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would love to hear positive stories about mastering Math and/or using Kumon
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Anonymous
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My soon-to-be 3rd grader doesn't know her math facts well at all. It's a bit shocking. Her school uses Everyday Math. Is part of the problem this curriculum? It seems to jump around a lot, before my DD really learns a particular math fact.
So we signed her up for Kumon, started on June 1st. I'm pleased with it. The drills are exactly what she needs. But she gets all worked up about the math homework, even though she is only doing 1st grade math still. I do see that the daily practice has made her learn but her "I hate math" attitude is tiresome. I praise her for the work she does and praise her for how well she is doing (she gets very few wrong, but it's basic addition, for crying out loud). I hope like crazy that by the end of the summer she gains some confidence and makes it well into 2nd grade material. If not, how will she survive 3rd grade math? I would find it so encouraging to hear some failure-to-success stories about learning Math. Please share if you have one. |
Anonymous
| I feel your pain! My DC just finished first grade. The IB school (in a foreign country) has focused on some interesting math ideas, but she still can't tell time or do basic math facts easily. I have been working with her because she'll be moving back to the US this summer and I'm worried she'll be behind. I agree that it's otught to drill them without them learning to hate math. I'm open to any ideas people have. I do try to work it into everyday life rather than just drilling, but I think some drilling is probably necessary. |
Anonymous
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OP -- this is one time that I think "rewards for learning" are very useful.
When you have an specific activity that you just have to practice -- that isn't terribly pleasant to you at the moment -- but that will make your life a lot easier later -- I think it is fine to bring out the tangible positive reinforcement. (That's not the same as paying kids say $1 for each E they bring home on a report card. Which I don't support.) If doing the homework drills from Kumon seems really valuable to you -- if you can see her improving on these skills, which really are quite necessary -- and if your daughter finds them painful -- I'd say, break them down into manageable chunks if necessary, and give her small challenges: Let's see if you can finish all 10 of these (correctly!) within one minute. If you do, I'll give you a... whatever you think will motivate her. COuld be a sticker -- and if she gets 30 stickers, she gets some kind of cool treat she's been wanting. Or candy... or whatever... you know her. |
Anonymous
OP here - oh, I think you're absolutely right. I do this for myself when I stick with a new exercise routine. I need to come up with some rewards... |
Anonymous
OP here - these details about Everyday Math are disturbing. Makes me even more determined to stick with Kumon since it's the exact opposite of EDM. |
Anonymous
OP here - my DD finished 2nd grade struggling with telling time and she was aware that most of the first graders were able. Her self esteem was very low about Math. My response was to sign up for Kumon. But you don't have to pay for a program. If you have the discipline to do it every day, you could buy a workbook (I like Saxon Math) and do it yourself. I knew from experience that I wouldn't have the discipline to do it everyday (other kids in the house make things hectic) unless I put her in some sort of class. |
Anonymous
We opted to go with Singapore Math vs. Saxon Math (or Kumon) and it has been much better for us. We also play the 24 game (card deck) every night and DD (rising 3rd grader) has her multiplication tables almost down cold. |
Anonymous
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OP.
Kumon helped my son immensely. Please note that Kumon is not aligned with any grade, it's pure calculation, so even if she only advances a little, she should feel more confident. My son was a mess w/ math in third grade, we did Kumon two summers in a row, he is a super strong math student now. (I would have preferred one full year but he plays travel soccer, huge time commitment on top of homework!) Good luck! |
Anonymous
| I'm the poster with the 1st grader who is struggling. She is also using Everyday Math. Interesting. We are going to work on basic math facts this summer and try to get her to know them cold. Hopefully, that will help her next year when she is in FCPS, which I think also uses EDM. |
Anonymous
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Here is a very detailed review of many different Math programs for anyone that finds it useful.
http://www.mathematicallycorrect.com/books.htm |
Anonymous
| Thanks, PP. That was really helpful. |
Anonymous
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I wish they also reviewed Kumon. I don't know much about it, but it seems that they just drill basic facts, in a way that some schools have just decided is not important to do?
nychold.com is another good resource for math. Here's a letter they have a copy of, from one mother's experience with Every Day Math. http://www.nychold.com/let-budd-0202.html |
Anonymous
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I give both my kids worksheets almost every day. I think the supplemental work they get at home really helps them. They have EDM at school and I think it stinks and sets back their learning a lot. Sometimes simple memorization is worth its weight in gold. I don't think rote memorization is warranted after a certain level of math but for simple math (7+8=15, 3x3=9), I think memorization is essential so weather EDM emphasizes it or not, I'm going to. Knowing what 7+8 is without having to spend 30 seconds solving the equation makes it that much easier to remember and focus on what the actual problem is (like if you have 7 girls and 8 boys and you have two chairs, how many more chairs will you need in order for each child to have a chair?)
Sometimes my kids push back for doing these exercises but frankly I don't care. I figure one day they will thank me when they can easily check whether or not they got back the right change from the cashier. |
Anonymous
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OP, another possibility for practicing math facts might be www.aleks.com
They offer on-line math courses starting with 3rd grade math and on up to college level. The courses are what they are, but what I found really useful was what came with it -- the "Quick Tables" which is a way to drill basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The program gives your child an assessment test and then presents something like 80% known facts and 20% new facts to your child, and only moves on when he has achieved mastery of those facts. If the child doesn't answer within 3 seconds, he doesn't get credit for knowing the fact. (This means he can't count on his fingers!) However, if you child gets frustrated by the short response time, you can always alter the seconds allowed up to "untimed". Your child can only practice the facts for 15 minutes a day (I think) and then gets timed out; there are games he can earn by practicing the facts, and the system prints out a weekly report of how your child is improving. If you register you can get a free three day trial to see if you like it. When i did that, after the three days were up they sent me an additional one month trial for free, which was enough for a while. But the monthly costs didn't seem to onerous. |