urthmama Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I am at the end of my rope with DD8 and math. Seriously - the END! She absolutely hates math. She is SO lazy with it - she finds the concepts easy but boring and "not worth her time." She would rather be drawing, writing stories, doing science... Right now she is almost at the end of Teaching Textbooks 6 - we started with TT3 and have worked through all the lessons and grade levels- she usually gets most of the problems right (95% or so) - so I know that the difficulty of TT6 is not too much for her. We also do Life of Fred (mostly for her 5 year old sister) - it's not at her level, but she tolerates it. It's just not really as robust of a math curriculum as I'd like for her - she is NOT an auditory learner, so I don't know how much she is really benefiting from LOF. She is a highly visual learner - she really likes computer work and online classes and especially anything video-based or game-based or interactive. She also loves drawings, illustrations, comic books, pictures - and anything story-based. I am wondering if AoPS or Beast Academy is something that would work for her? I went to the website and I am feeling overwhelmed. I really need something FUN that she can do mostly on her own with a little help from me - I have two other young kids, my husband works all the time (often gone for weeks at a time) - and I am also 6 months pregnant...so I just don't have the energy to do anything above and beyond with math. If she loved it, it would be different - but every single day, it's tears, tantrums, sulking, pouting...and I just don't want to deal with that! I just would love any feedback you have about AoPS - if that's even appropriate for her - or the Beast Academy. Honestly, I just don't understand the curriculum - but if I could have some insight, then maybe it's something I could get for her and maybe it would work better for us than Teaching Textbooks is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I think AOPS is ideal for a child who thinks math is easy but boring and not worth her time. I think pre-algebra would be too much for her at the moment, though, with the jump in difficulty level AND skipping a level from TT6. At the same time, while I don't think BA would be completely beneath her, I don't know how much use you'd get out of it for the price. It would definitely appeal to her love of comic books and story, though, so if you can afford it I would probably get it anyway. You might consider Russian Math 6 as a lead-in to AOPS pre-algebra. You can buy it in ebook form for $18, so even if it does not work it would not be an expensive mistake: http://www.perpendicularpress.com/math6.html Jousting Armadillos might also work (again, as a transition) but it is significantly more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 She absolutely hates math. She is SO lazy with it - she finds the concepts easy but boring and "not worth her time." She would rather be drawing, writing stories, doing science... Right now she is almost at the end of Teaching Textbooks 6 - we started with TT3 and have worked through all the lessons and grade levels- she usually gets most of the problems right (95% or so) - so I know that the difficulty of TT6 is not too much for her. This makes me so, so sad. Can you do the "Look Inside" and read the Foreword to this book? http://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Mathematics-Gifted-Students-Level/dp/0692240071/ Mathematics is not meant to be easy; it is meant to be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urthmama Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Kiana - Thank you so much! I went ahead and bought just the Beast Academy 3A book (not the practice, just the regular) used on amazon so I can see how she responds to it - if she likes it or not. If she does, then I think I'll explore the other levels and books... I am interested in the jousting armadillos - will look more into that! you're right - after looking at it more closely - she's probably not ready for aops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I think 3A is probably the best book to start with as it's focused more on geometry, so visual/spatial kids will love it, especially when it involves toothpicks and pentominoes. Oh, wait, I see you just got the textbook, correct? So most of the work is in the practice, but I understand just showing the comic book first. Some kids don't like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urthmama Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 crazyforlatin - i figure i'll just show her the book first. she likes to make up her own practice problems (highly creative, self-directed) - so I'll see what she comes up with and then if she needs practice, i will order the book. fingers crossed she likes the textbook enough to read it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Unless she just hates the comic book I would get the practice books. They are really good and some of the problems are very easy but some are also very challenging. We started at 3A even though the topics were all things we already covered. I think it was worth our time and it was the first math book dd asked to work on by herself during free time. There were definitely problems that she had to attempt a few times. I specifically wanted to get her used to having to try to solve problems more than one way before we started AOPs pre-algebra. Even though we finished mus pre-algebra and are working on AOPs pre-algebra soon we still do the Beast Academy books. DD is currently doing 3D and has asked the the next books for Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urthmama Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 has asked the the next books for Christmas. Well, that's an endorsement if I ever heard one!!!! very cool! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slojo Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 If you want to just try the comic book out before getting the workbook, I think that's fine as you test it out. The problems are pretty cool, so if it takes, it might be worth getting the practice book. BA is a winner in our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 The practice book is integral to the curriculum, you're not going to really get a feel for how BA works without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I would skip the guides before I'd skip the practice books. What ended up happening with the 3rd grade books was that DS binge read them when they first arrived and then they stayed on the shelf. So I'm seriously thinking about just getting the 4th grade practice books and seeing if I can find copies of the guides to borrow from someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urthmama Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 I just ordered the practice workbooks so no worries - LOL. I just didn't realize how important they would be, especially since this will all be review. I guess my intent is to get her excited about math - and trust me, that is an uphill battle for my literature/art girl. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I would skip the guides before I'd skip the practice books. What ended up happening with the 3rd grade books was that DS binge read them when they first arrived and then they stayed on the shelf. So I'm seriously thinking about just getting the 4th grade practice books and seeing if I can find copies of the guides to borrow from someone. My daughter read them all right away too but she has picked them up to read again several times. I make myself feel better about $30 books that she reads in 5 minutes by passing them on to friends to use when we are done. Unfortunately most of our friends have slightly younger kids so we rarely get to find someone else's books to borrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 I just ordered the practice workbooks so no worries - LOL. I just didn't realize how important they would be, especially since this will all be review. I guess my intent is to get her excited about math - and trust me, that is an uphill battle for my literature/art girl. Haha. Glad to hear you bought the practice books because I was worried :laugh: Initially Dd seemed more willing to tackle the hard problems in Beast Academy than other programs. I also had her read this article by "the guy who wrote Beast Academy" which I think helped. http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/articles.php?page=hardproblems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 My daughter read them all right away too but she has picked them up to read again several times. I make myself feel better about $30 books that she reads in 5 minutes by passing them on to friends to use when we are done. Unfortunately most of our friends have slightly younger kids so we rarely get to find someone else's books to borrow. I would love to have friends that would like to borrow all my Beast comic books. As soon as they hear "comic" they think "light." But, I sputter out that it's actually from Art of Problem Solving. Blank looks with claims that they are not looking to switch, especially if a textbook is in comic-strip format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I would love to have friends that would like to borrow all my Beast comic books. As soon as they hear "comic" they think "light." But, I sputter out that it's actually from Art of Problem Solving. Blank looks with claims that they are not looking to switch, especially if a textbook is in comic-strip format. Most of my closest friends who homeschool started 6 months to a year after us and have used a lot of the books we complete. I don't know that they spend as much time researching and obsessing about curriculum as I do. I haven't run in to a lot of people in my area who have even heard of Art of Problem Solving. We don't do a coop but we have a group that we are part of that does a lot of field trips and social activities. We are mostly attending elementary age activities. This might be why no one uses AOPs. Since dd is really far ahead in everything I rarely discuss curriculum unless asked directly what we use and then I answer in vague terms. My close friend who I pass books on to is more familiar with dd and I don't have to worry about awkwardness in discussing that dd is doing pre-algebra in the 3rd/4th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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