Im not sure he really undertands the math

[spidermansmum]

My son is 5 and we are using Singapore 1a.Now he can produce the answer,with some props and some prodding but Im really not sure he gets 8-3=5 .Give him 8 apple slices [he can count ] and tell him to ive his brother 3,he can see he has 5 left.But face with the sum 8-5he just looks lost until we supply some manipulatives or at least a story and its better if we give both.
soooo heres my question.Is this normal,should we drop back to Earlybird or press on?

[GingerN]

Hey Sam. This is just my 2 cents...but we have 'dropped back' in math several times, and I have never regretted it. If there is confusion with concepts, it will remain Perhaps you can find samples of Earlybird pages online and give them a look. I remember the Singapore books we had used a few years ago seemed a little advanced to me, too. Maybe you should slow down the book you are currently working in to give more time to each concept with manipulatives, just as you are wisely doing. Just a thought.
Ginger

[lmercon]

Hi,
I hope I'm giving good advice here, but I think I would recommend that you hold off on 1a for now. I used Singapore 1a and 1b last year with my then 6 yo ds. He is extremely "mathy" and picked up on the concepts very quickly. I will tell you that it gets tough very quickly. If your ds is having trouble with the concept of subtraction in the equation form with those simple problems, he may have a difficult time as you move along. As I said, the concepts move quickly and get complicated. It may be over his head, and he'll miss out on an excellent program. I would suggest you shelve it for now and go with the Earlybird series or some other early learning program that uses a lot of manipulatives to teach the concepts. Singapore stresses the mental math early. I hope I'm stearing you in the right direction. Take it for what is worth.
Laura

[jessyb26]

I think on the Singapore website there is a placement test. You might have him take it and see if that helps with placement. It might be able to tell you if he is just weak in that area or in several areas. Just a thought.

[Natreez]

I agree with the others that you might need to hold off for awhile with the 1a but don't stop practicing the concept of adding and subtracting with him. I think sometimes its also a matter of maturity and it is amazing how a child won't get something in August or September but then all of sudden one day in December it just hits them like a light bulb moment.

This happened with my son, so many times while learning adding and subtracting he would just stare at me with the "deer in headlights" look and it was obvious he just wasn't getting it. So last year, I took time away from our formal math curriculum to just focus on learning adding and subtracting. There where times I didn't think he'd ever get it and I was also honestly afraid at times he was going to fall way behind because we weren't truly working on other concepts either. However by Jan/Feb it finally just truly clicked with him one day and believe it or not between Jan/Feb and June he caught up with learning all the other concepts such as measurement and time. Now I'm truly thankful that I "slowed it down" a bit and truly allowed him the time to grow into understanding his adding and subtracting as it has made a world of difference with learning his multiplication tables!! I was soooo concerned we would have another serious problem but because he knows his math facts so well...its been no problem. The extra time was well worth it!!

We played board games, paper games, read story books on adding and subtracting, did worksheets, flashcards, used manipulates, played math blaster on the computer, anything and everything that I could to get him to understand the concepts of adding and subtracting. I hope this helps. Hang in there, it will happen and when it does...he'll be a whiz!!

Blessings,
Natreez

[LeAnna]

One note on the Singapore Earlybird math books... that both of my kids had problems with, was the additon and the subtraction and how they explain it. It can be rather confusing the way they word a problem. Ex. 3 is __ less than 5; or 5 is _ more than 3. My kids couldn't figure it out and I had trouble explaining it to them. We totally skipped this whole section and I ended up finding my own addition and subtraction worksheets on the web to take its place... 5 apples plus 2 apples=7 apples. Much easier to understand.

Hope that helps a bit,
LeAnna

[jensmom]

Wow, I was about to post my own message about subtraction being a problem...I have had a couple of very frustrating days. My 6 yr old dd has been whizzing through math and loving it! That is until yesterday. We are using Singapore 1A. I have added manipulatives and explained it every way but standing on my head. She still just isn't getting it. I think I am going to make her a sheet of 1-10 addition and subtraction problems to study - sort of like the old multiplication tables. Has anyone else done that? I just can't seem to get her to understand the relationship between those simple numbers. I know that once she understands 1-10 then everything else will fall into place. ARGH! Seriously waiting for the light bulb moment to happen...

Judy

[spidermansmum]

Ive decided that we are going to just practice this for a while with real objects,We will get round to symbols one day but I would far rather he really grasped this .

[my3sons]

Earlybird Math accompanied by the hands-on math activities in LHFHG really laid the groundwork for solid computation skills for our ds's. I think you'd find this easy to do - not to mention fun! It all clicked together for our ds's once we'd reached the end of that year of math, but I remember understanding of the symbols +, -, /, x and how to use them came along later for them. O.k. - I'm passionate about math, so humor me as I hop on my soapbox here for a moment! I like this order of learning math. I think the concept of subtraction is much more important to get first rather than the symbols. Proper usage and understanding of actual math symbols comes along later. I'm glad it's taught this way - too many math programs teach step-by-step, first you do this, then this, then this... with no teaching of what the concept behind the steps really is. Kids that only learn the steps don't know the concepts and are unable to apply them to real-life situations. When we have to use math in real life, no one tells us, you need to subtract to figure this out, or first you add, then you divide, last subtract. (Wouldn't that be great if that did happen? ) But, kids who get the concept behind the rote steps of computation are able to apply when to use that concept in real life. O.k. - I'm officially hopping off the soapbox now!

My ds did 1A/1B last year and it was enough for him - he was 7 yo last year. This year 2A/2B has been right on track for him. I'd really encourage you to do the LHFHG hands-on math activities along with the Earlybird books. I think you'll be happy with the concept being emphasized before the symbols in the long run - and you can't help but love the activities in the HOD guide!

In Christ,
Julie