paulcindy Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I have a 10 yo daughter, who keeps listening to her public schooled friends about what they are doing in Math. Well, she is determined she is going to "catch up". She refuses to touch TT Math 5 anymore. She is tackling LoF Fractions(and she does not even have double digit division down yet), and today, we are at Barnes and Noble and she had a gift card, and INSISTED she get a Pre-Algebra book. She is now upstairs, muddling through it. Shouldn't she be learnng the "basics" first. Such as all kinds of fractions, decimals etc, before trying to tackle that? Shouldn't she have a "why" behind numbers, and "why" they work this way, before just memorizing certain directions? She has always been this way. I suppose this is why she tackled High School literature this year, and she understood all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Shouldn't she be learnng the "basics" first. Such as all kinds of fractions, decimals etc, before trying to tackle that? Shouldn't she have a "why" behind numbers, and "why" they work this way, before just memorizing certain directions?FWIW, Life of Fred is very much into the "why" of things. Its prerequisites are knowing math facts cold and being able to perform long division, so it sounds like long division with multidigit divisors is the only thing she's missing. LoF: Fractions and LoF: Decimals and Percents will get her through pre-algebra. I'd give her her head and be available to help her through any gaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulcindy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Okay. Because she will NOT touch any other Math book except LoF Fractions. She even emailed the author. So I am just going to have to help her along and fill in the gaps where needed. Thanks:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Be proud and encouraging. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Be proud and encouraging. :) :iagree: I would just add...assist when asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulcindy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Again, thank you. But I am NOT a math minded mom at all.......LOL. I had to figure out(going back years) the difference between a improper fraction and a mixed fraction........ughhhh. She is just a determined child. I think I am going to have a tough time over the next few years. Maybe I better get some college under my belt to help her out:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Again, thank you. But I am NOT a math minded mom at all.......LOL. I had to figure out(going back years) the difference between a improper fraction and a mixed fraction........ughhhh. She is just a determined child. I think I am going to have a tough time over the next few years. Maybe I better get some college under my belt to help her out:D Would it be possible to find someone to assist her like a mentor or tutor...a college math student or retired teacher or someone you know who likes math or another homeschooling mom who is more into math where you could assist each other with different topics. I have one of those determined children and it can be daunting at times trying to keep up but someone once told me "you get the child you were meant to have." It seems so simple but I always think of that when I am in panic mode trying to figure out how I am going to meet her needs. It helps to bring me back to reality and get my brain thinking of different options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Well, when my daughter jumped to algebra at 8, she didn't even know the times tables. I mean, she understood the concept of multiplication and could do multi-digit problems, but she had to work out the individual, digit-by-digit answers as she went. Same thing with division. But she hated both and was crying and miserable and hating math. So, after a brief flirtation with some middle school geometry, she decided to go on to algebra. What we found was that, once she had some reason to put to use things like multiplication, she got much better and faster at doing it. And, when she hit something she didn't know or couldn't remember, we looked it up. She did fine, went on to high school geometry the next year and honors algebra 2 the year after that, earning good grades in each course. She'll never be a math person, but she's competent and comfortable with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulcindy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Wow, Algebra at 8??? I think our children are certainly go getters:) I was thinking of getting a high schooler in here to help tutor her. I think I know a few mom's who have homeschooled high schoolers. I have one that just graduated, from homeschool high school, but he is very busy at work. And my 16 yo is NOT math minded at all either. My 10 yo ALWAYS wants to go and tackle the hard stuff. She insisted on reading all the books at the libary that were on the PS high school required reading list. I just nod my head and say "whatever you want". We were at Barnes and Noble yesterday with a gift card, and what did she get? Lord of the Flies. "I" never read that book:confused: Oh, and FWIW, my daughter was a 29 weeker. Born 2 lbs 14 oz. All the Dr's said *if* she lived she would be brain damaged. Note to self..........NEVER listen to Dr's. You never know:001_smile: Thanks ladies:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Oh, and FWIW, my daughter was a 29 weeker. Born 2 lbs 14 oz. All the Dr's said *if* she lived she would be brain damaged. Note to self..........NEVER listen to Dr's. You never know:001_smile: Funny, I was born with the cord around my throat. Apparently, I was kind of blue, too. My parents were warned that there might be some brain damage. (I'm mentioning this, by the way, just for the sake of the story and not to toot my own horn.) Nonetheless, when I had IQ testing in the second grade, my score was one of the highest that school had seen. As you said, you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 We were at Barnes and Noble yesterday with a gift card, and what did she get? Lord of the Flies. "I" never read that book:confused: I would STRONGLY encourage you to read that book before allowing her to do so. Despite being on the high school reading list for 9th and 10th grades, it's really not appropriate until closer to college age IMO. It's VERY violent and VERY disturbing. I read it when I was about your DD's age and even now as an adult I wish I could get those images OUT of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Not to hijack the thread, but dh was born early, cord around neck, blue, and has a high IQ, BUT he has constant dizziness due to an inner ear injury from the birth. He didn't walk until he was 2, but could speak in complete sentences. His math skills are much better than my own. Just yesterday one dd complained that it is embarrassing to have her younger sister catch up with her in our math sequence. I had to give her a gentle talk about each of us progressing at our own speed to our own level of achievement. Each of her older siblings has had the freedom to progress through math at their own speed and each has cried, "Uncle!" at a different level. We consider the completion of Algebra 2 our graduation requirement, but we offer Advanced Mathematics, too. Ds, 23, did very well with college level math. For whatever it is worth, we never "skip" a level or text....they can speed through one if they are able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulcindy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 I have heard this same thing, but she has read many books, and literature that had disturbing viewpoints in it, and it makes for a good discussion. She is not one to scare easily at all. Thank you for mentioning it. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 NP. :) That one was so very.... explicit with the violence (think "Passion of the Christ" type explicit), that even though I usually didn't have issues with anything I read, it literally gave me nightmares and left me nauseous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sometimes it's hard, but the best we can do for our young jumpers is let them leap and go along for the ride, supporting and encouraging the best we can. :001_smile: You must be so proud... she's come a long way from that tiny preemie, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulcindy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sometimes it's hard, but the best we can do for our young jumpers is let them leap and go along for the ride, supporting and encouraging the best we can. :001_smile: You must be so proud... she's come a long way from that tiny preemie, huh? Yes, I am VERY proud of her. She has amazed everyone by leaps and bounds. Now, I have to play constant catch up with her all the time. It can be tiring!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 NP. :) That one was so very.... explicit with the violence (think "Passion of the Christ" type explicit), that even though I usually didn't have issues with anything I read, it literally gave me nightmares and left me nauseous. It's funny how we all come away with different things from books - I read Lord of the Flies in high school and don't remember it distrubing me (like I can't remember any details enough to argue your point :)), but the two assigned books that made me feel, well, violated were Catcher in the Rye (the incessant swearing felt like an assault) and Ragtime (a scene that was a bit more s*xually explicit than my rather sheltered self was comfortable with - I have no memory of the plot of the book but that scene sticks in my head - although as an adult it just seems like a stupid scene). Now I'll have to re-read Lord of the Flies... BTW, a book on a similar subject (children in a world without adults) that I loved was The Girl that Owned a City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 We never read Ragtime, but I didn't care for Catcher in the Rye much. It wasn't the same visceral response as Lord of the Flies, and naturally it was for different reasons. Plus, I was older (high school) with Catcher in the Rye as opposed to late elementary school with Lord of the Flies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Wow, I've NEVER heard of anyone else who's heard of The Girl That Owned A City. I LOVE that book! Lord of the Flies creeps me out too. I've not read the other two you mentioned. Sorry ... nothing pertinent to add to the conversation ... I just love meeting people who've read the same obscure things I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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