Anonymous wrote:To the previous poster who asked me about Math Kangaroo and Math Olympiad --

Yes, those are competitions, but you can get the types of questions that are on those contests from those websites or surfing the internet, and my son thinks those are fun. Also, mathforum.org is a fantastic website, which MCPS provides passwords for free IF you advocate for it with your school and teacher (this can take awhile, and you may be told that it is unavailable; but it is not that expensive to join yourself if you want to avoid that hassle), and has great, in-depth problems for all levels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds complicated. The 2.0 math curriculum is terrible. Why not just have him learn at home with good textbooks (traditional, not common core).

He might learn at home, but the problem is that my kid cannot enjoy the math class at school and is wasting a lot of time. That is so sad.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a now-3rd grade son who sounds somewhat similar to your son. I don't really have advice, but here is our pathway in case it helps. In first grade, he worked at school with a volunteer who was a retired Blair math teacher who extolled his math abilities and thought that the 4/5 compacted math would be appropriate for him as a 2nd grader. My school would not do that sort of thing, and I didn't ask for it because I didn't want him to be with kids that old. I instead pushed for some amount of enrichment and the school was reasonably accommodating. Yes, he did the same work as the top math group did, all of which he did lickety split, and then on top of that he was at least 1/week given deeper problems from Singapore math and Math Forum. He is the kind of kid who doesn't get frustrated or upset by being asked to do easy stuff he already knows, so that worked out OK. And then I worked with him at home on other things, like Math Olympiad, Math Kangaroo, etc., for the fun of it. He is not so advanced that as a third grader, he would be able to compete with the top Takoma Park magnet 6th graders, even though he certainly knows a lot more math than most 8th graders (which I am able to assess because of my older kid and volunteering at school). You might consider using that as a guide of what kind of math he should be studying -- does he already need more than those magnet middle schoolers are getting, and if not, do you want to make sure he is a on pathway where he will be able to join them easily at the right time. My son is going to an HGC for 4th grade, and I expect that there will be some kids like him there and that he will find a nice niche. Hope that helps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think there is a difference between doing 3rd grade math in 1st grade (not uncommon in pre 2.0 days) and algebra in 5th grade.

I'm not sure about that. Do you have any research on this? I've seen some about how early elementary math performance is a predictor of later success in academics but it was a pretty general study and not focused on kids with high ability.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a really frustrating set up, I wish MCPS would provide actual enrichment so kids could stay with their peers. Our repeated requests never got us much more than Sudoku puzzles. There is so much math in the world outside what is included in the standard curriculum, but the teachers don't seem to have access to appropriate materials.

We chose acceleration, but it really does trap you.

Don't knock Sudoku puzzles! Our DC was hooked when he was introduced to them by his teacher and I think it was the beginning of his love affair with math!

Anonymous wrote:It's a really frustrating set up, I wish MCPS would provide actual enrichment so kids could stay with their peers. Our repeated requests never got us much more than Sudoku puzzles. There is so much math in the world outside what is included in the standard curriculum, but the teachers don't seem to have access to appropriate materials.

We chose acceleration, but it really does trap you.

Anonymous wrote:I also think there is a difference between doing 3rd grade math in 1st grade (not uncommon in pre 2.0 days) and algebra in 5th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'm not thrilled about him taking IM as a 4th grader. But he was moved from his first grade math into 3rd grade math this year and is recommended for 4/5 as a second grader next year. That would lead to IM in 4th grade, which the office of acceleration and enrichment wanted us to understand could have it's drawbacks, which I understand. We're trying to visualize/plan how to have his math instruction impact the rest of his school day as little as possible.

Unless they are allowing your child to skip a grade, I would not allow them to push his math. He will not be able to take IM. My daughter was pushed prior to compacted math and she was then left in a class doing "grade 7th math" in 5th grade with others doing 6th. She was bored to tears and skipped IM to Algebra 1 in 6th grade. This is not allowed anymore. You really need to push to accelerate in grades, not just math. Otherwise he will get burned in 5th. And the curriculum is SO much easier and mundane prior to 2.0. My 1st grader is so insanely bored in math right now it is a joke. They won't push anyone in another grade or grade math in our school. So I just supplement at home.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a now-3rd grade son who sounds somewhat similar to your son. I don't really have advice, but here is our pathway in case it helps. In first grade, he worked at school with a volunteer who was a retired Blair math teacher who extolled his math abilities and thought that the 4/5 compacted math would be appropriate for him as a 2nd grader. My school would not do that sort of thing, and I didn't ask for it because I didn't want him to be with kids that old. I instead pushed for some amount of enrichment and the school was reasonably accommodating. Yes, he did the same work as the top math group did, all of which he did lickety split, and then on top of that he was at least 1/week given deeper problems from Singapore math and Math Forum. He is the kind of kid who doesn't get frustrated or upset by being asked to do easy stuff he already knows, so that worked out OK. And then I worked with him at home on other things, like Math Olympiad, Math Kangaroo, etc., for the fun of it. He is not so advanced that as a third grader, he would be able to compete with the top Takoma Park magnet 6th graders, even though he certainly knows a lot more math than most 8th graders (which I am able to assess because of my older kid and volunteering at school). You might consider using that as a guide of what kind of math he should be studying -- does he already need more than those magnet middle schoolers are getting, and if not, do you want to make sure he is a on pathway where he will be able to join them easily at the right time. My son is going to an HGC for 4th grade, and I expect that there will be some kids like him there and that he will find a nice niche. Hope that helps.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I'm not thrilled about him taking IM as a 4th grader. But he was moved from his first grade math into 3rd grade math this year and is recommended for 4/5 as a second grader next year. That would lead to IM in 4th grade, which the office of acceleration and enrichment wanted us to understand could have it's drawbacks, which I understand. We're trying to visualize/plan how to have his math instruction impact the rest of his school day as little as possible.