Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Frustration with math

Yes, dropping math was a little nerve wracking for me at first. But it seems to have helped. And we still made progress even without "doing" math. Like your DS, my DS liked watching Vi Hart, reading math or using it in his own way on his own time and terms by himself. But before the break, DS wouldn't do multi-step problems. Not that he conceptually didn't get it-- he just felt that he ought to be able to do everything in one step in his brain. So a problem that had you sum some things first and then subtract from a total, would bring on big fits. Just taking a break let him develop some maturity and also play with math in his own way. I feel like we made more progress in those off months than in all our on months. There are still days were he struggles. But on those days, we only whip out the wb, and I let him feel the sense of just going through it on his own without struggle. On days where you can sense he has more patience and is calmer we tackle hard problems. The odd things about HG+ kids is that they often make these big leaps, but they do it on their own terms and time. I think that just giving him that breathing room to do stuff on his own time made him more willing to try things. Let me add that in taking math off, he actually did as much math as I would have required a day on his own terms and time. He just needed space to play with it. So he read math books, made all sorts of stuff up on paper with his pretend play and loved watching Vi's videos. The break just helped him reset. Before the break, just the mention of doing math would precipitate a meltdown. Now I occasionally get him doing math out of the curriculum without me even asking.

I don't know, but there's this one:



around which I bet you could build whatever about fractions he needs to know! (She plays fast and loose with infinity here, by the way, of which I don't really approve. But it's great otherwise. You might have him look up continued fractions, if he wants more after this.)

Ah, I love the collective wisdom of this forum. Thank you all!

The plan: We are going to step back a little, and not rush through this bit of math right now. DS has been doing tons of Scratch programming for the past month, and I really think that's where his learning is focused right now.

ZenScanner:

That is a good thought. I suspect DS thinks math comes in two flavors: the "boring" stuff (long division, fractions, etc) and the "fun" stuff (fractals, mobius strips, etc). He might think of the former as memory based, and then get frustrated.

Yesterday I asked him to show me what he had learned the previous week about a simpler way to compare fractions (he initially learned to convert the entire fraction, then DH taught him to cross multiply). At first he told me he couldn't remember how, and I could sense he was starting to feel frustrated. So I sat down at the white board and started to do a problem, when he completely took over and showed me. Yay! Maybe he just had more time to absorb the material and understand why it worked.

HK:
I haven't noticed this to be the case so far, but much of the math he's had to do has been so beneath his level, he could do it in his head. So it's very likely true for newer concepts. For example, he's understood the concept of fractions for a long time, but since he learned it (on his own) long before he had to manipulate them, I never had to deal with drawing them for him.

Quantum: It's hard for me to know what he truly groks, because he sometimes has a hard time explaining his reasoning (true for many things, not just math.) And if he encounters an old problem in new clothes, I don't know if he has forgotten how to do the old problem, doesn't understand the new clothes, or just isn't thinking about it long enough to solve the problem. I suspect the latter much of the time.

phey: I am hoping to get to the end of the current book (we have just a few chapters left!), and then we might just drop the formal stuff for a bit to see how it goes.

CM: We will take a look at the video, thanks! DS adores Vi Hart, so her videos are pure gold.

DS and I watched Vi Hart's 12 Days of Christmas yesterday and were laughing so hard all the way through.