Kriston,
thank you for your comments. The idea of using the calculator for single digits rather than the whole number is a great idea! I have her do half of her math without the calculator and half with (her math assignments are typically 45 or more equations long....a lot for a 7 yo). She also LOVES geometry and she CRAVES ordered pairs. She also loves math when the math is hidden in story problems. She is also enjoying fractions and decimals a great deal and grasped the concepts very fast. It is just the adding, subtracting, dividing muck that bogs her down. She is highly distractable when doing these things.....finds them incredibly boring and her mind wanders....she makes kings and queens from the numbers....crowning them......draws hearts all over her page.....makes elaborate pies with the manipulatives.....builds castles from then 10 frames....etc.....hmmmmmm. So....I let her buld the castles, but she better darn well have the perimeter figured out when she is done......you know? It just takes FOREVER to allow her to express her need for creativity AND get the math done.
Terri
