Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Should I be working with DS on WM and PS?

What are these games and where might I find them? I've never heard of them. Think Fun games? Is that a brand-name, I guess?

Thanks for the tip!

LOL, Dottie!

I didn't mean to single you or anyone else out. I appreciate all the help!

But I did want to be clear that it's not the test that started all this. Actually, the WISC has been a good tool for helping me do a better job for DS6.

Ha! CFK - I love your attitude. We are so lazy at our house as well. My DS definitely would not be into straight drill approach either. He would be totally into it if it were a game.

I have no idea about scores and WM and PRI or how I look on a test. But I do know, for me, math was excruciatingly painful and "boring" until I hit algebra. And then everything clicked and it was totally easy (I have a BS in Math and csci). I remember sitting in 3rd grade staring at a problem FOREVER while the rest of the class was done and off doing something else. Maybe I was overthinking things? And come to think of it, I never really knew my facts until algebra when I saw the need. We did memorize the table at some point, but I instantly forgot it until algebra.

That's reassuring, kimck! It makes sense, too.

DS6's darling (engineer) dad didn't fall in love with math until he took calculus. He loved the visual of it. DH's brother (also an engineer), teased my husband that he always graphed *everything*! Visual-spatial anyone? (It's pretty close to the truth, actually!)

Engineering runs in my family as well. I suspect DS6 is pretty well fated to be a math-y engineer, whether he likes math at this point or not. I don't care what he becomes, as long as he's happy and productive, but I'd be surprised if he goes any other direction. He's looked like an engineer almost from birth!

Maybe our DS's were seperated at birth!? I would be shocked if our DS doesn't do something math-y too when it comes down to it. And of course, whatever he wants is totally fine, but it's definitely in his blood. He obsesses over anything technology based. Both DH and I were software engineers at the same company when we met. Something about DS and DH looks very engineer-y. In the cutest way possible of course. My DH (yes, DH) got a lego mindstorms for his birthday last year, and now the "boys" fight over it. DS cannot wait to get his hands on it.

Hi Kriston -
I wanted to say that if you start a homeschooling class in "memorization" don't put 'math facts' as the first thing on the agenda. Let him know that he won't always get to choose, but build up those drill muscles a bit before you go back to an area that he already feel bad about.

Of course 'important phone number' is a family favorite, and does have numbers, you can brainstorm with him what he would like to learn, and let him choose the first 'clump' or two, then important phone numbers, then a chunk of the math facts, then something else - perhaps the location of type writer keys ((red face)) or "Miss Mary Mac?"

Also - see if you can get him moving or using his hands as part of his memorization. Maybe a kind of arobics were each number is a movement, gross motor or finger play, and then the phone numbers (and later the math facts) become a kind of dance?

Best Wishes,
Grinity

I remember jumping rope to the tables as we memorized those facts!

Kriston - I had a thread over in twice exceptional about the working memory thing too. Grinity had some good advice for me over there.

I wanted to respond to your question about the Think Fun games. They are wonderful! Target and Toys R Us has them and they are online too. Here is an online link for Rush Hour www.puzzles.com/products/RushHour/RHfromMarkRiedel/Jam.html . You can play online to see if your DS might be interested. DS7 and I LOVE ThinkFun Games and have 3 of them that we really enjoy playing. I just need to get DS10 playing them too. He's not as good as little brother so he doesn't enjoy playing them as much but I think he'd really benefit.

Good luck!

Thanks gang!

I knew I saw the memory thing, but I couldn't find it when I wanted it. Thanks for the tip, EandCMom! I'll check again.

And P.S. kimck, I think there is a very specific gene for engineers! I'm pretty sure that my engineer father was secretly disappointed to have two English majors for children. That his older daughter married an engineer and looks to have at least one engineer for a child soothes him greatly, I suspect! <tee hee hee>

I'm resurrecting this thread after just finding it. My son is high in WM (138) and "low" in PS (109). This thread seems to talk alot about memorizing things. Is that part of PS as well? Could a low PS also apply to other things than doing math problems? Like writing? Or, putting on clothes? Or, gathering toys and carrying them to his room without stopping 100 times along the way? Or taking forever to sort the laundry? Or is all this just him being easily distracted. I'm not sure of how broad an activity the PS covers?

I know sometimes he struggles because I can see that he can remember something, but he just can't get it out and then he gets distracted and just says something and then moves on.

Good thread. Lots of good ideas for math.