Beast versus kumon for under motivated 1st grader

[Anonymous]

My kid is on grade level for math but has trouble memorizing math facts. Also, she has adhd and has trouble focusing. I want her to have some math support so that she starts to feel like math is something that comes naturally to her.

Is kumon too much like school? Can you do it from home or only at a center? Beast Academy looks like more fun but will it help her with math facts?

She does like math word problems when I read them to her, but her reading is not yet good enough for her to do word problems entirely on her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is on grade level for math but has trouble memorizing math facts. Also, she has adhd and has trouble focusing. I want her to have some math support so that she starts to feel like math is something that comes naturally to her.

Is kumon too much like school? Can you do it from home or only at a center? Beast Academy looks like more fun but will it help her with math facts?

She does like math word problems when I read them to her, but her reading is not yet good enough for her to do word problems entirely on her own.

At this age, I would stick to simple math drill worksheets you can print off the web for free, or make your own, and play lots of math games with score keeping. Even a really simple game like rolling a handful of dice and seeing who gets the higher sum. You can also buy Kumon workbooks on Amazon, but I don't think it's worth the money when you can just get a piece of paper and write a dozen addition and subtractions problems yourself. If you ask the teacher, he/she might even have some worksheets for more at-home practice.

These are BA placement tests if you're curious about that option. They will give you an idea of the kind material that company favors.

https://beastacademy.com/resources/placementtests

[Anonymous]

Kid is on grade level? Then why would you need to do anything at all?

[Anonymous]

One of my kid did printable worksheet games to master math facts, the other used a math facts app on the computer. Both worked equally well.

[Anonymous]

Don’t pressure a kid with ADHD. You can buy some math games online at Lakeshore Learning to play as a fun time with you. Kids with ADHD often learn best by doing. You can find lots of examples of math games on Pinterest. Her brain is not set up to sit and do worksheets. Try songs in the car of math facts.

A first-grader is still learning concepts of adding and subtracting. An ADHD brain may need a little more time. At this point, you want a positive self-image and for her to think that learning is fun. Please don’t hammer her with school outside of school. This is a long school journey for her, and it does not need to be one of constant worrying about achievement.

[Anonymous]

Beast Academy is not for math facts / fluency. It's for getting into deeper and more sophisticated math thinking. I would treat Beast Academy as enrichment rather than remediation. Kumon is for drilling math facts and improving fluency. But it's boring as hell. Honestly you don't need to pay for a program to get better at math facts. Any app / game that drills math facts will do the job in a more appealing way to kids than Kumon. Your school should also have "blended learning" apps like Zearn or the like to do that type of thing.

[Anonymous]

If she has ADHD and math is not something she can hyperfocus on, I doubt either of these will appeal to her. There are video games to learn math facts. Have you tried any of these?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is on grade level for math but has trouble memorizing math facts. Also, she has adhd and has trouble focusing. I want her to have some math support so that she starts to feel like math is something that comes naturally to her.

Is kumon too much like school? Can you do it from home or only at a center? Beast Academy looks like more fun but will it help her with math facts?

She does like math word problems when I read them to her, but her reading is not yet good enough for her to do word problems entirely on her own.

This seems like a contradiction. Just focus on praising her for her efforts, not how "smart" she is. If she is on grade level I wouldn't do Kumon. Do fun things with math and make it enjoyable. Kumon won't do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t pressure a kid with ADHD. You can buy some math games online at Lakeshore Learning to play as a fun time with you. Kids with ADHD often learn best by doing. You can find lots of examples of math games on Pinterest. Her brain is not set up to sit and do worksheets. Try songs in the car of math facts.

A first-grader is still learning concepts of adding and subtracting. An ADHD brain may need a little more time. At this point, you want a positive self-image and for her to think that learning is fun. Please don’t hammer her with school outside of school. This is a long school journey for her, and it does not need to be one of constant worrying about achievement.

This is very limiting language. Of course people with ADHD can sit and do worksheets. They may not be able to focus as well as people who don't have ADHD, but it's not an impossibility. And it's not harmful to have them do a worksheet at home once in a while to help them practice the skill of focusing, because like it or not worksheets are a part of school life.

[Anonymous]

There is no such thing as an under motivated 1st grader. 1st graders do not need to be motivated.

[Anonymous]

What is an "under motivated" FIRST grader??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she has ADHD and math is not something she can hyperfocus on, I doubt either of these will appeal to her. There are video games to learn math facts. Have you tried any of these?

+1 Many schools use Dreambox for 2nd grade and up. Might be worth asking the school if they have a subscription and if it could be set up for a lower grade child.

[Anonymous]

Play games with cards, dice, and points.
Practice skip counting.

[Anonymous]

Board games that utilize math facts and math skills.

[Anonymous]

Play games with her. Roll dice and come up with different ways to get to the sum of the die, that type of thing. You can use the game to work on subtraction, addition, multiplication, or division.

There is a game called Sleeping Queens that is good for this as well. We play with house rules to allow for multiplication and division and we allow balanced equations (2+6=9-1)

RSM is a better program for shoring up skills then Beast Academy. It is leveled so that kids are challenged at the appropriate level. Higher level classes provide room for problems similar to AoPS but all of the levels practice/teach the initial skill.