Math with less on the page

[CanadianAlison+3boys]

I am looking for suggestions for my oldest. He is a rising 5th grader and is autistic, and has ADHD and dysgraphia. Math has become a huge area of contention and I am looking for a solid plan for the autumn.

 

This is our third year homeschooling and we started using MEP and switched to Math Mammoth. He hates MM (which sucks because I own all of it already). He hates crowded pages and needing to do "so many" problems.

 

To try something completely different I bought LOF and started him at Apples and he's working his way through the books. I also bought Beast Academy and to my surprise he took to it much much better than I thought he would. He sometimes gets frustrated if it takes too long but he also sometimes solves problems faster than expected because they are framed the way his brain works.

 

I'm happy to have him continue these two things but I wonder if it's enough. Especially since he's "behind" as far as grade level goes since he started at the beginning of both series just recently (he's most of the way through Butterflies in LOF and most of the way through 3A in BA, but making steady progress in both).

 

Is LOF + BA with some Khan Academy and Prodigy thrown in enough? Any other suggestions? He used to love math. His hatred of MM has left him wary of math and quick to rebel if it's too many problems. On the other hand I want him to be successful in math and not limited because of not liking the way it is presented and what there is that needs done. I appreciate any ideas :)

[Kiara.I]

BA is a complete curriculum, all on its own.

So yes, that is enough.

Now, it's true that BA 3 is behind where he "ought to be" in Grade 5.  However, if you've found a math curriculum that he's loving and progressing through, that matters much, much more than if it's the level the rest of your school district thinks he ought to be doing.  Plus, Beast is a challenge math curriculum.  So he may not be doing the same operations, but he can sure do more with them!

 

Life of Fred is also supposed to be a full curriculum (though many find it might need more practice added to it.)

 

So he's doing two full curricula, with practice added in and I'm not even sure what Khan counts as.  I don't think it matters!  LOL  You've got "enough" sort of blown out of the water at this point even without considering Khan.

[Syllieann]

What was wrong with mep?

[Tiramisu]

How is he feeling about math now? It seems like it's a lot better. I'd let that guide you, especially if he's already doing three maths.

 

I'm rather new to the autism world but I think with autism we will be limited by their like or dislike about how things are presented. We can work on flexibility, etc., but a lot of their processing is hard-wired and while that presents as likes and dislikes, it's not as simple as we'd like.

 

I think you should embrace what works for him. He will have his own developmental timetable anyway and that can give you freedom to do what works for him. If he likes it, he'll continue to make good and steady progress.

[Tiramisu]

Oh, and to answer your question about less on a page....the story of my homeschooling life with kids with visual issues...

 

MUS. Singapore US edition workbooks.

 

CLE has white space, too,

 

But you are doing fine.

[wapiti]

If you stick with BA, prealgebra comes after BA5, so that might buy you some time.  If that works for him, I'd go with it.  I'd also continue through summers.

 

As for LOF, I might use it for breaks from BA, but as time is a consideration, I would focus on BA instead.

[J&JMom]

Maybe use an online program such as IXL to do his homework?  I have done this with my youngest (for different reasons) where I teach the lesson from the textbook, but then assign a 'medal" [earn 70 points] on the topic on IXL. The benefit is it displays only 1 problem at a time and if he gets it wrong, it will display the process of the correct solution.The program adapts as it will assign harder problems as his score increases and conversely, will lower the difficulty if he gets some wrong. Now, IXL does not teach the topic, per se, but gives you an endless worksheet as you can repeat the topic as many times as you want achieving 100s over and over again. The problems are dynamically created so he might never answer the same problem twice. Homeschool buyers co-op offers discounts. You can also do 20 problems a day for free (but it won't save your progress).

Edited July 7, 2016 by J&JMom

[EKT]

It doesn't sound like you want to switch over to an entirely new curriculum, but I will say that we LOVE Math U See. (We love it for many reasons, but its visual presentation is a big part of its appeal. I remember when I was a kid that I was often overwhelmed by a page that had tons of problems on it, too.) The entire MUS curriculum is very visual (my kids love the videos and manipulatives), but the workbook pages themselves are also very clean and uncluttered in appearance, and there are never tons and tons of problems on each page. Likewise, the lesson tests are one simple front-and-back page. My kids never feel overwhelmed by it (we typically complete two pages per day). 

 

Edited for spelling. :-)

Edited July 7, 2016 by EKT

[PhdMom]

I wanted to add, as someone whose Autistic/ADHD son is older (17) than yours that you are doing FINE...give yourself some grace and a pat on the back (I need to take my own advice here!).

 

What I have had to do is totally reset my expectations for him...not that I don’t have any, but they are not going to be what I thought for him. I actually just wrote an article that is going to be published on ADDitude Magazine’s blog about homeschooling with ADHD. I will add it here for you

 

 

Use the Math programs you have. I switched around alot. Last year, all he was able to do was Khan videos for math. It was way more than enough!

Tweak the PROGRAM to fit his needs...for example, too much ‘clutter’ on the page? Get a piece of cardboard or opaque plastic. Cut a hole in it and cover everything except that one problem he is working on. I got this idea from Melinda Boring’s site...her resources are excellent. http://www.headsupnow.com

 

Here is my draft of the article. HTH:

 

Blessings to you...Nanci Smith, Ph.D.

 

Homeschooling  ADHD & with ADD

 

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe.â€

—           Muhammad Ali

 

     I have home educated my children for 16 years. My two oldest two have graduated,  but I still homeschool the other four… including 3 boys with ADHD (and one also with accompanying Aspergers). Honestly, there have been times of feeling like I had nothing but pebbles in my shoes and losing sight of the mountain ahead..

 

One of the first questions new home educators ask is about curriculum.  Actually, choice of curriculum is not as critical as you might think. What is far more important is knowing each child’s strengths and weaknesses and working with that. As a parent, you already have this skill, so this is a huge benefit.

This is what’s worked for me. As an ADD’er myself, I’ll make this short and sweet.

 

 

 

S.M.A.R.T.  M.I.N.D.

 

S is for Strengths…leverage those to make learning interesting such as Lego-centric lessons (Google is incredibly helpful)
M is for Movement…all 3 of my boys go to Occupational Therapy. Their OTs told me that the best thing for them (or any child with ADHD) is to incorporate movement into everything you can. And include wiggle and stretching breaks.
A is for Activity… do lots of hands- on… board games, play clay, newspaper collages. Trying to force a child with ADHD to sit quietly as they would be expected to in school is well, like trying to force a kid with ADHD to sit quietly.
R is for Remove obstacles…sometimes the biggest obstacle is not inability to do the problem or learn the answer; instead,  it’s trouble transferring their racing thoughts from their mind to the paper. Play the “middleman†by having your child dictate his thoughts while you write or type them. Then you can revise together.  Or remove the issue of having the child have to copy down the math problems by using a workbook or only requiring half (or no) handwriting and teach typing instead.
T is for Tweak to meet your students’ needs…make the curriculum work for you, not the other way around. It seems so obvious to me now, but at first, we did all the workbook pages or all the lessons… skip pages, skip problems, skip lessons…do only the odd (or even) problems. This not only helps prevent your child from becoming overwhelmed—it also supplies a bit of that “novelty†factor that sparks an ADHD mind. Harness technology. If the physical aspects of writing overwhelm  your student, have them make a PowerPoint presentation. Or videotape the child telling you what he’s learned.

 

M is for Minimize distractions…don’t work near a window if you know child will be distracted…Make a portable  “study cubicle†using  a cardboard trifold Science Fair XXXX.  For worksheets, use opaque plastic or cardboard to cover all but the row your child is working on, or cut a square in the middle so he sees only one math problem at a time.

I is for Input… Ask for his input if he’s getting tired or hungry so he can learn to self-regulate BEFORE a meltdown. Don’t force a long lesson when there’s a meltdown looming…better to take a break and come back later or another day.

 

N is for Neutralize your expectations of what a homeschool day SHOULD look like and instead do what you need to do to make it work….This is not to say that there should be no expectations, but be realistic about how much a child can accomplish. if a child is more receptive in the afternoon, don’t try to start school at 7:30 a.m. You do not have to re-create the school environment in your home.

 

D is for Decisions…when at all feasible, let the child choose…would you like to start with Math or a read a chapter right now? Gives a sense of control.

 

Home educating has not been easy, but it has been worth it for our family. Even a veteran home educator needs to be reminded to keep my focus on the mountain

 

 

 

 

 

[mommymonster]

I'd continue on with what is working, but if you feel the need to add in practice, you can use a large whiteboard and the MM problems. If you don't have a large whiteboard, my DS10 dysgraphic has a "math notebook", which is really just a book of graph paper (1/2 inch blocks)... it's large enough to write problems in (one number per square to keep things organized).

 

[freelylearned]

The best program is the one your son is most willing to do. If that is Beast Academy, stick with it. My dysgraphic son rebelled against Saxon because of the overkill review, even when I stopped assigning him most of the review problems. Same reason, too much on the page. We switched to Singapore Standards edition and have stayed with it. The workbook just has a few problems per page and plenty of room to work out problems. We do fact practice with math video games on abc.ya or with various apps on my phone to cut back on paperwork.

[KSinNS]

I tweaked mm for my adhd kiddo by doing it on a white board, otherwise it was too cluttered. But we switched. If the beast is good, keep going. MUS is also great with big, wide open spaces.

[serendipitous journey]

I wanted to chime in that Beast Academy is a great program, and if he keeps working through he'll be getting a terrific math education regardless of whether or not he "catches up".  :)    Certainly if he's doing LoF and BA and can keep going, you know he's got the necessary facts down in addition to picking up the concepts. 

 

My older child needed simple pages when he was younger, and I often cut out problems so that there was only 1 in front of him at a time -- MEP and Math U See lend themselves well to this, though if he likes BA I imagine he'll loathe Math U See ... I'm tossing that idea out in case it's ever useful, I certainly wouldn't suggest switching up what you're doing if the child is progressing.