Summer Math

[terrikuns]

It seems that it is recommended to continue some math over the summer, especially with drilling math facts. My 6yo in on track to finish Math Mammoth 1A&B by the end of our school year, without any trouble conceptually and working on memorizing math facts as we go. We've been doing about 15 minutes per day of math, and then some games and iPad apps for math drill intermittently. I'm wondering - if we're going to be spending 10-15 min/d working on math over the summer, why we wouldn't just continue to the next book, 2A compared to spending the whole summer on review. Accounting for camp, vacations, etc., I think we'd be moving a little more slowly than during the school year, but we'd still be moving forward. The first few chapters of MM2A look like mostly review anyway, so we could kill two birds with one stone there.

 

My other thought is that we could continue fact drills while spending the summer doing more conceptual math - like the Moebius Noodles/Natural Math resources, which I like for this age, but I don't think these are mutually exclusive. 

 

Do people do this? Is there a reason not to just continue your math progression at a slower pace during summer break? We're not homeschooling year-round, per se, but are planning on continuing math and reading practice over the summer. Happy to hear any thoughts or experiences on this topic.

[BooksandBoys]

We have always started the next book whenever we finish one (phonics, math, handwriting, history books, whatever). I usually give my son a week off of whatever subject it is, then he starts on the next. We opt to run two to three math programs at a time to give plenty of depth, so I am absolutely a fan of supplementing with something different as you are considering doing.

[Aurelia]

We school year-round, but even if we didn't, I would still keep going with math and English. It mitigates the "I forgot what adding is and what the letter L is supposed to say" things that we used to get at that age after taking off even a week. Most PS textbooks expect to have to review for roughly the first month of school to make up for the "brain drain" that happens over the summer. There's no reason you can't start 2A and do the other stuff in the summer. You could even continue the combo through school if you are planning to continue the practice every summer.

[fourisenough]

We do exactly that: just keep plugging along. I mix in other resources, too, but don't see the sense in taking a very long break from our main program just because of a date on the calendar. In fact, DD6 just finished MM 1B and began 2A a few weeks ago. We'll probably finish up CWP1 and the Miquon book we're doing between now and end of summer, too. Not sure if I'll buy the next level of those books, but maybe. They make for a nice diversion and some added depth on dats we're in the mood for something different.

[sweetpea3829]

I've gone back and forth on this.  My eldest son tends to finish his math curriculum well ahead of the beginning of our "official first day of school". If I were to just begin the next level within a week or two or whatever of him completing the previous level...he'd likely have started pre-Al this year instead of Grade 4.  

 

Personally, I didn't want him to get so far ahead of his age grade level...and there were a couple of reasons for that.

 

But...I also didn't want him spending huge amounts of time between grade levels either.  So we opted to expand on his current grade level each year.  We added Beast Academy, for example.  Between Beast and Singapore, he's slowed down quite a bit.  He spends much of those gap months reviewing and really cementing those concepts in.  Last summer, I put him on Khan Academy 3rd grade and had him complete the entire grade over his summer gap.  

 

This summer, he'll spend time on Prodigy Math, continue through Beast 4, and likely, he'll see some Khan again (not as much as last summer though...we didn't have Prodigy last summer).  

 

I will likely take the same approach for with my younger boys.  

[MrsWeasley]

My rising fourth grader will work on Alcumus and Prodigy Math while waiting for AOPS to publish more Beast Academy. My rising first grader will take a break from Rightstart math, mostly because I don't want to teach math during the summer and he is already in Level B. He will play Prodigy to help with retention. 

[Coco_Clark]

We review over the summer- either by going back and doing the review chapters/tests of our previous years' program, or with "warm up" sheets I print off the internet, or with cheapo workbooks picked up at Costco, or ect. You get the idea.

 

I do this because-

A. I don't like to have to teach during the summer. I like my break, lol, and forward movement requires teaching time. Review can be assigned and then walked away from.

 

B. My kids are all 1 or more grades ahead. I'm actively trying to close that gap, or at least keep it from growing.

 

C. We use mastery programs, and I've found the review time over the summer useful to make sure things really sunk in long-term. Some of my kiddos get it...and then forget it. Summer reviews make sure everything is SOLID before the next year.

 

D. I have a mix of home and public schooled kids, and the review type work can be done by everyone.

 

Obviously, these are all very personal reasons! So do what works best for you!

[SilverMoon]

We also just start the next book and use that as our summer math. I don't use teacher intensive math books, but if we're talking 15 minutes like the OP mentioned, I'd just keep on keeping on. It sounds like it's working fabulously and doesn't need fixed.

 

When subjects like spelling and grammar end they just get dropped until the next grade starts. Math and literature are the hard and fast exceptions in this house. Each kid usually has one or two more subjects that they carry through, and these are very personal. It depends on what they're weakest in, what didn't get done well during the school year, and such.

[terrikuns]

Thanks for all your thoughts.

 

Sweetpea3829 and Coco_Clark do you mind sharing any of your reasons for not wanting your kids to get too far ahead? It seems like the students' maturity and attention span might not keep up with their math skills? And the resources written for older students wouldn't be a good fit for the younger? I'm sure it seems obvious to those of you who have been doing this longer. 

 

I like Sweetpea3829's plan in the 3-ish-grade and above. It seems like for my kindergartener/1st grader, there aren't quite as many different options for going broad and deep instead of just fast. It seems like once you start hitting multiplication that improves.

 

I think we will keep going slowly with our 10-15 min/d over the summer. Accounting for planned trips and two weeks at camp, and a whole week off in June and in August, it's only going to be about six weeks, and I know we won't be working every day. So we'll take it as it comes.

 

Thanks again!

[PeterPan]

You might as well plug on into the next book.  Being ahead is only temporary for many kids.  They sometimes have a year or two where they slow down or forget how to add or where they put their heads during puberty.  Being ahead from 7-10 just gives you a little cushion there.

 

If they max out their readiness, that's different.  Then do some GEMS units, TOPS units, living math, K'nex math, that kind of thing.  And you could keep things spicy by doing that during the summer too.  Like do MM for only 1/2 the normal amount and then do fun math the rest.  Or do MM a couple days a week and living math the other days.  Or alternate weeks, MM one week, a unit of living math the next.