Karen in CO Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I am beyond the point where this worries me or even confuses me, but I was wondering if other kids do it too. My son wasn't this way; my middle child is; I really hope my youngest isn't. She zooms along in math, happily doing her problems, everything is great. Then one day, for no apparent reason, she can't do the work. She crumbles onto the floor in a pile of despair. Sometimes it is just one problem. Sometimes it is just one day. Sometimes it lasts for weeks. It used to freak me out and make me think I needed to change something or make me think she was just trying to play me, but now I think it is the way she learns math. It is kind of a one step forward, two steps back, three steps forward, two steps back way of learning math. So is it just her? Please don't tell me all girls do math this way - with fits of drama. Any boys do it this way? Is it just her age - she's 8 but has been doing this for at least two years. Will she outgrow it? I have already told her that when she gets to middle grade math, her math is all going to be done by dvd teacher so she'll have to hit pause while she does her little drama thing then go back and figure out what she missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Nope, it's not just you. My dd (7.5) does it but she has a twin brother who then calmly goes about his work and gets done faster so it makes her mad and then she gets self-control and quickly gets back to work. Sometimes, though, I just send her to her room desk and let her have her dramatics up there which usually ends fairly quickly as well.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 My 8 yr ds will pitch a huge fit if he gets something wrong and not just in math. I can either talk him out of his fit or he goes to his room to lie down and calm down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 And it didn't help much, of course, the times that I joined in. ;) Mine is 11 1/2 now, and I think things are getting better. The worst it has been lately is a scowl or a few tears. I have talked with her about staying open and relaxed when she starts to feel frustrated, and she is consciously working on that. Glad to know mine isn't the only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 good grief :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 It's not a girl thing. My 10yo ds (4th grade) does this every couple of weeks. Math has been a struggle for us and it seems that every time I think we have made it through to the "other side", he wakes up one morning and can no longer do what he was doing perfectly fine the day before. Then, to make things worse, once he starts having trouble his brain just shuts off and he can't even add 2+2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Yep. Sounds like math at our house. My daughter is almost ten and the drama has slowed down but it is still there. I fully expect that it will get worse before she graduates. :grouphug: to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melabella Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I am so glad this thread was posted because I really thought it was just a problem with my dd9. I once read that a child has to regress a little to progress (developmentally). Maybe that is part of it. I just know that it's really discouraging for the mother/teacher when everything is going along smoothly, then snap! They can't remember basic math facts. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof165 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) It's not a girl thing. My 10yo ds (4th grade) does this every couple of weeks. Math has been a struggle for us and it seems that every time I think we have made it through to the "other side", he wakes up one morning and can no longer do what he was doing perfectly fine the day before. Then, to make things worse, once he starts having trouble his brain just shuts off and he can't even add 2+2. Sounds just like my ds 9 - currently 3rd Grade. Math has never been his favorite subject and we just had one of these "blackouts" yesterday. Today, a totally different story - but who knows what tomorrow brings!?!? Sonja __________________________________ Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9 Edited March 19, 2009 by momof165 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainforest mama Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 DD10 is like this. One minute she's sailing along understanding everything, then all of the sudden she can't remember how to do anything she could do earlier. Strangely enough, we can take a couple of months off of math (we have done this a few times since we move all the time) and she is capable of doing way more than she could before the time off. I think it's her brain re-wiring itself every once in a while. It is rather annoying though when I'm trying to stick to a schedule and get things done. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 My daughter does this in all subjects occasionally, and with general things around the house, as well. She also sometimes stresses out about lengthy Bible verses and will not even try to memorize them. She can memorize longer verses than she thinks, if it's over one verse long, I have to cover up the last part and tell her I just want her to do the first part. Then, I just have her do the next verse, continuing this process to the end. She almost always has the whole thing memorized by the 2nd or 3rd day, but always by the end of the week. I memorize them with her and I have only memorized one series of verses quicker than her, and that Psalm 1, a Psalm I have read repeatedly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen FL Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) Both my boys have behaved this way. When not understanding a Math concept, the eldest be dramatic and passionate. The other one is dramatic and passionate if he misses one problem. I doubt my daughter would react this way; she has a different personality. ~Another Karen~ Edited March 19, 2009 by Karen FL omitted a letter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedbel Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 This happens to my ds9 sometimes. If I see him too frustrated we stop for the day and resume the next day. That usually works well for us:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Oh, I sure do love hs boards! I thought my ds8 was an oddity! Ever since he was 5, we have had little dramatic episodes with math, not frequently, but when they happen they are so terrible. One way I have found to get around it is to decrease the number of problems assigned daily on the topic he seems to have difficulty wrapping his mind around. Instead of doing all of those problems in one day, we might do half of them and half of a totally different topic on the same day, so we do the same number but in a different order than typically assigned. I'm hoping we will avoid the issue completely this chapter, as we're on 4 digit addition and subtraction. If not, I'm prepared to skip over to the division chapter to mix things up a bit. (We had a long row of very terrible dramatic episodes when we tried a spiral curriculum, because ds could see there was no end in sight to the identical looking lessons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 This is all so familiar. On Tuesday, my dd7 had an entire dramatic event because she could apparently no longer write a 6. It took about 15 minutes for her to be able to write a 6 again but only after a huge ordeal was made out of the whole event. She even had dd5 showing her how to make a 6. You are definitely not alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Very common here with my ds9. He is doing 4th grade math....just Monday we started a geometry unit which I thought he would love...but right away he totally flipped out on me because he didn't understand all the 'letters' they were putting on lines and rays and angles. Now by Wednesday when we went back to the unit he was fine. Skipped right through it and totally enjoyed it. Kids:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 No drama here, but mine periodically forget everything. Sigh. I had to redo the multiplication tables and long division and multiplication with my 14yo this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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