Desert Strawberry Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 We started Reception with my 5yo today. That was fine. He liked it. I am looking at year 3 for Aries. He has a very short attention span. I haven't printed the practice pages yet. We just did the oral lesson. That was fine. But it looks like the practice should take 1-2 hours a day? Am I reading that wrong? Is each lesson plan one day? And do the little practices each take up to 45 minutes? Really? My goodness. Aries will never make it. Obviously, we can break it up and take it more slowly. And we probably will. But I'm kind of hoping I'm not reading it correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 It never took us as long as they had slotted. So if something said 20 minutes, we could usually do it in 5-10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 It never took us as long as they had slotted. So if something said 20 minutes, we could usually do it in 5-10. Ah. That makes sense. I only have one kid, not a classroom full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 The lessons are designed to take 45 minutes a day in classroom environment. The times listed within each lesson are cumulative, not the time for each activity. So looking at year 3 lesson 1, activity 1 should take 5 minutes, activity 2, five minutes (10 minutes elapsed time), activity 3, 8 minutes (18 minutes elapsed time), and so on. With a single student many of the activities take less time than listed. Also, with a single student you will find that some activities can be skipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsellian Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 But it looks like the practice should take 1-2 hours a day? Am I reading that wrong? Is each lesson plan one day? And do the little practices each take up to 45 minutes? Really? My goodness. Aries will never make it. I think you might be misreading slightly - the timings on the lesson plans are cumulative - i.e. the whole lesson (bearing in mind this is a classroom programme) is supposed to be 45 minutes. We usually take about 20-25mins, as it doesn't take as long for lots of the sections one-to-one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 Ooooooooh. That makes so much more sense! I was starting to wonder how they had any time left to do anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 It was taking me longer than any of us wanted, so eventually I started streamlining a bit. If a problem is discussed in the teaching time and then there is essentially the same problem on the worksheet, we would do one or the other, depending on which I thought would be more beneficial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplemom Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 It takes us about 25-35 for both the lesson plan and worksheet in year 3, some of that time ds is working on his worksheet independently. Keep in mind, it may take longer at 1st just to get into the groove of MEP. We also streamline like Susan said above. Looking ahead to year 4, I anticipate spending more time on the lesson plans. Year 4 appears to ramp up ALOT in complexity for both teacher and student. I have already warned dh that I am designating him to teach the more complicated geometry problems on Saturdays next year to help me out....I am more algebra minded, while dh uses geometry all day everyday at work. (an aside hijack: Is it just me or is the geometry for MEP year 4 significantly more advanced than what is taught in traditional school grades 4-6?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 It takes us about 25-35 for both the lesson plan and worksheet in year 3, some of that time ds is working on his worksheet independently. Keep in mind, it may take longer at 1st just to get into the groove of MEP. We also streamline like Susan said above. Looking ahead to year 4, I anticipate spending more time on the lesson plans. Year 4 appears to ramp up ALOT in complexity for both teacher and student. I have already warned dh that I am designating him to teach the more complicated geometry problems on Saturdays next year to help me out....I am more algebra minded, while dh uses geometry all day everyday at work. (an aside hijack: Is it just me or is the geometry for MEP year 4 significantly more advanced than what is taught in traditional school grades 4-6?) You have confirmed what I was thinking. I looked MEP for Sagg in year 4, and thought it was super teacher heavy. We will definitely be switching to LOF in 4th. I'm just disappointed that LOF elementary series is moving soooo slowly. MEP will be more challenging and engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 You have confirmed what I was thinking. I looked MEP for Sagg in year 4, and thought it was super teacher heavy. We will definitely be switching to LOF in 4th. I'm just disappointed that LOF elementary series is moving soooo slowly. MEP will be more challenging and engaging. We are almost halfway through year 4 and I don’t think it ramps up nearly as much as it appears to at first glance. The lessons do take longer, years 1-3 we never spent more than 30 minutes on a lesson. This year we do frequently need 45 minutes. But, this is the first year ds1 is writing most of his math himself. Also, he does not yet have instant recall of all multiplication facts. That slows him down. As to whether there is more geometry, it is more than I was taught, but schools have changed a lot since I was an elementary student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 No! No conflicting opinions! Everyone must agree, so that my choices will be easy. Just kidding. I'm happy for the extra input. We'll just have to see how this year goes, and make the decision when we get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplemom Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 No conflict at all 😊. Sherry's post offers much encouragement! I am planning to carry on with year 4 next year as long as I am able to invest the extra time with the lesson plans in addition to teaching my dd MEP year 2. Having dh say he feels confident to teach geometry as needed helps as well. I did gulp and get intimidated considering carrying on when I reviewed the more complex material in year 4, but believe the program is worth the increased time investment (even at the cost of having to switch to less teacher intensive programs in other subjects if needed). But I am biased at choosing a more intensive math program because I highly considered being a math teacher before switching to a nursing program in college. I would pay top dollar for MEP if they started charging a fee to access the materials, lol. If you haven't yet watched these videos on Hungarian elementary math in which teachers show how MEP is implemented in the classroom for elementary grades, it is worth your time to do so...here's the link (I linked it another MEP post a while back ago as well) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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