Singapore math is different from typical math programs.
One thing I am reminded of as school is underway is the difference between Singapore math and typical math programs. Singapore math is one of those programs that takes a while to wrap your head around philosophy-wise. It is a program that is designed with a terrific ebb and flow of concepts and skills. Yet, often as parents, we get in the way of this ebb and flow by stepping in and adding more and more practice.
Your students are not expected to master every new math concept.
It helps to keep in mind that your students are not intended to master every new math concept you show them. Some concepts are only introduced. Others are practiced more extensively. Still other concepts are meant to be mastered. If, as the parent, we treat every concept like it must be mastered right away, we can truly frustrate our children.
Resist the urge to add more practice.
So, when you think your child may not have fully grasped a concept, resist the urge to add more practice. Don’t jump in and search for more worksheets on the internet or in another source to add to your math lesson. Instead, just partner with your child helping him/her through the lesson to be successful. Then, the next day, move on to the next lesson.
When tough concepts come around again, your child will be older and better equipped.
Be confident that those tough math concepts will come around again the next year in the next level. By then, your child will be a year older and better equipped to deal with those harder concepts. Age helps so much in dealing with abstract concepts!
Each day continue steadily moving forward in math.
Continue steadily moving forward each day through your math lessons. Keep in mind that concepts move from being represented concretely to pictorially to abstractly over time. As students view concepts with increasing levels of abstraction, they move toward math mastery. If you keep this philosophy in mind, you will experience less frustration and more enjoyment in the design of the program.
Blessings,
Carrie
This Post Has 2 Comments
Guilty as charged regarding adding more to Singapore ;). It’s our first year with HOD and Singapore. From our former math curriculum (used only for 5 months), we have day-of-the-week math flash cards. My 8 year-old doesn’t have all his math facts down. Example: “13-8=….5? right, mom?” Do you suggest ditching the flash cards for him and my 6 year-old?
Appreciate your thoughts on this.
Flashcards are the one ‘extra’ that are fine to add to Singapore Math, but the timing of when/if they are added is important. Singapore math focuses on the ‘why’ behind math processes as opposed to just rotely teaching the ‘how.’ The hands-on math lessons for addition and subtraction Carrie has written to coincide with Singapore math’s approach further cement the ‘why’ before the ‘how.’ So, we’d recommend waiting with addition/subtraction flashcards with the 6 year-old. In fact, with Singapore’s mental math approach, some children never need flashcards (2 of my 3 children didn’t). However, they are fine for your 8 year old if he has completed 1A/1B already. The same rule of thumb applies for multiplication and division. Hope that helps!
In Christ,
Julie