Cuisinaire rods or unit blocks can help
Hmmmmm....
maybe.Honestly, manipulatives like this were of NO help to DD or myself either one. Truthfully, the manipulative was just, like-- well, one MORE thing to try to manage. It just didn't "map" mentally at all.
Even with an abacus-- I'd encourage free play and then use the CONCEPT to discuss a way of approaching the math, not necessarily mandate that she use it to work math. Does that make sense?
DD sounds
exactly like this-- she's a purely phonetic reader, symbols she has ZERO trouble with, it's just a numbers thing for her. She seems to prefer the context and a MENTAL construct to work within, or it just doesn't stick. She's not quite so extreme that way as I am, but my DH is also this way to some extent. I
have to have it in my head to use it. He can (sometimes) use what is on paper.
Seriously-- both of us got labeled "probably slow" because of arithmetic troubles in elementary school. Uhh- yeah, just, no. We both have terminal degrees in the physical sciences, in math-heavy disciplines.
My prediction is that people like this don't develop fluency until they NEED that fluency for some other purpose. If you place load on the skill, it will come.
