Should we do math by the lesson or for a set amount of time each day?

[ksr5377]

Both of my girls do well in math, but they also both complain about it.  There are days when math only takes them about 20 minutes.  They're in 3rd and 4th grade now, and I feel like we should be spending more time in this subject.  Am I wrong??  Also, if more time should be spent, would you just have them go on to the next lesson?  Review flash cards?  Add in another program?

[OneStepAtATime]

Are they on target?  

 

Honestly, if they have finished the lesson assigned for that day and they are complaining about math in general I would not make them move on to the next lesson.  That might kill any desire at all to do math.  You could potentially end up with them dragging their feet as much as humanly possible for every single lesson since actually finishing a lesson in a timely fashion is rewarded with having to do an additional lesson.

 

If you want to include more math on the days they move quickly through something what about fun math related games the three of you do together?  Have you seen Sorror's relaxed math thread?  It is pinned on one of the subforums.  Great ideas there.

[Chrysalis Academy]

You will hear a lot of people say that they do math by time, I think.  We don't. With my dd10, who is doing MM, I figure that she has to do 2 pages a day to finish the program by the end of the year. When she finishes her two pages, she is done. Sometimes it takes a long time, sometimes it's really quick. On the days when it is really quick, we use the remaining mental energy to do something else, like Mind Benders or logic puzzles.  

 

Like I said, I don't think this is the majority practice, but it's what works for us. If they do it by the clock, this can reward (or at least not disincentivize) dawdling. If they get to be done when they finish a set amount, they tend to work more efficiently and in a more focused way - at least that is what I've found.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Arcadia]

DS11 has always been a fast worker so he gets a set amount of assigned work prior to using AoPS books.  I don't want to penalise him by giving him more work when he finish his assigned work fast and correctly.  He sets his own pace for AoPS books.  DS10 tends to take his time so he has to do a minimum of 1hr as well as get a minimum amount done.  If I sit by his side to nag him to stop chatting with his brother and move on, he can do faster.  

 

DS11 spent 10mins on SM per day when he was using those.  That is just how fast he is. Adding flash cards won't make sense for him. He did spend more than 10mins over summer when he wanted to finish the books. He ended up finishing four workbooks over one summer because that is how he is.

 

My kids do whatever math enrichment that catches their eye.

[OneStepAtATime]

Both of my girls do well in math, but they also both complain about it.  There are days when math only takes them about 20 minutes.  They're in 3rd and 4th grade now, and I feel like we should be spending more time in this subject.  Am I wrong??  Also, if more time should be spent, would you just have them go on to the next lesson?  Review flash cards?  Add in another program?

As CA mentioned above, different days and math problems/concepts are going to require different amounts of time to complete for different students.  For instance, DD does very well with things related to Geometry usually.  Those lessons for her tend to go quickly.  DS just does not do as well with that type of lesson.  He is going to need more time when he does Geometry related problems.  I don't think it is a good idea to "punish (her perception)" DD for moving quickly through material she finds easier by piling on more problems.  

 

In other words, she takes the time she needs to finish a lesson, as does DS.  If they run into a snag we take more time or table things until the next day if they are overwhelmed and need a break.  If they whip through a lesson then we can play a math related game or do a logic puzzle or whatever or just move on to the next subject.  

 

My goal is to try and keep interest in math alive.  If they know they won't be piled up with more and more work if they finish in a timely fashion (and get the majority of the problems correct) they actually now tend to move more efficiently through the material and if they finish early they sometimes want to do more problems on their own.  Having it be their choice can be inspiring.  

 

Also, they both like doing some problems through CTC (on-line program that gives the student access to math lessons from Kindergarten through Pre-Calculus, including instruction and visual aids/virtual manipulatives).  DS last night was having trouble getting to sleep so he hopped on the computer and did 8 math lessons.  He is not a mathy kid but he found them interesting and he liked that he could pick the topic he wanted to explore and could control how many lessons he felt like doing since his normal math lesson had been done earlier in the day.

 

HTH

Edited September 20, 2016 by OneStepAtATime

[desertflower]

I agree with OneStep.

 

Since they are complaining about it, I would just leave it as is assuming they are on target.  If they get done early, then kudos to them.  You can incorporate math games with the extra time. 

 

Those are my thoughts, but please note that I'm a relaxed homeschooler.  We don't do 20 mins of math a day. 

[Guest]

We do to completion of a lesson, and let faster work or easier comprehension be its own reward with more free time.

 

Only if the child is struggling do we set a timer to give them a 'finish line' so they don't burn out, and then continue the lesson the next day. I think that's fair, but for kids who are going quickly? I think just doing shorter math is fine, especially if they're feeling done. Or maaaaybe adding in a math game or puzzle, but not another main lesson unless it's their idea.

[Guest]

Oh. And some days we do an hour of math for one student and twenty minutes for another. It just depends on how they're feeling and how challenging the lessons are. No biggie, it's not a race in either direction!

[jgrabuskie]

We go by assigned pages or  lesson if you wish. If DS finishes in 20 minutes great if takes 40 minutes that's okay. The only caveat is that I do not let math go past an hour. If it does happen, we stop and complete the next day. My son is pretty good about finishing his assignments but there are days bc of allergies, wiggles, etc.

 

 

[LEK]

We go by time roughly. I eyeball the upcoming pages and assign the number I feel they will get done in about 30-40 minutes. Some days that means a single page and other days multiple lessons (up to a whole week) may be assigned, it really depends on the child, the topic, difficulty, curricula etc.

Next year when the eldest starts AOPS Prealgebra she will be working to a time.

[macmacmoo]

It kind of depends. early on it was a set amount because he was fidigity and would stare off into space and maybe one or two problems of the assigned page got done

 

Once we got his attention honed in then we started doing as much as we could in a set amount of time 15-20 mins

[SparklyUnicorn]

Given that they don't like it, I'd probably go by lesson and tell them up front you will do this lesson and then they are done.  If the attention span is good, they are doing the work, and they are getting it, then so be it that it only takes 20 minutes.  If you want to stretch that a bit, you could try adding in math games. 

 

 

[fralala]

This is why I try to have a good variety of math and logic games handy-- if we get through math quickly (and accurately), each kid gets to choose a game from the box to play with me OR spend some time playing their favorite computer math game (at the moment in our house, this is Sumdog).

[Tiramisu]

My two older dx were slow workers and could take 90 mins or more doing math without fooling around. Besides the speed, both did well in math. My younger two are quicker. My youngest is in fifth and finishes a section in a daily math review book and a Singapore lesson in maybe twenty minutes. It's amazing how different kids are.

[SilverMoon]

At those ages mine did math by the lesson. If they completed a whole lesson in twenty then math was over for the day.

 

Struggling students can benefit from time limits, it helps them not be quite so overwhelmed. When math gets more challenging in higher grades time could be more useful also. AoPS books especially.

[ksr5377]

Thank you.  Apparently I just needed some reassurance.  And yes, they're on target.  We usually do a morning time together and I think I'll look into adding a short math game.  I'll also look into some online math games.  They love screen time =)