If you supplement at home, please share what you do (not a debate about whether it's good)

[Anonymous]

I know many parents don't supplement at home based on their beliefs and that is great.

If you do supplement, please share what you do. The reason I am curious about this is because my 1st grader gets pulled for enrichment math every day. There are four other kids who also get pulled. The worksheets these kids are given (and work independently) sometimes say "5th-6th grade" (other times, they are logic puzzles). If x=5 and y=24, what is x/4xy.

I knew my daughter could do these problems, but I was suprised to learn that there were four other kids who were at this level.

Parents do not talk about supplementing AT ALL, even though we see each other a lot.

[Anonymous]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/716481.page

[Anonymous]

My child is in 8th grade.

I get a bunch of books from our local public library every two weeks & insist that she finish at least 3 per month. 2 hours of Khan Academy math/week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know many parents don't supplement at home based on their beliefs and that is great.

If you do supplement, please share what you do. The reason I am curious about this is because my 1st grader gets pulled for enrichment math every day. There are four other kids who also get pulled. The worksheets these kids are given (and work independently) sometimes say "5th-6th grade" (other times, they are logic puzzles). If x=5 and y=24, what is x/4xy.

I knew my daughter could do these problems, but I was suprised to learn that there were four other kids who were at this level.

Parents do not talk about supplementing AT ALL, even though we see each other a lot.

A lot of kids in our first grade class supplemented quite a bit with math. Other kids were just naturally good enough at it that they could figure it out like your kid. We too had to learn that our DD wasn’t the uniquely gifted snowflake we thought she was once she got to elementary school. Most kids did Kumon or Russian School of Math. Some did the online Khan Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know many parents don't supplement at home based on their beliefs and that is great.

If you do supplement, please share what you do. The reason I am curious about this is because my 1st grader gets pulled for enrichment math every day. There are four other kids who also get pulled. The worksheets these kids are given (and work independently) sometimes say "5th-6th grade" (other times, they are logic puzzles). If x=5 and y=24, what is x/4xy.

I knew my daughter could do these problems, but I was suprised to learn that there were four other kids who were at this level.

Parents do not talk about supplementing AT ALL, even though we see each other a lot.

A lot of kids in our first grade class supplemented quite a bit with math. Other kids were just naturally good enough at it that they could figure it out like your kid. We too had to learn that our DD wasn’t the uniquely gifted snowflake we thought she was once she got to elementary school. Most kids did Kumon or Russian School of Math. Some did the online Khan Academy.

Based on OP’s post, I don’t think you can infer that OP’s kid is naturally good at learning or that they don’t supplement. OP is just curious how parents supplement.

Also I’ve had in person conversations about this topic, so that may be just the case with OP, parents not talking about supplementing.

[Anonymous]

We got no support from the school, so I enriched a lot at home. I tried to avoid acceleration as much as possible, because she was too far ahead of her classmates already, and focus on enrichment instead. It’s great if they keep her challenged, but you should know that not all middle schools may be able to support her at that level, although in cases of very advanced students they may allow classes at the high school. You should also be aware that no matter what level of math your child completes, they are required by the state to enroll in a math class every year in high school. They can’t complete the math requirement early and have extra electives.

Here are some links to other threads that discuss math enrichment. Some of the enrichment options involve reading, and I don’t know what your child’s language skill level is, so you may find them more useful later. I particularly encourage you to try the links on the Hoagie’s web page, past episodes of Cyberchase that focused on math concepts, and when she’s ready for it - Scratch programming. You seem primarily interested in math enrichment, but I’m including links that discuss other types of enrichment as well.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/736125.page#13246585

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1126991.page#24818361

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/917774.page

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/786230.page#14585881

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1113430.page#24375701

[Anonymous]

Through 6th, we did workbooks and educational apps. When MCPS offered the free tutoring, we now use that in a few subjects.

[Anonymous]

Beast academy.

I'm jealous you're getting pull outs for smart kids. My school only has pull outs for kids way below grade level. Smart kids are supposed to help the teacher with others if they finish early.

[Anonymous]

OP in 4th grade we started with a math tutor (at the Bethesda area ES teacher's recommendation - in fact she said that almost everyone in her class had a math tutor or math supplementation of some kind).

We continued with Math tutors thru middle and High school. We added in a French tutor in 9th grade when there was a steeper hill from Honors 3 to French 4 than expected. We kept that tutor thru to the end of French study.

We also are going to use an SAT tutor, a college counselor (private) as well as a couple of AP tutors.

Hope this is helpful to know. A lot of people get extra help while publicly scorning it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beast academy.

I'm jealous you're getting pull outs for smart kids. My school only has pull outs for kids way below grade level. Smart kids are supposed to help the teacher with others if they finish early.

At our school too if you're on grade level or higher you get ignored.

[Anonymous]

Better to spend time on history, geography, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and science. None of these receive adequate time in elementary or middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better to spend time on history, geography, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and science. None of these receive adequate time in elementary or middle school.

Also add math facts and typing.

[Anonymous]

Beast Academy - started Level 2 in second grade and are just wrapping up Level 5 in 5th grade. Truly nothing is better.

For ELA, we've done various workbooks from Critical Thinking Company.

Also finished up Duolingo because he's in a dual language immersion program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beast academy.

I'm jealous you're getting pull outs for smart kids. My school only has pull outs for kids way below grade level. Smart kids are supposed to help the teacher with others if they finish early.

At our school too if you're on grade level or higher you get ignored.

Our school has pullouts and they are don't even compare to Beast Academy. Not even close.

[Anonymous]

Beast Academy for us also.

My kids got zero enrichment in Math. Like another PP said, if your kid is above grade level, they are largely ignored. MCPS has no incentive to help kids who are already working above grade level as that simply makes the Achievement Gap worse.

Beast Academy is great if your kid enjoys Math because it goes deeper into concepts and provides a much better understanding. If your kid dislikes Math, I still think it’s a good way to help your kid understand math better (and maybe dislike it less). BA was recommended on here for me years ago and I am so grateful.