Maths for 10 Year old

[feijoagirl]

Hi there

I am homeschooling my 10 year old son (homeschooling since age 5), in New Zealand.  Maths has always been my area of concern and we have used SO many resources.  He has struggled greatly with learning his addition and subtraction facts but they have clicked (most of the time) into place now.  He is doing well with learning the multiplication facts now.  I have had to take it slowly and he has worked really hard to learn the facts.  We have continued along with other concepts like geometry, measurement etc.

Currently we are using Math Mammoth Grade 3 and he is about 3/4s through this (we did placement test earlier this year).  He will need a lot more practice for the Mult and Div facts though.  I am aware he is behind where he should be.  I feel concerned we need to catch up but also don't want to rush as I know he needs to get those facts solid and I think he will soon with lots of practice.

We have used a huge variety of things:  MCP Maths (the practice was good but hard finding the teaching ideas ), Numicon books (very $$$ and not enough practice but did help with concepts.  Some of it was very confusing and frustrating), some versions of Singapore Math (Prime Math and Math Smart  - used in NZ.  I liked having teachers manuals but bar models were confusing, they moved too fast and concepts still weren't clear.  Too many pictures and circling pictures and not enough solid teaching hands on.  Also jumped too quickly with concepts).  We also tried Jump Math - which was good mostly but we only used the free materials.  We have used a variety of online things, some helped cement concepts, some were frustrating.  Plus a variety of card and dice games (which have been great for practice).

So we come to now, where we are using Math Mammoth.  We are using Ronit Bird (which is really good).  I like Math Mammoth in that it is incremental.  I find it hard to teach though as no teachers manual and he does need to see physical models of things.  He also does need a lot of review.  I have been saving some of the MM problems as there are a lot and using them to start a lesson as a type of review which seems to help.

I didn't have a great time with maths at school but want to make sure he has a better experience.  I do feel like I am often heading down a rabbit hole of fretting about what we are doing and if it is really working and then spending hours reading about other curriculums but hesitant to change or add more things in (we have tried so much).

Sorry this is a ramble.  I wonder if we should just carry on using MM, add in Ronit Bird (and look online for more C/rod ideas) and find something good online for practice.  I would prefer something else for the Geometry/Measurement/Stats as I'm sure that could be more fun than the way MM does it (something more hands on).  I do feel like this would be cobbling something together which concerns me for something I am not strong in but perhaps the best way to go?

Anyway, would love some thoughts/advice please.  Thank you so much!

 

 

[HomeAgain]

There are two good free online resources I've found for c-rods: educationunboxed.com and Gattegno math books on Issuu.  Other resources I tend to use are the Mathematics Enhancement Programme (full UK program free online, but I pull out the puzzles and specific activities to reinforce logical thinking skills) and Math For Love, which produces games, but also has free activities to do at home.

I think, with maths, it's best to look at the lesson objective and write that down.  Then you can search up whatever hands on activities you want to introduce that same objective, coming back to the written lesson in the book for practice.  It feels a little slower, but it's quicker in the long run because the kid is actively doing it and then learning to write it, which means they develop a visual memory to go with the written procedure.  I know Math Mammoth tries its best to do this but sometimes doesn't quite manage it.  It's a lot of written with pictures.

[feijoagirl]

Thank you so much :-)  That makes really good sense and sounds like much better way to approach things.  I will have a look at those sites you mention.  Thank you :-)

[PeterPan]

14 hours ago, feijoagirl said:

We are using Ronit Bird (which is really good). 

Are you using her ebooks or the printed books? Her three ebooks (Dots, C-Rods, Multi) together cover basically the material from her Toolkit book. Then she has an upper level book to keep it going (Overcoming) and her supplemental book (Resources). So as you finish the multiplication book, you should continue on with those other two print books.

Do you find *computation* is going well or do you wish to focus less on that and more on word problems? My ds has dyscalculia and has done best with the RB materials. As you're finding, they're not a curriculum, only the intervention. So I use workbooks from the major publishers (Evan Moor, Teacher Created Materials, etc. etc.) to get that more rounded out curriculum experience. I *especially* try to focus on word problems with my ds, because for him understanding the *language* of math is a challenge. He might be able to do something with the manipulatives or the cards using his visualization skills, but when he needs to hear a word problem and understand what to do or how to convert that into a math equation, he struggles. So that is where I focus instead of on multi-digit computation, as word problems are real life, rubber meets the road. Anything multi-digit, he can do with a calculator, cell phone, Alexa, etc. etc. for the rest of his life.

I used Math Mammoth with my dd years ago as a follow-up to RightStart. It was less than satisfactory to us but others seem to like it. I think you need to know exactly why you're using it and then just decide if it's meeting that need. My ds does not need to do multi-digit computation. It will never be a strength for him and word problems are essential. Now fractions are essential, so you could make an argument that some of the MM books are great for that. You could use MM topically, doing one topic across levels to build proficiency rather than going grade by grade. That way you could *select* the topics that are a good fit for your ds' needs and skip the ones that spend excessive time on things that are better left to a calculator for him. (your call)

I LOVE the Didax workbooks and use them out of grade level as they are strengths for him. https://payhip.com/didax  Here they are as digital but they come in print as well. If you filter for "middle school grades" they'll be marked for gr 6-8. Visualization is a strength for my ds, so we enjoyed books like https://payhip.com/b/3fCN  It will explore fractions using geometry. They do free downloads, etc. if you get on their email list.

Like I said, I've used Evan Moor and lots of other publishers, but this year I'm using Creative Teaching Press quite a bit. https://www.creativeteaching.com/collections/digital-learning-ebooks/products/power-practice-math-logic-and-word-problems-gr-1-2-ebook  They have a whole series of Power Practice books across topics that seem to fit where my ds functions. I'm using some of the science as well because they're just straightforward. Anyways, for the math I'm using the Math Logic & Word Problems, which for my ds has been challenging. Maybe it won't be for yours. We're also using a bunch of their topical books (multi/div, fractions, etc.) and a geometry book that I think was marked for 7th-8th. He's doing really well with that and enjoys it. It's really important to teach to their STRENGTHS in the math as well as bringing up their weak areas, and that's how I do it. So he's literally doing 1st grade math and 8th+ math at the same time, which is FINE. It's who he is and he doesn't need to be pegged in one hole. I was told to teach him as math gifted with a math disability so that's what I do. 

https://www.evan-moor.com/daily-word-problems-grade-5-teachers-edition-print  Just snoop around, as EM has tons of great stuff. My ds has an IEP through the ps and his intervention specialist who supervises LOVES EM. 

I usually spend time in the education stores and see what publishers I've missed. I don't even try to use homeschool specific curriculum with him. It's not made for differentiation and not made for dyscalculia. Differentiation means I want to take a topic and present it with the level of complexity and level of language he needs, not just one way through a one size fits all sequence. I know sometimes I think ok, if I just slog through one sequence, my ds will "get" things and not have holes. Maybe and if you think that fits your dc go for it! If you want that, I'd say go with something really straightforward like Saxon. If I go to a local autism school that uses one math curriculum straight for the kids, they're using Saxon. So that could be a safe bet, sure. But to pick the hardest thing out there and say well let's just slog, it may not be worth it honestly. 

So I'm not saying I LOVE this topical, eclectic approach, but it seems *ok*. His IEP team is usually pretty happy. They love the strength with word problems, because they know over time their focus transitions from computation to word problems. So as long as he can do single digits and two digits, he'll be fine with tech. But no tech can solve his word problems, lol.

[PeterPan]

https://www.creativeteaching.com/products/power-practice-geometry-gr-5-8-ebook  This is the geometry we're doing this year. You should probably wait a couple years and do things like that Didax workbook I linked first. My ds lights up when I use this workbook and totally engages, but he's 13, not 10. So don't *rush* into something before they're ready to enjoy it. That Didax book I linked was very fun and that's when we did it, around age 10. 

Have you done anything with living math books? Our library had a series of real life math books that were so so fun. They'd be on topics like roller coasters or building a city park. There was text with pictures and each 2 page spread would set up a scenario that you did the math for. I'm always trying to get his math APPLIED like that, again because visualization is a strength.

[PeterPan]

14 hours ago, feijoagirl said:

find something good online for practice. 

You mean you want drill? RB has games. We're using one of those Power Practice books this year, now that he can write numbers. It's ok. We've used some Lakeshore Learning kits that came with the multi digit problems and manipulative. We'd do like 3 problems a day on the whiteboard and work through the kit slowly like that. It was kind of just enough without being arduous. Now that he knows how it gets there, he can do it with a calculator and move on. I guess decide what you're practicing, because drilling a disability probably isn't going to get you as far as working to a strength.

[PeterPan]

Do you do any standardized testing? My ds is tested once every 3 years for his IEP, and it's a helpful thing to get really honest about where everything is. He might not be *as bad* as you thing in some areas and might have some areas of strength. Might help with your worrying. 

If you want to do that, look for a test that does not have a ceiling and that kicks out actual grade levels, not stanines or whatever. 

[kiwik]

14 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Do you do any standardized testing? My ds is tested once every 3 years for his IEP, and it's a helpful thing to get really honest about where everything is. He might not be *as bad* as you thing in some areas and might have some areas of strength. Might help with your worrying. 

If you want to do that, look for a test that does not have a ceiling and that kicks out actual grade levels, not stanines or whatever. 

There isn't really standardised testing in NZ except some stuff schools sometimes use.  Not really any educational stores either.  As a home schooler in NZ you are pretty much ignored as you have chosen to opt out.

[feijoagirl]

Thank you Peterpan 🙂  That is really very helpful and much appreciated.  Thank you so much :-)