Let's talk math

[Dobela]

We began with MUS and liked it, but then ds tired of the same thing every day for weeks on end. So I went to R&S and he liked it and was doing well but wanted more color (so did I frankly) so we switched to BJU after he finished VT. That was 2nd grade level. This year ds was in the 4th grade book for BJU and just struggled. It didn't have enough practice on old skills and he would have to be retaught.

 

DS is now 12. We need new math for next year. If we go back to MUS he would be in Gamma because we have only made it thru single digit multiplication and no division. But I was wondering what else was available that I need to consider. Honestly, the biggest attraction to me at this point is the lack of grade level on MUS. I was looking at Teaching Textbooks, but I wonder if that big 4 on the cover would damage his self image even more.

 

Any ideas?

[fiddle]

It's always to tough to figure out what works best for our children!

 

Have you looked at:

Moving With Math (might be good b/c you can either get the "level" OR go by targeted subject & I've heard great things about this one-it is very hands on like MUS)

Right Start

Maybe supplement with Right Start math games or take a look at Peggy Kay book on math games?

Also, my daughter is having a really fun time this summer with Life of Fred and she doesn't even complain about math (for now). We also use MUS as our core program.

 

Best of luck :)

Paula

[PrincessAriel]

nt

[Dobela]

Thanks for the input. Peggy, I like that you are supplementing with LOF. That may be more of what I need to do. I think that by combining the 2 I can get the variety we both want and need while cementing the other skills. It isn't very expensive so that helps as well. Hmmm.... more thinking time needed ;)

[PeterPan]

Couple things. One, BJU really has to be done with all their extras to get enough practice in. Even then, my dd's computation didn't take the leap that she has taken this year with TT. Chalk that up to anything you want, but TT and it's gentle spiral has actually done wonders for my dd on that. (We did several years of BJU.)

 

As far as the grade thing and TT, I'm not sure it's going to matter. He doesn't need to use the book at all. It may be printed on the cds, and the cds have to be in the computer for it to work.

 

TT has insane resale value. If you think it's what you want, just get it and sell it off if you decide it's a no-go. You're not going to lose a ton.

[1shortmomto4]

No expert here for sure and I have struggled finding the right place for my ds (12) who has severe dyslexia/dysgraphia. I have used both the TT and BJU over the years with this particular child and after watching him work through state-required testing (CAT-E) I could see where his strengths and weaknesses were and perhaps what I was missing from the picture. BJU is spiral - so the kids get a bit of a new skill each day and then the next day new skill added on. Not sure if you are using the new 3rd editions because those provided review pages both on the CD and a set of review questions at the end of each chapter and was scheduled each day - so the review is there from previous chapters but it comes back to the method of the lessons themselves - spiral versus mastery. TT is more spiral than BJU so if your child needs more review then TT may not be the best option. I would really talk with your son and show him some samples of possible options.

 

My ds was okay with BJU but what he didn't like was the lack of writing space and in Grade 6 (I use a grade behind and have always planned on skipping the Fundamentals/Math 7 level) it switches to copying the problems yourself! Yeah, I know, I can do that for him but I've got 3 other kids with varying needs (one head off to CC with a hearing disability and I'm not sure how much support I'll need to be to get him acclimated) so I was looking at options. I realized that my son needs more mastery rather than more topics - all the different topics has caused him the inability to really master any of the basics well because there is always something new being introduced. They barely get one thing down and boom, something new the next day and with kids that struggle - handing them more problems each day is the fastest way to have them shut down on you, right?

 

Yesterday my ds watched the sample for Epsilon on MUS (I think that is the fractions one) and he was like wow! that made more sense. (Now mind you, with BJU we had recently finished up the last of the fraction lessons and he could hardly remember the process). He also liked all the white space on the paper so that is a definite plus. I'm torn between stepping back to the fractions level or teach more fractions over the rest of the summer and starting the last level before PreAlgebra.

 

Bottom line lesson for me was - he needed a mastery program which is the one thing we had not been doing in math -- but in all his other subjects. This is why for once his grammar lessons stuck because we worked with FLL this year and you worked those skills all year and he retained it. I needed to do the same for math. One thing I did institute last year was a fun math day and we worked through the Mathtacular 4 word problem program (have not completed it - will do so this year but it is geared for more middle school range) and this year we'll do the SCM Own your Own Business program on the off day to practice skills in a more fun way (as in they don't notice it is a review :-)

[ShelleyW]

I had the same problem with my 10 yo dd. We got stuck in Gamma b/c she was really struggling w/multiplication so we went to Math Mammoth for a while but she hated it. Dd balked at going back to Gamma this year (b/c she remembered it from last year and felt she would be behind) so I bought her Kumon Math workbooks that focus on only 1 thing. We made it through multiple digit multiplication and single digit division. They do have grade levels on them but I told her they do things in a different order than other programs and she was satisfied. Math Mammoth has single concept workbooks that do not have grade levels on them. They are super cheap and self-teaching (if you want them to be). There is a lot of repetition in each book so we found ourselves skipping quite a bit b/c my dd does not like too much repetition once she understands a concept.

 

My dd is dyslexic/dysgraphic and she gets easily overwhelmed w/too much on a page so now, I am just giving her 4-6 problems a day of whatever we are working on and leaving it at that. We are both much happier. I am continuing with the Kumon wkbks this fall just b/c I like their simplicity. We will finish long division and then go onto fractions. I have been copying the problems onto a piece of paper or on a white board and letting her go from there. I would love to have her do LOF Fractions b/c it is entertaining and really explains the concepts well rather than just looking for mass production of a certain type of math problem but I doubt she will appreciate Fred as I do. :) If she doesn't, I will probably consider the Key to.... series for fractions and up. It is very short and to the point. No color or anything but really allows the child to focus on one thing at time which can help kids who struggle in math. It is cheap and has no grade levels either.

 

I am a firm believer in the MUS concept of focusing on one concept at a time expecially for SN kids. Even if I don't continue w/MUS for this dd, I will allow her to focus on only 1 skill at a time. She does so much better in math this way.

[Dobela]

Couple things. One, BJU really has to be done with all their extras to get enough practice in. Even then, my dd's computation didn't take the leap that she has taken this year with TT. Chalk that up to anything you want, but TT and it's gentle spiral has actually done wonders for my dd on that. (We did several years of BJU.)

 

As far as the grade thing and TT, I'm not sure it's going to matter. He doesn't need to use the book at all. It may be printed on the cds, and the cds have to be in the computer for it to work.

 

TT has insane resale value. If you think it's what you want, just get it and sell it off if you decide it's a no-go. You're not going to lose a ton.

We were doing all the extras, plus I was printing out pages from MUS as review but it still wasn't sticking. It wasn't the newest edition however as we were watching the DVDs with it as well. I will have him look at TT tonight to get his opinion.

No expert here for sure and I have struggled finding the right place for my ds (12) who has severe dyslexia/dysgraphia. I have used both the TT and BJU over the years with this particular child and after watching him work through state-required testing (CAT-E) I could see where his strengths and weaknesses were and perhaps what I was missing from the picture. BJU is spiral - so the kids get a bit of a new skill each day and then the next day new skill added on. Not sure if you are using the new 3rd editions because those provided review pages both on the CD and a set of review questions at the end of each chapter and was scheduled each day - so the review is there from previous chapters but it comes back to the method of the lessons themselves - spiral versus mastery. TT is more spiral than BJU so if your child needs more review then TT may not be the best option. I would really talk with your son and show him some samples of possible options.

 

My ds was okay with BJU but what he didn't like was the lack of writing space and in Grade 6 (I use a grade behind and have always planned on skipping the Fundamentals/Math 7 level) it switches to copying the problems yourself! Yeah, I know, I can do that for him but I've got 3 other kids with varying needs (one head off to CC with a hearing disability and I'm not sure how much support I'll need to be to get him acclimated) so I was looking at options. I realized that my son needs more mastery rather than more topics - all the different topics has caused him the inability to really master any of the basics well because there is always something new being introduced. They barely get one thing down and boom, something new the next day and with kids that struggle - handing them more problems each day is the fastest way to have them shut down on you, right?

 

Yesterday my ds watched the sample for Epsilon on MUS (I think that is the fractions one) and he was like wow! that made more sense. (Now mind you, with BJU we had recently finished up the last of the fraction lessons and he could hardly remember the process). He also liked all the white space on the paper so that is a definite plus. I'm torn between stepping back to the fractions level or teach more fractions over the rest of the summer and starting the last level before PreAlgebra.

 

Bottom line lesson for me was - he needed a mastery program which is the one thing we had not been doing in math -- but in all his other subjects. This is why for once his grammar lessons stuck because we worked with FLL this year and you worked those skills all year and he retained it. I needed to do the same for math. One thing I did institute last year was a fun math day and we worked through the Mathtacular 4 word problem program (have not completed it - will do so this year but it is geared for more middle school range) and this year we'll do the SCM Own your Own Business program on the off day to practice skills in a more fun way (as in they don't notice it is a review :-)

I think what I have in bold may be the biggest problem. The reason MUS and Rod and Staff worked for him in the past was that mastery was required before moving on. And when it moved, it moved slowly. BJU would jump to a different skill at every chapter meaning he had to switch gears completely. It may not be that he didn't have enough practice but rather that he never mastered it, never understood it enough to move forward. Or that he was able to be a lucky guesser until it was too late.

 

Thanks for the extra perspectives!

[PeterPan]

If you think mastery is the issue, then I would lean toward MUS like the other poster is saying. TT really sucks on the mastery end (personal opinion). It doesn't do much practice initially because it figures they'll get it over time. If you want to camp a while on something, TT is not what you need.