zenjenn Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 So my accelerated 8-yr-old third grader is using Math Mammoth for math - self-paced. She is in level 5A right now, and in the next chapter, students start using a calculator for problem-solving. Normally I wouldn't think of having a child this young start using a calculator for math. She zips through MM lessons and comprehends things quickly, but she'll still do things like - forget a detail of how to do long division if we are away on vacation for a couple weeks. It only takes her a 2-second reminder to get her back on track, but clearly no matter how quickly she *learns* new concepts, she's still 8 yrs old and her brain leaks out information... I'm wondering of a calculator at this point will enable information being forgotten - but then, re-learning is quick and easy for her. I don't know. Right now I am leaning towards just letting her move on with the curriculum, which seems to be going into tediously large numbers as well as some basic pre-algebra concepts, with use of the calculator, and then maybe doing a refresher set of problems once a week to make sure she retains in her young mind the basics of how do to operations with large numbers without a calculator. Curious if anyone else is in this situation and what they did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 If it says to use a calculator, I'd let her use one. It's probably to get her to focus on the concepts rather than the calculations involved for those particular problems. If you find she's not getting enough calculation practice, you could always add in a bit each day (just a few problems). I've done this several times, and I'm about to do it again for my younger son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 FWIW, when my ds was that age and in that level of MM, we skipped the calculator problems completely. Since he was in school, he was still having to do the occasional multiplication and long division problems assigned by the assistant teacher in addition to what he was doing in MM. He also has a tendency to get concepts so quickly that he doesn't always get enough practice on the first go-round to last in his memory forever, LOL, so yes, I recommend regular review. It could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, whatever works - maybe the cumulative review sheets. (psst... he's 11 and there's no sign that the brain leak has gone away; now in algebra, he still forgets new stuff and has forgotten things he learned in aops prealgebra that we haven't reviewed in a long time, though he does not forget the elementary stuff any more) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I think your child would benefit from going through the Singapore Intensive Practice books as a supplement to MM. She's probably beyond the BA 3 books but if BA 4B does actually come out next month, you could try the first half of the 4th grade level. If she's a 3rd grader in MM5, you can go "deeper" in math. Staggering topics helps reduce the forgetting factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 We only used MM later, to work with decimal multiplication/ division, percents etc. I didn't introduce the calculator not because I thought info will be forgotten but because I didn't want him to think of it as a crutch. With tedious calculations, I usually compacted the number of problems or had him do 2-3 tedious problems per day over a week instead of 10 at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 The brain leaking happens here too. Dh and I were just talking about it tonight. I sort of lost it at this afternoon at my suddenly stupid child who had been doing fantastically the last week or so. It is as though something happens in his sleep! My husbands public school teaching comes in so handy in these situations! Anyway, I am leery of the calculator because, for some reason, it is heralded at all knowing rather than a tool. Since it cannot think, it is only as good as the thoughts we have and the numbers/processes we give it. Sometimes that tidbit of information gets lost. So the student will enter something incorrectly (55x8 instead of just 5x8) but not realize the answer seems funky or wildly not right. Obviously the example was simplified, but hopefully you get me. If there is a way to keep that inner skeptical voice active, then go for it. We are a non calculator house for math, but then we use a program that deliberately doesn't go there. For tedious chemistry problems my son does get to use a calculator if he shows all his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherOfBoys Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I was thinking about the calculator hurdle the other day too. MM5 with an 8 yr old worried me too. MM seems to do use it in estimating way and then actual. She stresses in the info page to parents that she wants it used I a skeptical, I can't think of the exact word right now, way. I still think I'll wait till a later age because the problems can easily be done without it and my accelerated kid has brain loss days too often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 DS is finishing up MM6 and I have always allowed calculator use for the questions with the icon. I wouldn't have thought to use one so early, but I was actually pleased when it was introduced. Using a calculator for complex problems actually requires a thorough understanding of both how to solve the problem as well as how to navigate a calculator (not always instinctive). It isn't introduced to be used a crutch; in true MM style, it is merely another tool for the toolbox. Unless your daughter is using it for every question, I wouldn't worry about it. The number of ironed problems is very minimal, and a calculator won't do her any good unless she's understanding the problems to begin with. There are more than enough practice problems without the icon if she's having occasional trouble with mastery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 Thanks all. Yeah, I did end up using it. As we worked through the lessons I noticed that some of the problems used it were actually doing early algebra concepts with large numbers. I do think to spend a lot of time doing iterative subtraction regrouping into the millions would dilute the whole concept of learning the early algebra. And applying the algebra concepts to large numbers is essential, I think, as she intuitively "sees" early algebra concepts with small numbers without having to be conscious of the problem-solving aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 We still do not use calculators at our house and DD13 is in algebra II. I do not know if there is a benefit or not, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitascool Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I don't really look at math in terms of the age a child does it, but at what level they are working. So for my children we don't use a calculator until Geometry. And then only with review subjects. If they can't do it first w/o a calculator then they won't use it. They will only use it to quicken the pace for what they already know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.