Homeschooling

So today DS's teacher tells me she thinks he is really starting to struggle w/ math.  This is NO surprise to me since it is what we seemed to go through all last year.  The past 6 weeks (review) have not been too bad because we worked on it all summer, but they are now starting new concepts (currently algebra) and apparently DS is lost.  This is one reason I hate him being in school, but I digress..... 

He is really lost, and I know the class must move on at a steady pace.  His teacher recommended I get a tutor for extra help.  Now, I love and really respect this teacher, but after we pay private school tuition, I can't afford to get a tutor!  UGH!  It's not her I am frustrated with, honestly, when she found out I was interested in homeschooling she has been very encouraging (she homeschooled her own boys years back).  I just hate that my DS gets so stressed out because he is not able to learn this stuff as quickly as the school wants him to in order to move on...

Anyway, I thought about some fun math DVDs (he use to like the LeapFrog ones when he was little).  Mathtacular looks fun and had received good reviews.  Has anyone tried them on older kids (DS is 10)?  I think if it were too hokey and kiddie, he'd just laugh through the whole thing ;-)  I hate to say this, but I really need something easy and mom tested that I can do with him.  We seem to have such little time in the evenings so I can't really devote a lot of time to a big lesson...there's another reason I'd love to homeschool right now too...

Thanks for your help!  Hopefully we'll get there one day :-)

Amy

If it's algebra he's lost in, you could look at Borenson's Hands-On Equations. http://www.borenson.com My kids have really enjoyed this.

Miranda

We have a Mathtacular but tbh, I've not sat and watched it, so I don't know if it would be too "juvenile" for a 10 year old or not.  What about something like the Flashmaster?  Do you think he's needing help with basic facts, or is he getting lost by the switch from knowing the basic facts to applying them to other things?  If it's basic facts he needs to cement, I'd think about computer or online games.  If he's struggling with math at school, the last thing you want is for him to have more math struggles at home, kwim?

My girls loved the leap videos and now watch the mathtacular. It is kid like not adult like but it is not boring and my kids will watch it, even my teen will occasionally sit thru it if her sisters are watching the show. They also use Leapster games for Math practice. Is he allowed to use a calculator doing the Algebra? I think this sometimes helps free them from the facts and concentrate on the higher Math of equations in Algebra. My oldest went thru a few years of doing very few daily problems but concentrating on the ones she could get done and this helped her not feel rushed or forced to do more than she could do. Most schools have a "lock-step" mathmatics where the amount of problems is more important than the knowing how to solve a problem and so some kids fail even if they know some Math but work slower so can not finish the work. This brings about feelings of failure and loss of interest in Mathmatics....the opposite of encouraging a student to learn. I do not do lock step Math....but instead gage each students ability to do the problems they are able to accomplish even if they need extra time or tools...calculators or other mathmatical tools. We should concentrate on learning and teaching the student not how many, how fast. It seems to work my teen is doing more problems faster after many years of not engaging in "lock-step" math. 

HTH best of luck!  

Heather   

Thanks for this link, I'll look into it further.  Perhaps even *I* can learn algebra this time :-)

Amy