PenKase Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I do need the help, DESPARATELY!! I have been AS my dd8 & dd4 since birth. My husband and I are very involved in her (dd8) schooling and we simply do not think that PS will expose her to everything that she needs. Plus the idea to giving total and complete strangers carte blanche on our daughter's schooling is absolutely ridiculous. I digress... So, this summer I've been homeschooling for two hours a day with no problems. The kiddies know what to expect and actually enjoy the structure in their day. But, now I've hit a stump in math and I would love advice from you fellow afterschoolers. The problem is that dd8 struggles with math (it's definitely not her favorite subject). We've been chugging along in RightStartB but to be honest I just don't really grasp the concepts myself and I find it frustrating teaching something I really don't "get" myself. I try to study the lesson before I present it to her but I still get lost. I'm thinking that when school starts anyway we just won't be able to keep up with the demands of RS along with a demanding PS 3rd grade education. I'l love to hear what you all think out there and let me know what has worked for you. I'm looking to help my daughter grasp the concepts and see them and not just learn by rote and memorization. Thanks in advance and have a geat day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntPol Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 I think Singapore is better suited for afterschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 We began with Saxon in K but switched to RS for 1st grade math, and although I absolutely love the concepts in it and we still use them and keep them in practice, it wasn't very fun for dd. She does much better with the structure of Saxon. I stagger the drill and worksheet practice and use the flash cards intermitently so as not to burn her out on the drill and because we have such limited time together as-ing. As much as I loved and valued RS, Saxon is just a better fit for my dd. I also enjoy teaching Saxon more, probably because there's usually very little or no prep required. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecow7 Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 What math program are they following in school? My oldest used Everyday Math in third grade and my younger daughter used Scotts Foresman in first. The reason is I try not to teach the same thing as they are doing in school, but supplement and work on things they need help with. What I have used to afterschool. I am currently using the Sigapore math for my 4.5 year old twins and I am finding it easy to do in 5-10 minute settings without a lot of prep time for me. I am also using it for my 7 year old dd. It was a great help this summer because while she is good in math I had her take the placement test and found some holes in her math learning that we have been skipping to those section in the workbook. She also loves music so she listens to multiplication unplugged to learn her multiplication facts. DS 9 listen too, but does not admit that he likes it. :lol: http://www.sara-jordan.com/product-111.shtml We also use Challenge math for word problems. I don't think they do enough of these at school. http://www.challengemath.com/ Dd 7 and dd 4.5 loves work books so I also used basic work books I buy at Target for her to do while hanging out soccer games etc. DS 9 had issues with math minutes - doing as many fact problems as possible in a minute. So I printed off sheets from the internet and we do math mintues for marshmellows. It was a stress thing and he knows all his facts just not fast and not under pressure. So we worked on it. Now ds 9 loves math so we also did EPGY for him and we also did it for dd7 (but took a break because she hit a learning wall - she needed to know more basic facts - we will pick this up again for her in the fall) Ds 9 and I are also watching Chalk Dust algebra tapes and doing some problems. This is going very slow, but he thinks it is cool that he is learning algebra. But I am impressed with the program so far - we are still on tape one. http://www.chalkdust.com/ I bought my program off of ebay. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shay Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 Can you let us know what math program you dc is using at school? Without knowing that it is very hard to know how to suggest you going about helping her in the most efficient way. If you're not sure , perhaps you can find what they're using. As you probably know, they can change the math program so maybe it's even a new program this year. Shay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractalgal Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 I do need the help, DESPARATELY!! I have been AS my dd8 & dd4 since birth. My husband and I are very involved in her (dd8) schooling and we simply do not think that PS will expose her to everything that she needs. Plus the idea to giving total and complete strangers carte blanche on our daughter's schooling is absolutely ridiculous. I digress... So, this summer I've been homeschooling for two hours a day with no problems. The kiddies know what to expect and actually enjoy the structure in their day. But, now I've hit a stump in math and I would love advice from you fellow afterschoolers. The problem is that dd8 struggles with math (it's definitely not her favorite subject). We've been chugging along in RightStartB but to be honest I just don't really grasp the concepts myself and I find it frustrating teaching something I really don't "get" myself. I try to study the lesson before I present it to her but I still get lost. I'm thinking that when school starts anyway we just won't be able to keep up with the demands of RS along with a demanding PS 3rd grade education. I'l love to hear what you all think out there and let me know what has worked for you. I'm looking to help my daughter grasp the concepts and see them and not just learn by rote and memorization. Thanks in advance and have a geat day! Have you thought about contacting Rightstart about the parts you don't understand? Do they have a forum like Singapore does? I afterschooled my second grade daughter all last school year with Saxon 3 and Singapore Math 2 Workbook only. We'd spend about 1.5 hours per day on it. My daughter really enjoys math (as do I) so it was mostly pleasurable for us, but at times she was in tears. The tear moments eventually were replaced with "ah ha" moments. It was win win for us. I got to the point, too, thinking that I'd have to let the school's requests come before what I thought the priorities should be, so now I am full time homeschooling my children. I haven't used RightStart, but I have heard good things about it. Mathematics is easier understood with a picture or manipulative/visual aid for most people. I like Saxon because you don't have to go searching to fill in the holes. I like Singapore because it makes you think (especially the challenging word problems). Singapore's CWPs are what math is all about. First you feel frustrated, and then you get it. In the mean time, your mind has been stretched and you grow from the experience. However, before attempting logic, its good to have addition, subtraction, multiplication and division mastered. Singapore is a good test to see if you've gotten what Saxon has drilled you on for years. This is my understanding. My advice would be to consult with RS to see if they have any help on the website. I can tell you that the Saxon/Singapore combo worked for us. Hope that helps...:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 I do need the help, DESPARATELY!! ...we simply do not think that PS will expose her to everything that she needs. Plus the idea to giving total and complete strangers carte blanche on our daughter's schooling is absolutely ridiculous. I agree, and our ps are not very good here, that's why we continue to afterschool. In part because of this and because they've homeschooled for years already, my dc 6 and 7 are above their classes in math and other areas, so I don't bother with trying to work around what they're learning in school. I view it as all supplementary to what we're learning at home. Just another perspective. And RightStart does have an excellent forum on their website where you can get good, quick answers to your questions about the curriculum from their staff or other users. They've been very helpful to me in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ack25 Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 I have a dd going into 4th grade who does not love math, to say the least. She cannot grasp math as presented by Singapore or RS. Saxon has been great for her. We have successfully completed Saxon K-3 and are now starting Saxon 4/5. My ds is going into 1st grade. He LOVES math and is just a very mathematical thinker. He loves RS and is just finishing up RSC. Saxon would drive him batty with all of the worksheets and repetition but RS and the RS games is perfect for him. I think so much just has to do with the fit of the child and the program (which is part of why we afterschool math!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenKase Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Many, many thanks to all who posted. At the time I was having a near nervous breakdown and I really needed to have some time to compose myself! To answer the math curriculum question some of you had, my daughter is doing Trailblazers Math at school. We have since moved forward with RS and are taking it slow and steady. I will keep plugging away with RS because it's not workbook oriented and my daughter is grasping the concepts very well. Although she says she is not fond of school math, she does enjoy the math "we do at home". That to me says it all and validates the reason why I do this in the first place. My dd4 on the other hand is working through Singapore EarlyBird and does like it but I will be switching her to RSA very soon as well. Again, thanks so much to all who posted and shared your wisdom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Many, many thanks to all who posted. At the time I was having a near nervous breakdown and I really needed to have some time to compose myself! To answer the math curriculum question some of you had, my daughter is doing Trailblazers Math at school. We have since moved forward with RS and are taking it slow and steady. I will keep plugging away with RS because it's not workbook oriented and my daughter is grasping the concepts very well. Although she says she is not fond of school math, she does enjoy the math "we do at home". That to me says it all and validates the reason why I do this in the first place. My dd4 on the other hand is working through Singapore EarlyBird and does like it but I will be switching her to RSA very soon as well. Again, thanks so much to all who posted and shared your wisdom! I would like to suggest Math on the Level, which is easily suited to any level from PK-Pre Algebra, and can easily be used to fill in gaps where needed. We are using this quite successfully and I feel a freedom I have never felt before; I am truly in charge of what teaching needs to be done and am no longer a slave to a traditional curriculum. Basically what it is - a way to systematically teach and review only the areas of math which your student needs to be working on. There is a record-keeping system to keep track of concepts which need daily/weekly/review or just drop them out of "rotation" when the student has really learned it (i.e., consistently gotten problems of that type correct). http://www.mathonthelevel.com They also have an excellent yahoo group for support and questions which the authors are involved in daily. ~Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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