Chrysalis Academy Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I know this will not be news to those of you using it but . . . Wow! Very challenging problems, even for my 5th grader who is using MM5 and LOF Fractions without trouble. One thing that makes it particularly challenging for her is that she is *not* a visuospatial learner - she is very strong with symbolic/verbal learning, and weaker with figural/spatial stuff. So this is an awesome challenge for her, and is really exercising a part of her brain that often goes unchallenged. I see why this works so well for those of you with VS learners. Again, well worth the investment even for a 5th grader - FWIW to those of you still on the fence. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Someone posted this game and I'm so glad we bought it. It sits at the table and nobody can walk by without trying it. Thanks to the person who recommended it (I can't remember!)!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) That book that Snickerdoodle linked is harder than Beast, hard for all the adults here. 3A was a lot of fun with a few enriched math problems. I responded to happycc's thread (was it yesterday or Monday?) about her daughter seeing that it's a 3rd grade book. It's an enriched 3rd grade math book, which means that there are some problems normally reserved for 4th and 5th graders. Honestly, 4 textbooks, 4 workbooks are not enough for a year, but we love our math problems. Rose, I didn't notice Dd's weaker visual-spatial skills until 3A, so I bought a bunch of ThinkFun games, along with that pentamino book. I've noticed improvement! Edited August 22, 2012 by crazyforlatin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Shamefully, there were several problems in the Perimeter and Area section that I couldn't solve. The answer section does a pretty good job of explaining how to get the answer, though. My son is a visual-spatial learner and this is the first math program he's been able to work through without alot of help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 That book that Snickerdoodle linked is harder than Beast, hard for all the adults here. Rose, I didn't notice Dd's weaker visual-spacial skills until 3A, so I bought a bunch of ThinkFun games, along with that pentamino book. I've noticed improvement! Thanks (both of you) for these suggestions; I'm really trying to use the test-derived (validated by experience) knowledge that she's weaker on the VS as a kick in the butt to actually *do* more figural, VS-type problems, to try to strengthen that skill. It's not my cuppa tea either, so I'd be prone to skip it if I weren't consciously trying to address it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Shamefully, there were several problems in the Perimeter and Area section that I couldn't solve. The answer section does a pretty good job of explaining how to get the answer, though. Hey, there's no shame in that! I can't solve a lot of the problems in BA. :lol: Or at least I give up and look up the answer instead of puzzling through the problem. :blushing: There is a silver lining, however, as I have noticed a direct correlation my kids seeing me look up the answer and them working with extreme diligence and determination to find the answer on their own. ;) After all, what's better than being smarter than mom? :D My son is a visual-spatial learner and this is the first math program he's been able to work through without alot of help. :iagree: Although I would substitute the word blinders for help. :lol: Other math programs have just not kept his attention the same way BA does. My mom bought the kids the pentomino set linked above and they love it. DS9 has had this tangram set since he was about 4 and has always had the easiest time with them (while I have continued to set a stellar example by looking up the answers :tongue_smilie:). I had an epiphany in another math thread today. DS9 is good at what's incredibly challenging because it holds his attention. Conversely, he is incredibly challenging when things are easy. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelsi Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Someone posted this game and I'm so glad we bought it. It sits at the table and nobody can walk by without trying it. Thanks to the person who recommended it (I can't remember!)!! Does that set come with everything? Or do you need something to go with it? That looks like something we would love here. As for BA, omg, yes! It's hard! Admittedly I am good at math, I was a math minor in college, I'm "science-y" however I am terrible at geometry. It never clicked with me. So I am finding the shapes section quite challenging for myself. As for my ds, who's in 3rd, he's finding it challenging as well. We have always used Math U See and only MUS and since it's a mastery program he has not been introduced to any geometry as of yet (and since I'm so awful at it myself I was never able to introduce any of it to him either). So this is quite the challenge for him as well although he often figures out the answers before I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Does that set come with everything? The game comes with everything. It will make you sweat. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 The game comes with everything. It will make you sweat. :D And, the pentominoes are huge, good for little kids to hold and move around. As a side note, Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer, uses pentominoes to solve a mystery. You have to find the shapes in the illustrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 FWIW, I should also say how much "discovery learning" has been involved in the first few lessons of the MM 5B Geometry chapter. I don't usually associate MM with a discovery learning approach, but the fact that she has them doing a lot of drawing figures, and discovering their properties thereby - I am impressed. I never loved Geometry, so kinda dreaded teaching it, but Miss P is loving it (despite not beeing a "natural" VS kinda girl). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Someone posted this game and I'm so glad we bought it. It sits at the table and nobody can walk by without trying it. Thanks to the person who recommended it (I can't remember!)!! Thanks! Just added to my never ending wish list. Does the wish list ever end? ;) (Shelsi, every time you post I want waffles) I have a few tangram sets that I pull out every now and then. I'm hoping to buy BA soon. As soon as budget allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 this geometry stuff is.. I suffered greatly in geometry for high school ---ugh the proofs nailed me. My oldest son just flunked it in public hs. Don;t know how the other two teen girls will do. So now with this second set of kids I will have more geometry stuff lying around. Don;t want to make the second mistake twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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