sdobis Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 My 9yo daughter is having a hard time with understanding anything math related. Reading has been hard for her, but she is progressing well after a lot of concentrated work. Today was especially hard when she was crying and couldn't figure out 10-1. She started out using Rod & Staff math but her right-brained mind couldn't stand it. She hit a wall hard in third grade. We switched to Life of Fred and MEP this year. LOF is easy because we're only on Cats right now. MEP was a huge struggle today. She's working on year 2b. She's also using xtramath for over a year to practice math facts. I thought she was progressing well with this as well, but after today I question if any of it makes sense to her. What direction would you go in helping her understand math? Games? Pictures? Abacus? Different curricula? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Do you work with manipulatives? I have found that with my boy who struggles with reading has grasped math really easily because we have done many activities with a variety of manipulatives, he does favour those which involve marshmallows or other food. We do it in association with book work, and always write down what he does with the manipulatives. I would also suggest games. Hope that has been some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Has she ever had any sort of evaluation? My kids remained undiagnosed for years, but once we finally had some useful answers on what was causing them difficulties with learning, it was like a whole new world opened up. We finally had specific answers to what was happening and how to address those issues effectively, as well as being shown some terrific strengths we didn't even know they had and were not tapping into and developing. If she is struggling that much, switching curriculum may not be addressing the underlying issues. I know this is frustrating. You aren't alone. There are a LOT of parents on this board that have been where you are. Hopefully others will chime in here soon... Have you done any reading and research on the issues your daughter is having? You might consider reading The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide to help get you looking at different possibilities.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I agree with trying to get to the bottom of it. Without understanding what the problem actually is, it can be hard to find the best way to help. I've heard so many stories of kids having difficulty with math in particular that turn out to be very treatable vision related issues. The important thing is that you try to figure it out so you know how to address it so that she does not become demoralized and can stay positive about learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I agree with the others - I would (1) rule out vision issues (including developmental vision issues with a covd optometrist), (2) do testing for LDs as appropriate (it is not uncommon to have more than one thing going on, and that can include vision combined with one or more LDs), and (3) use manipulatives for as long as necessary until you both are confident in her understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I agree with the others - I would (1) rule out vision issues (including developmental vision issues with a covd optometrist), (2) do testing for LDs as appropriate (it is not uncommon to have more than one thing going on, and that can include vision combined with one or more LDs), and (3) use manipulatives for as long as necessary until you both are confident in her understanding. I agree with this and was just about to write an identical post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks for the advice. I am going to get her evaluated. She has wonderful strengths that just amaze me. I love how her mind works. I just wish I knew better how to teach toward her skill set. I've tried manipulatives, but she hates it. I think an abacus may work, and I like the idea of marshmallows as well. She does love sweets. She also loves games, so I may concentrate on that until she has an evaluation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Sounds like a great plan. My kids have really enjoyed playing various forms of dominoes, Gin Rummy, UNO, rolling dice games, etc. plus some money games we bought years ago through Scholastic. It is helping them with math subitization skills and we all have fun. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Assuming that your DD has a maths disability, maybe look at this e-book by Ronit Bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 Thanks for the ideas. I am looking into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 She could resist manipulatives simply because she's 9. You might try something virtual. RS has an app of their abacus, and I'm sure there's more out there. Hands-on Equations is a terrific example of a more mature manipulative and app. Dr. Cotter (of RS) says that a good manipulative should *confuse* at first. If they understand the manipulative, they probably don't NEED it. Especially because she's older, you want something that is a bit intriguing and interests her. Good luck with your evals. Hopefully you'll be able to get them soon and report back. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 You wrote that she couldn't figure out 10-1. Which suggests that she doesn't concieve of numbers? Or rather that she doesn't concieve of different sized quantities. Where quantity to numbers, is like sound to letters. You could probably appreciate the difficulty with letters, with no sound to associate them with? No way to concieve of them? Though I would ask if she has any difficulties with Spacial and/or Motor skills? As we concieve of quantity with Spacial processing. But if we can't concieve of different sized quantities? Then numbers have no meaning, no way to make sense of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolrocks Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 My son loves math but starting with a math teacher has really helped. It is about the price of a local tutor and he has made great strides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 sdobis, do you have any news you are willing to share? I saw on another thread that you may have some answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Dreambox and Saxon Math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauranc Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 This http://www.diannecraft.org/math-program/ helped my daughter immensely. The way Dianne Craft teaches subtraction made total sense to my daughter. Scroll down a bit on that page and you can see the process for subtracting she uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 We are using a lot of the hands on suggestions and links from the Math Mammoth curriculum (along with the Ronit Bird books) and were doing a card game this morning that works on 10 pairs plus addition and the kids couldn't stop playing. Afterwards, they did several other math activities and worksheets with a lot more enthusiasm and understanding than normal, then tackled Grandma when she walked in the door and taught her the card game and played it several times. All the math related games, hands-on math activities and practical application math we are doing every day, along with the curriculums we are using are really turning around the enthusiasm, which means we get more math done each day, and means more math is being understood. Win win. None of us may ever be math geniuses, and DD may ALWAYS struggle in computational math, but things are definitely improving at both a computational and a conceptual level. I definitely encourage trying some real hands-on, fun math approaches. Check out Soror's post regarding Relaxed Math on the General Education board for some GREAT ideas. Hopefully, you can find some great games and hands on stuff that will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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