OMG school is terrible + I am a terrible mother

[IsabelC]

Today I did Ms. 9's first math lesson at home since she left school after nearly 2 years. 

 

This child has ongoing struggles with reading which I have known about from the beginning, but since her teachers and her school reports informed me that she was achieving "above expectations" in math (and she was selected as one of the best in her class for math relay activities), I stupidly assumed she would be OK with that.

 

I didn't know what she has covered exactly, but given that she is two months away from finishing grade 3 and is supposedly performing above average, I was thinking a bit of grade 3 revision would see her ready to start grade 4 work in the new year. However since she told me she was nervous and would rather start easy, I decided to kick off with the end of grade 2 test (from MM, which is what the other two are doing at the moment) before skimming through the stuff she should have already covered at school this year.

 

By the end of the first page, she was melting down and refusing to attempt any more questions. This was basic addition and subtraction facts, which I had already started her on 2 years ago, before she went to school. She hasn't memorized anything past 10. She doesn't even have any strategies for "going past the 10" - apparently the only thing they have learnt is counting backwards or forwards, eg for 15-6 she will count down six numbers, and even then she isn't sure of the answer because she doesn't know whether to start counting on 15 or 14. 

 

She has been at school for almost 2 years and she knows less math than before! I feel like crying. It was the one thing I didn't think I needed to stress about.

 

It's OK. It's not life threatening. We just need to start a bit further back than I was planning on. Oh, and figure out how to bolster her confidence now that her 6yo sister is ahead of her in everything. Sigh.

[kiana]

re: bolstering confidence -- you might seriously consider using something mastery-oriented and without grade levels, like MUS, where it's easy to skip through lessons if she already knows them -- but start in alpha anyway, just move through as she starts to remember what's what. I'd expect her to learn quite a bit faster than a first grader, and so it might bolster her confidence a lot to be moving through levels rapidly. There's someone here (I forgot who) who mentioned starting in alpha with a late elementary child and going through several levels in just a couple of years. 

[EKS]

Agreeing with kiana--MUS is wonderful for remediating gaps--no grade levels on the books and it's easy to accelerate as needed (I did five levels in 6 months at one point and it worked perfectly).

[kiana]

Agreeing with kiana--MUS is wonderful for remediating gaps--no grade levels on the books and it's easy to accelerate as needed (I did five levels in 6 months at one point and it worked perfectly).

 

I think you were the person I was thinking of but couldn't remember! :)

[Mom22ns]

We remediated with MUS and ds did 2 levels a year for 2 years after pulling out of ps. It is gentle but at the elementary levels it is a solid program. With no grade levels, she can't see that she is behind her little sister. Just tell her that the program suggests beginning with the first level and working through at her pace. 

 

:grouphug: 

 

Deep breaths. This too shall pass. 

[RootAnn]

And once she has some solid footing, xtramath.org (on the SIX second setting, not the default three second setting) is great for drill. But don't get her on it until she's got her feet under her.

[Gil]

I'm sorry that school failed your kid in this regard. Its a shame, really but not un-fixable. You might look into using MMs topical books, maybe use them in the same order that MUS goes in. You can go through in any order. Really, harp on place value. Like, obsessively.

 

I would say dedicate 3 months to addition and subtraction with regrouping. Yammer on and on and on about place value. Kids have to get it. If they truly understand place value and get fluent at add/sub then long multiplication and division become easy.

[5LittleMonkeys]

I'm so sorry.  I've been there. You and she can come through this pretty quickly barring any LDs...and even then just keep moving forward at her pace. :)  When I pulled dd15 out of ps 4th grade I found that she was actually at a 2nd grade level in math.  Things here are exacerbated by her dyscalculia but we used MUS to remediate as well.  We did take a break from it for about a year to try TT, which didn't advance her in skill but did help tremendously for her self esteem (spending a year getting all the answers right will do that for you), but are back with MUS now.

 

You're a wonderful mother for doing what is best for her!   :grouphug:

[rimk3]

I agree with the others that suggested MUS. When my son came home from public school last year as a second grader, he was able to work through two levels of MUS (alpha and beta) from sept to jan and then started MEP year 2. MUS is very easy to accelerate and will fill gaps. Doing a different program than her younger sibling may also help her built confidence more easily.

[IsabelC]

Thank you for responding.

 

I think you're right that MUS might be good, but it looks like the cost is going to be prohibitive: just Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta plus the manipulative set adds up to $638 new on the Aussie website, and secondhand is not much less due to over $30 for postage from the US. Do you really need all of it? Would it be doable with just the student packs or would I be unable to teach it without the instructional materials? Also I'm not seeing any electronic/online versions of it? Does it only come in hard copies?

[rimk3]

Thank you for responding.

 

I think you're right that MUS might be good, but it looks like the cost is going to be prohibitive: just Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta plus the manipulative set adds up to $638 new on the Aussie website, and secondhand is not much less due to over $30 for postage from the US. Do you really need all of it? Would it be doable with just the student packs or would I be unable to teach it without the instructional materials? Also I'm not seeing any electronic/online versions of it? Does it only come in hard copies?

Yeah, that is a big investment. I'm pretty sure it only comes in hard copies. Is it possible to borrow some MUS resources from another homeschooling family? If so, maybe then you would only need to buy the manipulatives. We bought ours used and still use them with our other math resources.

 

Otherwise, MM blues series that covers topics may be a good option as well.

[prairiewindmomma]

If it's cost prohibitive, and you are comfortable teaching math yourself, I'd consider doing a couple of different things....

1. buy the manipulatives, and print off the worksheets as needed from the MUS website's worksheet generator

2. buy Ronit Bird's ebooks, a bucket of c-rods, and pull out paper or a whiteboard as necessary and use singapore math starting with 1a

 

I have kids with differing math abilities; using differing programs helps save face for the child who is embarrassed by struggling.  Khan Academy can be another help.

 

[kbutton]

Education Unboxed (online) has a ton of free videos with math concepts. They use c-rods and base ten flats, and they have games and drills with rods that are pretty fun for remembering math facts. I would check that out before ordering anything to see what kind of mileage you can come up with.

 

Also, Miquon is a rod-based program, and it gives a lot of strategies for learning math facts. It's very inexpensive, and I think you can get e-books on currclick.

[Ravin]

Since you're used to MM, I would go with MM dark blue, by topic instead of grade level.

[Garga]

Well, it doesn't have to be MUS, I suppose.  My oldest son did great with MUS, but it didn't work for my youngest.  He was at the end of the 3rd book last year in 3rd grade and doing very poorly.  This year I switched him to CLE.  According to their placement test, I have to put my 4th grader into 2nd grade CLE.  He just simply did not retain a thing from MUS.

 

 CLE comes with 10 (?-I think 10, they're upstairs and I'm too tired to go check for you) workbooks for each grade.  But the first workbook is review, so you could always just buy the 2nd-10th.  And, in the 2nd grade level anyway, the Teacher's Guide has been completely unnecessary.  Completely.

 

I've been pleased as punch with CLE.  Some of the work is extremely easy for him, being that he is in 4th grade after all.  It's doing an incredible job of teaching him the math facts so that he can actually remember them.  We were just beating our heads against the wall with MUS.

 

In order to get him up to speed, we do math 362 days a year (off for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and his birthday.)  At that rate, we can get through more than 2 grades in a single year.  And he doesn't even care that we do math on Sat/Sun because it's such a gentle approach, yet effective.

 

Well, research it for yourself.  I think it'll be a lot cheaper than MUS, since you can buy just the 9 out of 10 books and don't have to get the TG.

[She Reads a Lot]

I wonder if the RightStart games book would be helpful. My son is dyslexic, which we didn't know when I chose RightStart Math. I just knew we needed something hands on with few worksheets. Well it turned out that the games were absolutely perfect re: helping him memorize his math facts. He was so busy trying to beat me in Go to the Dump and other games that he didn't realize he was learning the math facts up to 10 and then 11, etc. I think the book that comes with all of the cards is only $30 and it is stand alone/independent--and it goes up through division, I'm pretty sure. You would just need to play the games with your kiddo or have another child play, but it was fun for me, since my son enjoyed it so much. And I could see it working. Flash cards and drill and kill would have been so painful with this boy. Games were golden.

 

FYI, I will say Math-U-See has been the ticket for us in getting our multiplication facts mastered. We switched to it in April when he didn't understand how RS taught multi-digit multiplication and it was going to start division two days later. He has cruised through 18 lessons of Gamma in about 10 weeks. But given what you said about the crazy cost of getting MUS to you, maybe the RS games book could bridge the gap/help her learn her facts in a fun way?

 

Best of luck!

Christina

[RootAnn]

 even though that is our cruel math program.

 

:huh:  Auto correct or simply a Freudian slip?  :laugh:

[shinyhappypeople]

Once you've carefully identified the gaps, make a list and then do an internet search "how to teach "  You'll find lesson plans, free videos, worksheets, etc.  You really don't need to spend any money at all on this.

 

Does the timed aspect stress her out?  IOW, does she understand how to do the math, but just not quickly enough?  You can get drill/review workbook downloads from Scholastic when they have their dollar deals.  She may just need a few tricks and plenty of practice.  Kumon workbooks might work well for her, too.

 

How did she do on the missing number problems?

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried.  She sounds like her math skills need a little tune-up.  A little reteaching, a little (or a lot!) of review and you're golden.  You've got this, mom :)  

[Roadrunner]

I am so sorry. I would absolutely not spend that much money on MUS. Just get MM by topic. I bet she will manage to get through it fairly quickly.

[sewingmama]

Can I just say that for the first two years of homeschooling I used Australian math programs that they use in the schools. My kids zipped through them and got everything right. They retained nothing and in the middle of this year I switched to CLE to remediate and my kids are doing the first level because a lot of it they didn't know. Australian math programs are useless.

[Ausmumof3]

Although scholastic are advertising a great new Maths program based on Asian math. Aka singapore. Whether or not it's singapore as we know it I don't know but I'll be happy if they are as it should be cheaper hopefully. Though they won't have the hig etc.

[kiana]

Yeah, ok, I like the idea of MUS but not at THAT price.

 

MM blue has topically oriented workbooks that you can buy in ebook form and print out yourself. Here's a link to the suggested order of study: http://www.mathmammoth.com/study_order.php

 

You can get all of grades 1-3 for $45 to see if you like it. Even if you don't like it, it will not be an expensive mistake and the worksheets may be helpful as supplements to another curriculum.

[DoppeltGemoppelt]

I work in an elementary school and understand exactly what you are talking about. There are almost no children who will actually understand math intuitively, the way it is taught in public school. The kids get crutches to use that plaster the walls. Maybe you will be lucky, but it could turn out to be VERY difficult to undo what PS has done.

 

My suggestion would be to stay far away from workbooks for at least the remainder of this school year, if not for longer. Do not write any numbers, as that triggers connections in the brain to use the previously taught crutches. Your DD should practice mental math whenever possible. Have your daughter use rods and play with them every day. I personally prefer Crewton Ramone's website for math beyond elementary level, but Education Unboxed has videos that are very well organized by topic. Both should give you an idea as to what you can do. Your daughter will get caught up in no time at all, but do her the favor and make sure that bad habits are unlearned first.

[BlsdMama]

Deep breaths.

 

;) 

 

((Hugs))

 

Okay, now, there are plenty of us out here who believe in delayed math.   (Not starting formal math study until 4th-5th grade.)

You simply start where she is and go slow and steady from there.   :) 

 

BTW, this neither makes you a horrible homeschooler or a horrible mom.  Sorry.  Nope, doesn't qualify you for either! ;)

[AimeeM]

Is it the format of MM, maybe? My eldest couldn't stand the layout, as much as I liked Math Mammoth. 

[shinyhappypeople]

Is it the format of MM, maybe? My eldest couldn't stand the layout, as much as I liked Math Mammoth. 

 

That's a good point. MM stressed my younger DD out for some reason.   Well, part of it is that there is A LOT packed onto a page, especially on the tests.

 

 Maybe OP can try writing out just a few problems at a time on a whiteboard and see if that makes a difference.

[Pen]

I think MM is hard for kids with reading problems. The page lay out etc. is not reading-difficulty friendly.

 

I liked MUS for reasons others have said, and think their manipulatives are easier to understand (because of marked increments) than C-Rods.

 

However, when we first started homeschool I went to a local bookstore and found best thing I saw on very meager shelf:  Spectrum workbooks for problems, and I explained concepts using whatever we had (toothpicks, coins)...and it worked fine until the pages in Spectrum became too cramped for my son's dyslexia and dysgraphia.  They are around $10 per grade level.

[Guest]

I have to add the word problems in MUS are nightmares!!! Like even my mathy dh and I could not figure out what they were asking. {This was the fractions level.} Just really hard! Have you looked at teaching textbooks or horizons or cle? CLE especially will work on those facts and is easy to accellerate

[MicheleinMN]

What about using MEP http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm or you could use something like http://www.schoolmadesimple.com/calculadder.html for drill work.

 

 

[Elisabet1]

You are telling my story. Except, you are not a bad mom and neither am I. My son went to public school for 3rd and 4th grade. Same story once he came home. 

 

All this tells us is..the public school is ...junk (because I suspect we cannot use the C word here) and we can do very little and still do better at home.

[kolamum]

I'd suspect another math curriculum would place her differently MM is a bit difficult unless you've been doing it from the start.

[BusyMom5]

I can relate, I did not ever HS my kids, but noticed that DD2 was having issues in 2nd and 3rd grade when they changed curriculums.  What I ended up doing is getting MUS blocks, going quickly thru Saxon 3 using the rods for the concepts DD was missing.  We would do 2-3 lessons in a day, I'd just circle the problems she had to do, and focused on the skills she needed.  We also worked really hard on math facts she did not know.  I would pick a fact family, like 7+5=12, and have her write it over and over that day (with all the possibilities, 12-7=5, ect.).  That seemed to really help her get those last few facts down.  We have moved on to Saxon 5/4 for 4th grade, and despite all the negative reviews for Saxon, we are liking it!  It's slow, steady, and constantly reviews the new skills, and there is also a mental math section (that we have to do on the white board still), and you can do fact-practice sheets, too. 

[Korrale]

I highly recommend CLE. The spiral will mean that she is revisiting a lot of content.

I actually really like it because it is integrated, how we learn math in Australia as opposed to the separated American math methods.

[LLMom]

Was this just a one time incident?  If so, I would try it again for a week or so. You never know with kids, she may have slept bad, not felt up to par, whatever.  I would do this before purchasing anything new.