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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have 2 kids in 3rd and 5th grade AAP. I’ve recently realized that many of their classmates go to kumon or mathnasium. My 3rd grader seems to especially feel behind as he feels his classmates are more advanced than he is in math. Some kids claim to be doing algebra in 3rd grade. We recently moved to Mclean. I didn’t even know what mathnasium was until we moved here.

My 5th grader told me he is in the lowest AAP math group. He said his group is the one who did the worst in pre assessments. At open house, teachers were purposely vague about differentiation within AAP math. We have never prepped or done any outside math with our children. I’m beginning to think we should be doing something.

My 3rd grader recently took another pre assessment and he said he was dumb. He said he got only 4 questions right out of 20 while others were getting everything right. I told him this was for the teacher to see where everyone was at and DS said he was the dumbest kid in the class.

Both my kids scored 99th percentile in their math Cogat and have always received 4s in math.

Should I be sending my kids to mathnasium or similar?[/quote]

In a case like this I would-- not because your kid needs more math, but because it's hurting his confidence. My Ds was struggling in math and a math tutor said that we better believe that many of these kids who are doing amazing are getting tons of outside support-- even, and especially, if they are highly gifted in the subject.

I'm also in the camp of "you can never have too much math"-- even if you choose a field that doesn't require a lot of math, the critical thinking skills are invaluable. [/quote]

My son took regular math throughout school and wound up making up lost ground in HS when he took some college classes.  He was accepted as a STEM major at almost every college he applied to (state schools).

We never did Kumon or Mathnasium, instead I supplemented at home using, at first, flash cards to memorize math facts in elementary school and later using released math SOLs as study guides.  I also looked over his homework every night.  Math is NOT my strong suit so at some point I had to step back and let him sink or swim with it.  He swam..  I think his success had a lot to do with going over the basics with him, really making sure that he practiced his math when he was younger.

If Mathnasium or Kumon helps kids get that practice in, more power to the folks who use those programs.  We don't think twice about reading with our kids - reading a bedtime story is often a part of the nightly routine.  Quizzing math facts and sitting down and working on math problems is something that you have to prioritize doing or it doesn't get done.

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Op here. We check our 3rd grader’s homework everyday. My 5th grader seems to not bring any homework minus some occasional projects. Both kids get good grades but the perception is so different for the two of them.[/quote]

For your 5th grader - you can ask his teacher if there is any practice that he should be doing at home.  You can print out the 5th grade math SOL and see how he does on it.  You can utilize a program like Mathnasium which will test him to figure out where the gaps are in his understanding (assuming he has any).

Make sure your 3rd grader is solid on his/her math facts.

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