Supplementing for math

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to get some ideas from here. My kid is going into second, and she loves math. She's in the gifted program, but that doesn't really mean much here in terms of what you actually get (not living in MD/Va right now) - we don't have special magnet programs or whatnot. So she's in the "high" group and gets 3 pull-outs/etc for math/reading, but overall I think she's pretty bored in math. There are good private schools in our state, but they are quite far from where we live (45-60 mins), so I don't think it's a reasonable option - I think we have to make the best of what is looking like a very average public school system and figure out ways to bridge the gap.

So my question is, if you decided to "co-school" your kids (i.e. prep them at home), what materials did you use? And do you think these materials are not as good as, say, Mathnasium/Kumon/Aloha/Eye-Level? Because all those centers are a bit far as well (20 mins), but doable.

She's got a pretty good attitude, and my undergrad is in math, so I think I can teach her okay - just not sure what others have done in this situation. Both parents work full time, so we don't have a ton of free time.

Thanks in advance for ideas.

[Anonymous]

Us borne has a great book called This Is Not a Math Book that combines math with art. My GT students love it. Try www.bedtimemath.com and Khan Academy. Look for project based learning in math on Pinterest.

[Anonymous]

I'm also a math person and I adore AoPS's series for elementary kids called Beast Academy. The grade 3-5 curriculum has been published, and, since it's designed to be advanced I wouldn't recommend using a different level. That being said, I started my second grader on the third grade level last December and just went really slowly. But, we did have to skip a few of the topics and may circle back next year. However, I think the second grade books are being published as we speak.

[Anonymous]

My DS's school uses Singapore math. I like the curriculum--especially the word problems. I would consider textbook, workbook, and best of all, the Singapore Challenging word problems.
My son is talented in math and finds many of the challenging word problems to be quite difficult.
Later, you can purchase some of the contest math sheets (Olympiad, CML, etc) for additional challenge.

[Anonymous]

We have supplemented with workbooks we bought on Amazon, usually ones that are oriented around teaching the PARCC test. But recently we started Mathnasium and Mathnasium is much better. I don't think that there's anything wrong with the books and they do work, but I think having someone talk to them about math and give them ideas about how to think about and solve problems is several steps up from doing workbooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have supplemented with workbooks we bought on Amazon, usually ones that are oriented around teaching the PARCC test. But recently we started Mathnasium and Mathnasium is much better. I don't think that there's anything wrong with the books and they do work, but I think having someone talk to them about math and give them ideas about how to think about and solve problems is several steps up from doing workbooks.

NP here. I'm a mathnasium fan myself, my daughter has had grown tremendously in her numbers skills after a year of attendance. But as a parent with a math degree, I wonder if the best way to replicate their individualized instruction is just to get a second hand McGraw Hill type math textbook online that correspond's to your child's grade level (or next year, if you are doing summer enrichment), and go through it page by page. You have the skill in terms of concepts - you just have to see if you have the same instruction ability as a center like mathnasium.

[Anonymous]

We love Mathnasium. My kids are not into doing books or watching videos on their own. The big plus they've gotten at Mathnasium, aside from the one-on-one instruction is being able to work with a variety of teachers. They like having that interaction.

[Anonymous]

18:35 from yesterday again with a few more thoughts.

Of the centers, I'm only familiar with Kumon. I think it has its place, but for kids who need repetition in order to gain automaticity. I know many people, including a lot at our school, use it for extension, but, personally, I don't think its great for that purpose. Just getting ahead in the basic skills, but going no deeper, makes school less interesting, not more. Again, just my opinion.

We used Singapore math from kindergarden through second grade level (which we finished midway through second grade). I thought it was a great way to approach the basics. My kid got a lot of number sense before she was taught algorithms, which I really loved. THe mental math component to Singapore is fantastic as well. Basically, my kid could do the problem 343 - 67 in her head before she could do it on paper because she understood what borrowing was before she knew how to write it.

Once Beast Academy came out, however, I was hooked. If you love math (I coach math team for middle school, so it's a passion of mine) and have a kid that enjoys it, it's a great choice. But, you definitely need 20-30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week to really down together and explore the problems. This is not a curriculum kids can do on their own. The topics don't extend forward, they just deepen to an incredible extent. My kid is talented in math, but far from gifted, but, what she was doing with that curriculum, and actually understanding, blew her teachers away.

[Anonymous]

Another big vote for Beast Academy. My kid is identified gifted Davidson Young Scholar, and most of the people in PG community rave about the curriculum. That said it moves slowly and we sometimes skip a few questions to come back to it later. We are a busy family as well, and while we plowed on with Beast Academy for 3rd grade, we ended up hiring a high school student (who has won several middle school math competitions) to help out my son. The natural progression from BA is to AOPS, they have online classes at that point.

[Anonymous]

My son likes the singapore math books. But have you asked your daughter's school if she could just do math with the grade above hers? Some public schools will allow that.

[Anonymous]

My dd really likes the Life of Fred books. She does them at home on her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another big vote for Beast Academy. My kid is identified gifted Davidson Young Scholar, and most of the people in PG community rave about the curriculum. That said it moves slowly and we sometimes skip a few questions to come back to it later. We are a busy family as well, and while we plowed on with Beast Academy for 3rd grade, we ended up hiring a high school student (who has won several middle school math competitions) to help out my son. The natural progression from BA is to AOPS, they have online classes at that point.

+1

DD loves Beast Academy. Thanks to whoever recommended it to us on an earlier DCUM thread. It's terrific!

[Anonymous]

The PBS Learning Media website is pretty great, too. There's a lot your DD can explore and learn on her own. Some follow the Common Core curriculum, but others address math in other ways.

https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/search/?q=*&selected_facets=supplemental_curriculum_hierarchy_nodes:1184

The rest of the website is great, too. There are a lot of interesting videos and resources kids can use to follow their interests and explore independently.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. Do you have to purchase Beast Academy on the website, or is there a cheaper source?

[Anonymous]

I haven't found any difference in prices, so end up purchasing from the website. I would caution that there isn't enough practise on arithmetic so you may want to use IXL or something similar.