umsami Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 So, I've been trying to after school math using MM. At school, the kids use Scott Foresman enVision math. BUT, I'm getting push back from the kids. Right now, I'm asking them to do every other problem. What do you do? Do you save supplemental math only for areas they have trouble in? Do you force it? Help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uff Da! Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I stop if there's push back and its just for enrichment. This year doing extra math is really hard because there is so much homework. Last night, DD brought the Beast Academy Guide Book to reading time so I'm thinking that maybe Life of Fred and Beast Academy during reading time might work better in this house. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 My kids do one Saxon lesson per day, (not happily). But I'm mean like that. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoppeltGemoppelt Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 My kids do MEP Math alternating with German every day. It has become a lifestyle, but sure I'll get plenty of push back! What helps is that I explain why we do the things we do. I really stress how important it is to work hard, and discourage the kids from labeling themselves as smart. Why are you a great reader? Because you worked hard for years! Why are you great at understanding math concepts? Because you work hard at it every day! Lately I even hear my kids say how much better they like MEP than the program at school. Or one of them may say how he needs to practice more German. Explaining long term goals is also important. Why can mom and dad afford so many toys for you? Because they studied hard for school and were therefore able to get great jobs. As long as they understand why they have to do extra work, it will make you feel like you are less of a mean person. Sometimes you may even get to hear appreciative comments, just probably not while they are studying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMRB Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 We hit math hard and heavy over the summer, usually finishing most of the following year's topics. Then we play reinforcement games during the school year so it doesn't feel like more of what they get at school. We reversed our thinking from trying to avoid summer slide to teaching heavily all summer and then avoiding school year slide. I'm not sure it will continue to work as the math gets more complicated over the years, but this has worked great so far. ETA: We do require it, but we adjust every week and know when to back off and do something more creative or fun. We pull from many sources and programs and as long as school math tests are good, we try to stay away from what they're currently covering in math class. We've also afterschooled math since Pre-K, so our kids expect it. It is important to establish a routine and an expectation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Here's what I have currently decided to do. (It is always a work in progress as needs change.) I've decided that 1 hour is the right amount of time for the kids to spend on school nights M-Th doing academic work. That includes required independent reading. (My kids are in 3rd grade, going on 8 years old.) For my faster kid it's 30 reading / 30 other, for my slower kid it's 20 reading / 40 other. In that 1 hour, the first priority is homework assigned by the school teacher (including test study). If there is non-reading time left over after homework / test study is done, then I assign stuff. It always includes math - challenge or review depending on need - and usually some LA such as vocabulary or grammar. If the school homework takes up more than the designated 30 / 40 minutes, then I leave it at that. I might do a read-aloud (which can be about math!), depending on our schedule and moods. When my kids were younger, I pushed one of them harder because she was really struggling to keep up in school. Also she didn't really have things she wanted to do in terms of "free play." Well, unless you count decorating her nails, which I didn't view as important as passing the next math test. :) The other kid I gave more freedom, because she didn't need the practice and she would use her free time to read, do crafts, make up stories, etc. It wasn't exactly fair and my slower kid started complaining about it. It's hard to find a balance, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I meant to add that we do more work on weekends, especially Saturdays, for review and enrichment that is not exactly aligned with what they are doing in school. This includes science and nonfiction reading/writing as well as math and LA. We've been doing this since they were 4yo so it's not something they question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 When we were afterschooling we did half an hour a day of math as my older boy have other stuff like homework, piano and downtime. We afterschooled since oldest attended preschool so the routine has long been established. Now we afterschool math on days my kids attend outside classes. There will be pushback since your kids are going back to school. Once they are used to the afterschooling routine, it would get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Afterschool math is not negotiable for me, but I will switch things around and try different math materials. Math mammoth, while being a solid program, is visually dry. I tried it with my oldest and he didn't like it. I have done both SM Standards Edition and Math in Focus: Singapore Approach. My kids really like Math in Focus because it is in color, there are games and fun activities in the textbook, and we use manipulatives. I also will bring out Miquon with cuisinaire rods or look at Rosie's videos. I bought a book on Math Talks and we often start with some mental math practice. NY Engage has some good free material online as does MEP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Ds7 is sort of doing MM3A but I made the mistake of giving him stuff too easy today. Yesterday it was harder and he found it easier to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 We do the homework whether I agree with its value or not. If it is really stupid and time consuming, then I might do some things to make it easier. For example, I will erase mistakes because my kids take forever to erase. :P So far the amount of really valueless homework my kids have gotten has been minimal. Even if I don't like it, if it is relevant to what they are doing in class, it is worth doing so my kids are not at a disadvantage in class. One of my kids is pretty advanced, but like Heigh Ho says, she finishes her homework quickly and moves on to other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMRB Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 How do you handle homework if you believe that the assigned homework is busywork and your child would be better served by doing the afterschooling? The schools we're considering use Everyday Math and supposedly there is homework every night that takes a lot of time because the child and parent can't understand it. Are there any schools to consider that don't use Everyday Math? I would personally run screaming from it, but Heigh Ho is absolutely right - if you are stuck with Everyday Math, you have to be ahead of the game and make sure that you get a mathematical basis and framework in place in your child's head first, or they (and you) really will be lost. We don't consider easy homework to be busywork - it's reinforcement or proof of mastery for us. Not all agree, but we also use it to teach that sometimes you just have to get stuff done that you don't like or don't think you should have to do. That's when we tell them to just do it and move on. It sounds like you need to reconcile whether Everyday Math is something you want or are willing to work with. You don't want to spend all of your energy fighting against a math teaching philosophy that is contrary to yours. If you can be far enough ahead in math so that you achieve mastery at home, you can look at Everyday Math as enrichment and challenge. It can work, but you would have to consider yourself the primary math teacher and find a way to not belittle or write off what's being done at school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 How do you handle homework if you believe that the assigned homework is busywork and your child would be better served by doing the afterschooling? The schools we're considering use Everyday Math and supposedly there is homework every night that takes a lot of time because the child and parent can't understand it. I tell DC they must do whatever the teacher assigns, even if I have something better to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Afterschool your child so that they are ahead of the grade level. Then the classwork and the homework becomes practice for handwriting and is review. You need to use a concept based program so that they will recognize the concepts that EM is trying to have them learn and you need to get them to mastery. The homework is only busywork if they already have it mastered. It will take under one minute to do :iagree: Most of the homework that my child brings home in math is review work for him due to after schooling we do. So, a sheet of homework takes a minute or two and it does not matter if we do busywork for a short time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 How do you handle homework if you believe that the assigned homework is busywork and your child would be better served by doing the afterschooling? The schools we're considering use Everyday Math and supposedly there is homework every night that takes a lot of time because the child and parent can't understand it. If you afterschool your child in a math programs like Singapore Math / Math Mammoth/ Math in Focus then Everyday Math will seem ridiculously easy. My second grade son gets a weekly homework packet with four worksheets from Everyday Math. It takes him anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes a page to complete. My kindergarten son's teacher sent home the homework book for Everyday Math and we are supposed to do a couple of pages a week. I conveniently "lost" the book since the homework never has to be returned. If it had any value I would have my son do it, but I don't want to go get pasta from the kitchen and make patterns, or go to a parking lot and count red cars, or find numbers around the house. Those would have been great things to do when he was three or even four. It is easy to see where Everyday Math tries to get kids thinking about math but doesn't really do a good job of teaching anything in depth or to mastery. I am really hoping my kids' school district gets rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in SW WA Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 What do you do? Do you save supplemental math only for areas they have trouble in? Do you force it? Help. Dd10 does more challenging/accelerated math at night because she wants to keep her skills up and move into algebra. Very competitive spirit. Dd11 does Common Core 6th grade math a few nights/week since she is unfamiliar with the format of the new Smarter Balanced word problems and the 'computer adaptive' nature of the testing. She is assigned 3-5 SB math quizzes per week during her Advo (homeroom) period. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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