math question

[elus0814]

We use math u see. I have really liked the blocks because they make everything so easy to understand for everyone. My six year old is doing the primer book. She gets everything correct and does it easily when using the blocks but only gets maybe half the questions correct without them. She understands the concepts but has difficulty applying them without the blocks. Do all kids do this? Should I put them away? Math u see says to always have them out and I've always put them at least one day a week. I'm wondering if I should only use them for learning new concepts and a few practice problems but put them away for the rest of the week.

[moominmamma]

I think this ability to perform calculations without manipulatives is very much developmental. It requires a level of abstraction sufficient to "see" the numerical relationships in your head without actually seeing them and touching them. If you hurry kids along when they're not developmentally ready to dispense with the hands-on element, you risk one of three things: they'll either (a) substitute another manipulative, typically fingers (b) develop math anxiety and confusion which slows down their progress in understanding or (c) use rote memory skills completely divorced from the conceptual understanding. 

I recall my eldest going through the transition from using manipulatives to not. For a while she needed them all lying in front of her but she didn't need to touch them. Then she went through a neat phase where she would close her eyes and imagine herself picking up this one and that one and placing them together: sometimes her hands would even go through the motions. And then, gradually, she didn't use them any more. 

My pitch would be to always offer the manipulatives. Eventually she'll move away from them when she's ready. That age and stage will depend on her developmental stage and on how strongly she is a hands-on kinesthetic learner. 

Miranda

[bass chick]

The purpose of Primer is just to introduce the concepts. Everything in Primer is taught in Alpha. With my son I just made sure that he "mastered the concept". So for addition, he understood that with 5+4 you "smoosh" them together to make 9, but he didn't necessarily memorize that 4 plus 5 was 9. He just "got" the concept. He memorized the colors of the blocks, which has proven important to him for visualizing them now without actually using them. We played games with them, but he didn't master addition and subtraction until just now (he is almost comleted Alpha).

I would say that if she can get it all right using the manipulatives in Primer that that is mastering it. I didn't put the blocks away with my son until just a few weeks ago, and he still occassionally uses them along with an abacus. The more your child practices with the blocks until she memorizes the answers the better she will be IMO. It provides a solid foundation for regrouping that she will use later on.

Like the PP said, my son moved from using the manipulatives, to just looking at them, and now can imagine them without seeing them.

[elus0814]

Originally Posted by bass chick 

The purpose of Primer is just to introduce the concepts. Everything in Primer is taught in Alpha. With my son I just made sure that he "mastered the concept". So for addition, he understood that with 5+4 you "smoosh" them together to make 9, but he didn't necessarily memorize that 4 plus 5 was 9. He just "got" the concept. He memorized the colors of the blocks, which has proven important to him for visualizing them now without actually using them. We played games with them, but he didn't master addition and subtraction until just now (he is almost comleted Alpha).

I would say that if she can get it all right using the manipulatives in Primer that that is mastering it. I didn't put the blocks away with my son until just a few weeks ago, and he still occassionally uses them along with an abacus. The more your child practices with the blocks until she memorizes the answers the better she will be IMO. It provides a solid foundation for regrouping that she will use later on.

Like the PP said, my son moved from using the manipulatives, to just looking at them, and now can imagine them without seeing them.

She is using alpha, not primer.

[scheelimama]

I personally wouldn't worry about letting her use the blocks.  My dd had (and still does occasionally) a very difficult time with numbers (constantly switching them around, 8 was a 9, 4 was a 5).  All through Primer she used the blocks, always, and much of the way through Alpha she used the blocks.  I've always allowed her to use them as needed, as much as she needs.  She created a visual memory of the numbers, and since she has dyslexia, that's hugely important since numbers are SO abstract.  Now, 8 is brown, and she can remember the meaning of 8 much easier.  When she was in Primer, she even had her "cheat" sheet out most of the time, which we created from the teacher's guide, a picture of each block with the number, and she colored them to match the blocks.  I didn't even push memorization of the facts through Alpha.  

But can I tell you, that at 7.5 years old, all of a sudden, she has taken off, math has finally clicked and she's flying through Beta.  She loves math now!  And she really gets it.  

So all this to say, relax, let her use the blocks as much as she needs.  Eventually it will click for your daughter.  It may take longer than some kids, but that really doesn't matter, as long as she's getting the concepts and learning along the way, and it sounds like she is.

[bobandjess99]

Originally Posted by elus0814 

Originally Posted by bass chick 

The purpose of Primer is just to introduce the concepts. Everything in Primer is taught in Alpha. With my son I just made sure that he "mastered the concept". So for addition, he understood that with 5+4 you "smoosh" them together to make 9, but he didn't necessarily memorize that 4 plus 5 was 9. He just "got" the concept. He memorized the colors of the blocks, which has proven important to him for visualizing them now without actually using them. We played games with them, but he didn't master addition and subtraction until just now (he is almost comleted Alpha).

I would say that if she can get it all right using the manipulatives in Primer that that is mastering it. I didn't put the blocks away with my son until just a few weeks ago, and he still occassionally uses them along with an abacus. The more your child practices with the blocks until she memorizes the answers the better she will be IMO. It provides a solid foundation for regrouping that she will use later on.

Like the PP said, my son moved from using the manipulatives, to just looking at them, and now can imagine them without seeing them.

She is using alpha, not primer.

Originally Posted by elus0814 

We use math u see. I have really liked the blocks because they make everything so easy to understand for everyone. My six year old is doing the primer book. She gets everything correct and does it easily when using the blocks but only gets maybe half the questions correct without them. She understands the concepts but has difficulty applying them without the blocks. Do all kids do this? Should I put them away? Math u see says to always have them out and I've always put them at least one day a week. I'm wondering if I should only use them for learning new concepts and a few practice problems but put them away for the rest of the week.

Bolding is mine.  I'm sure you can see why the pp thought you were using primer..because you SAID so in your first post 

mommy-brain moment, I assume?