2nd grader struggling with math-- help?...

[coatkl7]

Hello, this is my first post, so pardon the length!
My daughter is about to finish 2nd grade and she has been struggling with math the entire year. I try to sit with her and explain the problems, but she simply gets frustrated and waits for me to give her the answer. I have a full-time job, as does my husband, so I don't have time to sit with her for a long time every day to help her with her math.
I've heard about some after-school academic math and reading programs, but I don't know if this will work for us since my husband and I are very busy, and I don't want to ask our babysitter to drive her places.
Does anyone know of additional help, online or after school programs, that may help my daughter improve her math skills?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[IADad]

Well, my son just finished second grade nad while he did pretty well with math, he's still not getting math skills to the point where they are automatic (basic addition and subtraction) it seems like he's good at theconcepts, but is lacking the tools to apply, so we try to drill a lot. He's done at least 10 minutes of extra math every day for pretty much the whole year. We do some flash cards, and I give him some verbal problems on the way to the bus etc, but much of the time he does exercises online. He has a couple of sites one we found and one his teacher reccommended.

As for spending lots of time, I'm wondering what better investment of your time you have? and it really only takes another 10 minutes, and I sometimes do stuff like make dinner while he does online math. Anything much past 10 minutes is counter-productive.

As for the time I spend either giving him verbal problems or just talking practical application of math concepts, we try to do it as we're doing other stuff, driving comewhere, shopping etc. I try to give him division, multiplication and percentage problems out of real life, so he can see the relevance of math in everyday application. He seems to really get and like that stuff more than trying to rememebr what 16 minus 9 is...and keep trying to impress upon him that once he has fully mastered addition and subtraction through 20, that he'll be able to do any additiona and subraction ever in the whole world, that kind of empowered and energized him a bit.

 

[Antoinette]

I'm 18 and i still struggle with Math... English was always my area of expertise...

i agree though what better way is there to spend your time than helping your child improve in an area of their education?

 

[coatkl7]

Thank you both for your ideas. I played some of the games with her, and obviously school is over so no more of that. Do you know of any summer programs we can do so that she can continue practicing her math homework, as to not lose what she has already learned this year.
Again, thank you for your advice!

 

[supergeniuz]

Even i faced the same problem last year with my daughter. By then i came to know about the online tutoring, which helped my daughter to improve her knowledge and now i feel so relaxed that i can concentrate on my job.

Check it here, it will be helpful for you:
etutorworld[dot]net

 

[sbattisti]

I would reach out to your daughter's 2nd grade teacher - yes, even during the summer. First of all, your teacher could give you a sense of how she is doing compared to her peers. But more importantly, most teachers are aware of many external resources that are age-appropriate.

By the way, I totally disagree with the notion that "it's summer time, so no more math." If she's really struggling with it, this is the best time to work on it with her, when she's not also trying to process 9 other subjects for the next few months! This is particularly true because if you don't get her to a level of confidence, she's going to struggle more next year, and the problems may snowball.

Games are a fantastic way of helping the kids with math. There are probably hundreds of web sites with age-appropriate math games.

Not sure if the mods will allow these links, but here are a few:

Second Grade Math resource help for standardized tests at I4C
Math Games | Play Kids Games - math learning games including math facts, addition games, subtraction games, multiplication games, division games. - Welcome to Play Kids Games.com

Good luck!

~s

 

[Hartz75]

I totally understand with full time work and school work. I am a math person and NOT an english person LOL. My daughter lucky for me is cleaver, but what we do is, when she gets home she completes her home work by her self first (either at home or if we will be later then at day care) after dinner I reveiw the homework with her and if it is wrong I try to get her to realize the mistake so she can learn by it.

There is help, either places like Kumon Math and Oxford learning centers, they are pricey but very good (my neice went and her marks have drastically improved.) Another option is look to your local Highschool, College or University. Highschool they may need some volunteer credits and may help your child by tutoring them, or College and Univ students may do it during summer for extra cash and to go towards there work experiences, depending on there fields.

 

[Vikas1]

Maths is tough subject to all students and need more solutions to be improve in Maths, e tutoring is the modern technology to have tuition at home through internet.

 

[mydarkpassenger]

I would probably look into some software geared toward this. First, the software can offer math problems mixed with other stimuli like action adventure scenarios, shooting, etc. Plus the kids can have a relaxed environment which is the best way for people to learn, especially math. I can't request any software from experience but math blaster is available from amazon for $11 or so and the reviews aren't bad. Plus I would also look into some software so your kid can validate their own answers. This will also come in handy during home work assignments so they can always can get a perfect grade.

 

[johnweyen]

Sometimes visual aids work wonders. Your question brings to mind the movie "Stand and Deliver". Cut an apple in half. You have just demonstrated division. How many are left? 2 1+1=2. Etc. This can go on and on but sometimes the visual is the best teacher. It helps a child actually 'see' the concept that you want him or her to understand. This is a key to the Montessori education method and I have seen it work absolute wonders.

 

[lisayvonnem]

&lt;r&gt;&lt;FONT font="Comic Sans MS"&gt;&lt;s&gt;&lt;/s&gt;Tough situation. Maybe you can turn to an interesting way that can draw your child’s interest in math. DD is using beestar.org. It’s a lovely website. You can have your child try the cute worksheets. They are full of interesting pictures and stories. Maybe these worksheets can make her interested in math slowly. This has happened to my daughter. She really loves the 10 quick questions. Plus, since it offers online worksheet, I think it’s very convenient for your situation now. Good luck!&lt;e&gt;</SIZE>&lt;/e&gt;&lt;/SIZE&gt;&lt;e&gt;[/FONT]&lt;/e&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;FONT font="Comic Sans MS"&gt;&lt;s&gt;&lt;/s&gt;Lisa&lt;e&gt;</SIZE>&lt;/e&gt;&lt;/SIZE&gt;&lt;e&gt;[/FONT]&lt;/e&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/r&gt;

 

[superman]

I had major problems with math my entire childhood &amp; highschooll years. i remember in grade 2 i hid all my math hmwrk in my pencil case until it exploded and my teacher found it lol. thats when my mom tried helping me but i just couldnt understand her teaching technique. she then put me in Kumon.. its a math program that really helped me man. it made my math days in elementry so much easier. that is up till highschool when math got more advanced so i got a tutor. the thing with programs like Kumon, is that u can stop at any time (i believe). look into that or tutors they will make her feel so much better in the long run. i hated struggling with math it was really embarassing.

 

[MathHelper]

Math learning is largely a matter of persistence. In his best-selling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell quotes research that finds that the common denominator of successful people is a specific number of hours of practice. Through careful planning, you can help your child succeed in math by accomplishing those hours of practice. As a teacher, I know that avoiding over scheduling is key. If your child has no room for down time because of boy scouts, soccer, choir, music lessons and an after-school job, he or she will make room -- during homework and study time!

Anne is a teacher at mathmadeeasy.com

 

[mindyabbruzzi]

Do you have a family friend who is talented at math? When I was growing up I had a neighbor who was an engineer and always helped me. I was more attentive with him than with my parents, and he explained things in different ways than my teacher and parents. Everyone looks at math from a different perspective and sometimes a slightly different explanation makes a big difference.

 

[dblanketyblank]

It's not about you explaining the problems, that just teaches your child to be reliant on you to solve it. What you really need is to just let your child try the problem and really understand what and why she is missing things. Ask her for her reasoning on why she is doing something, maybe she is missing some basic concept.
The first thing you need to teach her is the right answer is only a side product of going through the process so she should just focus on that .

 

[marym]

Many stores sell workbooks that your daughter can complete over the summer. I think that you should stress to your daughter the importance of learning the skills now so that she does not fall behind her friends in her class. I think that practice everyday and reviewing what she did that day with you at night will be very helpful. The babysitter can even take a role in her education and help her complete the workbooks and her homework once school start again.

 

[brainzig]

Hey,
You can use this website Brainzig for your child. They have wide range of worksheets and interactive fun games for math subject. Worksheets are free to download and easy to understand.
Do give it a try !