Kids who need help...

[stephanie]

I was just wondering how many of you have to sit by or in the same area as your dc when they are working on math? I'm more so speaking about JR high kids who probably can work independently, but it would take them a good 7 hrs to finish their math. :tongue_smilie:

 

Also, when you're teaching from a textbook like Jacobs, for example, do you sit and explain the lesson and hang around for support? Or do you expect them to work independently? This year we are working on being more independent in our studies, but I also realize that they do need help. So where's the balance?

 

Ds13 does much better when I'm very close by while he's doing math. He gets waaaay off, lost in lah-lah land if I don't. Of course I know that lah lah land seems to be a hot spot for teenage boys...:tongue_smilie:

 

Im hoping for some ideas on how you foster independence without being practically chained to your child?:D

[AngieW in Texas]

I have to be in the same room with my 14yo and I have to check her work on each page before she moves on to the next one. My other kids were working on their own in their rooms by the time they were in 4th grade, but my youngest is dyslexic and even though she is reading at grade level now, she needs more support.

 

OTOH, she is crazy about music and spends hours practicing guitar and banjo each week. That is all on her. All I do is drive her to and from her voice lesson and her guitar/banjo lesson each week.

[thebacabunch]

Math is a complex subject. It needs to be taught and supported.

[Alison in KY]

I teach the lesson and then we do some examples together. His attention to schoolwork is slowly improving. I have him redo missed problems with me usually by his side to discuss the problems.

[Kim C]

I go over the lessons with my son and stay nearby while he does the assigned problems. He does not stay focused if I leave the room.

 

Kim

[Serenade]

It seems like many kids have this issue. It's what we've been working on this year, too -- gaining independence as a middle schooler. Math is particularly troublesome here, even though my son is good at it, which makes it even more confusing to me. Anyhow, my kids work upstairs, and I'll often call out to my son and ask him which problem he's on. If he's on, say problem 3 (after an hour!!!), I'll say, "OK, I want you to finish up to problem 10 in 20 minutes or so." (I'll look on the clock and give him a specific time.) Then I'll follow up in 10 minutes to see if he's on task. After he finishes the 10 problems, I might have him switch to something else for a half hour or so, and then back to math, and a specific time for a specific number of problems. This allows me to be not quite on top of him and get some other stuff done, too. I'm hoping eventually I won't have to check-in with him at all, but for now he seems to work better in small chunks, rather than giving him a longer block of time to complete the whole math assignment.

[Heather in WI]

My oldest son did Saxon Math 5/4 through Saxon Algebra 1/2 pretty much on his own (and did well). We switched this year from Saxon, so I've been sitting down next to him and reading through the lessons with him, going over the oral drill, and then expecting him to do the homework on his own in the appropriate amount of time. I expect him to stay on task even if I leave the room (which happens a lot with a two year old!!! :) )

 

I really, really enjoyed Susan Wise Bauer's Teaching Students to Work Independently talk. I thought it was very practical and helpful. :)

[elegantlion]

I think math opens some random comment generator in the brain. I'm always amazed what ds is thinking and talking about while he's supposed to be doing math. This is really the first year I can give him more independence with math.

[Robin M]

My kiddo seems to learn so much better when I read things out loud to him and he reads alongside me. Have been trying to wean him to totally reading and comprehending by himself. Maybe its just his learning style. He tries to do math independently but he makes mistakes because he tries to go to fast and doesn't read it correctly. So I sit beside him and make sure he not only gets it done, but correctly as well. He does quite a bit independently then we go over all of it together. So may as well sit with him while working just to save time.

[foxbridgeacademy]

DS, 6th grade, also does better if I'm nearby. So he works at the Kitchen table while I clean the kitchen. Sometimes he works on the couch while I fold laundry, sweep, help sister, surf the net.... He really only needs this with Math.

[dbmamaz]

My older came out of public school with a lot of math anxiety. i sat with him the whole time for the first 2 years and half of the 3rd year of homeschooling (so all of grades 8 and 9 and part of 10th). But most of last year, i read the textbook part to him, had him talk me through the sample problems to make sure he understood what was happening, and then i'm just available if he's stuck. I expect him to look up the answers in the back, and self-correct, and only call me if he cant figure out what he did wrong on his own.

 

My younger can do some kinds of math independently and some not - but the stuff he does independently i dont think is as good quality learning, so i put in the time

[stephanie]

So glad to hear it can be the norm. I will feel more at ease from now on when we do math. I dont know why but Ive been feeling such a pressure to have the dc work independently? :confused: I think it was going to homeschool convention that got me thinking in this way. I just need to find balance in it.

[HecticMama]

My 11 yr old also goes into lala land when doing math. We usually go over the lesson, and then she works independently. However, unless I keep an eye on her, she will zone out and nothing gets done. It's only in math though. I can usually get her to finish everything else pretty quickly. She tells me it's boring.

[Finnella]

After our first year homeschooling, I read an ebook. I believe it was called "Full Contact Math" about a homeschooling mom who was a math major and still had trouble getting math done.

 

Her answer is to spend more time with your kids while doing math. So I tried it and math's gone much better. Plus I've learned some things. We use MUS; we watch the video together; then he does the work while I'm hanging around. Occasionally he has a question, but usually I'm just in the room.

 

It's helped.