................... Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 My dd is really struggling with the long tedious lessons and lack of human interaction with Horizons. She is a 100% math student and also does very well with Zacarro's Challenge math. However, her entire school day starts off a total drudgery with math taking up to 2.5 hours depending how willing she is to push through the sheer boredom and repetitiveness. I am trying to decide if I should consider teaching textbooks. She would place right into their pre-algebra program. However, I kind of thought that TT was for students who struggle in math. For someone who is great at math, would it be a different kind of tedium? Are there other suggestions for fast paced interactive computer or online math programs for a student like this? I would prefer that she be able to move fast and get through it rather than sludge through. (And yes I do cross out tons of problems on a regular basis)..she's just so bored of the mind numbing nature of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I've been wondering about the same thing. My 13 yo dd is newly back to hsing. She's also bright and definitely has ADHD, along with some bad math habits from ps. Right now she's working with some CLE light units I had on hand. They are great for me to figure out her strengths and weaknesses because they hit a ton of concepts daily, but I think the long lessons are wearing on her. I wish I could find an option with shorter lessons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 If your child wants interactive lessons, I'd suggest presenting her lessons in an interactive way and then allowing her to check her answers verbally with you after each practice problem she does independently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 You might investigate working with her more if that is an option. Otherwise, if TT works for her, I'd rather have her thriving with and enjoying TT than struggling with and hating Horizons. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I was reading a thread the other day that said moving maths to the end of the day worked wonders. Go and play when you finish maths may be more of an incentive than finish maths then do grammar. Also 2.5 hours of maths will make her too tired to do much else and thirdly some of the research i have read lately seems to support doing tasks like maths and grammar later in the day and content subjects earlier. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 @EKS, I hear you on the interactive things, but my dd found that just as tiring. Her mind moves quickly and so to "talk out" math was absolutely not the answer for her. It works with just about every other subject, except math actually. COmpounding that, is that she is superior in math over me, in her natural abilities and that adds another level of frustration. :o) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 KiwiK, that is super interesting. I wonder.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 IMO if you try TT for this situation, it would be important to recognize that it might be even more boring for her. Has she seen the samples? As you know, there's another possible direction to go in the quest to make math more interesting for the bright math student. Where did she leave off in Horizons? What would she think of BA (or AoPS)? Is there a chance she was placed incorrectly in Horizons, or does she just pick up concepts quickly (or both)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Wapiti, She picks up concepts quickly. .. I have AOPS right here and I want to try it. My older son just finished it but he had a tutor and I'm not sure I can help her with it. I thought about my son helping her but not sure. I think maybe we will take a week or two and try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I was reading a thread the other day that said moving maths to the end of the day worked wonders. Go and play when you finish maths may be more of an incentive than finish maths then do grammar. Also 2.5 hours of maths will make her too tired to do much else and thirdly some of the research i have read lately seems to support doing tasks like maths and grammar later in the day and content subjects earlier. I was going to suggest the same thing. Both of my kids have or likely have ADHD, and my younger one really does better in the afternoon and even evening with schoolwork. He's a totally different person later in the day. And maybe break it into more than one session with her choosing which to do first if the later in the day part doesn't work. If she likes the interaction and is better at math, maybe she can explain it to you. Just some ideas. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Math in Focus is interactive. Do a handful of pages in the colorful textbook together, then go do the workbook for review. My second grader just started using MiF with Horizons. She can do two Horizons lessons without breaking a sweat, but alternates between hating/loving it. So far MiF is different enough it's knocked her out of her rut. My other two Horizons users went from some of 6 (DS/7th) and finished 5 with supplements (DD/5th) to AoPS prealg and have done great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I'm planning to do the same thing with ADD/Dyslexic kiddo (DD14). Between the two (ADD and dyslexia) I'm having to copy EVERYTHING (every problem, every example) from her math book and into a separate word document, to make more "white space" for her. Now that we're in algebra, that's about an hour of work every night for me (because of the formatting, symbols, etc). I don't think I can do it much longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc26 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 My gifted/aspie/adhd (inattentive) boy is on his second year of TT, and doing really well with it. He gets frustrated occasionally (very low frustration threshold), but generally it is working great. The immediate feedback and complete solutions are key for him. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Does she want to go into a math focused career? TT is not bad for that, but it doesn't much teach the problem solving. My Ds has focusing issues and would likely be labled as ADD in school because he never sits still. He really likes that AoPS has so very few repetitions and the problems are really engaging. I will say that I have considered TT as an option, but more just because I know he would blow through it so quickly and easily. It would be a great option if I just couldn't handle interacting with math anymore. TT is a very good choice if you want something very hands off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest specsnomin Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I wish I could find an option with shorter lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SporkUK Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 My older 2 sound similar to yours - neuroatypical and got very bored last year with MEP which meant it dragged on even though otherwise they're very good at maths. We took a break and are now doing Math Essentials which touts that it's 20 minutes maths. I haven't tested that, but it's been a complete turn around for the older 2 in their mood during maths lessons. Quick review, speed drills, short video [free on their website or on DVD], 2 sample problems together where I have them explain outloud what they're doing, then off on their own with a word problem at the end, once done I read out the answers and any missed we go through like a sample problem. They have videos for Book 1 and 2 [very similar but one aimed at 4th and 5th grade and Book 2 is Middle School/Early High School], pre-algebra and algebra and learning from the videos and only discussing things with me briefly before setting off or when there is an issue I think has really helped their mood. I put my 11yo in Book 2 for Middle School/High School and it does begin quite easy [addition of large numbers] which doesn't have a daily video, only a video when the topic changes, but it moves on pretty quickly and you can start pretty much where you want and skip if needed. We're just moving from the start for review after our break. It's not computer interactive but it helped us so I thought it my be of use to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Just because she is good at math doesn't mean she can't just use a curric that she can just do and be done with it. A lot of it may have to do with age, as she gets older, she will learn to concentrate better, etc. If you think TT will be easier for her, I'd try and find out. If it doesn't work, you can return it (I believe they have 30 day policy), or re-sell it. Have you looked into Life of Fred? Maybe the story line of that would be more interesting for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I've been wondering about the same thing. My 13 yo dd is newly back to hsing. She's also bright and definitely has ADHD, along with some bad math habits from ps. Right now she's working with some CLE light units I had on hand. They are great for me to figure out her strengths and weaknesses because they hit a ton of concepts daily, but I think the long lessons are wearing on her. I wish I could find an option with shorter lessons. Not to hijack, but I often cross off review problems that I know ds has mastered well in order to shorten the lessons. When I switched him to CLE, I decided to back up a grade so that there wouldn't be any gaps. I'm still trying to catch up to grade level and this is helping. I can cross off a lot of review and cover 2 lessons a day. If you decide to continue with CLE, you could cross of some in one lesson a day to make it shorter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I've been wondering about the same thing. My 13 yo dd is newly back to hsing. She's also bright and definitely has ADHD, along with some bad math habits from ps. Right now she's working with some CLE light units I had on hand. They are great for me to figure out her strengths and weaknesses because they hit a ton of concepts daily, but I think the long lessons are wearing on her. I wish I could find an option with shorter lessons. Sorry, double post. I think all my dh's and ds' game playing is messing with out mouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 End of Ordinary- she is possibly planning to go j to an engineering related field. She is strongly considering industrial design. Given her creativity and that she is good at math, I definitely don't want to short change her in that area. Also, she did all the demos from pre-alg today and she thought it was very slow, too easy and although she loved the characters she asked in the end if there was a "version for fast kids." I think for now I'll just try crossing off more problems in Horizons and doing more problems from Zaccarro's. Anyway, The thing about Horizons is, that it works for her math wise. I just am so hesitant to switch, and then see her math slide downhill, which happens slowly. I have also liked the idea of trying to do math in the afternoon. I really am curious about that especially since she is NOT a morning person. She is the type that takes 3 hours to "boot up." Completely 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Spork, I will look at math essentials though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I'm planning to do the same thing with ADD/Dyslexic kiddo (DD14). Between the two (ADD and dyslexia) I'm having to copy EVERYTHING (every problem, every example) from her math book and into a separate word document, to make more "white space" for her. Now that we're in algebra, that's about an hour of work every night for me (because of the formatting, symbols, etc). I don't think I can do it much longer. If you were doing Saxon, instead of CLE, I would suggest looking at their adaptations workbooks. I'm tempted to use Saxon just to be able to use those workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 If you were doing Saxon, instead of CLE, I would suggest looking at their adaptations workbooks. I'm tempted to use Saxon just to be able to use those workbooks. I think she would melt into complete and total despair if I brought in anything that said "Saxon" on it, lol. Unfortunately, it will never be able to be used in this house again. Even if the adaptions workbooks are completely different, she is absolutely a Saxon hater on such a level that I could never get it past her :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellen Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 My son just started a math circle. He said they taught him the difference between an exercise and a problem. An exercise is practicing something you already know how to do and is boring. A problem is learning a new way to think about what you are doing. Most math books contain exercises. AOPS does not. Since you already have the AOPS book, why don't you hand it to her and have her try it out? It doesn't really require a teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I think she would melt into complete and total despair if I brought in anything that said "Saxon" on it, lol. Unfortunately, it will never be able to be used in this house again. Even if the adaptions workbooks are completely different, she is absolutely a Saxon hater on such a level that I could never get it past her :p This might be a sign that I should put Saxon right out of my mind for dd. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcmommy Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 TT is a great program for many kids. It is NOT for struggling math students and it is not sub par despite all the many posts here claiming otherwise. JanninTx has a recent post addressing this in the highschool forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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