What to do with bright kids who dislike "direct instruction"

[DesertBlossom]

I'm getting frustrated. I still know that homeschooling (for a month now!) has been the right choice and I'm learning, but I'm frustrated.

 

It really boggles my mind that DS(7) ever behaved well at school. I always expected them to say he had a hard time sitting in his seat or not talking, but his K and 1st grade teachers adored him.

 

At home whenever we sit down to do anything, he's just goofy and obnoxious. We sat down today and I was excited to teach him multiplication-- 2 digit by 1 digit numbers. After finally getting the Singapore 3A books, it was the first thing in the book he didn't already know. (or so I thought) We spent 5 minutes of him telling me I was confusing him (said w/ a smirk so I think he was joking) and then he took the book from me and did a problem (correctly!!) all by himself. So, I gave him a list of problems to do and he did them fine all by himself.

 

I still can't decide if he already knew how to do them, or if my 5 minute interrupted explanation actually *taught* him anything. But regardless, he knows how do them, and then he went ahead and did problems with 3 digits.

 

I bought SWR since I loved how well the Spalding method worked at his public school. He knows the phonograms and the spelling rules inside and out, but sitting down and dictating new spelling words is like pulling teeth. It's a joke to him.

 

FLL3 is going fairly well. Thankfully the lessons are all really short (so far). The best lesson we had was when he tried to trick me by switching books and he did all the reading and I did the writing. (he knew the info anyway)

 

The Apologia science books I haven't abandoned yet, but he seems to prefer looking through science books finding his own experiments to do.

 

And yes, he gets plenty of breaks. The weather is finally beautiful here (in AZ) so he goes outside and plays a lot and we do school in small chunks.  He works best if he goes to his room and sits and his desk with the door closed with no distractions.

 

If you made it that far... someone tell me mine isn't the only kid like this. I feel bad, but I feel like I need programs that are nearly 100% independent, that he can do on his own and ask for help when needed. He absorbs information and gets a lot of things intuitively. But he's only 7 (almost 8).

 

So... what do I do?

 

[Crimson Wife]

He might like Math Mammoth better than Singapore because all the explanations are right in the worktext.

[DesertBlossom]

Maybe I should just ditch the SWR. He reads on a 5th/6th grade reading level and is a natural speller (I assume) and I think part of his problem is that it's not challenging, despite having jumped up a bit in the word lists. Having him underline the 2-letter phonograms and write the spelling rules for each work I think is boring for him.

 

 

 

He might like Math Mammoth better than Singapore because all the explanations are right in the worktext.

 

Oh, I had to LOL! I tried Saxon for 2 weeks, and just bought all of the Singapore 3A books. As much as I feel like I've researched all these before I bought them, I feel like I'm dumping programs left and right.  I need more money. ;)

[MysteryJen]

I was this way, and so is my ds1. I would say, just roll with it and do a lot of discussion.  We did a lot of talking (or as he found out in later years, "hey! that was the Socratic method! Sneaky..")

 

I like to figure stuff out on my own first and then talk to people about it.  My dh (and dd2 and ds3) like to have instruction or as I say, talk first.

 

Just make sure that they don't struggle hopelessly and then give up. 

[AK_Mom4]

Having (mostly!) survived two non-auditory learners, I think you are absolutely on the right track.  You give them materials that are written to the student (all the explanations in the student text) and let them go for it.  I stopped buying materials that came with a Teacher's Manual or any scripted reading by me.

 

DD12 is advanced enough now that I keep the math solutions manual on my desk and she asks if she is unsure about an answer.  Everything else, I just give her the syllabus or write the assignment in her planner and off she goes.  We started using planners when she started homeschooling in 2nd grade (so about age 7) and have never looked back.  If she has a question, she asks me.

 

If I was back doing spelling words aloud these days, I would probably record them on my phone and let her play the recording herself. 

[jar7709]

Mine are like that.  I am sure you aren't the only one.  :)

 

You say it has only been a month? You're up on me...it took me much longer than that to figure out that generally, my kids prefer material that is either written to them and that they can complete independently or with light help from me, or material that we can do together through reading and discussion.  They hate being told what to do and my voice reading scripted material (I think it seems very inauthentic coming from my mouth), but very much enjoy sharing experiences and thoughts with me and DH, and working on their own projects. Right now DS is at the other computer pecking away at a novel and DD is outside studying the mushrooms growing in the yard. I think they are likely going to be pretty independent and able to make many of their own decisions about their education as they get older.  I think that's one of the great things about this type of kid!  Not everyone has the sponge-ness and internal drive to take the reins of their own education.   I would recommend looking into interest-based and project-based learning.

[idnib]

At home whenever we sit down to do anything, he's just goofy and obnoxious. We sat down today and I was excited to teach him multiplication-- 2 digit by 1 digit numbers. After finally getting the Singapore 3A books, it was the first thing in the book he didn't already know. (or so I thought) We spent 5 minutes of him telling me I was confusing him (said w/ a smirk so I think he was joking) and then he took the book from me and did a problem (correctly!!) all by himself. So, I gave him a list of problems to do and he did them fine all by himself.

 

I'm curious about how he did them. In his head? Using the commonly taught algorithm for multiple digit multiplication?  Through an understanding of place value? A different method?

[DesertBlossom]

I'm relieved to find out I'm not alone. And I will say that in our month of homeschooling, it's been me who's learned the most. ;)

 

 

I need a list of homeschooling resources that also explain if the work can be done independently or if it requires instruction. Because I thought I was doing adequate research before buying materials, but apparently not. Some of it I'm sure I just needed to learn by trial and error.

 

But really... can I get some recommendations for independent learners?

 

[DesertBlossom]

I'm curious about how he did them. In his head? Using the commonly taught algorithm for multiple digit multiplication?  Through an understanding of place value? A different method?

 

Well, the books explain with pictures the regrouping required. We were doing 42 x 3 and he kept telling me that I was confusing him by saying it was like 40 x 3 plus 2 x 3 and he insisted the answer should have been 1206. (But I could tell by the smirk on his face he was being obnoxious) When he did 24x3 just fine by himself, even carrying the 1, I sent him to his desk to so some problems by himself. I've attached the paper he did. So I sent him back again to do Practice 3E and he did great, except for one problem he wrote down wrong, but did the problem correctly. 

 

His understand of place value and "number sense" is really, really good. In fact, he was trying to do the problems in his head, and actually doing okay, but I insisted he right them down.

[MissKNG]

I worry like crazy when I think I'm not doing a good enough job "teaching" if the instruction doesn't go smooth without interruption. But dagnabbit, she gets it! More often than not, if she doesn't already "get it", it takes one line of explanation. That blows my mind cause I can.not.do.that. I think that's 99% of my issue though - she can do things in her mind that I can only dream about.

 

Bottom line, you are not alone. :laugh:

[Crimson Wife]

Oh, I had to LOL! I tried Saxon for 2 weeks, and just bought all of the Singapore 3A books. As much as I feel like I've researched all these before I bought them, I feel like I'm dumping programs left and right.  I need more money. ;)

I was like this when I first started out. I quickly learned to ask around if anybody had a particular book that they could bring to parkday for me to look over. I also make trips a couple times per year up to the homeschool bookstore (it's 75 minutes each way but what I spend in gas I make up for in avoiding programs that will be bad "fits").

 

Maria Miller has extensive free samples of Math Mammoth on her website so I would print some of those out and see if your student likes them better than Singapore. You can always sell the Singapore & use the proceeds to buy MM.

[jar7709]

You are looking for a list of recommendations?  I would check out the sig lines of the respondents in this thread.  :D

 

This is what works well for us right now.  Some are more about educational philosophy or approach, and helped me figure out how to I want to foster my kids' emerging independence.

 

Math Mammoth and Beast Academy  <-- both written to the student

Bravewriter

Project-Based Homeschooling by Pickert

BFSU (this isn't independent so much, but can be used very Socratically and to dovetail with interest-led science, imo)

 

And most importantly, for us:

Strewing lots and lots of books and hands-on stuff on a variety of topics for the kids to pick up and absorb.

[Twilight Woods]

We have dumped plenty of curriculum in the last 4 months.  :glare:

 

I have a VSL non auditory learner she is 8......... as long as the talking is paired with a video she is good. ;) MM has been working out well despite it not being on the computer.... tho she hates reading so I end up reading some of it to her sometimes.. Most of the time tho she usually says I got it. I kinda feel left out of the process.  :crying:

 

 

[DesertBlossom]

I was like this when I first started out. I quickly learned to ask around if anybody had a particular book that they could bring to parkday for me to look over. I also make trips a couple times per year up to the homeschool bookstore (it's 75 minutes each way but what I spend in gas I make up for in avoiding programs that will be bad "fits").

 

Maria Miller has extensive free samples of Math Mammoth on her website so I would print some of those out and see if your student likes them better than Singapore. You can always sell the Singapore & use the proceeds to buy MM.

I guess I should find out of there's a b&m store around here for curriculum supplies so I can see before I buy.

 

We haven't used Singapore enough to ditch it, I think.  From the couple placement tests I gave him I knew he was ready to start multiplication. He understood it conceptually, but was still skip-counting to find the answers. So I bought the "10 days to multiplication mastery" and he's been working on that the last week. I was so excited to teach him something new today with the multiple digit multiplication.... yeah, well. 

 

Maybe I'll see if I can stump him tomorrow with long division. ;)  After looking through the book, if he's going to catch on to all of it this quickly, I think all the 3A books I just bought were a waste of money.

[DesertBlossom]

Good 

You are looking for a list of recommendations?  I would check out the sig lines of the respondents in this thread.  :D

 

 

Good idea! And thank you!

[....]

If you made it that far... someone tell me mine isn't the only kid like this. I feel bad, but I feel like I need programs that are nearly 100% independent, that he can do on his own and ask for help when needed. He absorbs information and gets a lot of things intuitively. But he's only 7 (almost 8).

 

So... what do I do?

 

This also describes my kids (aged 11, 10, 8 and 6).  I've had a couple of homeschooling nervous breakdowns over the years.   :tongue_smilie:  I've concluded that my kids are a poor fit for classical education at this stage (maybe we'll try again when they're closer to high school), curriculum that is laid-out/scheduled is a waste of money for us, not challenging my kids leads to behavior problems and I need to limit the amount of direct instruction I give them.  I probably spend (daily) about an hour and a half teaching the middle schoolers and an hour teaching the 8 yro.  I give them a huge amount of time to explore and read plus the resources to do this.  My 5th grader read almost a book a day last week.  I could not even get him to eat, because he just wanted to read.  My 8 yro will spend hours on art each day.  

 

Someone mentioned Project-Based Homeschooling.  http://project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/   They have a forum, too.  I've also come across some excellent ideas from unschooling blogs.  I also ask my kids periodically, "Exactly WHAT do you want to study?"  And then I will put together a class for them.

 

About the Singapore...don't give up on that one!!  That is one of the best math programs out there (IMO).  I don't budge on math and writing instruction.  They have to do those two things.  For math, my kids have also enjoyed Miquon (when they were little), the Keys to series (keys to fractions, etc), Beast Academy, Life of Fred, Hands-on Equations, Dragonbox Algebra, Zome Geometry (free curricula off their website - you just need the Zomes) and Art of Problem Solving (can you tell my kids really like math?  Lol).  Your son sounds like he's ready for Beast Academy.  He might be able to do that independently.

 

Edited to add:  Have you looked into unit studies?  We've done a lot of those over the years and most of them were a big hit if the kids can pick the topic and everything is at the right difficulty level.

[DesertBlossom]

About the Singapore...don't give up on that one!!  That is one of the best math programs out there (IMO).  I don't budge on math and writing instruction.  They have to do those two things.  For math, my kids have also enjoyed Miquon (when they were little), the Keys to series (keys to fractions, etc), Beast Academy, Life of Fred, Hands-on Equations, Dragonbox Algebra, Zome Geometry (free curricula off their website - you just need the Zomes) and Art of Problem Solving (can you tell my kids really like math?  Lol).  Your son sounds like he's ready for Beast Academy.  He might be able to do that independently.

 

Well, I bought the SM 3a because on the pretest he got about 1/2 the questions right. Since he picked up on the multiplication so fast, all that's left in there that will be new for him is division with remainders. So, I'll make sure he gets both of those concepts down really well, but it looks like I'll need the next step in a couple weeks anyway. I'll have him start working on CWP3 though.

 

I'm think I'm going to try MM 4 because it's cheaper. I want to buy LofF and BA, but I'm not sure what levels to start out with and it's out of my budget to just buy them all. (DH needs to get a 2nd job to afford all my homeschooling wants. :) ) I will look into those other ones you mentioned. Thank you!!

[SKL]

My kid runs the other way if I try to teach her anything.  Which is one reason I don't plan on ever homeschooling her.  ;)  If I did homeschool her, I would set her up with the most independent programs available.  Having to take direct instruction from me would basically be her punishment if she failed to figure things out for herself.  ;)

 

She did enjoy "Math Monkey" (summer math camp) however.  They have a weekly camp during the school year, but it is too far out of our way for us to fit it in.

[lewelma]

Starting at age 7, my son never let me teach him math.  He considered it cheating.  If I taught him how to do that style of problem, then *I* had done all the work.  Plain and simple, it was cheating. 

 

So, no, you are definitely not alone.

 

Ruth in NZ

[kiwik]

I pity anyone who thinks they can teach ds4 anything.

[Cheriwe]

I'm getting frustrated. I still know that homeschooling (for a month now!) has been the right choice and I'm learning, but I'm frustrated.

 

It really boggles my mind that DS(7) ever behaved well at school. I always expected them to say he had a hard time sitting in his seat or not talking, but his K and 1st grade teachers adored him.

 

At home whenever we sit down to do anything, he's just goofy and obnoxious. We sat down today and I was excited to teach him multiplication-- 2 digit by 1 digit numbers. After finally getting the Singapore 3A books, it was the first thing in the book he didn't already know. (or so I thought) We spent 5 minutes of him telling me I was confusing him (said w/ a smirk so I think he was joking) and then he took the book from me and did a problem (correctly!!) all by himself. So, I gave him a list of problems to do and he did them fine all by himself.

 

 

I am so glad I read this first thing this morning.  This sounds exactly like my DS7.  I have been getting really frustrated lately.  This is our first year homeschooling and, like you, I have no idea how my son got such rave reviews at school, because he won't sit still at all for me.  "Goofy and obnoxious". Really... Our sons are two peas in a pod.  He really doesn't respond well when I read from a teachers manual with his lessons. He likes to lead himself.  Heaven forbid I give him tips or attempt to instruct him.

 

He says he hates math. Can't stand it.  Yet, when he actually does it, he is really good at it.  I have tried three different math curriculum so far. BA, MM and Khan. He doesn't like any of them.  I finally bought a Kumun work book with word problems and he likes that.  One day he sat and fretted over his math for a good 15 minutes, getting nothing done, complaining the whole way. As soon as he realized that he was supposed to go to a friends house to play, he finished the math in 5 minutes. Got them all right.  Aaaahhh!!!!!

 

I really appreciate reading all of the responses. I need to make some changes. I think that I will need to move towards a more independent learner approach.  Maybe let him pick a theme or two and take it from there.

 

I will be following this thread for more ideas. 

[....]

I want to buy LofF and BA, but I'm not sure what levels to start out with and it's out of my budget to just buy them all. (DH needs to get a 2nd job to afford all my homeschooling wants. :) ) 

 

:coolgleamA:  We're in the same boat.  I try to buy our school books during tax return time or use gift money from relatives to buy their curricula.  I think that probably is the hardest thing about homeschooling (for us).

[DesertBlossom]

Okay, here's my list so far.

 

Math: LofF, MM, BA, Hands-on equations, Zome Geometry

 

LA: Bravewriter

      Junior English (am I right in thinking this can be done more independently?)

      Evan-Moore Daily - I've seen these mentioned a couple times. I take it these are just daily reviews and aren't really teaching new concepts? I keep putting them in and taking them out of my Amazon cart)

 

Other: Project Based Homeschooling (I've got her book in my Amazon cart)

 

 

 

I think I'm ready to dump SWR, but I still think he needs a spelling program. I've heard of AAS and Spelling Power, but don't know anything about those otherwise. Anyone used them? Any other suggestions?

 

Also, I am tempted to try out BA along with MM, but I wouldn't know where to start DS. He was in 2nd grade in PS, but I think they teach almost a year ahead. (I know they do in LA)  Plus, he's the kid that upon learning 2 digit addition with carrying came home and starting writing his own 7-8 digit problems to add. (and he does that with everything) He loves to talk about numbers, so he doesn't need any review on place value up to the millions (at least). I don't know that he's had much geometry though. Anyway, I've hesitated to buy BA because I wasn't sure the level 3 series would be too easy, or if there is enough new material in there for him to justify the cost. I suppose I could buy 4A and if it's too hard, hold onto it until he's ready.

 

I have the same concerns trying to figure out his grade level for any LA curricula. DS7 reads on at least a 5th/6th grade reading level and seems to absorb a lot from his reading. But he's also a 7 year old boy who doesn't have the maturity for upper-grade level writing. We're only 10 lessons into FLL3, but I feel like it's too easy for him. So when it comes to language arts, I'm just not sure what do with him at all. We do read aloud in the evenings. But, I pick books that are also entertaining for my 6 and 5 year olds as well. 

 

 

Also, he does okay with some direct instruction. We usually start out the morning with some scripture study-- reading and doing a workbook that goes along with it. I enjoy talking with him about and so far that is working for us.

[JennW in SoCal]

May this veteran homeschool mom make a suggestion before you spend more money?  You do NOT need to keep buying new and different curricula and programs.  I know they each sound wonderful, and most of them probably are.  But that perfect homeschool program or text book simply does not exist.  No matter what you buy you're going to want to tweak things, or find that it doesn't cover something you think essential or it spends too much time on something trivial.  And the bottom line is that you do NOT NEED a curriculum in order for your child to learn.  Set up a rich learning environment, with the help of the library, used books sales and the sale board here. Model learning yourself by reading and researching.  Then discuss all of it -- from math to books to the garden to movies.  

 

How about going to the library and searching for books in the 510s which is the math classification in the dewey decimal system.  Look in the kids section first then in the grown ups section.  The book Family Math is on my library shelves, for instance.  It is chock-full of great ideas for learning and applying basic math skills.  You can find lots of story problem work sheets on the internet as well as lots of math games.  The Living Math website was developed by a homeschool mom in my area -- it has wonderful booklists and ideas.

 

Let a 7 year old boy be a 7 year old boy.  They squirm, they don't want to sit and write and they ARE worse for mom than they are for a classroom teacher.  Keep the input at a high level through reading aloud or listening to audio books and by watching documentaries.  But don't expect the output, such as writing, to catch up to the input level anytime soon.  Keep the language arts writing to a minimum -- little bits each week will pay off in the long run.  It really does -- I've got the young adults who are living proof of this.

 

 

[DesertBlossom]

May this veteran homeschool mom make a suggestion before you spend more money?  You do NOT need to keep buying new and different curricula and programs.  I know they each sound wonderful, and most of them probably are.  But that perfect homeschool program or text book simply does not exist.  No matter what you buy you're going to want to tweak things, or find that it doesn't cover something you think essential or it spends too much time on something trivial.  And the bottom line is that you do NOT NEED a curriculum in order for your child to learn.  Set up a rich learning environment, with the help of the library, used books sales and the sale board here. Model learning yourself by reading and researching.  Then discuss all of it -- from math to books to the garden to movies.  

 

How about going to the library and searching for books in the 510s which is the math classification in the dewey decimal system.  Look in the kids section first then in the grown ups section.  The book Family Math is on my library shelves, for instance.  It is chock-full of great ideas for learning and applying basic math skills.  You can find lots of story problem work sheets on the internet as well as lots of math games.  The Living Math website was developed by a homeschool mom in my area -- it has wonderful booklists and ideas.

 

Let a 7 year old boy be a 7 year old boy.  They squirm, they don't want to sit and write and they ARE worse for mom than they are for a classroom teacher.  Keep the input at a high level through reading aloud or listening to audio books and by watching documentaries.  But don't expect the output, such as writing, to catch up to the input level anytime soon.  Keep the language arts writing to a minimum -- little bits each week will pay off in the long run.  It really does -- I've got the young adults who are living proof of this.

 

I appreciate this. I really do.  Despite what it sounds like, I am trying to find a balance. I suppose that's why I'm looking to find things are independent for him, because he can and will soak up a lot of information on his own better than I can teach it to him. He's managed to figure out enough math on his own to completely skip at least one grade level. ;) He loves reading non-fiction and National Geographic shows and he loves to tell me about everything about everything about everything.  I guess for me I just need to know (and see) that he's progressing through the subjects. So, I'd like to find some kind of balance.

 

We're were just at the library the other day and I picked up some kids' math books. In fact, I'd found that livingmath website somewhere, which is why we went to the library looking for them! (At the moment he's reading a fractions book.) Even though he said he wasn't interested in the math books, I checked them out anyway and he's been curious enough to have opened a couple.

 

Speaking of the library, a few years ago our library moved all of its children's non-fiction books upstairs, away from the children's section, and mixed them into the adult non-fiction books. Not only does that make it impossible for a child to browse for non-fiction (the shelves are 6 ft tall!), but kids aren't really welcome upstairs. (The security guard gives me the stink-eye when my 3 year old forgets to whisper) I told the library director I was disappointed, but apparently they needed room for the new literacy center downstairs, which includes a bunch of games and computers. It's so frustrating!! Rant over! 

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

All About Spelling is NOT independent at all. It's a solid program (my DS is about 3/4 done with Level 5) but it's on the expensive side and I don't think it sounds like something that would be a good fit for your DS.

 

Spelling City is a free website where you can type in spelling lists and then the student can do activities based on those words. You could try using that with the words from SWR.

[....]

 

Math: LofF, MM, BA, Hands-on equations, Zome Geometry

 

 

That is a lot of math!  Hands-on Equations and Zome Geometry we did once a week.  And I just gave my kids the zomes, we looked at the workbook and they went crazy with it (on their own).  The Zomes are expensive also (I think that was a Christmas present).  Hands-on Equations is fun, but you really have to be right there with him.  I would choose between LoF, MM and BA.  It would be very time-consuming to do all three at once.  Also, you don't want him to burn out.  If you go with Beast Academy, 3A had a ton of geometry/perimeter/area, so I would start there.  My son used it for awhile last year, but he outgrew it before the next levels could come out...but he really enjoyed it.  I thought it was just as good as Singapore or Math Mammoth.  

 

I should also clarify that when I list curricula we've used...I'm teaching 4 kids, so one kid will use one program and another kid will use another program...  Also, after 5 years of homeschooling, I have a lot of curricula lying around here!   :D        

[DesertBlossom]

That is a lot of math!  

Oh, don't worry! I'm not trying to do them all. Just trying to make a list of things to choose from. I've also got a 6yo, 5yo, 3 yo and 5 month old that may be homeschooled in the future. I really want to get Life of Fred, so if I do homeschool them, I can justify buying it. ;)

[DesertBlossom]

All About Spelling is NOT independent at all. It's a solid program (my DS is about 3/4 done with Level 5) but it's on the expensive side and I don't think it sounds like something that would be a good fit for your DS.

 

Spelling City is a free website where you can type in spelling lists and then the student can do activities based on those words. You could try using that with the words from SWR.

 

Thank you for this info!

[....]

Oh, don't worry! I'm not trying to do them all. Just trying to make a list of things to choose from. I've also got a 6yo, 5yo, 3 yo and 5 month old that may be homeschooled in the future. I really want to get Life of Fred, so if I do homeschool them, I can justify buying it. ;)

LOL. I thought you were going to do them all! Well, your list looks good to me. You guys are going to have a great time! :)

[AK_Mom4]

Independent materials we have used along the way:

Saxon Math. Horizons Math, and Teaching Textbooks

McRuffy Language Arts and Science, Learning Language Arts thru Literature (purple and gold), Hake Grammar and Writing (levels 6 and 8)

History Odyssey Levels 1 and 2 (with lots of History Pockets because DD12 likes that sort of thing).

 

These days, except for the Hake materials, we are mostly using public school texts (math, literature, geography).  For science this year, DD12 chose to go "off-road" and is doing her own deep-dive into Astronomy and Space.

[sunnyday]

My son does often get frustrated if I try to tell him a new way to do a problem he thinks he already understands. But with practice and hitting the frustration point and overcoming it, he's starting to accept that there are usually many ways to approach a problem and that he doesn't have to like the new way but he needs to understand it well enough that he will have the tool in his toolbox later down the line.

 

We struggle to find a balance point between keeping enough enrichment in his experience to keep him motivated, and doing enough practice and foundation-building to make sure he doesn't have gaps later on. For example, if I jump ahead and tell him the spelling rules, it becomes much harder to go back and work on the dictation using those rules. But I still plan to pull out the tiles and work on the words and phrases to make sure they're cemented. As long as I keep the amount small he'll humor me without too much goofiness or tears. Or similarly, if he is adding fluently, mentally composing and decomposing 2-digit numbers, and I try to introduce the Singapore way of thinking about 1-digit subtraction, he groans and gets mad at me. But I tell him that his way is GREAT, making 5s works really well for him, but he should THINK about making 10s sometimes, and do a couple of problems to stick that method in his head, because later in math maybe he'll find it's easier to avoid mistakes that way.

 

I asked him last night, "How do you feel when Mom teaches you something about math?" He told me, "Bored if it's something I already know. Not interested if it's something that's not really useful. But TOTALLY AWESOME AND AMAZING if it's something that applies to all kinds of numbers! Like how you said that if a number ends in a number you can skip count by 2s or in a 0 that you can split it evenly in two parts?!"

 

I wanted to point out that you seem to be thinking of math as kind of a linear thing. "Knows addition, check. Knows multiplication, check. Ready for Fourth Grade Math." But math is so much richer and more nuanced than that. You might want to check out the sample pages and pre-assessments for Beast Academy 3 before you write off Third Grade Math as too simple. Not that you have to purchase that particular program, but maybe you'll get inspired to work a little on depth...you could always pick up some Zacarro or Competitive Mathematics books to help flesh things out.

[sunriseiz]

We've had Life of Fred for 9-ish months and both DD10 and DS7 LOVE it.  For DD, part of the love is that it is 98% independent.  I would say get one book and try it before doing a bunch of different things.  For the record, we do LoF and MM, and I think it's going well.  :) 

 

For other subjects, I'm all ears!

 

P.S. DuoLingo and Mango have be great for Spanish!

[mathwonk]

I was a math teacher for over 40 years. Although I often inflicted lectures on them,

 

none of my bright students really liked to be told anything.

 

they always preferred me to pose a problem for them to do on their own.  Then they would allow me to slip in small tidbits of information

 

in between that would help them do the problems.

 

 

Thus the most successful style of teaching for motivated kids was:

 

1) pose an interesting problem.

 

2) ask them how to solve it, and let them brainstorm for a while.

 

3) either clarify their solutions if they are adequate, or make a few guided suggestions leading to the solution

 

you have in mind.

 

4)  sum up what has been learned.

[MamaSprout]

Maybe I should just ditch the SWR. He reads on a 5th/6th grade reading level and is a natural speller (I assume) and I think part of his problem is that it's not challenging, despite having jumped up a bit in the word lists. Having him underline the 2-letter phonograms and write the spelling rules for each work I think is boring for him.

 

 

 

 

Oh, I had to LOL! I tried Saxon for 2 weeks, and just bought all of the Singapore 3A books. As much as I feel like I've researched all these before I bought them, I feel like I'm dumping programs left and right.  I need more money. ;)

 

We use Singapore like a conversation instead of direct instruction. Dd reads the kids, I read the other stuff in the text. (We do Beast the same way) She does one or two examples on the white board and then I have her do the workbook solo. We cover 2-3 exercises per day and my time is maybe 15 minutes. I check her answers immediately and have her correct errors.

[Barbara H]

With a seven year old I would also experiment a bit with your exercise routine. Some kids do best with school first thing and then play, some do best with hard exercise before school, some do best with very small amounts of seat work mixed in with exercise. It might be good to try a few approaches and see what works. Ask him to help evaluate what helps him pay attention. Some elementary age kids do best when they have something to fidget with (a little toy or squeezy ball).

 

For me personally, I try to really draw a distinction in my mind between wiggly, goofy, and rude behavior. A lot of seven year olds don't look like they are paying attention, they may be flopping around, fidgety, and silly. Try to let some of that just roll off your back and don't engage with it. Be flexible and open to the lesson progressing in a different way than you'd anticipated. It is appropriate though to draw the line at rudeness.

 

As you are getting used to working with each other, it may be helpful to give him words for what he's experiencing - "too easy? too hard? too confusing?" You can also "make a deal" - "do one and show me you know it and we are done."