I need math help!

[greenbabybottoms]

My daughter will be 7 in october she is in 1st grade and I am struggling with math. I don't even really think its math but just numbers in general. She struggles with number recognition, counting by 2s and 5s, Identifying many numbers (11, 12, 13, 15, then several others) we have been working on identifying and remembering numbers up to 100 for over a year now. She will get it then the next day it's gone again. Some days it doesn't even take a day but I can tell her what something is and then 2 minutes later she's telling me she "forgot" again. It is driving me insane, I know she hates math and is getting frustrated. She has memorized her addition and subtraction facts up to 10, gets greater than and less than, seems to understand place value but it's just the actual numbers she can't remember. Reading, spelling, etc she breezes through but we are struggling with this.

 

Any suggestions in programs? We have done a lot of number charts and it just doesn't stick with her. And we use Singapore math this year and did Mcruffy last year.

[Heartsjoy]

Hmmm? I'm brainstorming here. Is she a more verbal learner? In general you want to separate out a weak skill and work on it separately in small frequent increments while continuing to move forward conceptually in the math. This could be done in several ways. Counting by 2's and 5's. First step ( she may already have this) build it ( with rods build all of the numbers in the series) and say it( 2,4,6,8,10...). Second step -Build it, say it, and draw it ( draw the rods in color) on a paper folded into as many squares as you want her to cover. third step Build it, say it, draw it, and write it (print dotted traceable numbers 4-6 of them per square for her to trace with her pencil. 2,2,2,2,2,...) Fourth step (start removing the support) say it, write it ( give her the same divided paper with  some of the numbers missing) Let her build the set of numbers if she needs too. Fifth step write it on blank paper. Each step you would do or modify till she felt successful. Then do similar work on the next weak spot.  Don't skip writing the numbers. It hits the brain again on a different motor channel.

 

Continuing with Singapore. Make a cheat sheet with the number, rod picture, and the number word. Put it in a special folder where it takes some extra work to go get it if she needs it. The cheat sheet would not be used in the targeted practice above.

 

Just a side note- the teen numbers 11-19 are troublesome because of how they are named. Some programs even rename them  ten -one, ten -two, etc.  It would be fine to say them this way. And work on counting names separately just like we learn the alphabet names and sounds.

 

Hugs, Melody

Happy Dividing and Conquering.

[letsplaymath]

She's young. She has plenty of time. And math is MUCH more than just numbers. Therefore: Do something else---still math, but not numbers. Come back to numbers later, after the emotional baggage has had plenty of time to clear.

 

Look at these three blogs for lots of creative suggestions:

• The Map Is Not the Territory
• Moebius Noodles (scroll down past the mpsMOOC13 summer course posts)
• Love 2 Learn 2day

Or if you have trouble imagining how powerful math can be without numbers, get the Moebius Noodles book. The paperback price is very reasonable, or you can set your own price for the pdf.