Birdwinglips Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Am I missing something? I purchased the light blue cd rom series of MM to supplement our MUS, and I usually print out the pages as we go. I read all the raves about the MM program, but really feel there is little to no instruction. I often pull from my own math knowledge to teach, but wonder how this will work as they progress. I am wondering, am I missing a component to this program?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 The instructions are in there. There is a full page of examples and instructions for every lesson and a list of supplemental links for every chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdwinglips Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 I guess what I mean is there more for the teacher? I know the instructions are there, but sometimes I feel they are not very thorough. I was just wondering if maybe there was something more for teacher instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 nope, no lesson plans provided. One reason it didn't work for us was there was no teaching time prior to having the child work through the problems... we switched to R&S and couldn't be happier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Are you watching her videos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfernandez Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I think that's the beauty of it! Independent learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Which level are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 My DS really enjoys MM (much more than MEP), because he doesn't have to listen to me drivel on about something. He's "only" in K (doing MM1a), and a brand new reader, but he'd much rather read his math instructions and do them himself. I sit with him to make sure he understands what he is reading and is doing the problems correctly, but if I try to speak up to help him read the instructions before he has a chance he shushes me. ;) The only thing that he allows me to work on together with him is the word problems, and to play the games. I actually find this to be helpful to me as an indicator of his reading comprehension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 nope, no lesson plans provided. One reason it didn't work for us was there was no teaching time prior to having the child work through the problems... we switched to R&S and couldn't be happier I have to :iagree: with this one...We are also switching to R&S math...My boys need more instruction before doing the problems...They were fine at first, but as it progressed, it got too difficult for them without me making up a lesson before hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 The idea is that the slow, incremental nature of the problems (along with the explanations in the text and the supplemental things) is the basis for instruction. I find doing it alongside ds is what really works for us. I do one and talk out my method, then he does one, and so forth. We don't do that for every page, but we do it often and MM has ample problems to make that work usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 At what grade did it begin to be not enough? We are only through MM2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 The amount of instruction in MM seems about right to me. My 7 y.o. dd barely tolerates me reading through the instruction with her and doesn't like to discuss it, but then she is rather mathy and has a very "cut-to-the-chase" perspective on this subject. I feel like the teaching notes are so succinct and spot-on that not much else is needed (although, as previous posters have mentioned, more is available via the videos, and additional resources are suggested at the beginning of each chapter). Obviously, every child is different, so some students may need/want more instruction before being turned loose with the concepts. FYI, we're currently using 3B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpdragon Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 My dd is just finishing 4B and hasn't had any complaints about the amount of instruction. It really is incremental. The child is taken through each new concept step by step. It works for us because it allows her to work on her own with minimal input from me. I double check that she has the concept, but that is about all. I would say that the child would have to like learning on their own though. There is very little "teaching" time involved. I have the MM books up to grade 6 and I would say they are all laid out the same. There isn't more instructions because there doesn't need to be. It is a very streamlined approach - but one that works for both of us. It can be challenging to find a math program with a style that suites both the parent and the child :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shell0830 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 My math-hesitant 3rd grader completed 3a/b this year and we both loved the "teaching directly to student" format. We started each day with going over the instructions together and then I would watch to make sure the first couple were correctly solved and then I would have her practice more on her own (we did a pace of 2-3 pages a day). I like the cumulative reviews and tests. For us, after trying Saxon, Singapore, and k12, we have finally found our match. For 4th grade, I am planning on her doing it completely independently and just coming to me when she needs help. And that is beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 We are using MM topics (the ones that fall in line with 5th/6th grade). Most of the time I do some supplemental instruction on our white board and we have used Maria's videos. The problems are the reason that I love,love,love MM. Their sequential nature is instructive, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 We used 1A-4B and never had any trouble with the instructions. I felt like it taught the concepts very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Wizards Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 We used 1A-4B and never had any trouble with the instructions. I felt like it taught the concepts very well. :iagree: We've used levels 1,3,4, & 5 (will be using 2 and 6 now) and I find the instructions to be thorough and complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdwinglips Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 Thanks everyone for your input. I am not a 'math' person, which is why we chose MUS to begin with (still using it). I chose MM to supplement, since I was worried about gaps. I guess I was thinking that more instruction was needed because I needed it. lol They have been doing fine with it, but there are times I felt the intro was a bit too vague or needed more instruction or they were frustrated because they didn't understand what it was teaching. We will continue with both this coming year, but I will look into the videos someone on here mentioned. Thank you all again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Do you do every lesson? Each lesson builds on another, so if you skip around i could see how it wouldn't seem to explain things well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 It's so incremental that it works very well with little instruction. I'm using a couple of MM units for the part that dd has a lot of trouble with. The incremental and clean (non-distracting) approach is really working well for her problem area, although I don't know if it would work for her long-term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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