Math enrichment strategy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In all this you didn't say what your kid's level of motivation is. Enabling your kid's own interest is very different from dragging him by his ear.

Poorly motivated! That’s why 1:1 is essential. Saying this is “enrichment” in the title was the wrong word choice on my part. Sparing all of the details, the issue is that he needs to be accelerated to keep up in class if that makes sense. If he’s not pushed he stalls. And I am hoping he will become motivated when he sees he is actually good at math (which he is).

[Anonymous]

OP here. I’m sorry I created confusion. We are not in AAP but I posted here because AAP parents are the most knowledgeable about this stuff.

I have the type of kid who has to be pushed at a good pace or he disengages. He is currently in a 6th grade math class that then places some 7th graders in Algebra. For a variety of reasons having nothing to do with his abilities, the class has been a disaster and he needs to get back on track the summer.

I think but am not sure that based on the AOPs Prealgebra test here (https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/prealgebra1-pretest.pdf) that he will be ready for prealgebra in the summer.

My goal for the summer is to pre-teach prealgebra (ID’ing any gaps that need to be filled) so that he will go into 7th grade math ready to ace it, or possibly be placed in Algebra (which I realize is unlikely and is not my goal).

So my question is really about the curriculums available for this.

Yes he will complain about the 1:1 tutoring but he’s going to have plenty of downtime so 🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi AAP moms - I’ve got a bright but not brilliant kid who needs to do pre-algebra over the summer in some kind of 1:1 setting to keep him focused. My goal is to give him a leg up in pre-algebra next school year OR if it goes really well, place him in algebra. Long story short, he has a terrible teacher/class for 6th grade math and needs to be shored up.

I’m trying to figure out the best way to do this and willing to throw money at it but of course would prefer to save. Here are my ideas in descending order of cost.

- Fusion 1:1 tutoring 4-5 days/week. They use their curriculum. Have to schlep him there.

- 1:1 tutoring at home with a “master” tutor using whatever curriculum they recommend

- Buy the AOPs or Beast Academy books and have a less experienced tutor do them with him

- Use the free school curriculum (Illustrative Math, Zearn) with a tutor. This may enable the gaps to be filled more easily and better transition back to school math for placement, but my kid HATES Zearn.

This is a troll post, clearly.
However, reminder for parents considering how to support their children with math. Instead of waiting until the summer before addressing your child's math needs, start early, in elementary grades. Follow teachers' recommendations and assist them with free enrichment materials after school in the evenings. If you're not confident in elementary math, there are plenty of affordable resources available. Ask other parents how they manage it. Experiment with different workbooks, Kumon, or other programs. The key is to get them on a math enrichment path early.

As we speak, currently there are a significant number of TJ kids who have been admitted with poor math skills, who are suffering with Ds and Fs. If your child is admitted by chance using the lottery process, do you want to see your child suffer with poor grades, or do you want to plan ahead so they can take on high school math more confidently at TJ or base school?

But it sounds like Op did do Beast for awhile. This kid should have been dropped to a lower level before this point. One should not need all kinds of daily tutoring to catch up and ‘shore’ up. There’s an underlying problem that the school is failing on. They take all kinds of Assessments, and yet nothing is done to shore up the weak areas in the last 7 years.

the more i hear about Beast it sounds like money down the drain. Stick to tried and true enrichment centers.

Not impressed with Beast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all this you didn't say what your kid's level of motivation is. Enabling your kid's own interest is very different from dragging him by his ear.

DP. my kid is only interested in video games. If didnt drag them by the ear, they wouldnt even be attending school. So abiding by the Virginia compulsory attendance law, I am having to drag by both ears, in your terms.

There is a difference between sending your kid to school because kids have to go to school and signing your kid up for 1:1 tutoring every day during summer break so that your kid can potentially glide through 7th grade math easily or get bumped into Algebra in 7th grade. Huge difference.

DS attends RSM because he asks to, not because we make him. We suggested it in third grade when he was saying he was bored with math and he said he wanted to try it. He asked to reenroll every year since then. It is his choice. DS has also passed advanced on every SOL he has taken and enjoys math competitions, performing well in competitions for kids older then him. He loves math.

If OP was asking about a kid who loved math and was looking for a summer program that matched that love, people would respond differently. If OP was asking about a program to help shore up skills, people would probably suggest one of the summer classes offered through RSM or AoPS or Mathnasium or working with a tutor one day a week.

OP is suggesting tutoring 5 days a week with an eye towards acceleration when they have a kid who is not succeeding in their classwork as a 6th grader. Word of difference.

Similarly, our DD attends Curie because her friends do, and she loves it. We've always believed that enrichment should be optional for the child, provided only if they're interested. However, the Curie environment has significantly boosted her interest in math through engaging, application-based problems and enjoyable contests—not the rote math that people often mistakenly assume. Parents should not be forcing kids to get legup so to speak, but gently presenting ways to improving their math abilities. But start the math enrichment journey as early as they can.

My child also goes to Curie. We have a carpool from our neighborhood. When they do it with friends, they enjoy it more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m sorry I created confusion. We are not in AAP but I posted here because AAP parents are the most knowledgeable about this stuff.

I have the type of kid who has to be pushed at a good pace or he disengages. He is currently in a 6th grade math class that then places some 7th graders in Algebra. For a variety of reasons having nothing to do with his abilities, the class has been a disaster and he needs to get back on track the summer.

I think but am not sure that based on the AOPs Prealgebra test here (https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/prealgebra1-pretest.pdf) that he will be ready for prealgebra in the summer.

My goal for the summer is to pre-teach prealgebra (ID’ing any gaps that need to be filled) so that he will go into 7th grade math ready to ace it, or possibly be placed in Algebra (which I realize is unlikely and is not my goal).

So my question is really about the curriculums available for this.

Yes he will complain about the 1:1 tutoring but he’s going to have plenty of downtime so 🤷‍♀️

It sounds like your child is not keeping up with the acceleration that he has already experienced. Your child is not properly placed in math if he needs 1:1 tutoring every day during the summer. He just isn’t. You can write all you want about how he needs to be pushed but then you are setting up daily tutoring in math for the summer.

RSM offers classes that introduce concepts for kids for the following year but those classes are a few hours, twice a week, for 6 weeks, so 24 hours. You are suggesting that your child needs 5 hours a week of tutoring plus whatever work that the tutor suggests after the session for 10 weeks.

Whatever your reason, your efforts are more likely to make him dislike math and cause the problem to get worse.

[Anonymous]

Is the current class a Prealgebra / "Math 8" class, or is it a regular Math 6 class where the bored kids who have been accelerating at home finally get to skip when they start junior high?

If your kid truly can do it, but is just lazy, it's not hard do Prealgebra over the summer.

But if your kid isn't bored by the easy class, you're taking a big risk. So it's good that you aren't fully committed to Algebra in 7th.

"Ready for Prealgebra" now isn't really enough to get to "Ready for Algebra" in 4 months, unless the kid is motivated and capable.

Try this video series and see if that engages:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/videos/prealgebra

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m sorry I created confusion. We are not in AAP but I posted here because AAP parents are the most knowledgeable about this stuff.

I have the type of kid who has to be pushed at a good pace or he disengages. He is currently in a 6th grade math class that then places some 7th graders in Algebra. For a variety of reasons having nothing to do with his abilities, the class has been a disaster and he needs to get back on track the summer.

I think but am not sure that based on the AOPs Prealgebra test here (https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/prealgebra1-pretest.pdf) that he will be ready for prealgebra in the summer.

My goal for the summer is to pre-teach prealgebra (ID’ing any gaps that need to be filled) so that he will go into 7th grade math ready to ace it, or possibly be placed in Algebra (which I realize is unlikely and is not my goal).

So my question is really about the curriculums available for this.

Yes he will complain about the 1:1 tutoring but he’s going to have plenty of downtime so 🤷‍♀️

It sounds like your child is not keeping up with the acceleration that he has already experienced. Your child is not properly placed in math if he needs 1:1 tutoring every day during the summer. He just isn’t. You can write all you want about how he needs to be pushed but then you are setting up daily tutoring in math for the summer.

RSM offers classes that introduce concepts for kids for the following year but those classes are a few hours, twice a week, for 6 weeks, so 24 hours. You are suggesting that your child needs 5 hours a week of tutoring plus whatever work that the tutor suggests after the session for 10 weeks.

Whatever your reason, your efforts are more likely to make him dislike math and cause the problem to get worse.

Again I don’t want to get into all the details but he’s not in an accelerated class. There is no other placement in the school. And I don’t consider pre-algebra in 7th to be accelerated, I consider it normal and where he should be. It seems like you’re unwilling to answer the question unless you’re saying RSM sells a curriculum I can use with a tutor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all this you didn't say what your kid's level of motivation is. Enabling your kid's own interest is very different from dragging him by his ear.

DP. my kid is only interested in video games. If didnt drag them by the ear, they wouldnt even be attending school. So abiding by the Virginia compulsory attendance law, I am having to drag by both ears, in your terms.

For you, detox/rehab for the video games is called for, unless you can get them on the good math games like DragonBox.
Or some battle/trading games where they have to work with data to plan winning strategies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the current class a Prealgebra / "Math 8" class, or is it a regular Math 6 class where the bored kids who have been accelerating at home finally get to skip when they start junior high?

If your kid truly can do it, but is just lazy, it's not hard do Prealgebra over the summer.

But if your kid isn't bored by the easy class, you're taking a big risk. So it's good that you aren't fully committed to Algebra in 7th.

"Ready for Prealgebra" now isn't really enough to get to "Ready for Algebra" in 4 months, unless the kid is motivated and capable.

Try this video series and see if that engages:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/videos/prealgebra

The current class is class 6. The top kids then skip straight to Algebra in 7th. My goal is for my kid to take pre-algebra in 7th but algebra is within his ability. Current class is such a disaster that he may not even be ready for prealgebra w/o a lot of tutoring. Without getting into too much detail what happened is that the teacher decided to stop teaching the class and my kid has been doing nothing for months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all this you didn't say what your kid's level of motivation is. Enabling your kid's own interest is very different from dragging him by his ear.

DP. my kid is only interested in video games. If didnt drag them by the ear, they wouldnt even be attending school. So abiding by the Virginia compulsory attendance law, I am having to drag by both ears, in your terms.

For you, detox/rehab for the video games is called for, unless you can get them on the good math games like DragonBox.
Or some battle/trading games where they have to work with data to plan winning strategies.

For you, I recommend a psychiatrist for your mental issues. Did you ever consider keeping your nose down and minding your own business?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi AAP moms - I’ve got a bright but not brilliant kid who needs to do pre-algebra over the summer in some kind of 1:1 setting to keep him focused. My goal is to give him a leg up in pre-algebra next school year OR if it goes really well, place him in algebra. Long story short, he has a terrible teacher/class for 6th grade math and needs to be shored up.

I’m trying to figure out the best way to do this and willing to throw money at it but of course would prefer to save. Here are my ideas in descending order of cost.

- Fusion 1:1 tutoring 4-5 days/week. They use their curriculum. Have to schlep him there.

- 1:1 tutoring at home with a “master” tutor using whatever curriculum they recommend

- Buy the AOPs or Beast Academy books and have a less experienced tutor do them with him

- Use the free school curriculum (Illustrative Math, Zearn) with a tutor. This may enable the gaps to be filled more easily and better transition back to school math for placement, but my kid HATES Zearn.

This is a troll post, clearly.
However, reminder for parents considering how to support their children with math. Instead of waiting until the summer before addressing your child's math needs, start early, in elementary grades. Follow teachers' recommendations and assist them with free enrichment materials after school in the evenings. If you're not confident in elementary math, there are plenty of affordable resources available. Ask other parents how they manage it. Experiment with different workbooks, Kumon, or other programs. The key is to get them on a math enrichment path early.

As we speak, currently there are a significant number of TJ kids who have been admitted with poor math skills, who are suffering with Ds and Fs. If your child is admitted by chance using the lottery process, do you want to see your child suffer with poor grades, or do you want to plan ahead so they can take on high school math more confidently at TJ or base school?

But it sounds like Op did do Beast for awhile. This kid should have been dropped to a lower level before this point. One should not need all kinds of daily tutoring to catch up and ‘shore’ up. There’s an underlying problem that the school is failing on. They take all kinds of Assessments, and yet nothing is done to shore up the weak areas in the last 7 years.

Everytime I hear Beast is involved, there is some trouble in their math learning journey. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the current class a Prealgebra / "Math 8" class, or is it a regular Math 6 class where the bored kids who have been accelerating at home finally get to skip when they start junior high?

If your kid truly can do it, but is just lazy, it's not hard do Prealgebra over the summer.

But if your kid isn't bored by the easy class, you're taking a big risk. So it's good that you aren't fully committed to Algebra in 7th.

"Ready for Prealgebra" now isn't really enough to get to "Ready for Algebra" in 4 months, unless the kid is motivated and capable.

Try this video series and see if that engages:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/videos/prealgebra

The current class is class 6. The top kids then skip straight to Algebra in 7th. My goal is for my kid to take pre-algebra in 7th but algebra is within his ability. Current class is such a disaster that he may not even be ready for prealgebra w/o a lot of tutoring. Without getting into too much detail what happened is that the teacher decided to stop teaching the class and my kid has been doing nothing for months.

Each kid is different, and if your kid clearly needs to be prealgebra, go right ahead with that plan. And there is nothing wrong with that. If AoPs is not a good fit, which I hear is frequently the problem, try one of the other enrichment centers.

But vast majority of advanced kids do Algebra in 7th, and do great in following years as most are also doing a reinforcement using external enrichment. Many of them when admitted to TJ, excel being in the top segment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the current class a Prealgebra / "Math 8" class, or is it a regular Math 6 class where the bored kids who have been accelerating at home finally get to skip when they start junior high?

If your kid truly can do it, but is just lazy, it's not hard do Prealgebra over the summer.

But if your kid isn't bored by the easy class, you're taking a big risk. So it's good that you aren't fully committed to Algebra in 7th.

"Ready for Prealgebra" now isn't really enough to get to "Ready for Algebra" in 4 months, unless the kid is motivated and capable.

Try this video series and see if that engages:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/videos/prealgebra

The current class is class 6. The top kids then skip straight to Algebra in 7th. My goal is for my kid to take pre-algebra in 7th but algebra is within his ability. Current class is such a disaster that he may not even be ready for prealgebra w/o a lot of tutoring. Without getting into too much detail what happened is that the teacher decided to stop teaching the class and my kid has been doing nothing for months.

Each kid is different, and if your kid clearly needs to be prealgebra, go right ahead with that plan. And there is nothing wrong with that. If AoPs is not a good fit, which I hear is frequently the problem, try one of the other enrichment centers.

But vast majority of advanced kids do Algebra in 7th, and do great in following years as most are also doing a reinforcement using external enrichment. Many of them when admitted to TJ, excel being in the top segment.

OP here again. I did algebra in 7th grade way back when and I am definitely not a math genius (and there was zero enrichment at my house). I see my DS as having a similar profile to me (extremely high verbal/memory, high average math) and even being a little better at math. I was just tragically slow in figuring out that math instruction is truly terrible in our elementary schools and has only gotten worse in MS.

Based on everything I’ve found out now, my kid amazingly has no significant gaps in fundamentals and grasps the new concepts easily. He’s just an extremely poor fit temperamentally for the current teaching style that relies exclusively on computer instruction and has zero structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post appears to be an ad for AoPS, which is expensive compared to a Kumon, RSM, Sunshine, Fairfax collegiate, Curie, etc.

OP here. No it is not! It’s just that we did do Beast Academy and a live AOPs class pre-pandemic so I know it’s a good curriculum. At this point we need 1:1, not a class, and AOPs is the only free-standing comprehensive curriculum I know of. If you can recommend another curriculum please do!

AOPS is for kids who are pretty advanced. It's not for shoring up. There are lots of goof math curricula that are aimed at homeschoolers.

I might look at Math Mammoth 7. I haven't used that particular level, but have been impressed with other levels.

MM6 makes more sense for OP given the circumstances (poor performance in grade 6)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I’m sorry I created confusion. We are not in AAP but I posted here because AAP parents are the most knowledgeable about this stuff.

I have the type of kid who has to be pushed at a good pace or he disengages. He is currently in a 6th grade math class that then places some 7th graders in Algebra. For a variety of reasons having nothing to do with his abilities, the class has been a disaster and he needs to get back on track the summer.

I think but am not sure that based on the AOPs Prealgebra test here (https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/prealgebra1-pretest.pdf) that he will be ready for prealgebra in the summer.

My goal for the summer is to pre-teach prealgebra (ID’ing any gaps that need to be filled) so that he will go into 7th grade math ready to ace it, or possibly be placed in Algebra (which I realize is unlikely and is not my goal).

So my question is really about the curriculums available for this.

Yes he will complain about the 1:1 tutoring but he’s going to have plenty of downtime so 🤷‍♀️

The are you ready test for prealgebra is deceptively simple. I suggest you get the PDF online before you commit to it.