Math suggestion for number-loving 5 1/2 year old

[wonderfilled]

I have a 5 year old boy that loves numbers. He is always counting. He knows how to read numbers up to the trillions. He was very interested so I showed him how. He can count by 5's and 10's and will play with a calculator for hours. He has no problem telling me that if something costs 2,000, if you had 6,000, you could buy three. He is always volunteering this kind of information. I am really wondering what to use for math this coming year. He does not write well at all. He's learning to read and doing quite well. I am doing Heart of Dakota Little Hands with him. I considered the Singapore Math Essentials K, but I'm afraid it would be too easy. I'm sure he could learn something, and he might enjoy it, but he does know most of the concepts. I also considered Singapore 1st grade, but I think there is too much writing in it. He doesn't know how to form most of his numbers yet. I've worked on him some and am planning on really focusing on fine motor skills this coming year. I don't know how long it will take, but writing is not his strong point. I've also considered not doing math at all and just doing the math activities in Little Hands that would benefit him. I have never done Kindergarten math with my three other boys and they were just fine. Any ideas?

[Kerileanne99]

Lots of math programs for little ones that have the interest and the ability but are not writing well (or at all yet!)

I really like RightStart in the beginning, and a fantastic supplement called GiggleLearn that is only game based:

http://www.gigglelearn.com/

But! Any math program that you ultimately choose can be adapted (as in starting with 1st grade level even)with a bit of thought and creativity. We used number stamps so that my dd could focus on the math rather than getting frustrated with the writing...

Writing can then be done separately, which I loved. Without that, I think that her frustration/ perfectionist tendencies in the writing area would have bled stifled her love of anything number/ math related.

 

Edit: is he comfortable with time and money yet?

[bakpak]

I don't have direct experience, but I can summarize what I've read on these forums. I have read countless posts where the parent scribes for their child. Seems this type of developmental asynchronisity is very common, especially for boys, and especially for math/writing. This might last for years, then their writing ability eventually catches up to their math & reading abilities. I'd recommend you start at the math level where he is being challenged and having fun. You'll figure out the writing. You can choose a program that predominantly uses manipulatives or something like stamps as the PP recommended. Or you can just do it all with him on a chalkboard. Based on what I've read, it sounds like you're on the right track with the SM 1st grade or Rightstart. Good luck and have fun with your mathy son! :)

[wonderfilled]

Thanks ladies, I guess I was worrying a bit because I've been evading writing in his reading: letting him circle, draw lines, cutting out letters and letting him glue them, using letter tiles for spelling. I didn't want to do the same in math, but if you think it's okay I think he might enjoy Singapore 1st grade. And maybe he will just make a leap in his writing over the next couple months and there will be nothing to worry about. :001_smile: I like the stamp idea for math. :001_smile: I think he has a pretty good start with money. I've been giving money for various school subjects to the boys and then letting them buy Kindle books or audio books when they have enough, so he's catching on. (Win, win situation for me- more motivation to get good grades, and more books that I wanted for them anyway. :001_smile: ) As for clocks, no not really, but he was just asking me the other day how I know the time by looking at my watch so I'm sure he'd enjoy learning.

[Walking-Iris]

Another idea is to look into hands-on Montessori math materials for lower elementary. They get into advanced concepts fast for little ones and you wouldn't have to worry about writing. I made bead bars from pony beads and a friend quilted a checkerboard mat. We do these activities with it.

There's also the geometry cabinet and binomial cube and so on. Those Mont materials for math are great and may help him explore advanced math in a playful way. I would then use HWOT and the SM Essentials books to work on the motor skills of writing. I wouldn't necessarily try to use an advanced math workbook along with working on handwriting. Let him be successful at the math part and focus his energy on the writing part.

[boscopup]

I'd just do a first grade program and scribe for him. You won't be scribing forever. As he learns his numbers, have him write one or two answers, then you scribe the rest. Gradually increase his writing until he's doing it all himself (it does not have to be his K year).

 

I did Singapore 1 with my K'er this year, and it went very well. He is able to write numbers, but sometimes gets silly doing so, so we often took turns doing the writing, or I'd scribe most of it and have him write a little bit.

[momof4monkeys]

I think your son would enjoy Rightstart level B. Few worksheets and lots of fun games. My almost 6 year old son begs to do his math lessons, it's not only fun for him but he understands the work. Where we are in the book he is learnong to add 4 digit numbers with hands on materials. Rightstart level A gave him a strong foundation for telling time, level B also covers telling time.

 

I hope you and your son find something that works for both of you!!

[Guest Beznoska]

There are many funny math games for 5 year old kids, such as this one or even websites full of interesting games for math lovers. On the other hand it may not be a good idea for a 5 year old kid to spend too much time in front of a computer. So if I were you I would also try some math books with basic math operations (e.g. adding, subtracting, etc.) as a valuable addition to games. It may also be a good idea to teach him how to count birds, flowers or trees while going for a walk, etc. Hope it helps a bit.

[Staceyshoe]

Singapore Math with the Challenging Word Problems and Intensive Practice books is great for mathy kids. I would start him with grade 1 using these and see what happens. My oldest hated writing when he was younger, so I wrote numbers on paper, laminated them, and spread them on the floor. We used the Singapore books orally, and he "jumped" onto the correct answer. If you don't mind computer time, Khan Academy might be nice as well. It allowed my son to explore higher level concepts without it affecting the curriculum I chose.

 

Just be forewarned: Young mathy kids can make some pretty big leaps in learning concepts early on. When you find the "perfect" fit, it may not be a fit for long. I think their learning curve becomes more predictable when they are a few years older.

[Tanikit]

Like others have said - if you scribe for him you can use any curriculum you like. My DD(5.5) started with SM1a at 4.5 years old - I have scribed for her a lot of the time, though more recently she is starting to ask to write some of the answers. As she gets older I start expecting more writing out of her, but it also depends on the day and whether the math is more revision or a new concept.

 

Like Staceyshoe said you may find your child moves ahead very quickly - don't hold him back based on his writing or his age as children sometimes grow to hate math if it is boring and terribly repetitive.

[IMustBeCrazy]

My kindergarten son is the same way (except that he also loves to write). I'm using Singapore with his older siblings and the lowest level I have is 1B. I started him with that no problem. He gets a little tired out of the writing, though, so I don't push it. Oral answers are just fine.

[Clear Creek]

I started using MUS Alpha with my son at that age. Very few problems on the page (so it doesn't look overwhelming), lots of space to write the numbers (in case they come out quite large, lol), and it provides a very good mathematical foundation. When I started my son on it he could only write the number 1 (lol) so I printed off a free handwriting sheet so he could practice writing the other numbers, and I let him keep it by his math book so he could refer back to it if he forgot.

[k8c]

We used MUS Primer when my DD (now 5) was 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 and like the previous poster said, the pages are set up so they are not overwhelming, and they get a good amount of practice writing numbers (not too much so that they get frustrated). However, about halfway through Primer I discovered my DD had blown way past where the program was and we had to make a change (like someone else mentioned might happen). We started Singapore 1A a few weeks ago, and will do 1B and 2A (at least) this next year, our official "K" year. We are also going to do Life of Fred, which is more read-aloud and discuss (though there is the option to have them write the problem answers).

 

If you go with Singapore, I would let him write the answer to the first few problems and then you can write the rest, until he wants to do more. Also, make sure you do the "textbook" totally orally, so that he doesn't feel that the demands for writing make it not worthwhile to do math. Same with the "mental math." However, one thing I have discovered has helped give my DD confidence is I always have the numbers 0-9 printed large on the whiteboard where she can see them, so if she has a moment where she doesn't remember, she can just look up. Also, we created a chant that goes "2, 3, 7 - to the right! to the right! 5, 6, 9 - to the left! to the left!" which helps her remember which direction to start the number, and that helps too.

[jennynd]

DD used Miquon for 1st grade material. She really enjoy it. She is the type that likes hand on stuff and miquon really meet her need. we then used SM 2A/2B text/workbook and only occasionally IP and CWP simply because she is young, I don't think she is quite ready. She starts 3A now and we now use both workbook and IP now.

Miquon does not require a lot hand writing, for SM, I let DD answer orally if not involved multi-digit calculation. And I do sometime write for her. She tell me step by step what she want me to write and I write it for her.

[Jackie]

We chose RightStart for DD specifically because it uses so little writing. It teaches using manipulatives and games and focuses primarily on mental math.