New math help!

story1267

story1267

Cathlete
I turn, once again, to all you smart folks, parents, and educators.

I'm looking for a computer game for my kids to help with math from the 5th to 7th grade level. DS is in 5th grade and DD is in 7th. They are both struggling with math.

The worst part is that I can't help them!! If anyone remembers the Tom Lehrer song New Math - "it's so simple, so very simple, that only a child can do it!" That's about where I'm at.

So, I'd have the game for the kids, but I'd play it too so that I might actually be more able to intelligently assist with the homework.

They have enjoyed some Reader Rabbit games and Jump Start as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :D
 
Reading further, I see that this is for drill. So, if your children are struggling with understanding the concepts, this probably won't help them. In that case, you may want to look elsewhere or invest in a workbook that breaks down a concept.

A book that helped me understand how to explain math concepts was Knowing and Teaching Elementary Math by Liping Ma. But, that probably won't help for the moment.

What areas in math are they struggling?

Wendy
 
Are you looking to improve math facts or are you starting algebra? Last year, for multiplication, we used a web based game called Timez Attack. You can play a shortened version for free, or buy an online full version. Other great web sites to choose are National Geographic Kids, Cosmeo (Discovery channel), and Time4Learning. I homeschool my son in 5th grade and my daughter is in PS in 7th grade. We have a subscription to the Cosmeo site, which I can't praise enough about. My daughter has used it for reports and math tutoring. My son uses it to expand on any topic were working on at home and also to play math games when our day ends early. They offer a free month trial.

Another resource to try is your local Brainwaves or Sylvan store. They offer some excellent hands on games. There's also a few books on playing math games with an ordinary deck of cards. B&N should carry those. Last year I picked up a deck of multiplication math war at Walmart for under $2.00, and I can honestly say it was our best investment for learning the X's tables.

If your looking for Algebra help, I can ask at the next HS meeting what they're using and pass is along to you.:)
 
Thanks so much for your replies! :)

I'm stuck with a dinosaur dial-up connection so some of the web based things might be easier to use when the kids are over at their Dad's.

DS is doing well but could use more practice with concepts like money. It's DD who struggles more. She is in the 7th grade and they are working on pre-algebra but she still doesn't have all her math facts.

I want something that's fun for her to play with to help solidify the math facts and also something that will help her (and me) with the pre-algebra concepts.

I personally did fine in math right through 6th grade. Everything after that was tears and struggle. I want to avoid putting my stress onto her. x(

The other thing I'll do is ask what programs they use at school for her in the Learning Center.

Fembot, would you mind telling me what the ballpark figure is for the Cosmeo subscription?

It may just be time for me to ante up for better internet.

Thanks again!
 
//www.vectorkids.com/vkvariable.htm for pre algebra
//www.mathmax.com/prealg/bk7chrv.html - textbook and quizzes

Hope these help. If I can help with a particular problem let me know! I love Math
 
> We have a
>subscription to the Cosmeo site, which I can't praise enough
>about. My daughter has used it for reports and math tutoring.
> My son uses it to expand on any topic were working on at home
>and also to play math games when our day ends early. They
>offer a free month trial.
>
>Another resource to try is your local Brainwaves or Sylvan
>store. They offer some excellent hands on games. There's
>also a few books on playing math games with an ordinary deck
>of cards. B&N should carry those. Last year I picked up a
>deck of multiplication math war at Walmart for under $2.00,
>and I can honestly say it was our best investment for learning
>the X's tables.
>

Hi, Fembot2,

My DD is in PS 5th grade. I can teach her, however, I don't have time and patient. Her problem is she understands the concerpt. But she has a very short of attention span. She did not really want to spend time to read the questions and check her answers if they were fitting the questions. She could be lost by reading two lines questions. I am interested in your experience with your DS & DD homework help thru Cosmeo.com. Will they provide life tutor? How do they help your children homework?

Thanks

WantFit

"Become the change you want to see in the world. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi
 
Cosmeo's cost is $9.95 per month or $99 for the year. I purchase by the month and discontinue for the summer. They offer math concept tutorials and math fact games. A few examples of how it's helped my DS is when she was covering negative numbers, they had a full video breaking it down (with humor) and going over several examples. She also had to do a full report on Zimbabwe last year covering history, geography, export, import, government, etc. and she used Cosmeo for a lot of the information she needed. They have videos covering just about any topic you can think of with history, geography and science. My DS is covering early American history and I have found a video to go with every major event or historical figure we're covering. The other cool part is they award points for each time you use it and once you've earned enough points, they award a screen saver, wallpaper or simulator. I wouldn't recommend the site if you only have dial-up service. You'd really need Broadband to enjoy the videos.

I've been hearing really great things about Time4Learning from parents. It costs more than Cosmeo but sounds more instructional.
Hope this makes sense. :)
 
My kids are in 2nd grade and will be starting their multipliction tables after winter break. I went out to Timez Attack to give it a try. I couldn't get out of the first room. I moved around but couldn't figure out what to do next . . . how do you get to the math part?????
 
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