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Ana's homework yesterday was a review sheet for a test. Glancing at it to check it, I noticed that one of the multiplication problems (drawn as an array so the kids can count and not get it wrong, although what they do if they understand the concept but lose count halfway, I don't know) had the array neatly crossed out and an arrow pointing to the margins, where Ana had chosen to rewrite the problem as straightforward multiplication. "It's just faster", she said.
I giggled a little, because I remember how stressed she was over doing two by one digit multiplication when we started it this summer! Every time something like this happens, though, she realizes that I occasionally have some idea what I'm doing.
Today's homework seems to suggest they're finally edging into learning two by one digit multiplication. Without arrays. Ana did that in August, but that's fine, in her new extra math book that just came today she's about to start two by two multiplication, and having her math at school be review of a related concept is just fine.
After the multiplication by two digits, she goes back to fractions. FIFTY PAGES OF FRACTIONS. I'm not sure how we are going to survive that, but it probably involves ice cream. And cash bribes. Eva also got a new math book, she's going to finish working on multiplication by twos and threes and then work on the horror that is mental math. I saw that and immediately flashed back to Ana's first introduction to the subject, which was... awful, to say the least. I can only hope that Evangeline takes to it more easily or I might have to buy even MORE ice cream to cope with her. Ice cream and bandaids, and that is not a joke. It was very stressful. I am SO not looking forward to the next few months. Why do the girls have to learn math again? Maybe the school curricula really are good enough and I'm just crazy. (Then again, maybe both nieces still count on their fingers for virtually all addition, and I'm sick of it. In addition to the math they're also getting speed tests daily from me, 100 frakkin' problems of single digit addition every day until they get this down. There is fussing, but I promised them that as soon as they can answer 7+8 as quickly and consistently as 1+1 I'll relax on the issue. I'm setting a schedule that includes math games every day and the drill and keep going on their extra math, and we are finally going to deal with this like we should have when I first got nervous about it last year or so. I dawdled, and now they have got to get it done.)
I giggled a little, because I remember how stressed she was over doing two by one digit multiplication when we started it this summer! Every time something like this happens, though, she realizes that I occasionally have some idea what I'm doing.
Today's homework seems to suggest they're finally edging into learning two by one digit multiplication. Without arrays. Ana did that in August, but that's fine, in her new extra math book that just came today she's about to start two by two multiplication, and having her math at school be review of a related concept is just fine.
After the multiplication by two digits, she goes back to fractions. FIFTY PAGES OF FRACTIONS. I'm not sure how we are going to survive that, but it probably involves ice cream. And cash bribes. Eva also got a new math book, she's going to finish working on multiplication by twos and threes and then work on the horror that is mental math. I saw that and immediately flashed back to Ana's first introduction to the subject, which was... awful, to say the least. I can only hope that Evangeline takes to it more easily or I might have to buy even MORE ice cream to cope with her. Ice cream and bandaids, and that is not a joke. It was very stressful. I am SO not looking forward to the next few months. Why do the girls have to learn math again? Maybe the school curricula really are good enough and I'm just crazy. (Then again, maybe both nieces still count on their fingers for virtually all addition, and I'm sick of it. In addition to the math they're also getting speed tests daily from me, 100 frakkin' problems of single digit addition every day until they get this down. There is fussing, but I promised them that as soon as they can answer 7+8 as quickly and consistently as 1+1 I'll relax on the issue. I'm setting a schedule that includes math games every day and the drill and keep going on their extra math, and we are finally going to deal with this like we should have when I first got nervous about it last year or so. I dawdled, and now they have got to get it done.)
