math resources

[blue heron]

I'm looking for math resources for my 9yo.  He's very smart and very resistant to being "taught" anything.  He really wants to figure things out on his own.  He would enjoy fun videos, kahn academy is a little to straight forward, or apps.

[Fillyjonk]

I'm terrible for working out whether something has been posted in unschooling or homeschooling but I think this is in homeschooling? Are you after structured resources at all?

My feeling is that, for a maths orientated kid, there is a benefit to a structured curriculum, because I actually think having an overview of primary maths is really helpful. Maths is very highly interconnected. I don't use curricula for anything else, aside from maths we are pretty much unschoolers. However I've always strongly encouraged my kids to study a progressive maths curriculum and explained why. I've also explained that there are parts of maths which are hard. We've used Miquon followed by Singapore along with MathsWhizz which is good for mental maths and Timez Attack for times tables. We also supplement heavily, follow interests to their conclusions, look at videos and so on (Khan Academy and Brainpop are favourites). TBH with maths I've jsut said, "look, this stuff is important, you need to know it" and I think because I don't do that generally, my kids have been ok to go along with it and put the work in for maths. Also the more you understand in maths the easier and more interesting it gets.

My 9 year old is now working (through choice) through a basic physics textbook, probably not understanding loads of it, but he's able to do that because he has a solid grasp of maths. He appreciates that a lot. If your son was interested in physics it might be possible to go in from that angle and make up any maths gaps at that point. You can get math-lite physics books, I think, which will still have some maths in them.

My partner, who is a mathematician by training, also often does stuff with the kids from a couple of books: Mathematics, a human endeavor, and Challenge Math.

In the past my son has also liked programming which also has some maths in it, and he loves board games. He's worked on designing a"German-style" game (think that's right, so not a gamer!) for himself which involves looking at stuff like statistics and probability.

[AAK]

Often I will introduce a concept through a game.  The RightStart Math Games kit is pretty comprehensive, but I am also known to be able to use m&ms for almost any elementary math concept.

Amy

[numericmama]

Hi,

My son is in third grade and we introduce concepts using a story (provided in our Enki curriculum). Then I follow up with practice from Singapore math. I am going to continue with Singapore math next year. However, I think that your son is older than this curriculum.

So I am going to suggest that you look at The Life Of Fred. We haven't actually used it yet ourselves, however, I am planning on it starting this summer. So then we will use the Life Of Fred and Singapore math. The reason I am looking at the Life of Fred is because the concepts are presented through a story and the concept is used in Fred's life. I am hoping that that will build a connection to the concept for my son. And, I have heard of other people who were really happy with it. 

Anyway, that is my suggestion FWIW.  :) The stories seem a little silly, and my son really likes silly energy.

Jennifer

[yvonnemommy]

Wow, It seems your boy is a math guy  My DD has been using beestar math after school. It's free for all grades. You will definitely enjoy it! DD loves the challenging worksheets that really help her thinking. It's a great fun to compete on it with other kids from a lot of other states. Plus, I notice recently that beestar comes up with high school math and that's free, too! It seems that we can use it for a long time

Lisa

[phathui5]

My kids (except the baby) are all registered on www.ixl.com They like using it for skills practice. 

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Ds is only 5 but a huge math lover. He enjoys life of Fred and dreambox.com. We also have a bunch of manipulatives cusinaire rods and pattern blocks and fraction games etc that he will get out when he wants.

[SundayCrepes]

For basic math memorization these games are really fun: http://bigbrainz.com/

My son is 7 so we are using the K-2 version of this, but he really enjoys it: http://www.amazon.com/Math-Missions-Grades-3rd-5th-Version/dp/B0002J6HWE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363069627&sr=8-2&keywords=math+mission