Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Opinions? DD8 wants easy peasy

I am curious as to what different opinions might be on this issue. We are homeschooling DD8. She is doing 4th and 5th grade(math) work, but like everything easy. I pushed her along on the math because I knew she could do it, but she complains because it makes her brain hurt, even though she gets all of her pretty rigorous work done in a few hours of actual working, spread throughout the day. The rest of the time, she wants to practice gymnastics, play simulation games on the ipad, or just play. She likes the work to just be easy so she can get it done even faster and just play. Even though, she finishes her math in no time and gets it all right, but she dreads it just because she has to "think" and doesn't want to. She used to love math in school, but that was because it was so ridiculously easy and she was very lazy. Though, she told me in school last year, she would ask to go to the bathroom every day just before Math so she didn't have to listen to the math lesson. I am actually giving her the 3rd grade tests and she finishes in 5 minutes with 100s. I just hate that she used to say that she loved math and now says she doesn't. I am hoping that she will adjust to "thinking" and start to like it again. So, the question is, do I slow down and keep it "easy" because she is already way ahead and let her play even more or do I say "too bad. you need to think a little bit?"

or Option 3
Try to find a different approach that is fun for her and engages her mind in a way that helps her rediscover her enjoyment of math.

You might explore the Art of Problem Solvng website, or find specific math resources tied to something she enjoys, or set aside basic calculations for a bit and get into logic or statistics or such. Or ask her for suggestions.

DS went through a similar struggle around the same age. We took a "break" from everyday accelerated math and dropped it down to 2-3 times a week (not sure how that would play out in hs as we were still in a traditional school) and supplemented with computer programming--scratch, codea and web design. Worked well as he stayed engaged in the logic and problem solving but didn't get annoyed with the rote memorization that 3-5th grade math curriculum sometimes gets stuck in.

With my DD8 (2e) I have found that making it "easy peasy" works like a charm. Within a couple of weeks she is looking for a challenge herself. "Nope, we'll scribe everything for you - I don't want your hand to hurt" leads to her sneaking off to write herself notes. "No you just listen in the 8th grade reading group" becomes her asking to please be able to take a turn reading along with them. If she was told to read or write we would hear about headaches, how much her hand is hurting, etc. Her wanting to do it at her own pace makes all the difference in the world. YMMV...

What about less problems (looks easier) but more engaging.

Take a look at
Primary Grade Challenge Math
Edward D. Zaccaro

He also has like 3 other problem solving books. In each book there is a lesson and then about 3 or 4 (I forget) different sets of questions to answer. There are only about 4 questions per set and each set is a different level with the last one being like the Einstein level. You could do the first level set the first time through the book and then go back a second time and do the higher levels. My boys found the book very engaging.