Math HELP

[topekaclark]

In a nutshell I started to homeschool our oldest daughter (6th) grade this year, I have been homeschooling her younger sister for awhile now.

I am soooo struggling with her, she was an honor roll student in public school but does not have basic math concepts down (gee wonder how that happened). So here we are doing 6th grade math and she struggles so much. Her work is sloppy so then she makes mistakes and struggling remembering formulas. She has been allowed to write sloppy so long that it's like pulling teeth to get her to write neat, she thinks I'm nit picking.

Here's my dilemma, some days I am so ready to send her back to school for two reasons:

1. she wants to go and makes sure everyone knows it, about 2 months ago we had a crying fit for two days off and on about school.

2. Math is not a strong subject for me, I have been able to help her with the exception of one lesson plan, I could not. I'm in need of a math program that will walk us both step by step. I use Abeka right now.


Help

[MochaMel]

Don't have any help -- maybe a tutor -- that's what i do for my son.. It's Granny though so i don't have to pay.

I jsut wanted to say hi Mrs. Topeka!! Missed ya!

[topekaclark]

Awww, you are so sweet and I do miss you too,

A tutor is something we aren't able to afford, I have done it in the past with her brother but I was working and I believe she was $20 an hour.

She is bright but I come to realize a lazy student and I believe she has been allowed to operate that way, so now its second nature to her. Who ever said it takes 21 days to break a habit, lied.....lol

She will not return to the same district if allowed to return to school.

Her sister has learning problems and all reality, that girl may struggle at reading however she has a memory like I have never seen. She is easier to teach however she doesn't not bicker with me.

It's good to hear from ya sis,,,,,, maybe we can meet in heaven pretty soon.

[DebJo]

Math-U-See is a great program. I use it with my DS 8yrs. They have a DVD that explains the lessons. They have a great web site. www.mathusee.com
We also use Math Windows for warm ups. I got them from Rainbow Resource. www.rainbowresourse.com
Math is not my strong subject either. With this program I feel like I am learning math in a way that makes sense.

[Tron4JC]

In a nutshell I started to homeschool our oldest daughter (6th) grade this year, I have been homeschooling her younger sister for awhile now.

I am soooo struggling with her, she was an honor roll student in public school but does not have basic math concepts down (gee wonder how that happened). So here we are doing 6th grade math and she struggles so much. Her work is sloppy so then she makes mistakes and struggling remembering formulas. She has been allowed to write sloppy so long that it's like pulling teeth to get her to write neat, she thinks I'm nit picking.

Here's my dilemma, some days I am so ready to send her back to school for two reasons:

1. she wants to go and makes sure everyone knows it, about 2 months ago we had a crying fit for two days off and on about school.

2. Math is not a strong subject for me, I have been able to help her with the exception of one lesson plan, I could not. I'm in need of a math program that will walk us both step by step. I use Abeka right now.


Help

Several things can be of help:

1) Work on her concentration level when she do the math homeworks. Not just concentration on not making mistakes on math equations and the like. But like you said, also on the handwriting. Bad handwritings and mistakes do often go hand in hand.

2) Have her attend remedial or tutoring classes, either in or outside of school. There are no shortage of tutoring service places she can get help from.

3) Check out the selections of math programs the others suggest to you.

4) And while you are helping her with her math work, also learn the subject found in the math book ahead of time before she has to do the work, so you are ready to help her when she needs your help.

5) Help her when she really needs your help, but also get her to be competitive to want to finish the work as much on her own as possible.

Hope that helps.

[Tron4JC]

And don't forget practice, practice, practice!

If you got any specific math problems that are hard for that grade level, let me know. I was a "math wiz" in my junior high and high school day (got sick of it by college time, and instead when history for major, lol).

[lisaann]

Math-U-See might be a good option.

Another one is http://teachingtextbooks.com but it is more pricy than MUS.

[Freedbychrist]

I think there are some great pieces of advice on here, but if she remains defiant, perhaps you could send her to another school? Perhaps one with a Christian foundation? If her original school was really educating her poorly then perhaps there is a voucher system you can use?

Or, I know that my church has a home-school resource group that meets there once a week, with both parents and children. It's a great support group and they often discuss methods, books, and plan field trips. If there is one at your church, I recommend it! If not, maybe you and some other like-minded parents could start one?

[HSmomto4]

If defiance is the problem, sending her to school won't help but make it worse. If you let her go back, she wins. She then will become defiant in more areas in her life because she knows it will work. I would say start with MUS and be very strict with her. No math done, no ___(you fill in the blank). If she whines and cries about it, let her, but she still has to do the math. She will learn that soon you mean business and remind her of the first commandment with a consequence...honor thy father and mother or your days will be shortened.

[topekaclark]

Thanks all to who replied and for the guidance.

The math u see and teachingtext books I will check out, I was thinking of a dvd with it so I can learn and help her when she is struggling.

I did look at the 7th grade Saxon Math books, was a tad bit overwhelmed. Last year I was gonna to use the abeka's dvd programs however talking to them they told me since she was tested ( I had her tested last summer) and was behind in some stuff, that the current grade level would be to hard for her.

Tron4JC I will pm you if we need help, just wished I did better in math.

hsmom, agree that is one of the reasons I took her out of school was because of her choice in friends, I saw her down the road and knew where we were headed. I needed to be remind it will get worse, I have been struggling and praying to figure something out. Then this week I saw several things on school violence and then tonight at church I was reminded in our last days kids will rebel against parents. Help put things into perspective.

thanks you all

[Mezuzas]

This describes my situation with my own daughter.

She doesn't want to be homeschooled. Why? Because the teachers let her do pretty much whatever she wanted to do, slack off as much as she wanted to slack off, and she still made A's and B's. Her handwriting is horrible. Her f's look like q's, etc for example. And she thinks I'm horrible for making her correct that. I've spent all year correcting for years of bad behavior instead of teaching much at her grade level. She had nothing academic wise really learned. She didn't even know basic geography such as the capital of her own state when we started.

Her math teacher last year actually marked the answers correct if it was close to being the correct answer. The students were taught to guess at the correct answer instead of learning the material, and my daughter was making A's in math based upon that method.

She has very little knowledge of grammar. I've been struggling with her trying to get her to learn that.

And it isn't that she isn't smart. She has learned from the schools to not care, throw an answer out there and it's correct no matter what it is. Her attitude has to be unlearned in order to teach her anything. Before she went to public school, she WANTED to learn things! She was a sponge. Now they have her so she doesn't care about anything.

I used to tutor people in subjects such as math and nursing. I am used to dealing with people who WANT to learn, not someone who has been dumbed down so much that she doesn't care whether she learns anything or not. Scary thing is, my daughter at one time wanted to be a doctor. It's no wonder the medical profession is so messed up if that's what the schools are turning out.

Now my daughter wants to spend her life saving the earth or whatever. The schools around here are heavy into going green and ultimate socialism. She has been taught by the school system to go out into the world to give everything she has to them as well as recycling everything to the extreme. When I tried explaining to her how much gas it costs to drive to our nearest recycling center and how much trash we'd have to have piled here waiting to be recycled in order to make the trip worth it, she didn't get what the problem is. The place looks like a trash dump. I'll tell her to throw something away, and she'll hide it somewhere. Whenever I find something that was supposed to go into the garbage that she hoarded away to recycle and throw it away, she pitches a fit like I'm so horrible for throwing something away. After a milk container that wasn't even rinsed out has been stashed somewhere, it gets really smelly...if you know what I mean. I live nearly 40 minutes from a recycling facility. I don't want to collect garbage. I try to tell her that she cannot save the earth anyway, that God is going to destroy this earth and make a new one and she shrugs me off or something, not sure exactly how to describe her reaction.

And her reaction to things going on in the world around her is a combination of apathy and anger at me for bringing it up. She was taught by the schools to not care about what goes on around her. If something bad happens, she doesn't care and doesn't want to know about it. The school system has her head stuck in the sand and when someone tries to pull it out, she goes nuts about it and shoves it back in.

She's around the same age as your daughter. This should be her sixth grade year, yet she struggles with lower grade level work. Grade six was too far above her head for her to grasp. And she doesn't care that she doesn't know stuff, instead she blames me for giving her hard stuff to do. Everything has to be easy...

I'm not going to send her back to public school. If I do, she'll be ruined forever. They have her so messed up now I don't know how to fix her and keep praying that God will help me fix her. So far not sure if my prayers are being answered, but I hope they will be. I want my daughter back. The daughter I had before she entered kindergarten.

[lisaann]

Mezuzas

It is scarey to think this is the next generation that PS is churning out.

[farmgirl]

Hi Kellie. Hi Mezuzas. ing for you and your daughter. I read a thread here recently that was very convicting to me about setting my priorities while homeschooling.
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=37704.

I should post this on my fridge so I can be reminded daily. Anyway, its hard when the kids are behind, but maybe taking a little time to reestablish a happier relationship, some bonding time might get the school effort back on course? Of course I'm a newbie homeschool mom, so I'm still figuring this out too. My 13 year old son just started, but so far so good. He works at a slower pace than I think he should, but he is making progress. I probably need to get a little tougher, but I want him to develop internal drive and motivation. I am facing the same decision about pulling my remaining son in PS out next year for 7th grade. He is very resistant to HS, wants to be with his friends, so I'm praying about making the right decision for him. He has been exposed to Everyday Math (fuzzy math) so I expect to have some struggles in this area as well as writing. God will work this out in time and bless your efforts, just make sure you remind your daughter you're doing this because you love her so much, and value her gifts, and want the best for her.

[farmgirl]

Mezuzas, Do you think starting a compost bin would be something your daughter would enjoy? It could teach her some science, and help her reduce waste. Maybe then she would desist on the smelly containers? While our earth will be destroyed, we've still got a least another thousand years on this rock, so teaching good stewardship is important. Planting a tree might appeal, or growing some plants that attract birds or butterflies. Shopping resale is another great way to recycle. Kids want to do things to make their environment better, that's pretty normal. She sounds very idealistic, which can be a beautiful thing if redirected a little.

[Alhere]

What about buying the DVD program from A Beka for their grade 6 math?

[Tron4JC]

This describes my situation with my own daughter.

She doesn't want to be homeschooled. Why? Because the teachers let her do pretty much whatever she wanted to do, slack off as much as she wanted to slack off, and she still made A's and B's. Her handwriting is horrible. Her f's look like q's, etc for example. And she thinks I'm horrible for making her correct that. I've spent all year correcting for years of bad behavior instead of teaching much at her grade level. She had nothing academic wise really learned. She didn't even know basic geography such as the capital of her own state when we started.

Her math teacher last year actually marked the answers correct if it was close to being the correct answer. The students were taught to guess at the correct answer instead of learning the material, and my daughter was making A's in math based upon that method.

She has very little knowledge of grammar. I've been struggling with her trying to get her to learn that.

And it isn't that she isn't smart. She has learned from the schools to not care, throw an answer out there and it's correct no matter what it is. Her attitude has to be unlearned in order to teach her anything. Before she went to public school, she WANTED to learn things! She was a sponge. Now they have her so she doesn't care about anything.

I used to tutor people in subjects such as math and nursing. I am used to dealing with people who WANT to learn, not someone who has been dumbed down so much that she doesn't care whether she learns anything or not. Scary thing is, my daughter at one time wanted to be a doctor. It's no wonder the medical profession is so messed up if that's what the schools are turning out.

Now my daughter wants to spend her life saving the earth or whatever. The schools around here are heavy into going green and ultimate socialism. She has been taught by the school system to go out into the world to give everything she has to them as well as recycling everything to the extreme. When I tried explaining to her how much gas it costs to drive to our nearest recycling center and how much trash we'd have to have piled here waiting to be recycled in order to make the trip worth it, she didn't get what the problem is. The place looks like a trash dump. I'll tell her to throw something away, and she'll hide it somewhere. Whenever I find something that was supposed to go into the garbage that she hoarded away to recycle and throw it away, she pitches a fit like I'm so horrible for throwing something away. After a milk container that wasn't even rinsed out has been stashed somewhere, it gets really smelly...if you know what I mean. I live nearly 40 minutes from a recycling facility. I don't want to collect garbage. I try to tell her that she cannot save the earth anyway, that God is going to destroy this earth and make a new one and she shrugs me off or something, not sure exactly how to describe her reaction.

And her reaction to things going on in the world around her is a combination of apathy and anger at me for bringing it up. She was taught by the schools to not care about what goes on around her. If something bad happens, she doesn't care and doesn't want to know about it. The school system has her head stuck in the sand and when someone tries to pull it out, she goes nuts about it and shoves it back in.

She's around the same age as your daughter. This should be her sixth grade year, yet she struggles with lower grade level work. Grade six was too far above her head for her to grasp. And she doesn't care that she doesn't know stuff, instead she blames me for giving her hard stuff to do. Everything has to be easy...

I'm not going to send her back to public school. If I do, she'll be ruined forever. They have her so messed up now I don't know how to fix her and keep praying that God will help me fix her. So far not sure if my prayers are being answered, but I hope they will be. I want my daughter back. The daughter I had before she entered kindergarten.

Get her to write on earth issues.

Remind her people who write well make a whole lot of difference when they are given the public platform to make their case.

[Sealed]

Math-U-See definitely has my vote, too!

It will take awhile for your child to become deprogrammed from PS. I know it took about 6 months for my 6th grader to adjust to being homeschooled. At this young age, I believe that they are able to shed the false ideasand bad habits that they have learned in PS...once they are OUT of that environment! Hang in there....you are doing the RIGHT thing!

[Legacy]

Is backing up a grade or two an option in just math? When our two options with our oldest was to home school or send her to 5th grade to a teacher that HATED kids with a passion and did everything in her power to tear them down, stomp on them, and make them emotional wrecks, we decided home school (obviously). However when we took the enrollment test to our home school group, she scored at a 3rd grade level. I had my choice what grade to put her in, but they said 3rd would be best for her. We decided 3rd grade core classes, and 5th grade science, social studies, etc. That is the BEST decision we've EVER made although it was a tough pill for her swallow at first (for pride reasons). She had to relearn almost everything!!! Sloppiness and laziness was the norm in public school. This year in 8th grade, we sent both girls back to public. Going in, she had just finished 6th grade core classes but she fit right in and has mainly brought home all A's on her report card. I was able to back up far enough to reteach the basics (along with what she listened to with her younger sister) and now she's on track. No doubt they'll mess her up again in public school, but she has a fighting chance now. My first thought when I read your post was to back her up a year or two... your daughter is carbon copy of our daughter at that point.

A little late, but just a thought...

[Itiswell]

A very basic suggestion that a good friend taught me was to have children do their math on graph paper - it instantly helps them line things up and makes it neater.

Now, the heart issue is a much bigger struggle that takes a lot of prayer. Do you have a solid youth group or church based homeschool co-op in your area? Good peer influence can be worth it's weight in gold.

[Cookies4me]

on the graph paper
My kids use that when they are first starting out on a math subject till they can get their lines straight on their own.