Favorite math program for your kiddo that learned "differently"

[momsuz123]

I have been looking at Teaching Textbooks lately, and am intrigued. I do have MOTL and love it, albeit a lot of work on my end. But, now that my kiddo is enrolled in a charter school, and they are paying for the curriculum, there is this part of me saying, what else is out there that might ignite something in my kiddo.

 

I do know that TT has gotten a "bad rap" from several on the WTM. But then I see how many have said it was great for their kids. I would do it with her, and supplement with my MOTL 5 a days. I like it that it would help ME show my dd different ways to figure out a problem.

 

To be honest, my kiddo has to work so hard on reading, spelling, and writing - which is all coming from the teacher-ME. That maybe, having her do some math with me not being quite so center stage might be a good thing. Hope that makes sense.

 

What math programs have worked for your kiddo?

Thanks.

[chiguirre]

For us, the best have been MUS and Semple Math, which is a special needs specific curriculum. We've never tried TT, but Geezle really needs me to sit next to him all the time to maintain focus, so I'd rather not used a computer based program.

[Tiramisu]

I really like MUS, even though I really don't have that much experience with  it. It think it's format is great for those with visual processing issues. Nice and clean with lots of white space. Focus on individual topics. Consistent review without overkill. Web-generated worksheets if extra practice is needed on a concept.

 

TT worked well here, too, but MUS might be a bit better depending on the learning style.

[Heathermomster]

We use MUS...

[PeterPan]

I'm not sure TT is going to show you different ways to solve a problem.  It's benefits are spiral, short lessons, and that it weaves in history and humor that some narrative learners enjoy.  It's on the light side and you're already doing a non-traditional program.  Honestly I know nothing about MOTL (other than the name) to know how it would be complemented by TT.  TT will be just like the *extensive* samples on their website, and they have a great return policy.  So if the samples look like they're meeting your goals, then just try it.  Yes, it has been good here.  No I can't say if it would be good for you.  I may use it with my ds, but it would be in conjunction with something pretty traditional, so I know his test scores will be good.

[prissygirls]

TT did not work here. It got to hard too quickly. The number of problems was also an issue here. 

[momsuz123]

TT did not work here. It got to hard too quickly. The number of problems was also an issue here.

What did work then? I am open to all ideas. :)

[PeterPan]

If TT gets too hard too quickly, you may be over-placed.

[VinNY]

 

To be honest, my kiddo has to work so hard on reading, spelling, and writing - which is all coming from the teacher-ME. That maybe, having her do some math with me not being quite so center stage might be a good thing. Hope that makes sense.

 

What math programs have worked for your kiddo?

Thanks.

CLE Math works well here with my struggling learner. Not as teacher intensive. Lots of repetition and visuals. 

[Mom22ns]

MUS.

[SadieMarie]

Life of Fred made math something to NOT hate at our house.

[Ariston]

I agree to look into LOF and also Miquon...its more self-directed so you'd be able to take a step back.

[prissygirls]

Well have not found it yet. I am going to give Life of Fred a try in the fall. I also bought Math Mammoth and a something called "I love hands-on Math" . Hands- on math looks promising for her. I am using a grade level lower than she is in just to boost her self- esteem about it.

 

 

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/I+Love+Hands-On+Math+Grade+3+Student+Ed/044737/ccbc91f63976d4d53661cef6?subject=10&category=8321

[Persephone]

Life of Fred did not work for/interest my dd.   We went through 2 or 3 of the elementary books.  I very much wanted her to like it and learn from it, because there is a lot beyond math in the books, but alas....   By the way, I can't imagine LOF being a primary curriculum.  

We have liked Math Mammoth (I afterschool) and Singapore (Primary) Math.  A supplemental program for (primarily) grades 3 and up is the "Key to" series:  Key to Fractions, Key to Decimals, Key to Percents, etc.  I this the series is fabulous for helping students master these subjects.

 

[Mariadelourdes]

I'm very new to the group, so let me introduce myself briefly. I have a 9 y.o. son with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), SPD/dyspraxia and Visual Processing Disorder (VPD). We did homeschool for K. He attended public school for 1st and most of 2d grade. He's also a very strong visual-spatial learner. 

 

I have decided to work in closing his gaps in math. He's pretty much in 3rd grade level for every other subject. I'll be doing TT for my neuro-typical 6th grader but TT starts in 3d grade and my son is not there yet. 

 

I plan on using worksheets and games from www.enchantedlearning.com and from other sources. He will have to be exposed piece-meal because his resistance to math is monumental. :(  

He did Time4Learning (an online curriculum) for a few months last semester (after I pulled him out of public school). He liked it but some of the characters spoke very fast and the sound quality wasn't as good which caused some problems due to his APD. 

I will be doing Times Tales for some multiplication this year. We just explored their website and he did the free trial successfully, so I know that user interface is good for him (visually and auditorily).

 

A few questions for you: How old is your daughter? What is her learning style? Visual-spatial, kinesthetic, or auditory-sequential? Is she at grade level or has some gaps? Once you know your child's learning style, then you can determine the best alternatives. I belong to a FB group - http://www.theeducationalfreedomcoalition.org/2013/04/who-is-not-aligned.html - that developed a fantastic database (that you can sort by subject). The master list includes curricula that's independent of Common Core Standards as well as some that are aligned and/or correlated.  Hope this opens the door to evaluating other math programs better suited for your child. 

Good luck!

Maria

[DarcyM]

We did Horizons for math because it's cyclical enough that it will repeat the material again (and again and again and again and... ) which is great for when he had an off day. He is the kid who will fly through material like it's nothing, ace it like a whiz, then the next day stare at the same problems like he has never seen such a thing in his life.

 

We are switching to Singapore this year. Basically, the sheer number of problems in Horizons became an issue. Math was taking either 15 min on a good day or 4 hours on a bad day. It has been very effective as far as progress. He is great at math when he is on. I don't know how Singapore will go for him. I used it successfully with my older boys; I just believe that focusing hard on 15-20 problems rather than 40-50 may be what he needs at this time.

 

I like Horizons for a kid who needs to revisit material over and over. If you have that kind of learner, it's fantastic. But if your child has attention in 5 minute doses, you will need to either break up the amount of work or find something else. I can always report back on how Singapore goes. I've got my fingers crossed.

[bluedarling]

Math-U-See worked marvelously here.  

[PandaMom]

We did Horizons for math because it's cyclical enough that it will repeat the material again (and again and again and again and... ) which is great for when he had an off day. He is the kid who will fly through material like it's nothing, ace it like a whiz, then the next day stare at the same problems like he has never seen such a thing in his life.

 

 

Sounds like my DD. I tried so hard to get Singapore math to work with DD.  I finally had to stop the madness and realize that it wasn't working.  I went with Horizon's and haven't regretted it one bit.  She loves math now and begs to do it everyday.  She is actually mastering the concepts.  We do have an off day ocassionally with her cognitive delays but Horizon's helps with that because it does repeat.

 

Susie

DD(8)

[One of each]

Math U See is working well here.

[SunshineMom]

Saxon Math, Timez Attack, DreamBox and Dragon Box12

[OneStepAtATime]

We have tried many, many different systems.  Math U See did not work for us, but it is a great program.  Works better if you start it with younger kids, though, I think.  The kids had a hard time with the format, but my daughter, especially, was already going into middle school when we decided to homeschool (after finally getting an accurate diagnosis of dyslexia in 5th grade) and switching to something so different frustrated her.

 

Both of my kids are dyslexic and need a LOT of assistance with most of their school work.  It was demoralizing to them both.  They wanted some independence.  To that end, this year we started doing Teaching Textbooks  and they both loved that they could log on independently and do SOMETHING without me.  However, I am also doing Math on the Level and Math Mammoth with them.  I interweave those in to provide scaffolding since I already owned them and the kids need a lot of different approaches to really "get" a concept.

 

Two summers ago, the kids were also enrolled in a dyslexia summer program at Groves Academy in MN.  It is a great school but we don't live there so that one summer has been our only experience.  There was a fantastic math teacher there that had some very useful approaches to math.  For instance, my daughter not only CANNOT memorize her multiplication tables, she was unable to line up her numbers to multiply multi-digit numbers with any accuracy.  The math specialist recommended using the Lattice method or the grid method for multi-digit multiplication.  I was able to find references on the internet that helped me reinforce the methods that the teacher had taught her.   Laura how to do those things and finally she is able to do multi-digit multiplication, as long as she is provided a multiplication grid. It gave her a lot of confidence and Laura decided that she likes math after being shown that there are MANY ways to approach math.

 

By the way, there is a small percentage of the population that are dyscalculic (cannnot efficiently process basic math concepts, in some instances including elapsed time, money and calendars, as well as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). However, many of these same individuals can process higher maths, as long as scaffolding is provided for the basic maths.  It is believed that my daughter has this issue, but not my son.  I was told to continue teaching basic math concepts to her, but not to prevent her from moving forward in math if she still cannot memorize basic maths, since higher maths may still be quite possible for her to do.  Interestingly, they think Einstein may have had this issue, too.

 

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of research being done on dyscalculia in America, and it is virtually unheard of in our schools (therefore no effective remediation).  The British have made more inroads in this area.