WahM Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I need some helping figuring out my dd's math situation. She is in first grade, going on second. She is very good at math and just gets it. She loves math shows, books, etc she talks about mathy stuff all the time, but she hates to do math work. We had used singapore primary math (standards edition) but it made her cry everyday. She liked the hands on presentations but hated doing the textbook and then the workbook. We eventually switched to cle and she does well with it. She seems to like it. The only thing is it does not seem to challenge her at all. She breezes through it, but I think she is capable of more and deeper understanding. I natrually do math the "singapore way" I was definitely not taught that way in school, I just have natrually always done it like that which is why I had initially picked singapore when I found out there was an actual method for the way I've always done math. I'm somewhat hesitant to switch from cle because it seems to be working she likes it most of the time, we both like the variety in each lesson because she is a very, very wiggly child with such a short attention span her brother is no where near as wild as she's always been! I also like in the teacher's manual it has reminders to practice counting odd numbers, by 2's, 3's, etc I love the flash card system for the math facts it helps me keep with with fact practice outside of the lesson because doing games and apps and xtramath.org was just not working she never memorized any facts with those despite doing them daily along with singapore. Once we started cle she began actually memorizing them and not needing manipulatives every single time. It seemed like they became a crutch more than helping her understand. So after all of that should I just stick with cle despite its lack of conceptual teaching or switch? Math mammoth or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Honestly, I think that since she's gone from tears to success I'd continue through and supplement with something like Zaccaro's primary challenge math and some living math books. I'd feel free to accelerate her through though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If CLE is working, I'd continue with CLE. It's a well-respected, solid math program. And it's working. If your concerned about conceptual math, consider adding a supplement as a "sometimes" thing. Miquon is a personal fav. Very hands-on and super easy to supplement with, as its cheap and you can jump around a lot. Educationunboxed.com is a great resource to see if you like Miquon style math. Education unboxed is a great resource, period. Math mammoth can be used as a supplement but its so overwhelming visually, I'm not sure it would be a good fit for your daughter. Singapore CWP or Processing Skills are popular supplements, and with you being a natural Singapore thinker may be a good fit. LOF isn't exactly challenging, IMO, but it does add a lot of higher-thinking math and a lot of children really adore it. Mine do. I can't stand it, lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 If CLE is working, I'd continue with CLE. It's a well-respected, solid math program. And it's working. If your concerned about conceptual math, consider adding a supplement as a "sometimes" thing. Miquon is a personal fav. Very hands-on and super easy to supplement with, as its cheap and you can jump around a lot. Educationunboxed.com is a great resource to see if you like Miquon style math. Education unboxed is a great resource, period. Math mammoth can be used as a supplement but its so overwhelming visually, I'm not sure it would be a good fit for your daughter. Singapore CWP or Processing Skills are popular supplements, and with you being a natural Singapore thinker may be a good fit. LOF isn't exactly challenging, IMO, but it does add a lot of higher-thinking math and a lot of children really adore it. Mine do. I can't stand it, lol. I agree with all of this! If you've found something that is working, then stick with it and supplement with fun things to round it out. Miquon and/or Education Unboxed or some of the Singapore supplements would be great. LoF is a hit here as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahM Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Thank you for the advice so far. I do have Singapore's CWP and use it here and there. I need to get back to adding in games and activies from Education Unboxed. I used to add them in all the time, and recently I've been slacking on that. I'm still not sure about staying, but not convienced to make a switch either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 While Singapore may be the way you think of math, it may not be the way you child learns math. Traditional math worked for many people for many years, and the newer math is designed to help those who think in other ways than traditional algorithms. She may understand more conceptually than you think. I would stick with what is working, especially since your daughter is only in 1st grade. In 1st grade, numbers as symbols is an abstract concept in and of itself. Using manipulatives are a way to help children go from the concrete counter to the abstract number symbol. If she has already made that leap, it would be very boring to go "backwards." She is already comfortable manipulating the numbers around. Right now, many are down on traditional math in favor of the newer math because it claims to offer better conceptual understanding. I understand this to a point. However, a good teacher can easily explain a concept with manipulatives or diagrams or whatever to make sure the child has a concept. Just ask her how she solved the problem to see if she understands the meaning. Not every curriculum has to be broken down in 5 ways visually for a child, especially a naturally gifted child, to understand math. The basic math facts are the most important foundational layer of math at this age. If CLE is helping your daughter learn and retain those facts and Singapore did not, I would not mess with it. You can always pick up a worksheet to test if she can do a problem a different way or give her some challenging word problems. Math Mammoth has lots of free worksheets in their sample to test if she is getting it. In my opinion, the deeper, conceptual math everyone loves to aspire to is better achieved after a child knows math facts. Just as in the grammar, dialectic, rhetoric stages of classical education, children often go from concrete to more abstract. I would go with whatever program helps get those math facts down. It is very easy to supplement with a fun, conceptual math book for added depth as she gets older or math games and puzzles now. LOF or Beast Academy are potential supplements that fit that purpose. You could also switch to a more abstract, deeper thinking curriculum in the dialectic/logic or rhetoric stage when they have built math confidence in facts. In my mind, that is a very classical approach, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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