Math really worries me

[lgliser]

My kids are only in first grade (Abeka for math.)  So far so good.  :)  But I have seen a few sample problems from even just third grade and they really do worry me.  I am just not a math-minded person.  I honestly don't remember how to do long division.  Or how to add fractions.  Or probably a lot of other things I can't even think of.  My son is particularly bright in math and I just know he's going to surpass me!

My only hope is that going through this all from the very beginning with the kids will either spark my memory or I will just be a smart adult and understand things more than I did when I was a kid.

But what if I don't?  I can read the teacher's manual to them but I feel like if I don't have a real grasp on something myself, that I won't be able to teach them well.

I'd love any words of encouragement, or advice on teaching things that you are not good at yourself.

Thanks so much!

[kiana]

Doing this from the beginning with your kids will help.

 

Another option could be to work ahead of your kids using a textbook that's designed for adult learners who have forgotten all their math (sound familiar?).

 

Lial's Basic College Mathematics is one such textbook that's available cheaply on amazon. If you make it through that text, you'd be ready up to pre-algebra -- and that's a long way off.

[Gil]

Just start doing 20min of math a day. Sit beside your 1st grader when they are doing math and do your own work. Read your kids book ahead of them one or two days at a time. Read the TM ahead of time, prepare for the lesson and presenting it.

To improve your math skills though, just work at it. Create a KhanAcademy Account and buy a workbook. Just do a good basic review of +,-,/,x and then the workbooks by Key Curriculum Press on Fractions, Decimals, Percents.

 

You Can Do It!

[IsabelC]

I would have said the same when my kids were younger. I hardly remembered anything from school - in fact I had to ask my husband how to do long division because I'd forgotten!

 

However, I have actually really enjoyed doing math again with my son. It's been a fantastic opportunity to go right back to the beginning and learn it with full understanding. I actually did well at school, but only because I memorized what we had to do and then did it. I had no idea how or why anything worked. Even multi digit multiplication, which is quite easy to do, I didn't actually 'get' why the procedure worked. Now that I am learning it again, it's so much more fun and interesting. And in some ways, not being too confident is an advantage, because I can see what my teachers did wrong with me all those years ago, I can see what my kids might find difficult, and what strategies might work to help them. People who are naturally gifted at a subject have to work harder to comprehend why their child isn't 'getting' it straight away.

 

Also, you don't need to teach yourself everything about math this year. You only need to keep a few lessons ahead of where the triplets are at ;)

Don't look too far ahead either. If you get to high school and feel like you've had enough and don't want to learn any more math, you could always outsource it then.

[....]

 I honestly don't remember how to do long division.  Or how to add fractions.  Or probably a lot of other things I can't even think of.  

 

This was me about 6 years ago.  My 12 yro is mildly gifted in math and I *think* my 9 yro might be, too.  I've worried about this so much that I've lost sleep over it!  So, when my 12 yro started pre algebra a couple of years ago, I told her that from now on, we're classmates.  I do every lesson or problem that she does.  She's about halfway through an Algebra 1 book and I have done every. single. problem that she has.  This has been very time-consuming, but my math skills have gone through the roof!  I plan to do math with this kid until we get to the point where she can take an outside class - maybe at the community college.  (We're planning to do dual enrollment at the cc when they're in high school.)  

 

I have a friend who is a middle school teacher and I was talking to her about this topic a few days ago.  She gave me the phone number for a math tutor.  That's another option!

 

A good pre algebra textbook that reviews everything is also a possibility.  I worked through the AOPS Prealgebra text for a couple of years with my oldest daughter.  That book explained a lot!    

[73349]

I'd bet a bright local high-schooler would be happy to earn a little money tutoring you for a few months. If you buy the materials but then it just all looks like Greek to you, call a nearby high school and ask to talk to the head of the math department. S/he could surely recommend someone.

[Hunter]

Back in the 90s I was faced with a highly/profoundly gifted child who was also a bit on the spectrum and not at all independent. I used library books and yard sale finds up until algebra, to teach myself and then him, but starting with Algebra 1, I used Saxon and did EVERY problem along with him.

 

My default suggestion for a scared mom is to take a Saxon placement test and place yourself in Saxon and work ahead of your student. I have found it less stressful to work ahead than alongside, when I have had that option. I got thrown in midstream so didn't always have the option to work ahead in math and foreign languages.

[Hunter]

I want to also say I learned the hard way not to accept any "help" or outside resources. I needed to be depend on me and only me, because I was the only one that would always be there.

[SailorMom]

We've gotten through algebra 2 one day at a time :)  I try to stay a few days ahead of math, and if I'm confused, I watch Kahn Academy videos until I understand it.  Don't worry - you work your way up with them.  You did it before, you can do it again :)

 

[Critterfixer]

Sailor Mom has a good point about watching videos. If you are motivated to learn math ahead of your kids, and are willing to study, you may find yourself looking at learning in a way that will help you become a better teacher. You will tend to say to yourself, "Wow, I don't understand this!" and if you won't give up, you'll go find some help (I will often save a problem to discuss with my DH, because some problems the boys are working are blatantly algebraic, and yet are meant to be solved by non-algebraic means), you might go consult another text, you might go online and find video, you might do as I do and draw the whole thing out on the whiteboard one evening and play with it. Ideally, I'd have the students watch this closely. For instance, I try to question DH and work with him when the boys are in the house at the table, even if they are just drawing. I want them to see that working with another person, teaching each other, discussing methods is a good way to solve a problem. I like to show them that when I don't understand something, I'll go find a way that works for me. I like them to see that I DON'T have all the answers--that will save them a lot of disappointment if they get that now. What I do have is persistence, and a desire to find out, and that's a lesson that could do them some good in their own academic pursuits.

 

So don't let math worry you. Above all don't worry about your child surpassing you in math. I hope mine do circles around me, because then I will have taught my lessons well. And maybe they can come back and teach old Mom-head a thing or two!

[OneStepAtATime]

I am like some PPs, I made it through math but I never really understood math.  My grades were good (except for Algebra II/Trig my senior year where my lack of understanding caught up with me).  Working through math just ahead of my kids or with my kids has been wonderful.  Things are finally starting to make sense.  I am doing the Key to,...workbooks while my kids are working on their own math, too.  They see that I had weaknesses in math and am trying to work through those weaknesses to gain a better understanding.  It has inspired them.  They want to help me learn so they are trying hard to learn themselves so they can teach me.   :)  DD has just started looking math videos up on youtube when my explanation doesn't help her then we work problems together.  We are going to try Khan Academy again, too.  

 

Don't be afraid of math, or anything else you may not feel you were "good" in.  Learn alongside your kids.  Work a bit ahead if it helps you to better facilitate learning in your children. There are so many ways to approach something.  If you didn't learn it in school, or you have forgotten too much, it probably wasn't taught to you in a way that truly tapped into your learning style and strengths.  Mentally chuck out those old issues and insecurities.  Start fresh.  Be the student as well as the teacher.  It is a really enlightening and freeing journey.

[Kerileanne99]

Yes, I agree with a previous poster...you don't have to know everything to do with math right NOW. You just have to stay ahead of the kid:)

 

And here is another thing. I have degrees in chemistry and biology, so have taken a LOT of math. Yet I am actually learning right alongside my dd, with new understanding and appreciation. We are doing Singapore as our spine, so the style is somewhat different, but it is still so much different than when I just had to plow through it.

You may actually discover a whole new love of math!

 

I actually liken it to our spelling journey. I learned to spell, as did so many of my generation, simply by memorizing lists. I did well. I actually won a couple of local spelling bees...and knew nothing of the mechanics of spelling.

I am doing AAS with my dd, and blown away by the fact that there are actually RULES:). Who knew?

The point is, whether it is math, spelling, new tech that might come out a year from now, you don't need to be an expert in it to teach the earlier level. You just have to be willing to put the time and effort into staying ahead of your student.

 

That being said, I know definitively that there will come a day when I will have to outsource math if my dd continues to love it as much as she does now. Part of the journey for will be knowing when to turn that part over to a teacher/mentor more knowledgeable...

[Luckymama]

Listen, math came/comes easily to me, both conceptually and procedurally. Yet I still work through every single math problem ahead of dd (who is truly gifted in math). I think seeing my struggles with some problems helps her understand that it's ok when she has to struggle.

 

I do math when she's working on another subject or in the evenings or on the weekend or in chunks during the summer.

[Kerileanne99]

I am like some PPs, I made it through math but I never really understood math. My grades were good (except for Algebra II/Trig my senior year where my lack of understanding caught up with me). Working through math just ahead of my kids or with my kids has been wonderful. Things are finally starting to make sense. I am doing the Key to,...workbooks while my kids are working on their own math, too. They see that I had weaknesses in math and am trying to work through those weaknesses to gain a better understanding. It has inspired them. They want to help me learn so they are trying hard to learn themselves so they can teach me. :) DD has just started looking math videos up on youtube when my explanation doesn't help her then we work problems together. We are going to try Khan Academy again, too.

.

Can I just say that at the moment I think the Key to... Books are one of the best math purchases I have made?!

I picked them up locally, thinking to have them on hand. Dd glommed onto them. She loves the format and the fact that it is just condensed, everything you need right in front of you. Along with math games, I now have enough to keep her satisfied this summer, at such a great price:)

[Walking-Iris]

I was a bit worried about math when I started out as well. But I relearned so much by teaching my child. 

 

The best thing I've discovered is that I need the math program I use to not only fit my child, but it needs to fit me as well. I'v ealways read ahead in the lessons and in the teacher guides.

 

I had math anxiety all through school. I could do it and pass my classes and tests, but it was emotional torture every step of the way. I hated math! I had a bit of a glimmer of enjoying it in college, but I still considered it some necessary evil to get through as quickly as possible.

 

Now I've found it is actually really interesting. Mainly because at first I faked it. The one thing I was sure of was that I did not want my children having math anxiety. I didn't care whether they loved it or not. It didn't have to be their favorite subject, but I wanted them confident they could do it and not be afraid if they didn't understand. I wanted them to realize that whatever wasn't being understood could be figured out. So I acted as if math was the best thing on the planet because I didn't want my worry to rub off on them.

 

Eventually I realized my math anxiety was gone. You couldn't get cheaper therapy! ;)

 

You may think about supplementing the Abeka ( I've not used that math program btw so I don't know that much about it) with activity books, games, Miquon,the Livingmath.net site, c-rods and Education Unboxed videos so on. 

 

 

Don't worry about what you may not understand later. If you focus on understanding what you're doing with them now, you'll find you're reteaching yourself in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

[RootAnn]

If you don't get them, I'd recommend the Lesson Plan book for homeschoolers to help you explain the math in Abeka. There are hands-on ideas and a lot of how-to along with suggestions for review and stuff that will lead up to further lessons. (I don't use them exactly as written, but try to encorporate some of the work listed each day.)

 

I will also echo everyone else with "work ahead" and "work alongside" your student! 

 

Education Unboxed videos are fabulous. I would let your son watch as many as he wants - and you need to watch along with him. Or, you can watch as many as you have time for. They are going to probably present things a whole lot differently than how you learned them. 

 

You'll be fine. 

[OneStepAtATime]

One thing my kids are enjoying (and me, too), is creating their own problems using 10 sided die.  Each one is a different color and I assigned a specific color to each place value.  We go through the lesson, we do some practice together on dry erase board then paper, then they start creating their own problems based on what we learned.  They roll the die to come up with their own numbers then they create their own math problems that they then have to write out correctly and solve.  We do this for fun but it is great practice.  I have Roman Numeral die, too, so we are going to start creating our own math problems with the Roman Numeral die as well.  And there are a zillion different colors and styles you can find for die.  There are die within die, too.  Really cool.

 

Example of some:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A10+sided+dice+set&keywords=10+sided+dice+set&ie=UTF8&qid=1399564572

 

You might also check out Soror's Relaxed Math thread to see some awesome ideas for fun ways the whole family can be doing math.  LOTS of great resources there (some are too old for your kids right now, but keep that thread marked)...

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/499692-looking-to-do-some-relaxed-math-here-want-to-share-ideas/page-2?hl=%2Brelaxed+%2Bmath&do=findComment&comment=5591699

 

 

[foxbridgeacademy]

My kids are only in first grade (Abeka for math.)  So far so good.  :)  But I have seen a few sample problems from even just third grade and they really do worry me.  I am just not a math-minded person.  I honestly don't remember how to do long division.  Or how to add fractions.  Or probably a lot of other things I can't even think of.  My son is particularly bright in math and I just know he's going to surpass me!

My only hope is that going through this all from the very beginning with the kids will either spark my memory or I will just be a smart adult and understand things more than I did when I was a kid.

But what if I don't?  I can read the teacher's manual to them but I feel like if I don't have a real grasp on something myself, that I won't be able to teach them well.

I'd love any words of encouragement, or advice on teaching things that you are not good at yourself.

Thanks so much!

That's how I felt years ago when we started fractions and percents, but I figured it out.  I remember calling my sister and saying I get it!

 I have/ had not only a very sketchy understanding of anything past the 4 basic function but also a huge math phobia. I still have the math phobia, I'm just sure that even though we are nearly done with Algebra 1 ( I get it!) I won't be able to do Geometry and Algebra 2.  Maybe I won't but I've gotten a lot farther then I ever thought I would.  The biggest surprise though is how much I'm enjoying Algebra.  It's fun, like a puzzle.  So don't sell yourself short, you may find that you're better at it then you think.  If not there are excellent texts and video's and online classes.