![]() ![]() "Damn about time you finished your math! Why'd take it so long!"). It may be that the kid is stuck in a vicious cycle of negative feedback (e.g. The feedback cycle structure may also be messed up. The kid may end up expecting you to be there all the time, when really, half of the point is to develop some self sufficiency. "Helping" too much can also be counter productive. ![]() ![]() My daughter started with "draw 5 beans" sort of exercises, and seeing her older brother comply with a routine it was much easier to get her to finish her studies in a timely fashion. I'd say starting off with overly challenging material is probably going to be counterproductive if you're also simultaneously trying to establish a routine. My older son had trouble concentrating in the beginning (still does to some extent). The thing, though, is I never hear about the situation improving by yelling more. ![]() My wife frequents chinese parent forums, and according to parents there, study time in a lot of households involve children staring at the ceiling and parents yelling. But for some others, this may succeed in making them feel worse about themselves, because it's yet another example math they don't understand. So this leads to my perspective: a prodigious child may certainly be capable of these and enjoy the challenge. Yet doctors indicated there's no learning disability. Tutors couldn't cover in an hour what other students finish in 10 minutes. Far behind, they could not multiply at age 8 or do fractions at 11. I'm in the US, and have one child who repeatedly could not complete math work during school, and would bawl and protest how stupid they were when given math homework at home. My personal experience with kids and math: What do parents and teachers from outside the US do when a child DOESN'T understand math? How is math taught so that kids don't end up crying, getting sick, or hating themselves when faced with math problems? Or is there selection bias: it does happen, but "those kids" are left behind, and never seen by the rest of the world? I explain below, but since Singapore was mentioned, I need to ask a cultural question first: My personal experience is very very different, and is why I "quip these are too hard." My biggest fear at the moment is for his excitement at learning being crushed when he starts school. Instead of adults deciding what children of certain ages are "supposed to" be able to do and not to do. I believe that if kids were allowed to be challenged and excel at the things they show an interest in and predisposition to, the scholastic standard would be much higher. The more often he hears them say these things, the more liable he is to start believing them himself and say "I can't figure this out because I'm only x years old". I repeatedly ask them to not make these comments. And when he doesn't, he still gets a kick out of understanding it when we go through it together. I assume they intend to shield him from the inevitable failure they believe I'm setting him up for by asking these questions, but he usually figures it out. All too often we turn some daily scenario into a fun exercise and a well-meaning family member will exclaim "he can't possibly know that!". I've managed to make learning fun for my three year old son. > I'd recommend taking a look at Singapore Math to get an idea of what kids in those age ranges are actually capable of doing, provided that adults shed preconceptions that children ought to be "sheltered from hard scary stuff", and instead encourage them. Gotta say it's a joy to see a kid that enjoys math. The other day, she came to me beaming to explain how she had just solved 38/2 (by doing 40/2, 2/2 and subtracting the results). Some time ago, we were introducing ourselves to a new neighbor and the convo went somewhat along these lines: My youngest daughter is 6 and can solve simple multiplication and division problems. There are also great math-oriented games these days (I had some good success w/ ). I'd recommend taking a look at Singapore Math to get an idea of what kids in those age ranges are actually capable of doing, provided that adults shed preconceptions that children ought to be "sheltered from hard scary stuff", and instead encourage them. Curious to see comments quipping that some of the math problems geared towards young kids are too hard. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |