce Penrose first followed by Number Devil.

 

:iagree:

Dd enjoys Math Curse, Penrose, Story of Pi and The Number Devil. I just ordered LOF Geo and Advanced Alg. She wants the whole set of Fred. She loves Beast.

 

I will look at Doodler's list also.

 

:lurk5:

Edited May 22, 2012 by Beth in SW WA
typo

[serendipitous journey]

oooh, thank you so much, everybody! I am greatly cheered.

 

Now that he's got long division down, what about Life of Fred Fractions & Decimals & Percents?

 

He does like LoF Fractions, we're doing a bit each week and plan to go on to Decimals next. Very good suggestion for Button!

 

Actually, we used no curriculum for K-6.

...

--We used Hands-On Equations and some of the Key To books beginning around 3rd grade, but the Key To books were decidedly underwhelming for dd and we never did much of them.

...

 

Doodles, thank you so much for that list and for the addendum that follows: I am glad to have ideas that both extend his math thinking and are enjoyable. I think the sticker books might be just the thing for right now, even if they are not esp. challenging. I can see why the Key to... books are not usually suggested for mathy children. At 6, and doing about 1/2 the problems, they are fine but not sure for how long.

 

May I ask what textbooks you transitioned to after, and if you'd recommend them?

 

I'll second the idea of "math books". There are lots of picture books that are full of math, but still fun to read without realizing you're learning something. Look in the juvenile non-fiction section of your library under math topics.

 

I actually never thought of browsing the shelves. !!!

 

My guy didn't like CWP or Zaccaro either.

 

Has Button read The Number Devil yet? Giving it to DS a few years ago opened up a whole new understanding of math for him. If he likes The Number Devil, you could follow it up with the Penrose books by Pappas or introduce Penrose first followed by Number Devil.

 

For some reason I remember thinking the Penrose books weren't in our sweet spot right now for Button: starting with the Number Devil seems a good idea to do first ...

 

We played board and card games and used real life for the operations. What does your child consider fun?

 

If I had to pick any one item, I'd pick Zoo Tycoon for PC. There's a lot of figuring out in order to maximize your resources and keep the zoo running according to your desires.

 

Haven't heard of that! thanks so much!

 

Penrose the Mathematical Cat?

 

Fun book!

 

Well now we have a Penrose plan: Number Devil, then Mathematical Cat!

:iagree:

Dd enjoys Math Curse, Penrose, Story of Pi and The Number Devil. I just ordered LOF Geo and Advanced Alg. She wants the whole set of Fred. She loves Beast.

 

I will look at Doodler's list also.

 

:lurk5:

 

I haven't really considered Beast, b/c the following books aren't out yet, but perhaps it would be a good stand-alone addition. Thanks for mentioning it!

[TippyCanoe]

.

[Beth in SW WA]

 

 

I haven't really considered Beast, b/c the following books aren't out yet, but perhaps it would be a good stand-alone addition. Thanks for mentioning it!

 

I forgot to mention I Hate Mathematics. It's a big hit here as well as this pic implies. It was dd9's go-to book for months last year. Most of these books will be at the library.

 

ETA: We also have Mathematicians Are People Too and the Sir Cumference books. All good.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Beth in SW WA

[JennW in SoCal]

I wanted to chime in with some "been there/done that" perspective. My 17yo is currently taking calculus at community college and LOVES it. Has a 100% grade going into tomorrow's final. And here's the thing -- I don't think any of the curricula I chose over the homeschooling years is the reason for his success. Yes he has a natural ability, but the thing he has told me most helped him was getting to play with numbers and patterns at his leisure over the years. The supplementary math materials and games we had around included some things mentioned here and a few more:

 

Books:

• Penrose the Mathematical Cat
  
• The Number Devil
  
• The Phantom Tollbooth
  
• How much is a million?
  
• All the Anno books
  
• workbooks on Pi and on other number systems; Highlight math game workbooks
  
• Family Math
  
• Flatland
  

Manipulatives:

• Pattern Blocks
  
• Tangrams
  

Games:

• Set
  
• Rush Hour
  
• Dominoes (he said he loved the patterns of the dots)
  
• Logical Journey of the Zoombinis (a computer game)
  

 

At a math workshop I attended way back when I first started homeschooling, a homeschool mom and college math teacher talked about the importance of all kinds of games and manipulatives. I asked her specifically about pattern blocks because my kids loved them and played with them for hours, but I saw no obvious mathematical value in them. She said it would help them in geometry, trig and calculus because the relationships between shapes and angles would be ingrained in their minds through all the play. I don't know if this is the case, whether my ds is a calculus whiz because of the hours he spent making intricate mosaic patterns (I asked my son and he scoffed!) but it is the kind of anecdote that helps justify the value of play, especially for bright young 6 year olds!

 

By the way, for fun math workbooks, check out Critical Thinking Company, Prufrock Press and Highlights.

[wapiti]

You might also look at the Murderous Maths books. My ds9 read parts of one of them when he was in first grade, and that's how he learned about exponents :)

[MissKNG]

There's also a Basher Book for math.

[Runningmom80]

Thank you for all of these ideas! My mind is reeling. (in a good way!)

[Runningmom80]

Manipulatives:

• Pattern Blocks
  
• Tangrams
  

.

 

Can anyone recommend specific products?

[LittleIzumi]

Can anyone recommend specific products?

 

The Drama sat & played this in silence until we literally had to force her to leave the store--a good 20 min, I'd say: http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/mosaic-puzzle

[slackermom]

The Drama sat & played this in silence until we literally had to force her to leave the store--a good 20 min, I'd say: http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/mosaic-puzzle

 

 

Oh wow! I need that! (for me... :lol:)

 

And I just saw that they have a store within 10 miles of me. :auto:

[Runningmom80]

The Drama sat & played this in silence until we literally had to force her to leave the store--a good 20 min, I'd say: http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/mosaic-puzzle

 

Awesome! Thanks!

[LittleIzumi]

Looks like a fun store. The NJ one is near the Ikea store in Paramus.

 

We visited it with family when we were in Chicago. We missed our next activity because we kept playing games--every member of the family except the toddler. Came home with Abalone and Chocolate Fix, really want the Mosaic Puzzle. It was fabulous.

[Dmmetler]

I am considering doing so as well-I'm feeling like DD doesn't need me. She enjoyed Singapore, plus a lot of the problem solving stuff, and a lot of the living math books until about 4th grade level, and then really started taking off.

 

 

One thing she's discovered and really likes are books designed to be reviews of a topic that are written to be a brief summary. Things like the Algebra Survival Guide and the Barron's Painless series. She says they're more interesting and get to the point a lot faster than most math books, and I think she likes that there are only a few problems given as examples, so there's less repetition. The Barron's series has free iPod/iPad apps to go along with it, too. I believe a lot of those pick up about the same point Fred does (about the point kids start to struggle with understanding math, I'm guessing, or maybe that's when parents start needing help), so if he's ready for LoF Fractions, it might not hurt to pick up Barron's Painless Fractions as well and see if he enjoys it.

[wapiti]

The Drama sat & played this in silence until we literally had to force her to leave the store--a good 20 min, I'd say: http://www.marblesthebrainstore.com/mosaic-puzzle

 

FWIW, it's cheaper at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Hape-International-HP897537-Mosaic-Puzzle/dp/B0033ZBRCO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1337871883&sr=1-1 (why oh why do I shop for birthday presents at the last minute? This would have been great for ds6. Ds4's birthday is today and ds6's is in two days, so we'll celebrate on the weekend. off to the store :auto:)

[Beth in SW WA]

FWIW, it's cheaper at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Hape-International-HP897537-Mosaic-Puzzle/dp/B0033ZBRCO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1337871883&sr=1-1 (why oh why do I shop for birthday presents at the last minute? This would have been great for ds6. Ds4's birthday is today and ds6's is in two days, so we'll celebrate on the weekend. off to the store :auto:)

 

Thanks! Dd7's bday is next month. This looks perfect. I'm also drooling over Zome.

:lurk5:

[rafiki]

.

[Runningmom80]

FWIW, it's cheaper at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Hape-International-HP897537-Mosaic-Puzzle/dp/B0033ZBRCO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1337871883&sr=1-1 (why oh why do I shop for birthday presents at the last minute? This would have been great for ds6. Ds4's birthday is today and ds6's is in two days, so we'll celebrate on the weekend. off to the store :auto:)

 

I pinned this one the other day. I'm going to order it on payday. :)

[Beth in SW WA]

 

Zometool's Stem Kit

 

 

Will you please share how you use this? Would you recommend it? What ages?

Thanks in advance! :)

[crazyforlatin]

FWIW, it's cheaper at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Hape-International-HP897537-Mosaic-Puzzle/dp/B0033ZBRCO/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1337871883&sr=1-1 (why oh why do I shop for birthday presents at the last minute? This would have been great for ds6. Ds4's birthday is today and ds6's is in two days, so we'll celebrate on the weekend. off to the store :auto:)

 

I know what you mean! Thanks for the link.

[crazyforlatin]

We have a bunch of living math books mentioned here, and the great thing is that I don't have to give them to DD - she'll read them on her own.

 

Pentomino Puzzle, mentioned already, is hard - much harder than Beast, and also using manipulatives that are 3D, rather than paper.

 

I was thinking of taking a break from our regular schedule, and exploring Lab Gear. I just bought the manipulatives, emailed the author for the middle school book and Lab Gear Activities, both free, and plan to just play around with Algeblocks and Lab Gear manipulatives for algebra. We are having a great time with HoE. I looked into math camps for the summer, but really, what can they provide that I can't to a first grader, right? :D. Seriously, I wonder what they do for K-3 kids that are accelerated, cuz I would like to replicate it. :tongue_smilie:

Edited May 24, 2012 by crazyforlatin
Oops, accidentally added an r to Beast

[Beth in SW WA]

This article is on today's Mindshift blog. Seems appropriate to share in light of this and many other math convos here of late. :)

How Do You Spark A Love Of Math In Kids?

 

I'm inspired by Rosie, Crewton, Rachna (Abi's online alg tutor), and others who have showed me how to make math even more fun for my girlies.

Edited May 25, 2012 by Beth in SW WA
typo

[Runningmom80]

This article is on today's Mindshift blog. Seems appropriate to share in light of this and many other math convos here of late. :)

How Do You Spark A Love Of Math In Kids?

 

I'm inspired by Rosie, Crewton, Rachna (Abi's online alg tutor), and others who have showed me how to make math even more fun for my girlies.

 

 

 

Thank you! We are in the midst of daily meltdowns with math, I needed this!

[crazyforlatin]

I have Zome Creator 1, and we just started to play with it. There are 65 different tetrahedra that we are supposed to construct! This is like taking Beast 3a to the next level to see if a child can actually apply those concepts to building.

 

I just looked at Zome Geometry at Homeschool Buyers Coop and the sample Geometry book. One of the co-authors is Henri Picciotto, the author of Lab Gear materials. The sample looks amazing! Phooey, I just a bunch of manipulatives for algebra, but this is exactly what I was looking for after our brief study of geometry in MM and Beast.

[FairProspects]

I have Zome Creator 1, and we just started to play with it. There are 65 different tetrahedra that we are supposed to construct! This is like taking Beast 3a to the next level to see if a child can actually apply those concepts to building.

 

I just looked at Zome Geometry at Homeschool Buyers Coop and the sample Geometry book. One of the co-authors is Henri Picciotto, the author of Lab Gear materials. The sample looks amazing! Phooey, I just a bunch of manipulatives for algebra, but this is exactly what I was looking for after our brief study of geometry in MM and Beast.

 

Ok, we definitely need Zome then because that is what ds tries to do with toothpicks and straws on his own!