Drop everything else to focus on weak areas?

[Lovedtodeath]

She can only write 3-4 words at a time right now as her grip has been way off.

 

We are sooooo struggling in math. I don't know what to do. She will have all of her facts down one week and then they are gone!! I try to finish Alpha because she has seen Beta and wants to do it really bad, but if we concentrate on understanding the concept then we aren't concentrating on facts... if we concentrate on facts then all understanding flies out the window.... AAAAAAHHHH!

 

I tend to get overwhelmed and cut way back on our extras anyway... so we haven't even started FIAR and SSBB will start soon, because it will be spring.

 

So... cut out all of our LA and etc, and just do math and handwriting? Or is that a bad idea?

[caitlinsmom]

We are at the same point, just with different subjects. I am interested to see what others think.

I am going to do it because dd needs focus time in all that she does. I think I have us spread to thin and her little mind just reels because of it. I too am using the next books as an incentive.

 

Anyway that didnt help you in the slightest. Sorry. :)

[Lovedtodeath]

I can't seem to make the time to do math twice a day... once for the concept and once for the facts... and I don't even know if that is what I should do anyway.

 

Doing any kind of LA (except OPG, she won't miss that lol) with her is such a joy! But it does take time, and she is way ahead, so dropping it won't hurt her... but I like the fact that she is ahead LOL. Of course, being behind in the other subjects isn't working out so well for us. :(

 

I am thoroughly confused, and you can tell!

[KIN]

When I have a K'r, I just do reading/spelling (SWR which includes handwriting) and math. We read lots of books, some memory and listen to the older ones' science/history if they want. I don't require narrations, we don't do grammar or a formal writing program. The only book work is SWR and math.

 

I think the most important base a child can get is the 3 R's. If they can read, write and do math they can learn anything. So, yes, get them off to a good start and just do the basics with lots of read alouds. They'll be better off in my opinion.

[LizzyBee]

Your daughter is only 6, right? If you stop everything else to work on weak areas, you will burn her out. She will associate school time only with things she doesn't like because they are hard for her, so you have to keep some fun and easy things in your schedule, too. I wouldn't worry about a kid who can't remember math facts until age 8 or 9. I'd keep working on them, but I wouldn't worry or stress about it.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

When I have a K'r, I just do reading/spelling (SWR which includes handwriting) and math.

That is just it, she is not a K'r. She completed MFW K when she was 3. She is reading at a 5th grade level. She was adding and subtracting and writing letters and numbers at 3. She was 6 in July. She attended half of K at the PS after she turned 5. It seems like she has been backsliding (part of that is because of her pencil grip. In the past, she has been able to write and draw beautifully with her pencil held incorrectly, but as more is required it isn't working.) :(

[JennW in SoCal]

Well, I'd say to take a deep breath and try not to fret about any of it. She is only 6, and her development will lurch forward and back in a very frustrating manner for some time to come. Sure, you can focus a little more on her weaker areas, but don't drop everything or obsess about it. Kids often make sudden leaps and frustrating problems just clear up.

 

Are you using the manipulatives with Math U See? I'd make learning the facts simply a game and keep moving forward with concepts using the manipulatives as much as possible. One of my kids loved and learned with manipulatives, the other wanted nothing to do with them, so do what ever works. There are lots of fun games for math facts -- simple and obvious things like adding and subtracting grapes or raisins while eating them. Sorting toys into groups of two or three. Just keep it light and easy and fun throughout the day.

 

And she doesn't need to write that much at this point. I acted as scribe for my kids for years as their writing wasn't on track with their minds until they were, oh, 10, maybe 12. They worked on their handwriting as a separate task, and learned to type early on.

 

The bulk of her schoolwork should be done orally and, in my humble and biased opinion, shouldn't really feel like schoolwork at this point. Snuggle on the couch to read aloud and talk about the stories and pictures. Make whatever reading or phonics program she is doing something relaxed and fun, too.

 

Just keep plugging away, and little by little it will all come together as her brain matures.

[JennW in SoCal]

That is just it, she is not a K'r. She attended half of K at the PS after she turned 5. :(

 

Carmen,

 

I read this after writing my other post. My oldest son (now 17) was one of those kids who was (and is) wildly asynchronis in his development. His language arts level was always much higher than his math skills, and honestly, math facts are the still bane of his existence! He always got the concepts, but those facts just thwarted him yearafter year!

 

Not that your dd will have that same extreme experience with math! I'm just using my ds as "exhibit A".

 

The only thing I would add to what I wrote earlier is to never stop something that she loves and excels in. It is like a punishment to stop. But more importantly, sometimes you can use those strengths to improve her weak ares.

 

So, for instance, you should try reading some math books. All the Anno titles, or The Number Devil, or something by Theoni Pappas. Have her do word problems. Get the book Family Math as it has lots of fun games for cementing those facts. Do MUS three days a week and games the other 2.

 

Hope all my ramblings help de-confuse you!

[Dobela]

Even though she is way beyond in some skills, she is still just 6 yrs old in a 6 yr old body. It may be that her 6 yr old body is just not ready for all of that, even if her mind is. Handwriting is a fine motor muscle skill that should improve as the body grows. My experience is that as she grows the handwriting will improve naturally. No need for extra work or frustration to increase. The same for math. Math is built as her brain develops to make connections. Step back, let her brain grow a bit more for a month or 2 and then try again. As her brain matures, those things will be easier and you can move smoother. It may not be that you need to work harder on math and handwriting. It may be that you need to step back some. She isn't going to fall behind of peers if you take a break for a month or 2 at this point. Do fun things with math like consumer math, or set up a play store at home, games... Let her practice handwriting by writing tags for her pretend store. Find those cheap color and cut pages at a teacher supply store for math practice. Do fun crafts with lots of cutting and coloring for fun. She will be improving those fine motor skills and not know it because she is having so much fun.

 

Then, in a month or 2, bring back out the textbooks and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much she has gained.

[Macrina]

I would make any "work" be the three R's (or in your case with a strong reader- the two r's) but then make sure there is LOTS of fun time in the day too. For her, if that's history- so be it, if it's crafts and board games- then do that. But make sure you spend structured time with her outside of her weak areas.

[Lovedtodeath]

By structured time do you mean as in school, or as in mommy and Emily play together at such and such time each day?

[sassenach]

That is just it, she is not a K'r. She completed MFW K when she was 3. She is reading at a 5th grade level. She was adding and subtracting and writing letters and numbers at 3. She was 6 in July. She attended half of K at the PS after she turned 5. It seems like she has been backsliding (part of that is because of her pencil grip. In the past, she has been able to write and draw beautifully with her pencil held incorrectly, but as more is required it isn't working.) :(

 

 

I think it's important to remember that a children plateau at certain points. I think it can be hard on parents when a child is SO far ahead of their peers, and then they hit one of these points where they stall out for awhile. It seems like your expectation is for her to progress forward at the same pace. That my not be the case! At her age, I would definitely NOT stop other fun stuff just to work on these skill areas. Take some time off of progressing forward, and start going back to what she's already learned, but from different angles. I LOVE the suggestion of living math books. Have you spent any time on Living Math? I would also purchase some math fact songs and hit it from that angle.

 

You know, my 6 year old started swimming when he was a year old. By 2, he was diving down and touching the bottom of our 6 foot deep pool. Now, as a 6yo, he's still a good swimmer, but many of his friends have caught up. A little part of me wanted him to always be far ahead of his peers, because at one point, he was blowing them out of the water so to speak.

 

Be careful that you are allowing your dd to go along at her own pace, not just the pace she set for herself when she was 3.

[Karen FL]

I'll tell you what I did with my eldest DS when he had some struggles with Math. I put all of the Math books away. We played Math games for a few weeks. We continued on with our other subjects. I searched for picture books I could read aloud to him with Math concepts in them. I read those books to him. We started afresh a few weeks later and all was well.

[ElizabethB]

We put away the MUS and just did addition facts (no other school!) for a while in November. I was finishing up the last bit of my phonics class and she was ahead in all her other subjects. We did them on worksheets and a bit of oral drill in the car. (So, usually 2 times a day, but I'd generally only drill her on 3 to 8 math facts in the car, and we didn't go somewhere every day.) Then, our Flashmaster arrived and I switched to mainly Flashmaster drill, supplemented with oral drill in the car and an occasional worksheet on the facts the Flashmaster identified that she didn't know (they have a function where you can test the last 15 you missed. That was too upsetting for her to do it that way, but I'd write them down and we would work on them a few a day on worksheets and in the car.) After a month total, she had her facts down and we switched to Singapore.

 

Math is going much better now. She enjoys the Flashmaster, Singapore is working better than the MUS (she likes it a lot better, and it's a better fit for her. She's able to do well on most of the challenge problems and enjoys this "puzzle type" math.) We do fact review with the Flashmaster twice a week, 75 seconds for addition, 75 seconds for subtraction. That's enough to keep the facts in her brain. We'll keep doing this over the summer, half of the math facts she had learned in K jumped right out of the brain over the summer last year.

 

Our main challenge now is handwriting, but I'm not going to drop things to focus on it. The break worked out nicely for us with math, however.

[Lovedtodeath]

I keep thinking that the Mastery setup of MUS is holding her back. She wants to do Abeka... but when we did Horizons it drove me crazy. (The incremental, Spiral approach) and I was afraid that she was doing it without really understanding it. All the reviews about MUS and really understanding the WHY's got me to switch, and now I am afraid to switch again, because switching isn't good, confusing them and holding them back. I also have heard that Singapore is good for a kid strong in LA, but when I looked at MEP online it made no sense to me. ACK!! I just want to tear my hair out!!

[Reya]

In math, I'd switch programs. Basic facts should be SEEN, not memorized. They should be seen again and again until you see them so fast you don't have to think.

 

In handwriting, I'd just work on pencil grip and tension for a while. Let her color, draw, whatever--AFTER she has a light, gentle, proper grip, THEN ask for writing.

 

I had a bad grip my entire ed career, and my experience caused me to forbid my kids from holding writing utensils after they get past the full-fist stage unless they have a correct grip. Much easier to instill the habit than break a bad one....

 

I'd back off on other subjects for a while, but I'd keep it fun.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

In math, I'd switch programs. Basic facts should be SEEN, not memorized. They should be seen again and again until you see them so fast you don't have to think.

Could you explain how to go about seeing them but not memorizing them? What program would I switch to? Are you familiar with MUS?

[Amber in AUS]

Besides actually writing there are a few OT type things you could do with her to help strengthen her fingers to get her writing better for longer. I know one thing an OT suggested to me was making collage using small squares of tissue paper, have the child scrunch up the small square of tissue paper using her thumb and forefinger (pincer grip) this can really help to strengthen those fingers.

 

Another thing she mentioned was using the pincer grip to move dried beans from 1 plate to another. I am sure there are other things to.

 

I know for my DD the more i push on the writing the more she rebells. She will write, when she wants to, not when i want to make her. Could you have a friend write her a note? For my DD a secret fairy visited recently and was leaving little notes on the end of her bed at night time which she wrote back to each day. A 3 or 4 word question from DD meant extra practice that day without being asked.

 

As per PP i would have her do plenty of colouring with correct grip too.

 

We also do a little math drill each morning. 5 questions only after breakfast, a mini review, 5 is enough to keep it fun. We then do our math lesson at another time.

 

I wouldn't be dropping everything just try to work some other things to your advantage IYKWIM.

[ajjkt]

Don't drop the strong subjects - she needs them to know that she has strengths. I read a quote today that a lot of 'gifted' children with 'disabilities' wonder why everyone only focuses on what they can't do. Praise her for what she can do.

 

If she has a diagnosis, can you get OT? My three children have an OT come every Tuesday morning (thank you, government) to work with them each for an hour. She is amazing at working with them on anxieties, concentration, fine motor etc etc. She's working with DD6 on her anxieties, and on DS7 with handwriting.

 

Work with her just on the 3R. History, science etc can come in a fun way later etc etc. Take it from someone who has to spend an hour each day doing speech therapy exercises ... you just don't have time to do everything if there are other issues involved. Doesn't help the guilt though.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well...I don't think there IS a bad idea when the kid is only 6. You can pretty much do ANYTHING and as long as you are doing SOMETHING (and that doesn't mean formal necessarily), you will be doing well.

 

*I* wouldn't just focus on weak areas though and there are a couple reasons why.

 

First, children are asynchronous learners. ALL of them are to some degree or another. Some kids more than others. Of COURSE she has weaker areas. She always will. Those areas may change over time or may be similar throughout her LIFE.

 

Second, *I* wouldn't want to focus solely on things I found challenging, difficult, boring, horrible. I wouldn't put a kid through that. Would you want to do only things you found extremely difficult? Or are you glad there are some things that are easier, fun, etc?

 

Third, kids, especially sensitive ones, internalize things a bit. If she struggles with those subjects, you want her to have the easy subjects to balance that out so she can think, "I'm really good at XYZ" as well as "I have to work more on ABC."

 

You are NOT going to ruin a 6yo PERIOD. There is nothing PRESSING at 6. Well, discipline and spirituality are good foundations, but there is a wide range of normal at 6 academically speaking. And there is a lot of other things, other than schoolishness, a 6yo SHOULD be doing.

 

Anyway, so I don't think it's wrong to focus just on those subjects, but *I* wouldn't do it. Actually, I'd do the opposite! I'd MUCH more likely focus on her STRENGTHS allowing her to soar there. The other stuff will come in time with appropriate exposure and practice.

[Haiku]

Imo, kids need to have some sort of reward for the work they do in school. If all you do is focus on trouble spots, school will become drudgery. Your dd is very young. I'd say that a lot of her math and writing "struggles" are maturity based. My ds's handwriting is awful, too, but it's improving in tiny, torturous increments, so for now, I am just letting him mature.

 

So I wouldn't cut out everything else and just focus on trouble spots. I would continue to work on the fun stuff, too.

 

Tara

[Haiku]

That is just it, she is not a K'r. She completed MFW K when she was 3. She is reading at a 5th grade level. She was adding and subtracting and writing letters and numbers at 3. She was 6 in July. She attended half of K at the PS after she turned 5.

 

None of these things would rule her out of being a Kindergartner. Just because a 3 year old does a K program doesn't make them a K-er. At the age your dd is at, SO MUCH is about maturity and development and very little is about academic skill. Kids can be geniuses, but they are still in six year old bodies, and that will limit their abilities in many ways. It's very reasonable that with a July birthday, your dd would be a K-er. It's also completely reasonable that she would be a first grader. Either way, I think that spotty retention of math facts and bad handwriting are normal.

 

Tara

[littlebug42]

I have to remind myself all of the time that while my 7 year old's reading skills and such are very accelerated, she is still only 7. We too have struggled with the writing, pencil grip issues but we did the opposite, I backed off of it some until she developed a little more and now it is steadily improving. It had gotten to the point that when I would ask her to do a page of "handwriting" she would just cry hysterically and it set the tone for the rest of the day. I did buy her a pencil grip, not just a fluffy one, but this one actually is formed for the correct ways to hold the pencil. I noticed on Wednesday that she is now beginning to hold the pencil correctly on her own.

 

As for the math, we have been using Horizons and are getting ready to move to Abeka. Sweetpea likes the colors and for her, the incremental approach works because if she struggles with something, it is not too overwhelming all at once and offers many opportunities to revisit it on another day when something might click differently. Also, I have found that the parts show knows well help give her confidence to tackle the harder stuff. I have not drilled facts but she revisits them often enough that she is starting to remember more and more each time.

 

Hope something helps and that you find what you need to make things go more smoothly for you.

[woolybear]

For awhile I dropped everything but the essentials for a couple of reasons. (Including the struggle with ds to even DO school.) Well, that backfired because school really became something none of us looked forward to. I think if I want to inspire the love of learning than I have to keep the fun stuff in.

 

As a matter of fact, if anything, I've almost gone to the flip side for a bit. I just wanted to give us a little breather and let some fresh air into our school time. We play lots of games (which I know they are learning from) do lots of reading aloud, art, and some cool projects. Bit by bit I am slipping more schooly stuff back in.

 

I didn't like the way my son had started to identify "school" as something that necessarily meant sitting at a desk writing something. Although we always did lots of other things, the part he liked least was how he identified school. I want him to see that school=enjoyable (sometimes:001_smile:).

[Mama Anna]

I keep thinking that the Mastery setup of MUS is holding her back. She wants to do Abeka... but when we did Horizons it drove me crazy. (The incremental, Spiral approach) and I was afraid that she was doing it without really understanding it. All the reviews about MUS and really understanding the WHY's got me to switch, and now I am afraid to switch again, because switching isn't good, confusing them and holding them back. I also have heard that Singapore is good for a kid strong in LA, but when I looked at MEP online it made no sense to me. ACK!! I just want to tear my hair out!!

 

We switched from Saxon (drove me crazy) to MUS because of all the "understanding the WHY's" stuff. I'm not really sorry, but I've realized that knowing the WHY's doesn't make up for knowing the facts. My dd5 sounds a little like yours in that she's reading at about a 5th grade level and is wildly uncertain as to her addition facts. We were headed through MUS Alpha and doing pretty well (I thought) last fall, when I suddenly realized that she (while able to figure out answers) didn't know her facts. She didn't have her + 2s before we hit the +8s. This meant that doing any worksheet was hard for her (we started doing only half of one per day to take some pressure off) because she had to figure out every operation from scratch.

 

I talked to my dad about it. (He's a Math/Computing Science professor.) He reminded me that both understanding and memorization are important. If a kid doesn't know their arithmetic facts like the back of their hand by the time they hit algebra, they'll be lost. If they don't know their algebra instinctively by the time they hit calculus, they'll be lost. (This latter is personal experience for me.) So, here's what we have done, for better or worse:

 

We left MUS Alpha for a bit. We haven't touched the book since . . . before Christmas, I think. We continued to work on worksheets from the websites generator and I bought the "Learning Wrap-ups" that are recommended in WTM. Then I realized that she was still figuring out every problem from scratch - only a few facts were always there. (BTW, some days she's able to think quickly enough to pop off answers to any question immediately, while on others she only know 2+2=4 if she sees it in color. Drives me up the wall!) So, what we're doing right now, is I'm trying to draw from FLL's approach. We take about 2 to 3 flashcards each day of facts that she should already know. I pop them out at her several times a day and she answers my questions while dancing around the living room pretending to be a ballerina. (!) The next day I add a couple more until we get through a set. So far, it seems to work. She's incredible at memorizing anything in the LA field, so I'm hoping that requiring pure memorization in Math (seeing as how we've already spent _weeks_ on the theory) will give her the confidence to know that she can do the math easily.

 

Does that help?

 

My gut reaction to difficulties like this is to just calm down, simplify in that particular subject, and be willing to take forever to get through the curriculum. Other basics remain as is. After all, the point is learning the material, not finishing the book. Right? With my goal-oriented personality, I have to remind myself of that very. frequently. :)

 

HTH!

 

Mama Anna

[Murphy101]

I would. If for no other reason than it will make those other subjects far more enjoyable and easier later, avoiding discouragement in all subjects and she's young enough that once on track, she'll catch up in no time.

[Lovedtodeath]

About MUS, It just hit me after I posted this... she has the understanding, and she had it when she was using pennies to add and subtract at 3. The trouble that she has with MUS is all the "make 8 into 10 first" type of "shortcuts". As long as she gets her facts down, so what if she doesn't get the shortcut? So I will be making sure that she gets her facts down and check to see that we aren't missing anything else... and move on! The reason that I am in a hurry to move on is that she is. She loves the 2nd grade Abeka book with multiple digits and was so excited to try one. She says Alpha is boring and for babies.

 

Okay, I won't drop the stuff that she is good at, but phonics is boring review, so I might drop that for a while.

[Haiku]

If a kid doesn't know their arithmetic facts like the back of their hand by the time they hit algebra, they'll be lost.

 

Most kids don't start algebra until at least 7th grade, right? Fifth grade at the very earliest if they are very, very mathy? So there's probably no good reason to bang our collective heads against the wall if our 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-year old kids don't have their math facts memorized. :)

 

Tara

[Murphy101]

Most kids don't start algebra until at least 7th grade, right? Fifth grade at the very earliest if they are very, very mathy? So there's probably no good reason to bang our collective heads against the wall if our 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-year old kids don't have their math facts memorized. :)

 

Tara

 

well......

 

yes and no...

 

I think they need to have their math fact down pat by the time they are dividing or multiplying more thna double digit numbers. (23X67 for example)

 

Otherwise, it takes them f o r e v e r to get their math assignments done and they become discouraged.

 

In my house, I've had kids who were doing those type of problems as early as the middle of 3rd grade to as late as 5th grade. So I wouldn't set an age or grade requirement for having the facts down pat, but I would say there's absolutely a point where if they don't have then down very well a page with 20+ long division problems is going to feel like climbing mt everest to them.:)

[Haiku]

there's absolutely a point where if they don't have then down very well a page with 20+ long division problems is going to feel like climbing mt everest to them.:)

 

That makes sense. :) To me, math is a developmental thing as much as it is a skills thing when kids are young, and if a six year old isn't memorizing her math facts, I am not sure that endless drill is what's going to do it for her. I'd be more inclined to say that 6-12 months will make more difference than daily math facts drill.

 

Tara

[Murphy101]

That makes sense. :) To me, math is a developmental thing as much as it is a skills thing when kids are young, and if a six year old isn't memorizing her math facts, I am not sure that endless drill is what's going to do it for her. I'd be more inclined to say that 6-12 months will make more difference than daily math facts drill.

 

Tara

 

Yep. :) It depends on the kid doesn't it? For some it might be a development thing and no amount of drill is going to make their brain suddenly more mature. For some, they might just need the drill to learn it best and quickest. And some have to hit both those issues at the same time.

 

I agree math is certainly a building block subject though and if a block isn't properly placed, all the blocks above it aren't going to be strongly placed either.

[Stacy in NJ]

I haven't read the other responses so pardon if I'm repeating others.

 

I would set aside the "programs" or specific curricula you're using and focus instead on more informal learning. Your dd is very young (is it 6?), that's too young to be stressed out about any curriculum.

 

I suggest your read or reread Ruth Beechicks book http://www.amazon.com/Three-Rs-Ruth-Beechick/dp/0880620749/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236362372&sr=8-1

 

My advice, focus on the 3R's but go gently, gently. Continue with History, Science and Geography but only as "enrichment". If your dd enjoys listening to read alouds or audio books, do that as much as she's willing to listen. Find ways to enrich; trips to the local museum, zoo, national park. Many libraries have cool classes or projects for little ones. Reach out to your community to find fun (maybe even free) stuff to engage her mind while continuing with the basics at home.

 

I think that the emphasis I find sometimes on this board of heavy curriculum or "programs" at such a young age is really conterproductive for many children, not all, but many.

 

I also think purchasing curriculum and having it setting on the shelf can sometimes provide a false sense of security. I know many homeschoolers feel insecure about their ability to teach. I certainly do sometimes. But this can create a frustrating situation when you have all that cirriculum, know that you are able to teach your child, but wonder why it's just not happening.

 

Walk away from the curriculum. Your dd is 6. You know what she needs to learn (basic reading, writing and math). You know that she, like everyone else, needs a teacher who is both patient and consistent.

 

Have fun.

[StephanieF]

In our house it wouldn't make much sense cutting everything else out because there is only so much math and handwriting ds can do in a day anyway! Increasing the time spent on these areas would just frustrate him because after 30 mins or so he cannot absorb any more.

For maths I split drill and the main lesson. Ds uses his flashmaster whilst I'm in the shower and then does a quick horizons 1 lesson and we do LA.

 

Once LA is finished I do the rightstart lesson. That means he doesn't get "number overload". Drill can be done in 5 mins anywhere, in the car, whilst I'm getting a meal ready etc.

 

Ds knows his number facts well one minute and then not the other. But I think the reason for that is because he is thinking about something else whilst he should be answering drill questions-why the light is shining on the left page and not the rght, what the crumbs on the table came from, what he said to me yesterday..........you get the picture!

 

He will be 6 in June and has good concentration but sometimes other things need to be thought about rather than what 6+6 is. Like where the lego man could have got to.!

I have now decided that if he understands the concept and has practiced it then we move on. It tends to sink in over the next few days and we revisit.

I often discuss concepts at other points in the day-remember when we talked about 29+29 and how it is easier to add 30+30 and take away 2?

That doesn't mean we have to sit down and re do the lesson but I just mention it quickly.

This time last year ds couldn't recognise beyond 1-5 and I posted here as I was beyond frustrated! Now he can add 67+78 etc on a white board writing down the steps. He is no genius he just needed time to develop and absorb all I was teaching him.

I think these boards can be dangerous (I've said it before) because so many people seem to be doing sooooo much and you can feel inadequate and that your child will never progress.

Have you tried the rightstart games? My only issue with them is that ds loves them so much and they bore me to tears but they are like magic in getting number facts learnt and understood.

Stephanie

[Lovedtodeath]

Have you tried the rightstart games? My only issue with them is that ds loves them so much and they bore me to tears but they are like magic in getting number facts learnt and understood.

Stephanie

I bought the righstart games. We tried math war b/c it was easiest for me to understand. I have been foggy lately and can't seem to read through the directions for all of the games and apply them.:lol: Math war just made her mad b/c if you don't know the facts to begin with it is near impossible to play. Maybe the games work for reviewing the facts, but I don't see how any of them work for learning the facts. Maybe you know of some that do?

[Haiku]

I let my son use the RS abacus for all the math games. He can play the games AND it gives him practice with the facts. He tends to use the abacus a few times for security every time we play a new game, but then he plays without it. Often just having the abacus beside him, knowing that it's there, is enough for him and he doesn't actually use it.

 

Tara

[StephanieF]

If you don't have the abacus then just use counters. We started with go to the dump etc where you learn math facts to 10. Games like corner where you need to know what makes 5, 10 and 15, write any she doesn't know on a white board. They pick them up pretty quickly.

Memory is another easy one to work out where you try and make 10 or another number if you like from 2 cards and try to remember where the other card you need is.

I know what you mean about following the instructions but once you have done them they are pretty straight forward and you can always adapt them.

When I play the games I always make ds work out what I need as well so that way he gets twice as much practice!

Stephanie

[Lovedtodeath]

Thank you all so much for your support! Everyone's comments are greatly appreciated and helpful. Really.

 

Don't drop the strong subjects - she needs them to know that she has strengths. I read a quote today that a lot of 'gifted' children with 'disabilities' wonder why everyone only focuses on what they can't do. Praise her for what she can do.

 

If she has a diagnosis, can you get OT? My three children have an OT come every Tuesday morning (thank you, government) to work with them each for an hour. She is amazing at working with them on anxieties, concentration, fine motor etc etc. She's working with DD6 on her anxieties, and on DS7 with handwriting.

 

Work with her just on the 3R. History, science etc can come in a fun way later etc etc. Take it from someone who has to spend an hour each day doing speech therapy exercises ... you just don't have time to do everything if there are other issues involved. Doesn't help the guilt though.

Thank you! :grouphug: I think part of my stress is the extra work that we have right now because she is doing bladder training. I just can't handle anything else! I won't cut out the stuff she is good at, but I will probably focus on the math facts and handwriting on days when I know we won't be getting to anything else.

 

When people tell me to relax and do less I think :lol: that is pretty hard. We do next to nothing already. I dropped HTTS b/c I felt more comfortable finishing OPG, even though it is all review. I don't do FLL and WWE in the same week, DD loves them and they take little time. We are reading one picture book every 3 days or so, and haven't started science back up yet. My sig may look like a lot, but most of our time is spend hemming and hawing. :tongue_smilie:

[gardening momma]

We are reading one picture book every 3 days or so, and haven't started science back up yet.

Read a couple every night at bedtime :001_smile:

[Lovedtodeath]

We have read alouds at bedtime, but they usually involve power puff girls, tinkerbell, garfield, etc. because she gets to pick those. ;)

[StephanieF]

I do the same as you, as long as I do maths and some reading everyday then that's fine I don't worry. Everything else is extra and a bonus

Stephanie

[Lovedtodeath]

The Rightstart games are already working! The one we play is like go-fish, but instead of your matches being the same # you are going for groups of two that add to 9 (or 10, or 11, etc). Thank you so much for the help ladies! I knew we couldn't use the Abacus but needed something similar for her, so we built a tower with our MUS blocks before playing so that she had an example of what adds up to 9 right in front of her.

 

The bladder training has already worked too!:party:

 

She wrote out all of her plus 5 facts today. I found a way for her to be more comfortable holding the pencil.

 

We didn't drop everything else, but we pretty much do only FLL or reading and our problem areas.

[Lovedtodeath]

I just thought I would update. We focused on our weak areas. She will do a page of spelling words plus two sentences for writing. She is progressing rapidly in math; it is no longer a concern.

 

She also got interested in history and science in an unschoolish way.

 

So it worked great!

[Mom0012]

I can't seem to make the time to do math twice a day... once for the concept and once for the facts... and I don't even know if that is what I should do anyway.

 

Doing any kind of LA (except OPG, she won't miss that lol) with her is such a joy! But it does take time, and she is way ahead, so dropping it won't hurt her... but I like the fact that she is ahead LOL. Of course, being behind in the other subjects isn't working out so well for us. :(

 

I am thoroughly confused, and you can tell!

 

 

How about finding some math fact software that will systematically drill her for 10 minutes a day? Then you can focus on her lessons and she can work on the facts herself. This is what I have done with my children. They start this in kindergarten and I plan to have them continue at least through 4th grade if not longer.

 

Lisa

 

ETA: I see you already found a solution to the problem. I didn't read through everything before posting.

[Lovedtodeath]

Thanks anyway. Abeka solved my math confusion. It saved us from putting her in school.

 

My main reason for updating now is her handwriting. I am so glad that we focused on it! Not only is she writing more, but her neatness quotient has gone way up and she is less frustrated with all of her other subjects.

[Lovedtodeath]

ETA: I see you already found a solution to the problem. I didn't read through everything before posting.

I do that all the time!:lol:

[black_midori]

LovedtoDeath - I know this is coming very late, but I couldn't help but see that you are having problems with pencil grip. How is that going nowadays? I only ask because I have always had a very odd pencil grip that everyone finds disturbing - several times in school I was forced to attempt to correct it. I never was able to write very well the "right way", but I remember getting extremely frustrated in school with teachers who felt it was their given duty to change me for the better... when my way was "the better" - for ME!

 

Anyhow, I just wanted to point out that if she is having major issues because you are trying to change her grip and she was doing just fine before, you may want to consider just letting her do it the "wrong" way. :) My caveat - I do still insist that my kids learn to hold it the "right" way and they are doing well at it, so I do believe an early age is the best time for a forced switch! At 6, she's still young enough that I'd probably try to change it as well. However, by 8 or so if she is still having problems I personally would definitely just let well enough alone if she's writing well (I have the best handwriting in my family, probably, and absolutely LOVED writing growing up!).

 

I honestly can't remember when I "went wrong" in my pencil holding, age wise, but I know I was fairly young when I was having teacher issues and it almost ruined my joy in writing (I can't even TELL you how frustrating it was to constantly have that dratted teacher hop over and grab my pencil and change it around - I'm over 30 and STILL bitter about it!!). As I grew a bit older, the teachers didn't care as much (I was a teachers pet sort, anyway) and if someone commented I was wise enough to just tell them "it works well enough for me".

[Laura Corin]

Well, I'd say to take a deep breath and try not to fret about any of it. She is only 6, and her development will lurch forward and back in a very frustrating manner for some time to come. Sure, you can focus a little more on her weaker areas, but don't drop everything or obsess about it. Kids often make sudden leaps and frustrating problems just clear up.

 

 

I agree with this.

 

Laura

[justamouse]

My daughter who is 7 has a weird pencil grip and I freaked over it. I tried to change it, and get her to write correctly, then she would cry because her penmanship was awful.

 

One day I observed someone drawing a portrait with the same grip as my daughter.

 

I let it go and all's been well.

[lovemykids]

I am so glad things are better now! :grouphug: