The Problem With Me and Math U See

First let me say that there isn't a problem with Math U See. It's a great program. The problem is with me and Math U See.

When I was pregnant with Oobi I was on bed rest a lot. Pretty rough going with 5 kids being home schooled. Something had to give and it was the house, the cooking, and the math.

We kept reading (from bed) and we kept a loving, God centered, learning environment, so I think we did pretty well, over all! The fact remained, after the dust from Oob's arrival settled, that I could easily catch up on cooking (everyone had gotten used to not eating) , eventually catch up with the house and... hmm... needed to find some way to get back on track with math.

This wasn't about grade level so much as the kids continuing to learn. Before Oob, they had (almost all) really enjoyed math, and were on a good trajectory; after Oob, they seemed hazy on the details.

I had been hearing (over in the Bonnie Glen) about how great Math U See was and how well it taught how and why math works. Sounded great!

I sent for the demonstration DVD. The kids wanted to watch it over and over! Heck, I wanted to watch it over and over! I was sold.

6 months later:

Mxyl is doing very well.

Klenda understands and enjoys math more than ever before.

Zorg is having a great time.

Leena... well, not so much. I am having a hard time figuring out what she gets and what she doesn't.

Then one day I realize she doesn't really know the values of coins.

That's my problem. The reason I don't usually use a prepackaged curriculum is not that I can do it better than the experts; it's because I unconsciously think that if they do the curriculum it's enough. Bingo! Box checked off, let's move along.

Math U See does teach the value of coins, but what Leena needed was for me to sit down and play store with her. She needed to find 100 random things around the house and put them in groups of ten. She needed to play games with many sided dice. She needed a bazillion games of Chutes and Ladders and Heigh Ho Cherry-0. And she needed to play with the Math U See blocks.

Honestly, I don't think there is a better prepackaged math curriculum than Math U See, and I am certainly continuing to use it. Still, this was a wake up call to me: the best curriculum in the world is no substitute for paying attention to what my kids need.