[mommy68]

I'd love to hear from others what type of hands on type of math program you use with your child. I'd like to avoid online sites but we are willing to try those. We've tried various workbooks this year and right now the one that seems to be working well, when I can get her to do math, is the Arithmetic 1 math book from Abeka math.

My DD dislikes math very much. When she sits down to do the math (after a struggle usually) then she does great. She rarely misses problems and I can usually explain things to her in a way that helps her understand.

An example from this morning - I used a dry erase board to write out each problem that was on her worksheet paper. She also had her manipulative blocks to use. She did great. She had fun writing on the board and also using her manipulatives.

But we only did like 12 problems total (a mix of subtraction and addition) and I can't help but think we should be doing more.

 

[LilyGrace]

We use Math U See as a base and jump off from there. I wouldn't worry about the number of problems she's doing. MUS only has between 8 and 20 problems at a time for a child, because it's the understanding of the work that counts. There's also four steps to the program, which I love:

-See it
-Do it
-Write it
-Teach it

The last step is our favorite because the kid gets to demonstrate mastery and teach me, a dimwitted fool making all sorts of blundering mistakes.

This year we also used games and books like Sir Cumference to introduce concepts in another way.

 

[Lillian J]

Can you remind us of how old she is? - Lillian

 

[theretohere]

She's 1st grade-ish, isn't she? We've recently begun Miquon and love it. It's very hands on- DD1 calls it her math games. We also have a set of tangrams and patterning books that both my kids love.

 

[Lillian J]

Patterns in Arithmetic is a nice little program that was developed by teachers working in an experimental school on the campus of a state university in California. The idea is to help children learn to think mathematically. Their website has links to sample pages and sample games, and it talks about their philosophy - and it even has a link to the Google pages on which you can look inside much of the book to see what it's like!

It uses simple manipulatives you might have around the house - such as goldfish crackers - and a few Cuisenaire rods and pattern blocks. One of the authors has done workshops at one of our homeschooling conferences, and I've spent a lot of time talking with her, because keeping math exploration and learning enjoyable has long been a fascination of mine. Their website is a good read even if you don't decide to buy their program.

My own opinion is that a child that age doesn't need to be doing formal math studies - but if one does feel the need to be doing an ongoing program, this one involves thinking and seeing in a more engaging and useful way than standard ones. I've heard good things about Right Start too - and of course Miquon.

- Lillian

 

[Lillian J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theretohere She's 1st grade-ish, isn't she? We've recently begun Migon and love it. It's very hands on- DD1 calls it her math games. We also have a set of tangrams and patterning books that both my kids love.

Well, hey - it doesn't get much better than that. At that age, it's not about how many "facts" they might learn, but about exploring and having fun with it. Well, I guess I shouldn't say "at that age," because it can be like that at all different ages - it's just that it seems especially important to get off to a good start and not get a negative feeling for learning about math.

Lillian

 

[MyLittleWonders]

We went from Singapore math (which I loved but was very visually overwhelming for my ds#1) to Miquon and really like it. For a while before we switched, I would put just some of the problems from Singapore on the chalkboard and ds would stand up there to do them (which he liked). But, even 9 problems was a lot for him at once. Now, he'll do the Miquon without much fuss (still some

). Also, if the page we are working on seems to have more than 10 problems, I'll tell him to only do 1/2 the page (sometimes the problems are in "boxes" on the page, so for instance, he'll do 2 out of 4 boxes of problems, and he gets to choose which 2).

 

[elizawill]

we started with MUS recently & really like it so far. my dd does enjoy T4L as well, but that's not the main curriculum.

 

[mommy68]

Sorry, I forgot to post her age. She's 6, she'll be 7 soon.

I used MUS for my oldest when he was around her age and he did well with it but he had problems in math once he started at a school outside the home so I figured I wouldn't use it again for that reason.

I also don't think my DD would sit there and watch the DVD that comes with MUS. She isn't in to watching anything on t.v. that teaches her or on the computer unless it includes some type of cute character or theme. She also doesn't really like anything except working with manipulatives, chalk board/dry erase.

I can get her to do a workbook page but I have to use something else along with it and she struggles with me on doing that much.

 

[heatherdeg]

We're using Saxon. They use manipulatives for sure, but I don't know that it's looked at as "manipulatives based". The thing I DO love about it is that it's scripted in case I actually need that, and the lessons are SHORT (for those with little attention spans). Also, for those of us in the "take extended time off between phases of teaching" camp (

) they usually revisit a topic and build on it from last visit--so you don't teach a topic and never see it again. For mine, this is important because he's likely to forget.

The manipulatives kit covers K-3. Honestly, I never looked at it beyond that. I also never expected it to work with my son when I received it (and kicked myself for buying it). But now I'm sticking with it.

I had also bought "Hands on Standards" to supplement it thinking Saxon wouldn't be hands-on enough, but it's been more so than expected and I've barely touched the HoS book.

Now... realize that I haven't actually used anything other than Singapore--so I may not be the most useful commentary.

 

[Ayla]

We've used RightStart math from the beginning, and really love it. My daughter has a very good conceptual understanding of math, and while it doesn't emphasize *memorizing* math facts, she is able to perform arithmetic quickly and easily because of the brilliant strategies it teaches. It teaches visually, orally, AND with brilliantly designed hands-on tools, so it addresses every learning style. It's a "pick up and go" curriculum with no preparation required for the teacher. It's the closest thing to a perfect curriculum that I've encountered . . . but it's not cheap. I usually have to limit myself to the least expensive curriculum choices. This is the one area in which we splurge because it is so worth it.

http://www.alabacus.com/

 

[Lillian J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommy68 I also don't think my DD would sit there and watch the DVD that comes with MUS. She isn't in to watching anything on t.v. that teaches her or on the computer unless it includes some type of cute character or theme. She also doesn't really like anything except working with manipulatives, chalk board/dry erase. I can get her to do a workbook page but I have to use something else along with it and she struggles with me on doing that much.

She really does sound to me like someone who might enjoy Patterns in Arithmetic - it lets her use manipulatives and games and think. And Right Start sounds great too.

However, at that age, it does seem to me that playing card and board games and just noting math patterns in daily life would cover everything a program would cover. - Lillian

 

[emmsmama]

I use Righstart with my children and it works well for us

 

[umsami]

We're using RightStart and it's worked very well for us. DS1 (&2) look forward to math. I think the key for it working for us are:

1) wide variety of manipulatives
2) wide variety of games
3) not a lot of written work at the Level A stage