Math in Focus for profoundly dyslexic (autistic) middle schooler?

[4KookieKids]

I've been trying to find a unicorn of a math curriculum for my profoundly dyslexic 7th grader. She did Primary Mathematics (Singapore K-6) and she did alright, but I think she needs more review because she often "gets" things, but then forgets them again very quickly. We've done a lot of hands on stuff in the past, and it may be good for her, but she hates it. She just wants to "git 'er done" when it comes to math. I've been on the hunt for the "right fit" for a while now and I don't feel like I'm having a lot of success, so I just figured I'd ask here if anyone has done this, and perhaps just added in their own review (since Singapore just doesn't do much review). We finally got her math facts mostly memorized, but it took us 5 years!! lol

Reasons I am considering it:
1) Not too much text per page and not super tiny print. I've looked at a lot of other programs (Saxon, TGTB, BJU, TT, Horizons, LoF, etc and my oldest does AoPS) and there's just not enough white space on the page for my child.
2) Relatively solid. Again, I've looked at several other programs, and found them wanting (I write math curriculum and teach math for in-service middle and high school level teachers... I don't want something weak, though, and I'm sad that AoPS is not a good fit for this child.)
3) Not online (though I wouldn't be opposed to online videos, if I could find any that correlated). She does better with paper and pencil. We've tried Khan and ST math, and ST math helped her some, but Khan didn't help her retain anything.
4) I am not a fan of "memorize this procedure/formula and do a hundred problems." I want something that actually makes sense to her.

Reasons I am hesitant:
1) No video lessons. I'm a math teacher and don't mind teaching it myself, but my child would rather learn from a video of someone else and then just rely on my to clarify anything she's not sure of.
2) Lack of review

I don't have capacity to spend 1-on-1 with her during 20-30 minutes of math each day on top of all the other subjects we do orally/together, though I'd love to just make up my own content for her. I have 4 kids, all with varying extra needs, so I need something she can look at on her own, and then I can teach or review main ideas with her for a few minutes, and then have her work on while I am working with other kids, but still available to help, clarify, go a little deeper, expand a bit, etc. 

If you've made it this far, and have recommendations for me, I'd love to hear them. I've looked at Nicole the Math Lady, Mr. D, and several other programs besides the ones listed above, and nothing seems to really fit. Despite her dyslexia and autism, she'd really like to go into a medical field, so needs some solid math skills. But reading a lot exhausts her and gives her a headache (yes, before anyone suggests it, we've already done VT :D).

Edited October 6, 2023 by 4KookieKids

[cintinative]

Just curious if you have looked at Math Mammoth?

We used MIF and I didn't realize my son was dyslexic at the time (he is also gifted so he masked).  MIF is Singapore Math, just a different take. So it is a mastery curriculum. When people say they need regular review, I generally think of a spiral curriculum like Horizons. But that might be too much for your dc.  

What level are we talking about? I got a little confused when you said you covered K-6 with Singapore. 

[SilverMoon]

I really liked Math in Focus when we used it. It's a little more gentle than SM. There are baby steps guiding you where SM would have assumed you could leap on your own. 

Math U See's legacy version has the best workpages for a kid like this, videos, and super clear instruction. It's good at teaching the why behind math but it does not go as deep as traditional curriculum unfortunately. That may be something you can balance on days you can work with them more? 🙃

But maybe Thinkwell? There are videos and not all of the work is done online. Some is online and some is on paper. This one is solid. 

[4KookieKids]

5 hours ago, SilverMoon said:

I really liked Math in Focus when we used it. It's a little more gentle than SM. There are baby steps guiding you where SM would have assumed you could leap on your own. 

Math U See's legacy version has the best workpages for a kid like this, videos, and super clear instruction. It's good at teaching the why behind math but it does not go as deep as traditional curriculum unfortunately. That may be something you can balance on days you can work with them more? 🙃

But maybe Thinkwell? There are videos and not all of the work is done online. Some is online and some is on paper. This one is solid. 

I'd forgotten about thinkwell! I'll look into it again, I don't know as much about it.
 

5 hours ago, cintinative said:

What level are we talking about? I got a little confused when you said you covered K-6 with Singapore. 

She's just finishing up Primary Math 6B, but I'm thinking that we may take a step back and start with a 6th grade program with whatever we switch to. Placement tests don't work well for her because she often freezes and forgets something that she was doing just fine for the last two months, so it's always a bit of a gamble... 

[Not_a_Number]

Oof. Tricky. Can you afford a tutor?

[caffeineandbooks]

My (NT) kiddo finished up Primary Mathematics 6B at the end of 5th grade and I wanted to be sure everything was solid and also buy a little time before settling on a path forward.  I gave him MIF 6, and found it to be mostly review with a little new content (negative numbers, coordinate graphs) and some additional depth.  He finished the whole year in a semester because there was a lot of overlap.  My main complaint as a non-math teacher was that there were only worked solutions for a few problems, not all.  There were times when neither he nor I knew where we'd gone wrong and there was no support to understand why.

For 7th and 8th, I've gone with Dimensions paired with a Singapore Math Live video subscription, and am really happy with it.  The video lady teaches the content and includes several random words that the kids write down - if you need to check whether they really watched the video you can compare their words to the parent list.  She also includes worked solutions videos for every problem in both the textbook and the workbook and tests that she creates for each unit.  The subscription buys 12 months access to each semester long course.

[4KookieKids]

57 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Oof. Tricky. Can you afford a tutor?

Not at this time, unfortunately. DH is in grad school and I'm the main bread-winner *and* homeschool teacher for the four kiddos. 😄 

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, 4KookieKids said:

Not at this time, unfortunately. DH is in grad school and I'm the main bread-winner *and* homeschool teacher for the four kiddos. 😄 

Yeah. I hear you.

It’s too bad, because this situation seems to call for individualized attention, and it can be easier with a non-parent 😕

[Malam]

Maybe try unlock math? https://www.unlockmath.com/how-it-works

They have a free trial

[ktgrok]

What about Dennison Pre-Algebra? 

[4KookieKids]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:56 AM, Malam said:

Maybe try unlock math? https://www.unlockmath.com/how-it-works

They have a free trial

 

21 hours ago, ktgrok said:

What about Dennison Pre-Algebra? 

I will check them out! Thank you very much!

[prairiewindmomma]

My initial thoughts were the Math U See Legacy stuff also.  The pages have a limited problem set, in black and white, and plenty of room to write.  There's built in spiral review.  There's some video instruction. There's very gentle pacing. (In fact, that was one of the main criticisms of it--especially for Algebra I and Algebra II). The instruction is actually quite solid and puts you where you need to be for college entry in a STEM field (and my engineering son agrees).  Just don't quit after Algebra I and expect to land into any other Algebra II book. You need to think of those two books as a collective whole.

[prairiewindmomma]

Thinking on this some more, if she's inherently mathy but just needs video instruction, what about Uncle Buck (Dana Mosely)? I think his videos are available through Cool Math Guy, and you can buy the books on your own or you can buy packages through Chalk Dust Math.  His video instruction is really solid. The hangup is going to be picking the problem sets. Because it is community college math for non-math majors level, the textbooks are bulky with too many problems.  Most of the time, we just had Oldest do every other odd problem, because odd problems were what were in the student guide/answer key (with line by line answers).   

Also, gently, give thought as to your high school plan.  Students need more than 20 minutes of one on one time a day. They just do.  Dealing with 4 kids with varying needs and everything else going on is a huge strain....BTDT.....and the strain really starts to ramp up at high school unless you outsource everything. I don't want to be a Negative Nelly by mentioning this, but if she is your oldest, I wanted to give you a heads up so that you can really consider how to balance demands and resources.  When I had my BTDT moment, I sent my sweetest and most compliant child to public school.  She was going to be fine wherever she was schooled, and it allowed me to triage my time more effectively.