Math-It creators, I apologize. I should have never looked at your game as something like an overpriced set of flash cards.
I began going through the booklet that comes with Math-It called How Stevie Learned His Math. The first couple of pages dealt with addition, something I keep skipping because Laura knows her addition facts... or so I thought. She does know them, for the most part. However, when I tested her this morning she was using her fingers for a couple of problems. This game shows them how to do the facts without using fingers. So, we decided to begin at the beginning with Add-It.
It may seem as if I am going backwards, but I want to cement these facts in her head. I want her to truly get them, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and eventually division. Since we plan to work on math straight through the summer, I have no qualms about taking time off from all worksheets and book pages to use something that might actually stick in my child's head.
When I was reading through the booklet last night, I began playing with some of the concepts taught. While math was never my favorite, I always did average to well. However, last night taught me a thing or two that I didn't know. It was fun, to learn something I didn't know. I was surprised that there was something in simple math that I didn't know... a trick if you will. In fact, I got so excited that I had to show my sixteen year old this morning. She's taking Trigonometry and she had never learned that trick either. She laughed at me and said I was crazy. Yep, that's me, crazy mom with the cool math skills.
Right now Laura is complaining about holding her breath long enough to do math facts. Yet, she is learning them fast. I laugh when she struggles cause I doubt the oxygen deprivation is helping her learn. On the other hand, she is being challenged to get faster and faster at the facts until they are second nature... until they can be done while holding one breath.
Yesterday I got down right angry. Laura struggles so hard in math. She always has. We've done worksheets and flash cards, and they never seem to stick in her head. We've played with manipulatives and tried math program after math program. Every program is hard. The easiest for her was ACE, where the constant repetition helped her a lot more than the other programs. However, she still forgets her multiplication facts if she doesn't use them for a few days. It's discouraging for both Laura and me, as we feel that nothing we try is working successfully.
My husband grew up with a math disability and was actually put in an LD class for math as a student for awhile. I don't want Laura to feel like she can't do the work. I totally believe with all my heart that she can. I am willing to use Math-It and whatever else I need to use to help her.
One thing about Math-It that I really appreciate is that it is geared toward whoever needs help, not a specific age group. The story is centered around a second grader, but the book talks about how there are lots of people, even adults, that haven't mastered their math facts. Truth is, many adults even have trouble with facts they should have mastered as children and just never truly did. I am truly hoping this helps Laura with her math skills.
No comments:
Post a Comment