Melessa,
I think the challenge with a "verby" kid is that verbal tasks come so easily to them, that math seems RELATIVELY difficult (and a DC's initial or eventual approach may be to want to avoid math altogether).
DD8, who is my extremely verbal DC, hit a "crisis" point with math in 2nd grade. Her school starts math differentiation in 2nd grade. DD was placed in the top group. DD's best friend seems to be HIGHLY gifted in math and would often finish math tasks more quickly. There were also some boys who were simply quicker at math facts than her at the beginning of the year. There was definitely an emphasis placed on speed in 2nd grade, as the teacher was striving for math fact automaticity. DD, who had for the past two years been used to having everything at school come so easily, now suddenly decided she was "stupid." (She has consistently scored 98-99% on math standardized tests, so it is a "relative" weak area - emphasis on relatively!). She routinely announced in 2nd grade that she "hated" math (DD tends to be a bit intense and dramatic, too)! I was horrified! 2nd grade is a bit young to start hating a subject!
We did offer her extra support and encouragement that year in math, and she seems to have gotten over it. She is still in the top math group, is doing great in it, and is making excellent progress. I think she has also gotten used to the differentiated math class. She still doesn't seem to love routine calculation and she is prone to silly mistakes because she tends to work quickly to "get through it." She recently started doing EPGY at home to "challenge herself," and had been progressing nicely. But I don't hear "I hate math" constantly now, either!
I do think kids that are very strong in one area tend to find that as their "comfort zone." DD needed a little push out of her comfort zone.
DD actually enjoyed several LOF books before loosing interest in them. Different DC may need different resources and approaches. My 2 DC differ from one another, so I try to offer different things up and we go with what they tend to like.
For instance, DS5, who seems to be more naturally "mathy," is doing Dreambox math at home. He's still in K, and we are pretty low-key about it. His strengths/weaknesses/preferences seem to be the absolute reverse of my DD. He has been able to read since he was 3, like his sister, but would prefer to do math. He also plays chess, and I do believe this builds spatial ability.
Dreambox seems geared towards the younger set. EPGY is drier, and probably works better for older children.
