Eagle Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Just when I think I have math figured out for ds, he surprises me and makes me rethink my plans. He has completed Miquon orange and red, and recently started blue. He likes it, but isn't super excited for math time (unlike science, his passion). He used to love math when we were in the orange book. We played lots of math games from Peggy Kaye's book and the Family Math book. We read lots of living math books. We played fun math ipad apps. Then I tried to add in Singapore 2A (after we finished Miquon red) and we no longer had time for "fun" math. Ds HATES Singapore math. He doesn't like the pictures. He doesn't like their questions. He doesn't like writing in the books. He doesn't like that we have to have several books out at a time. (Yes, some of these are weird or easily solvable, but these were the complaints.) In the meantime, he has lost some math spark and now doesn't really look forward to Miquon either. He does it, but takes forever as he is distracted by just about anything. I started to worry it was getting too challenging. We have put Singapore away and I haven't brought it out for at least a month. We don't do Miquon every day as I have been spending time trying to get his interest back for math. We have returned to playing games and reading living math books. Ds keeps a math journal and likes doing that. Today, we were playing a math app and I set it to hard mode addition by accident. When the first problem appeared, I realized it was the wrong setting and apologized. Ds says "It's ok Mum, I can do this!" And proceeded to do two digit addition (like 32+19) which we have never covered. I was stunned. I asked how he got the answer. He said he did 2+9+30+10. When I asked where he learned that (we had just started trying to learn place value in Singapore a month ago --recognizing tens, ones etc. not adding them yet) he rolled his eyes and told me he has always known this. Um... Ok? I had been thinking about getting the Kitchen Table Math books, sticking with Miquon but slowing down, and adding back the math games more frequently. I definitely want to make math time more fun, but I was worried it had been getting too hard and didn't want to rush him. Now I'm just confused. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 My suggestion. Let him pick his own worksheets out of Miquon Blue.Or, if you own the entire series, let him pick his own worksheets out of any of the books. He can find his own level and you can back fill as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 At the moment I have everything printed out. Ds chooses the topic and I give him the next page in that set. Do you mean let him pick any page at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Miquon has a good foundation for solving those problems even if he's not done them formally. If he's done orange and red, he knows how to make tens with leftovers (even if he wasn't adding double digits, he solved problems that went into the double digits), and he knows that numbers come apart and go back together. Kids don't always sustain a consistent level of excitement. They definitely don't make intuitive leaps in predictable chunks. And if they make a leap, they might get a little anxious when they look back or look down and aren't sure how they got there (at least my older one does--2e). I think it's a good idea to browse the Miquon sheets to see what he is drawn to. If you like Singapore, you might be able to play with math the Singapore way without having any books out. I don't see an age listed for your son, but if he's not complaining, I think it's okay to be casual and see if browsing the other Miquon books rings a bell. Some kids also like to do familiar work over again just because they ENJOYED it. Maybe your son wants to enjoy his current level a little bit. (I don't have the kind of gifted kids that fly ahead, they need a "just right" challenge from me.) Maybe he wants a chance to make more of those intuitive leaps without the curriculum. My little guy learned basic place value through Decimal Street (a MUS technique). He STILL loves to play decimal street. We haven't done regrouping on paper yet with Miquon, but he taught himself to add and subtract with regrouping long ago just by playing with decimal street and answering some well-placed questions--it was an extension of the curriculum, not something they taught. If we try to put it on paper, he gets just a little skittish. I am not familiar with Kitchen Table math (have heard of it, not used it). If the games are not exploratory, maybe you can find some games that are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 It is true, my son likes to revisit math he has done before. He has a few Miquon sheets he likes to go back to. I looked up Decimal Street. It looks really cute! I think ds would have enjoyed that last year but he may think it is too gimmicky now. I'll show him anyway and see what he thinks. Something he really likes doing is making 3D model buildings out of cardboard. He makes a set of buildings that look like punctuation. The question mark building is his favourite. I wonder if he would be interested in some basic level of geometry to help with the buildings. Or if I should get out of his way and let him do what he is already doing. Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 While I don't personally own the Kitchen Table Math books, I looked through them at one of the curriculum fairs our support group ran a couple years back. They look great and I totally think you'd be fine using them with Miquon and the LHS Family Math books while your student is young. Beast Academy is one program he really might like when he's ready for the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 The complaints made me smile, because sounds so much like me! One thing it might be is the visual math/geometry aspects versus algebra/linear aspects. The double digit addition leap is an algebraic algorithm. This is the same with the idea of fewer pictures and the dislike of Singapore (a very non-linear and much more visual curriculum). In my opinion people seem to either be algebra or geometry. It is like the brain is hardwired. I can do geometry, but it is much harder for me. My son can do algebra, but it is not a strength like geometry. Could it be that the curriculum began to express math in a way that didn't work for him so he turned away? It isn't that he shouldn't be exposed to other ways that are difficult. It might just be that you need to do a bit of "translating" so that the concept resonates the way his brain naturally turns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 While I don't personally own the Kitchen Table Math books, I looked through them at one of the curriculum fairs our support group ran a couple years back. They look great and I totally think you'd be fine using them with Miquon and the LHS Family Math books while your student is young. Beast Academy is one program he really might like when he's ready for the books. We can't wait for BA! I already bought the first book so I could preview it and it looks perfect for DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 One thing it might be is the visual math/geometry aspects versus algebra/linear aspects. The double digit addition leap is an algebraic algorithm. This is the same with the idea of fewer pictures and the dislike of Singapore (a very non-linear and much more visual curriculum). This is interesting to think about. I was so surprised ds didn't like the pictures because he is so visual. He has remarkable 3D spatial awareness. But perhaps the pictures make it cluttery for him. Too much visual stimulation may be distracting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 This is interesting to think about. I was so surprised ds didn't like the pictures because he is so visual. He has remarkable 3D spatial awareness. But perhaps the pictures make it cluttery for him. Too much visual stimulation may be distracting. When we first started with Teaching Company's Great Courses, I got the DVD's thinking that my husband and son would respond better since they were visual. It was the total opposite! It was very distracting and they both asked to switch to just audio. You could be on to something there. My visual spacial are not incredibly strong, so it all flies over my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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